Can a Honda Civic Go Faster than a Camaro?

Answer 1

I assume by faster you mean beat it on the quarter mile and not top speed although I believe the answer is no on both.

Well, a well decked out Civic (probably running NOS) will beat a bone stock Camero but given equivelent upgrades on each (same items or same dollars spent) the Camero will blow away the Civic every time. It also depends on which Camero as Camero's come with everything from a 3.1L V6, which is a high MPG and still decent performing engine, to a 350CID (5.7L) V-8 which is tuned port injected and even has a Ram air option on later models (I think ... the Firebird did anyways). Talking 1990 and newer here of course. Nothing in a stock or even moderately modified Civic isn't going to touch the torque available from the big V-8's and they don't have to run anywhere near red-line to deliver all that power. And since it's torque that ultimately moves a car down the road, it's hard to beat a V-8 with a four or even a V-6. As for top speed, top end on the 90's Firebirds is 165MPH, they'll do 180 easy with minor upgrades. the newer ones have similar performance but are speed limited for insurance reasons. Civic's are light and will rev high, that's their edge but it will take more than that to go against a good V-8.

Dropping the F-body cars was GM's worst decision. Glad to see at least the Camero coming back (2009)

Yes, I am biased ... I own a Firebird myself. It rocks. I want to get a couple more :-)


Also, I forgot to mention, there's one other issue besides engine size and torque. For a drag race there's also something called weight transfer. Although no movement in mass actually takes place, when a car launches hard there is a change in how the weight is distributed to the ground.
When you punch the pedal from a stop, the wheels turn hard against the pavement. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That means that for every pound of torque being pushed down against the ground by the wheels, another pound is push up against the car. That's why cars with really big engines do wheelies and even cars with modest engines will lift the front end high on the suspension. All this weight coming off the front wheels has to go somewhere and it goes onto the rear wheels adding to traction, lots of extra traction. On a front wheel drive, the same thing happens although not as pronounced as there isn't much mass in front of the driven wheels. This actually takes weight off the driven wheels and reduces traction. Slicks help but still aren't enough to make up the difference. The only reason front drivers have any sucess at all is they are usually very light so there is less mass to get moving. This takes a lot of stress off of the reduced traction. This is why all dragsters are rear wheel drive and why front drivers usually run in their own classes. There is no competition between the two. It's also worth noting that when you see a front driver doing a burn-out, it takes far less power than when a rear wheel drive car does it.

If it's not drag racing but some other (like oval track), there's other issues such as oversteer and understeer. A front driver will always understeer because the steering wheels are also the driven wheels and they therefor always loos traction first. This makes oversteer near impossible and reduces fast cornering (you don't power through a curve with a front wheel drive unless you want to hit the wall). This is why Nascar has no front drivers in it.

GO American Muscle!

(btw - Great question!)

Answer 2

Possibly...but most likely no. The Camaro has a definite advantage in that it has much bigger engines with more HP, whereas the Civic is much lighter and can be easily modded to go really fast. The Civic's featherweight nature makes it very speedy when appropriately tricked out, but the Camaro still has the advantage of raw horsepower and torque, and American muscle. Still, I think the Camaro would be faster...

Answer 3

Don't listen to the Hardcore Chevy guys! Chevy is what their daddy and grandaddy drove so they are brain washed. They don't know any better. I'm not a big fan of imports but, I'm not stupid, of course a civic can beat a camaro with lots of mods of course!

Answer 4

Sorry guys. I've got an L32 (supercharged 3.8l) under the hood of my pontiac, but I've got to go with the civic all around. Two reasons: power to weight ratio, and it's a decade younger. The stats on that L36 are when it was new.

Answer 5

If the Camaro was going in reverse maybe.

Answer 6

it is very possible, when you pack 325hp in a 1750lbs with higher ratios, as opposed to a big geared camaro that weighs twice as much, then a bottle of NOS or a turbo?...not to mention that valve timing electronic control(VTEC) you hit like 6.5 RPM and slam your head in the seat

Answer 7

maybe if it has NOS in it. nothing beats a chevy

Answer 8

lol, NOW THAT IS FUNNY

not today, not ever



reported for stupidity <======

Answer 9

i think if a tornado got them both

Answer 10

if both fell of a cliff...maybe,,,