2014 Chevy SS Review

"AfromanGTO" (afromangto) 08/08/2016 at 18:16 • Filed to: None

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After owning my SS for almost a year and a half now, it was suggested last night in Oppositetalk I should write a review. I will have to do a longterm review of my GTO after the new suspension parts are installed. Here is my SS still badged as a Chevy with the windows tinted.

After having this nice Red Hot 2 SS for almost a year and half and 16,000ish miles I am happy to report it is still as nice as the day it was purchased from the dealer. It still rides nice and tight without any squeaks or rattles. After a few months of ownership the chevy crap was replaced with proper Holden ones from Australia. (Commodore guys want any Chevy stuff for trade?)

THE GOOD

The car rides well.

The LS3 has plenty of power

The 6 speed auto transmission is very nice and comfortable.

Great for long distance trips. (28 mpg on a 6 hour drive and back)

Heated and vented seats. (Vented seats are amazing on hot days, although they just circulate the air from inside the car.)

The front bumper cover is extremely easy to remove. (The chrome trim ring is a bitch to get off the original grille though.)

The looks it and attention it gets from random people. (Holden conversion)

The factory wheels are forged 19s. That have been polished and sealed with a clear powder coat. (Unlike the cheap ugly 2016 rims which are cheap cast wheels...)

The braking and handling are very good. (FYI 2014s handle and stop better than the 15-16.)

Interior quality is on par with most European cars. (Some owners have complained about part of the steering wheel leather coming off on the spokes, but GM has replaced them with no problems. Mine hasn’t had that issue.) (Picture motortrend)

Interior is very roomy for me. (6'2) I have had 5 people in the car for a few trips without any major comfort complaints. It will puppy very well also, provided you put the seat cover over the back seat with towels underneath it just to be safe. (Picture motortrend)

The trunk is large enough to carry a large grocery trips worth of food and 4 cases of water with 2 large bags of dog food and doggy toys. (Picture Cars.com)

THE OK

The back bumper cover is unfinished plastic which looks cheap for the price range it is in. (15-16 have it painted black, and I have a 15 one sitting in a closet.) Plus some quad tips to fill out the holes would make sense....

The paint is typical Holden quality. Ok but not that great.

The brake pads dust a lot. (Thankfully it comes off super easy thanks to the powder coating.)

Gas mileage in the city is in the high teens, and bumper to bumper is worse....

The cost of the Holden airbag cover is pretty expensive.

Why didn’t we get an option for the SSV wing over here instead of the base SV6 spoiler. (Picture themotorreport.com.au)

To get dash and screen to say Holden must take apart dash and send to Chris White.

The lighting is great for the low beams, and are factory HIDS. The daytime LED lights are cool. (Can make them always on with a few wires.) However the city lights need to be factory LEDS not halogen bulbs.

Changing out the fog light bulbs are easy, and so is the high beams to whiter bulbs that match the HID low beams. It would look better with the LEDs on at night too.

The recalls are pretty interesting for the SS. The 2 major ones are extremely simple. The first one is just putting dielectric grease on the electric steering connector, and the second one is rewrapping in tape a wire.

THE BAD....

Why the hell is the lower half of the interior black while the top part is gray??? Why is the headliner and pillars gray? It looks so freaking cheap. Why didn’t someone in a focus group say the interior should be one color. I wish the roof was black like my GTOs..... (pictures motortrend and egmcartech.com)

The dealers... Dealerships don’t know a damn thing about these cars, and you have to go looking for a good service department.

I had a wheel bearing go bad on the passenger rear. It involves taking the wheel off, brake caliper off, brake disc off, and removing the axle. I had the dealer bend the dust shield twice and say it was fixed. (GM customer care was pretty pissed off about that.) Then when they finally replaced the wheel bearing half assed at best they smoked in my car. (Can we say detail job, and hooked up to the ozone machine for 4-6 hours to get the smell out) Needless to say I had went to another dealer who had to fix the shitty work they did.

Final Verdict

The SS is a great car, that is fun to drive, and doesn’t make you question whether or not you bought the right car. It is a large V8 sedan with room for 5, and will get you there in a hurry in comfortable interior. I am sure I will enjoy it for years to come, and will try to make it better. When the warranty expires, it will get some performance love, and I can’t wait actually have a place to work on the cars.

Thank you all for reading.

JustWaitingForAMate > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 18:22

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Nice write up.

I’m in the process of offloading my 2013 Redline for a 2016/17.

citizennick > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 18:25

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Just modify the hell out of it so you’re not tempted to take it to a GM service department ;)

Captain of the Enterprise > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 18:28

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Great write up!

AfromanGTO > citizennick 08/08/2016 at 18:35

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It will be modified to hell and back when the warranty is up. Plus there’s a good likelyhood of not living in an apartment anymore when the warranty is up.

AfromanGTO > Captain of the Enterprise 08/08/2016 at 18:35

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Thank you!

AfromanGTO > JustWaitingForAMate 08/08/2016 at 18:37

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Thank you! And very nice Redline! Want to swap your Holden airbag for my Chevy one?? lol

I like your headlights without the amber reflectors better!

Steve in Manhattan > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 18:50

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You changed the display to read Holden? My Sikorsky ball cap is off to you.

LongbowMkII > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 19:01

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My Cruze has forged wheels and the same steering wheel (nearly) therefore it’s the same. ;)

Want one.

AfromanGTO > Steve in Manhattan 08/08/2016 at 19:15

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Not yet. It needs to be down for a few days, so probably over the next holiday. I have to take the cluster, screen, and hud out of the dash, send it to Chris, have him work his magic, send it back, and install it.

AfromanGTO > LongbowMkII 08/08/2016 at 19:16

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They extended the sale of the SS for another few weeks, because of warranty issue. You can still pick one up for a great price. You’ll be used to it since the wheels are similiar. ;)

Luken10 > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 19:27

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How come the 15-16 handle worse? Is it just because the new wheels are heavier? I’m also kind of amazed you have been getting such great gas mileage. Aren’t the EPA estimates all in the teens? Either way, awesome car!

Steve in Manhattan > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 19:29

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Still, your dedication to detail is impressive.

LongbowMkII > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 19:47

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“Here’s one 2011 Cruze Eco and 47 cents. One SS please”

“....”

“Fine, you drive a hard bargain! Here’s a 1995 Civic DX spare tire.”

AfromanGTO > Luken10 08/08/2016 at 19:48

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The 15-16 have the magnetic suspension. It was softened up for the American market. The 14s were pulling 0.97 Gs during testing. It gets the teens in the city, but on the highway it gets much better fuel economy.

Thank you!

thedevilinside > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 19:49

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Ahhhhh that’s why the dealer keeps calling me. I haven’t answered but I thought the sale was over and gave up when I couldn’t get a deal done before August 1st.

AfromanGTO > Steve in Manhattan 08/08/2016 at 19:49

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Thank you very much. I think having a car in the Concours D’Elegance made me that way.

Steve in Manhattan > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 19:52

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Funny - one day an Aussie will come across this car in a parking lot and go: WTF? Steering wheel’s on the wrong side mate.

AfromanGTO > LongbowMkII 08/08/2016 at 20:09

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Hahahaha! It could work in California in the Bay area. They love hyrbids out there.

AfromanGTO > thedevilinside 08/08/2016 at 20:10

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Yes, yes that is why. Come to the SS side. We have manual LS3s rwd sedans.

Luken10 > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 20:10

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Ahhh, I would have thought the magnetic suspension would have been an upgrade. Good to know!

AfromanGTO > Steve in Manhattan 08/08/2016 at 20:13

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They already do that especially with the GTOs. I told a few people a cars and coffee in Miami it was a royal pain doing the LHD conversion after I changed out the grille and badges.

thedevilinside > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 20:33

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I had an ‘06 GTO and currently have an ‘02 Camaro SS. I am a happy member for the LS + T56/manual big car club. I would have to sell my Focus and Camaro to get the SS and I couldn’t let go of the Camaro this soon. I was going to keep it but the insurance, mpg, and winter tire set was too much. :-(

Steve in Manhattan > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 20:35

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Ha! The last car you could reliably switch the steering on was, I believe, a Model A.

Dru > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 20:38

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Well if I didn’t already want one, I definitely do now.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 20:47

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I love these cars. Even though I would end up with a newer one for the manual, I still like the idea of better handling. Isn’t MRC an option? And I could swap in some Konis like my GTO?

As far as Chris White, give it some time. With any luck, someone will crack the code like they did for the GTO.

AfromanGTO > thedevilinside 08/08/2016 at 21:58

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Keep the Camaro and have the SS too! Maybe they can finance it for you? :-) You never know unless you ask. :-)

I have the SS and GTO. :-)

AfromanGTO > Steve in Manhattan 08/08/2016 at 22:01

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You’d know that one better than me good sir! I do remember some piece of heavy machinery being able to have 2 or 3 different driving postions. You had to change the dash panel out to swap it. It was either on the history, tlc, or discovery channel 10+ years ago.

AfromanGTO > Dru 08/08/2016 at 22:02

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Yes, please buy one before they stop making them!

AfromanGTO > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 08/08/2016 at 22:05

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MRC is not an option. Color, transmission, sunroof, and spare are your only choices. You can swap them in, but MRC won’t work. Most guys are just changing out the springs instead. Maverick Man has coilovers for them too.

Chris White already cracked the code. I just need some down time on the SS to send him the gauges, hud, and stereo screen. I need to ask if I can get a deal if I send him my GTO parts at the same time.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 22:34

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I know Chris White ‘cracked the code’ many, many years ago for the GTO, too. And he never told anyone anything aside from “spending as much on the rig as everyone else spent on their cars.” And then, a few years later, this happened. And that’s how I programmed my cluster. And reset the airbag light when the clockspring glitches. (Strangely, even the dealership couldn’t figure out how to reset the airbag light.)

S65 > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 22:46

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I quite like the color on your Holden.

JustWaitingForAMate > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 23:08

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Chevy badges have no place on a Holden.

Steve in Manhattan > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 23:13

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Guy took me for a ride in his A at a car show back in the 90s - that was one of his talking points, how easy it was to do the changeover.

AfromanGTO > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 08/08/2016 at 23:17

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I have read that thread years ago. With the SS there isn’t as many motivated individuals trying new things with the GTO. That being said, I am willing to bet it is damn near the same program for the SS. I bet there’s even a way to enable launch control on the automatics that only the manuals have.

Bohnman can do that stuff now too. I just want my shift light on, and blue leds instead of green.

AfromanGTO > S65 08/08/2016 at 23:20

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Thank you very much kind sir!

AfromanGTO > JustWaitingForAMate 08/08/2016 at 23:21

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Agreed! That’s why I am trying to get rid of it.

AfromanGTO > Steve in Manhattan 08/08/2016 at 23:26

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That’s pretty interesting. You would think that Henry Ford made the Model A primarily for the US market that it wouldn’t need to be set up for RHD. Do Model As have a holes cut for the steering column and pedals, and would the steering rack need to be rotated 180 degrees? Too bad there’s not a lot of them around anymore to check this out.

I just found this book about RHD Model As on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Right-Hand-Dri…

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > AfromanGTO 08/08/2016 at 23:29

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Ah. An ALDL cable can’t change LED colors. But yeah, as long as it’s something programmed on that bus, it seems that the people who inhabit places like the Delco hacking website will be able to figure out what flag needs to be re-written. I’m not positive, but I think that the Aussie scene helps or helped that get figured out on the VY/VZ cars, too. But I’m not sure exactly how launch control would be added to an automatic. There’s the whole clutch vs torque converter difference.

AfromanGTO > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 08/08/2016 at 23:56

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That’s why I have to send it to Chris or Bohman to change those tiny leds from green to blue. Chris White was talking about how the gauges are made from a company and they aren’t really that specific to one model. They have a 4wd light on them, a diesel light, and other weird ones. A lot of the Aussies are sending the VF cluster to him. I have a friend who has the wire to reprogram my cluster, but I like the stock one. All I may have him do is turn the shift light on. Maybe the launch control could hold the brakes and rev it to a certain rpm. You never know what they have programmed in the ecu.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > AfromanGTO 08/09/2016 at 00:07

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Nice. I'm curious did they offer any discounts on it? I've seen a couple locally, but they have every option ticked.

Steve in Manhattan > AfromanGTO 08/09/2016 at 00:09

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I think Model T’s were set up both ways in this country initially.

Dru > AfromanGTO 08/09/2016 at 08:14

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Well if I could get the 10,000 off they were offering, and trade my jeep, finance it for 7 years, I think I could swing it.

AfromanGTO > Steve in Manhattan 08/09/2016 at 12:09

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You are correct about that. I have seen a few people have LHD and RHD Model Ts. It was before which side of the road we drive on was standardized throughout the nation.

AfromanGTO > Dru 08/09/2016 at 12:16

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They had some for 34-37K, which is a little more than 10K off for some dealers.

Steve in Manhattan > AfromanGTO 08/09/2016 at 12:17

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Drove a RHD Jag E-type a long time ago on U.S. roads - weird. Hard to see the centerline.

AfromanGTO > Steve in Manhattan 08/09/2016 at 12:57

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What I have a problem with when driving a RHD car is turn signals and windshield wipers. They are flipped. Turn signals are always on the outer side of the car, and the windshield wipers are on the inside. Whenever I would attempt to signal to change lanes I would hit the wipers instead. At least they are that way in my buddies Silvia.

Steve in Manhattan > AfromanGTO 08/09/2016 at 13:20

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I honestly can't remember where the turn signals were in the Jag - clear day so no wipers. I don't recall having any problems signaling a turn.

Dru > AfromanGTO 08/09/2016 at 13:47

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That range is even more appealing. If I could get 5K for my Jeep, I wouldn’t need a 7 year loan. Though with how those depreciate (they don’t), long loan term is not the worst idea you could have.