We actually refer to it as 'Government Motors' now where I'm from. Good to hear you're planning to update those cars though. Chassis-flex and maybe even the updated driveline model (if it applies here) would be pretty awesome.
F1 teams sometimes quote that their new car is, for example, 12% stiffer longitudinally and 8% stiffer laterally, so if F1 engineers are every year making the cars stiffer (within the rulebook of course) then I'm pretty sure chassis flex would affect a Camaro and a corvette. Flex affects everything, even a brick wall (if brought up against strong enough loads).
Interesting. I figured since the vette and camaro are built with much heavier materials that flex wouldn't be an issue.
Jamie the production based cars are soooo much softer and flex way more. They are built to a price. Race derived cars use more expensive stiffer and lighter materials (eg carbon Fibre) and no-compromise designs (eg for passengers or luggage). If you ever have the chance to ride in a Saab convertible for example it feels like a plastic bathtub on wheels. The roll cages that go into production based cars make a massive difference to stiffness. Then things like suspension strut braces are all there to reduce chassis flex.
Indeed. I think people forget the basics they learned at school sometimes. I'm always going to remember my teacher holding up a stone and asking if anyone saw it bend when he applied pressure. At a molecular level (and much more if you think about tectonic plates), everything bends and flexes some amount.
"Carbon fibre" is very thin and relatively weak. There are (expensive) fabrics made from it. Stiff carbon fibre is just more layers of it. Saying it doesn't flex is like saying paper doesn't bend because it's made out of trees.
