So I got a new toy yesterday... (ZL1 1LE content inside)

Akirasoft · 03-18-2018, 07:42 AM

I joined this forum 10 years ago and I guess I finally have a Camaro?

Went in to the dealer looking to buy a Nightfall Gray ZL1 and in typical dealer shenanigans they didn't tell me on the phone that it was sold. I had always wanted a 1LE anyways since my focus will be HPDE events anyways and this thing was looking all mean in the showroom, so here we are...

I've had a weird journey with performance cars:
2002 Subaru Impreza WRX, ordered when the order books first opened
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, wrenched on this car myself, poorly, eventually ruined it to the point where I sold my project to a buddy to finish, I won't do that again!
2009 Nissan 370Z, after trying to take a break from fun cars again, I ended up with a Z. Handled great but the VQ motor sapped a ton of the fun out of the car.
2011 GT500, my friend had an 08 GT500 that kind of sucked but after all the improvements to the 2011 with the SVT PP, I took the plunge. Loved this car but Ford really didn't treat me very well. I had an issue with boost dropping in 4th gear and 3 dealers couldn't or even worse, WOULDNT attempt to fix it for me. eventually had to once again take a break from cars again to save for a new house...

Well, last summer we moved into our new house so I began a car search again. My choices were all over the place. I was keeping an eye on 911 GT3 pricing but as I'm sure every car guy knows they are on an upward trend. I drove a 718 Boxster S which was very nice but not quite special enough for me. I was eyeing GT350s as soon as they came out but wasn't interested in paying ADM or dealing with Ford again. So, now here we are.

Sorry for the novel above but I was in the mood for some typing in the form of an introduction...

SJFGTO · 03-18-2018, 07:45 AM

Congrats. Love the color!!! You made the right choice.

Gunkk · 03-18-2018, 08:15 AM

Agreed, good color!

Driski · 03-18-2018, 08:25 AM

Wow, Wow, Wow! Absolutely beautiful. Yah, LOOKS MEAN! Congratulations. This may be a silly question... does the ZL1 have the option of M6 or A10, and if so, what did you choose?

kwav8r · 03-18-2018, 08:33 AM

ZL1 = you can have either M6 or A10
1LE = M6 only

URBAN LEGEND · 03-18-2018, 08:45 AM

Congrats. Thoughts?

Akirasoft · 03-18-2018, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by URBAN LEGEND

Congrats. Thoughts?

only a few miles on it so far, will put some more on it today.

I was originally leaning towards a regular ZL1 as I let reviews of the 1LE convince me that the 1LE's suspension would be too punishing when not on the track. Truthfully, that is not REALLY the case. Sure I would not want to take a road trip in this car but for getting to and from the track and spirited weekend drives this is just fine. It is really no worse than my Evo was back in the day and about on-par with many of the coilover equipped vehicles my friends have driven over the years. Definitely don't get this package if you never intend to do a track day but otherwise it is totally fine.

I'm sure I will have more thoughts as I complete break-in and after my first track day

2010REDSS · 03-18-2018, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akirasoft

only a few miles on it so far, will put some more on it today.

I was originally leaning towards a regular ZL1 as I let reviews of the 1LE convince me that the 1LE's suspension would be too punishing when not on the track. Truthfully, that is not REALLY the case. Sure I would not want to take a road trip in this car but for getting to and from the track and spirited weekend drives this is just fine. It is really no worse than my Evo was back in the day and about on-par with many of the coilover equipped vehicles my friends have driven over the years. Definitely don't get this package if you never intend to do a track day but otherwise it is totally fine.

I'm sure I will have more thoughts as I complete break-in and after my first track day

Welcome and congrats on the ZL1 1LE! You are going to love it on the track!

TRZ06 · 03-18-2018, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akirasoft

only a few miles on it so far, will put some more on it today.

I was originally leaning towards a regular ZL1 as I let reviews of the 1LE convince me that the 1LE's suspension would be too punishing when not on the track. Truthfully, that is not REALLY the case. Sure I would not want to take a road trip in this car but for getting to and from the track and spirited weekend drives this is just fine. It is really no worse than my Evo was back in the day and about on-par with many of the coilover equipped vehicles my friends have driven over the years. Definitely don't get this package if you never intend to do a track day but otherwise it is totally fine.

I'm sure I will have more thoughts as I complete break-in and after my first track day

That was exactly my impression after test driving one last weekend. I have Ohlin coil-overs on my M3 and have had KW V2 on 3 other cars in the past, and this is on par with quality coil-over systems out there.

If you are used to coilover suspensions, this is a total no-issue. The 1LE just makes it factory, which I think is a win-win.

I would not hesitate and totally plan on daily driving my 1LE when I get it.

The biggest compromise with this car is not the suspension, its the tires. You seriously have to be careful in any standing water with how shallow the tread of these tires are and how wide they are. Wet weather is fine, but standing water is scary , even when these tires are new. Luckily, I am in CA and our hard rain days are limited, and I don't mind calling an Uber a few days a year to be able to enjoy this car the rest of the year.

dw760 · 03-18-2018, 06:11 PM

Very nice ....... Congrats !

sdavis2702 · 03-18-2018, 06:16 PM

Oh my goodness. What a beauty. Congrats! More pics please!

tjaizl1 · 03-18-2018, 06:51 PM

you bought it from Castle!!!! is the nightfall gray zl1 sold??? I am still currently trying to work on a deal with em haha!!

Akirasoft · 03-19-2018, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjaizl1

you bought it from Castle!!!! is the nightfall gray zl1 sold??? I am still currently trying to work on a deal with em haha!!

yeah, I think they are both sold (they had an auto and a manual in grey.) One of them was still in the showroom but with a sold tag on it. I'm kind of annoyed at dealers doing the shady trick of saying a car is still there when it obviously isn't but if people like me keep buying a car in that situation, well, no disincentive to stop doing it.

MoreSpeed · 03-19-2018, 07:51 AM

I love my ZL1, but fate pushed you to the car you really want on the track.

03-18-2018, 07:42 AM	#1
Akirasoft Drives: 2018 ZL1 1LE, 2015 X3 x35i M-Sport Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Inverness, IL Posts: 43	So I got a new toy yesterday... (ZL1 1LE content inside) I joined this forum 10 years ago and I guess I finally have a Camaro? Went in to the dealer looking to buy a Nightfall Gray ZL1 and in typical dealer shenanigans they didn't tell me on the phone that it was sold. I had always wanted a 1LE anyways since my focus will be HPDE events anyways and this thing was looking all mean in the showroom, so here we are... I've had a weird journey with performance cars: 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX, ordered when the order books first opened 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, wrenched on this car myself, poorly, eventually ruined it to the point where I sold my project to a buddy to finish, I won't do that again! 2009 Nissan 370Z, after trying to take a break from fun cars again, I ended up with a Z. Handled great but the VQ motor sapped a ton of the fun out of the car. 2011 GT500, my friend had an 08 GT500 that kind of sucked but after all the improvements to the 2011 with the SVT PP, I took the plunge. Loved this car but Ford really didn't treat me very well. I had an issue with boost dropping in 4th gear and 3 dealers couldn't or even worse, WOULDNT attempt to fix it for me. eventually had to once again take a break from cars again to save for a new house... Well, last summer we moved into our new house so I began a car search again. My choices were all over the place. I was keeping an eye on 911 GT3 pricing but as I'm sure every car guy knows they are on an upward trend. I drove a 718 Boxster S which was very nice but not quite special enough for me. I was eyeing GT350s as soon as they came out but wasn't interested in paying ADM or dealing with Ford again. So, now here we are. Sorry for the novel above but I was in the mood for some typing in the form of an introduction...

03-18-2018, 07:45 AM	#2
SJFGTO Oh Oh it's Friday Night! Drives: 2018 ZL1 1LE Nightfall Gray Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Walton Woods Posts: 1,061	Congrats. Love the color!!! You made the right choice. __________________ 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE NFG; ARH 2” headers, catless mids, ARH full exhaust, Lingenfelter 18% lower pulley, ATI Harmonic Balancer, Roto-fab CAI, EE-catch can, TM ported TB, NX Lid, BMR strut tower brace. Aeroforce dual pod interceptor gauges. Tuned by Vengeance Racing!!! 644 HP @ 6250 rpm / 689 trq @ 3660 rpm Four that wanna own me Two that wanna stone me One says she's a friend of mine...

03-18-2018, 08:25 AM	#4
Driski Drives: 2016 Camaro Convertible 2SS Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Mass Posts: 756	Wow, Wow, Wow! Absolutely beautiful. Yah, LOOKS MEAN! Congratulations. This may be a silly question... does the ZL1 have the option of M6 or A10, and if so, what did you choose? __________________ 2SS Convertible, MRC, NPP, A8, Garnet Red, Blk Bowties GM CAI, Ported TB, Kooks Headers, E85

03-18-2018, 08:45 AM	#6
URBAN LEGEND Drives: 20 X3M CP & 19 ZL1 1LE A10 Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Brenham, TX Posts: 3,517	Congrats. Thoughts? __________________ 🔺22 RS E TRON GT 🔺21 Model S Plaid

03-18-2018, 06:16 PM	#11
sdavis2702 Drives: 2017 Camaro 2SS Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 154	Oh my goodness. What a beauty. Congrats! More pics please! __________________ San Diego, CA - 2017 2SS (A8) Arctic Blue Metallic

03-18-2018, 08:15 AM	#3
Gunkk Thank you Al Oppenheiser! Drives: Red Hot A10 ZL1 Convertible Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Sarasota, FL Posts: 4,984 View My Garage	Agreed, good color!

03-18-2018, 08:33 AM	#5
kwav8r Flyin NOE Drives: 2018 ZL1 (A10) Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: TX Posts: 949	ZL1 = you can have either M6 or A10 1LE = M6 only

03-18-2018, 06:11 PM	#10
dw760 Drives: C3 Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Yerintgton NV Posts: 181	Very nice ....... Congrats !

03-18-2018, 06:51 PM	#12
tjaizl1 Drives: 2018 Camaro ZL1 (6spd Mosiac Black) Join Date: Nov 2017 Location: Connecticut Posts: 25	you bought it from Castle!!!! is the nightfall gray zl1 sold??? I am still currently trying to work on a deal with em haha!!

03-19-2018, 07:51 AM	#14
MoreSpeed Drives: 2017 Hyper Blue A10 ZL1 Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: New England Posts: 716	I love my ZL1, but fate pushed you to the car you really want on the track. __________________ - Life is a highway... I want to ride it all night long... Sold 2010 997 GT3, 2016 WRX, 2006 997 C2S, 2003 996 C4S, 2001 Boxster S, 1997 E420 AMG etc..

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