Quote:
Originally Posted by RagingHawk
Was thinking about this today. With the 5th gen, imo the 1LE package was a a good upgrade to the standard SS. Mostly due to the 5th gen being a heavy car, the 3.91 gears. Everyone said trans/suspension upgrade made the car feel more nimble/funner and have better handle. So it was a worthy upgrade. I myself would have looked for a 1LE had I knew how to drive six speed manual. Didn't want to learn on a car like that. But hopefully my next sports car in near to far future will be stick. 
That being said, now that 6th gen has come out, it has impressive performance numbers. Is more light hence feels more nimble. Do you believe it can still get better than it already is or the upcoming 1LE package won't be necessary except for hardcore track racers?
Now that mrc is also available.... |
First of all , the new Camaro SS is a GREAT CAR.
It has more than enough day to day performance for a large majority of people who dont drive their cars beyond 8/10ths maximum...
When we talk about the 1LE, we are talking about folks that value handling and balance ABOVE ALL.....
So here are my observations ( I have been able to test drive the 5th 1LE and number of times and like to think my previous cars have all handled relatively well when getting into the twisties...)
The new SS feature 245 and 275 tire on the front and back respectively....
Keep in mind a big reason why the 1LE was such a balanced car and removed the inherent understeer of the 5th SS was the 285 tires on all for corners...
here is one of the first videos of a 6th SS being TRACKED... please focus on 1:30 mark to see that highspeed understeer becomes a factor close to the limit
They are currently tuning and developing the 1LE at the Nurgurgring along with the ZL1 ( the 1LE has the 660 manufacturing plates)
Considering the SS can get to 80 mph in second gear with a 3.73 axle ratio... there is definately room to get it down to 3.91 or even 4.10 ( they can always leave 6th as a super tall gear for fuel economy...nobody tracks their car in 6th....)
This would give as a 1st-2nd gear optimized for 0-60 acceleration, 1st-4th gear optimized for 1/4 mile, skid pad and the track. Motortrend knocked off about 3/10ths of a second from the 0-60 from that axle ratio change and tires alone when they tested the 1LE.
One could conservatively estimate the 1LE to achieve a 0-60 of 3.8 seconds on hero runs and a consistent 4 seconds with a manual transmission. Skid pad prob around 1.05 G.
Will be interesting to see if they keep the MRC shocks ( I think that would be a very smart move, perhaps with even more aggressive damping in Track/Sport)
Another thing missing are the Recaros seats... Thats a big deal for me because my last car had that as an option in Europe but they didnt bring them to North America at the last minute... I sat in a car that was retrofitted with the Recaros and they were amazing....
Combine that with the Alcantara steering wheel and shift knob....
The last Gen 1LE kicked the new Trackpack Mustangs ass on the track and twisties last year... what GM has done with the 2010 Camaro platform to make it handle so well in 2015 is magic... I cant wait to see what they do with the new model with is leaps and bounds ahead of the old car.
I dont track my cars much, but I love to feel a balanced chassis down a country road or a highway offramp.... Nothing better than cruising at 7/10ths down a straight stretch with a " sporty car" trying to stay on your tail, then gunning it as you enter the twisties and having them disappear...
I'll be waiting until 2017.
Then again I'm the type of guy who doesnt like to slow down for corners...
