[~Jb]

As the title says. I finally bit the bullet taking advantage of some wintertime/end of year deals and scooped up a ZLE. This is actually my very first ever GM product, so naturally, I have a ton of questions. I have done a lot of lurking leading up to this purchase, but I still have some questions. Mostly just stuff I have not been able to find in other threads or the owners manual.


1. I am planning on adding a full exhaust in the near future. The plan now is ARH headers and AWE track edition with resonators. ARH website is sort of confusing, do they sell their headers in a configuration that will then allow me to bolt the AWE system directly up to it?

2. RotoFab seems like the no-brainer go-to for intake. Before adding an intake, is it beneficial to upsize the TB and port the supercharger?

3. How far can I go with mods (i.e. pullies and other minor bolt-ons)

4. (EDIT) Car will run 93 Oct.


Thanks in advance,
~Jb


***Edit*** Added some pics:

Saying goodbye to my beloved Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT Night Edition... (this was the hardest part )



Getting the new princess home in the garage just hours before leaving on my two-week holiday vacation, which I am still on... (this was the second hardest part! )

[BlaqWhole]

I'm not sure on ARH.

You do not have to upsize the TB or port the blower to get some benefit from a cai. But those will get you some nice results in addition to the cai.

I wouldn't push the stock blower too far as it is only 1.7 liters and will start to get hot very fast. Plus it's a waste of money to do stuff to the stock blower just to end up taking it off and swapping it out in the future. I say plan your mods efficiently and for cost effectiveness as this will get very expensive which you'll see soon enough.

I'm not a fan of E85 but meth or a chiller would be on my list if I was planning on extensive mods.

Welcome to the group!!

[SteveV]

What? New car and no pics?

[Stephen12ZL1]

I would suggest keeping the mods very basic to retain your powertrain warranty but do what you want. Change the rear section exhaust and leave the exhaust manifolds stock. 650hp is a lot...try the car stock for a while then mod.

[1hprush]

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

I would suggest keeping the mods very basic to retain your powertrain warranty but do what you want. Change the rear section exhaust and leave the exhaust manufolds stock. 650hp is a lot...try the car stock for a while then mod.

Totally agree! Since this is your first, you will surprised how well the car performs stock. Congrats, where in the Midwest are you from, are you the first owner, looking forward to pics!

[~Jb]

Thanks for the responses...

Originally Posted by BlaqWhole

I'm not sure on ARH.

What's the consensus on headers? The threads are all over the place, but it seemed like ARH and Kooks stood above the rest.

Originally Posted by SteveV

What? New car and no pics?

I know, I know... Sorry, I am on vacation and literally only had a few minutes with the car before leaving. I won't be home for another week (it's killing me). I posted a few in the OP from the night I got it and one my wife sent me to the other day to prove she wasn't driving it.

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

I would suggest keeping the mods very basic to retain your powertrain warranty but do what you want. Change the rear section exhaust and leave the exhaust manufolds stock. 650hp is a lot...try the car stock for a while then mod.

Honestly, my first round of mods is simply going to be a header back exhaust system and intake. I was simply wondering about the rest for future planning.

Originally Posted by 1hprush

Totally agree! Since this is your first, you will surprised how well the car performs stock. Congrats, where in the Midwest are you from, are you the first owner, looking forward to pics!

It is my first GM product, but certainly not my first high-performance vehicle that's for sure. I had gone the more practical route (Jeep SRT) the last few years after relocating to Iowa, but had been itching to get back in a car ever since. I guess it didn't help going to Bounderant SRT Racing School... I was actually going to get a widebody Hellcat after getting to spend the day thrashing them, but the release of the ZLE did me in. I always liked the ZL1, but never enough to actually want one. Not even the release of the 6th gen ZL1 was enough to sway me. Then I saw the ZLE in person at Barrett Jackson Scottsdale early this year and I knew I was going to own it. I had been working on getting one since that time and man has my buried somewhere deep patience paid off big time! I got a great deal and a spectacular machine!

I bought it new off the showroom floor where it had been sitting collecting dust until the dealer finally agreed to let me test drive it a few weeks ago. The bug bit me bad and we had been hashing the details ever since. I had no intention on buying it the night before leaving on holiday vacation, but the deal was simply to good to pass up!


Thanks for the welcome guys!

[jjgi5150]

Jb,

Welcome! This is a great site and you have a beautiful new ZLE. As others said...Keep the warranty. Unless you plan on competetively tracking the car, enjoy what it has stock. It offers a lot more stock than most other cars out there, and is a blast to drive...even as a daily driver.

Enjoy

[Silverado57]

Welcome and good luck with your new Camaro!

[Smokin19]

Congrats on the new ZLE and of course you bought the best color.

[SteveV]

Car looks great! Just wait until your first track day. These things impress like no other...

[Alain]

Welcome. Is it a 2018 or 2019?

[EDFHOBBIES]

If you plan to track it or race it(road course) blower porting and porting the snout and running a 103mm TB would be the best option over trying to spend the blower faster. May even consider the new rotofab big gulp intake with headers since your gonna need a tune for the blower porting.. Why spend the money for ARH when TSP has a quality set for 599.00 I have had absolutely no problems what so ever. No rust, no discoloration, no leaks, no cracks, straight thick flanges and thick gauge steel on tubing.. 2 shops as well know as any of the forum sponsors here recommended them or suitable for use.. A lot of the big name companies will jump in saying use ARH but, those are probably the same people using the TSP cam kits to go figure! I'm sure ARH are a nice set but not 1000 bucks nicer.. also mark up on 2000.00 headers is more profit than a 600 set.

If your wanting to stick with the stock blower and go all out this would make for a great build..

103mm TB
Blower porting by Jokerz, Kong Performance, or Boost works produce the fastest cars and highest hp zl1's and caddi's
Lower or upper pulley I did the lower because I didn't want to put any money in to the LT4 blower that couldn't be transferred to a later build so you might as well do an upper while its off and being ported.
Better Heat Exchangers
Ported heads kaytech has some insane pricing for just CNC and livernois has CNC, hand blending, valve job and springs for a crazy price!
DSX Aux pump

I think with these mods you can stay on 93 only and be over 700 to the wheels with out messing with e85 mixing (you wont be able to run full e85 with out spending a lot of coin with the above mods)

Another route could be DSX pump, CAI intake, and headers with no pulley swap on all e85 should make just under 650 to the wheels

Or you can buy a better blower (2650) and headers and be over 700 with a lot of room to grow later on and not have wasted that money that i mentioned earlier towards the LT4 blower route.. none of those parts other than headers and the TB will transfer to a bigger end goal.. FYI price comes out the same if you factor in selling your old blower you probably come out better than spending the money towards the stock blower! plus a lot more potential at cooler iats.

I learned my lesson on the 5th gen so I made sure I didn't waste 1 penny towards the lt4 blower because I knew I had bigger plans later on...

[jvandy50]

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

I would suggest keeping the mods very basic to retain your powertrain warranty but do what you want. Change the rear section exhaust and leave the exhaust manifolds stock. 650hp is a lot...try the car stock for a while then mod.

This is what i did, just ordered a stainless works catback(to retain valves) and put on a tony mamo TB/Roto fab. When I’m ready to void that warranty the right way, I’ll add some kooks headers/e85 and a tune.

After having a motor replaced in a gt350, I’m a tad gun shy on getting rid of my warranty so soon.

Nice color choice OP!

[BoostinFD]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you end up getting it for? I saw some deals between 64 and 66 for the 2019 1LE.

Thanks!