[Wyzz Kydd]

Originally Posted by Chutzpah

Yep, you’re right they’re both good choices and that’s a good deal on a 1LE. Of course times are different, but I recently paid just under $40k for my LT1 (and that’s deducting almost couple grand on the GM card). So, I got a lot less for basically the same $. Ended up jumping on it back in December, as I wasn’t going without a fun car for summer. If there was a bare bones LT1 w/ an auto available, that would have been my first and most logical choice. On the other hand, if there was a 1LE sitting there for 41K, that’s another story all together.

I got pretty lucky on the timing for both the 1LE and my son's Mustang. The 1LE buyer fell through and it sat on their lot for quite a bit. That definitely helped.

I lucked out and bought my son a bare bones Mustang a year ago last March. I almost walked away from just over $24k out the door, but I had a feeling with tax refunds and that last stimulus check coming through that demand would jump. I had no idea. Within about three months the car was worth $8k more than I paid for it. It's worth more than I paid for it now, over a year later and over 12k miles on it.

Crazy world.

With inflation the way it is, better to own assets than hold large amounts of money.

[Camden45]

Originally Posted by Wyzz Kydd

I got pretty lucky on the timing for both the 1LE and my son's Mustang. The 1LE buyer fell through and it sat on their lot for quite a bit. That definitely helped.

I lucked out and bought my son a bare bones Mustang a year ago last March. I almost walked away from just over $24k out the door, but I had a feeling with tax refunds and that last stimulus check coming through that demand would jump. I had no idea. Within about three months the car was worth $8k more than I paid for it. It's worth more than I paid for it now, over a year later and over 12k miles on it.

Crazy world.

With inflation the way it is, better to own assets than hold large amounts of money.

Basically whoever had a somewhat desirable car before covid hit is way up. It's not just limited to Mustangs and Camaro's.

[GAOLDGUY]

Originally Posted by Camden45

Alright guys, I'm kind of under the gun here with some new info and I really need your guy's input and expertise on the matter.

I've come upon an LT1 here. Not really ideal, I'd much rather have a lowly specced 1SS Manual than that but pickings are extremely slim as we all know.

1SS 1LE is definitely a bad ass car. Love the forged wheels and the non-run flat max performance summer tires. Mainly went with 1LE is because that was what was available.

However it's about $9000 more than the LT1 I have a line on. I have to be honest with myself, it's going to be a purely street car, so the 1LE is definitely overkill. Plain 1SS is the sweet spot, so the LT1 is definitely a compromise.


One of the downsides is the LT1 only has engine oil cooler. Upside is as it's obviously bare bones, less things to break. Will I run into any kind of overheating of any drivetrain components on spirited mountain runs?

What say you all?

Let me explain why you could win either way. It depends on your mindset. In 1989, I traded my Mustang GT for a new LX notchback Mustang / 5.0 /5 speed / 3.08 gear in the rear. I really liked the simplicity of that car and the way it was understated. I now have a 2018 1SS 1LE. I did a great deal of research before getting this car. One of the reasons I did not get a C7 was because I felt like it would be easier to work on the Camaro. I also got the 1LE because I don't like to do suspension work and I felt like the chassis was really well sorted out on the car. In other words, I didn't want to incur the time and expense to get the car to handle at a higher level later. I will tell you from a driving standpoint, it is a great car. It makes driving to Kroger a blast. If you are "geared" mentally for a minamalist approach, the LT1 will serve you well AND you will outrun me in a straight line. If you can save a few more quarters and get the 1SS 1LE, I think you will really like it. It's a great bargain either way.

[Camden45]

Originally Posted by GAOLDGUY

Let me explain why you could win either way. It depends on your mindset. In 1989, I traded my Mustang GT for a new LX notchback Mustang / 5.0 /5 speed / 3.08 gear in the rear. I really liked the simplicity of that car and the way it was understated. I now have a 2018 1SS 1LE. I did a great deal of research before getting this car. One of the reasons I did not get a C7 was because I felt like it would be easier to work on the Camaro. I also got the 1LE because I don't like to do suspension work and I felt like the chassis was really well sorted out on the car. In other words, I didn't want to incur the time and expense to get the car to handle at a higher level later. I will tell you from a driving standpoint, it is a great car. It makes driving to Kroger a blast. If you are "geared" mentally for a minamalist approach, the LT1 will serve you well AND you will outrun me in a straight line. If you can save a few more quarters and get the 1SS 1LE, I think you will really like it. It's a great bargain either way.

I'm a big fan of just buying the right car. I love the absolute simplicity of the LT1. Long term maintenance wise, it's the best option as it's so simple. No extra coolers/lines, no special eLSD, etc to break. Perfect for 90% of my usage.

The other 10% is where the 1SS 1LE comes in. I feel like I can run the car to my personal, comfortable limits on a spirited mountain run and I'm confident it will handle it and ask for way more than I can give it. I like this aspect.

I don't feel confident in asking the LT1 to handle that 10%. It would at least need a good set of expensive tires. More likely, it'll also need a proper set of wheels. That's easily a few grand, and the LT1 is already $40k before TTL. The smaller brakes also don't inspire any confidence.

We've got some good windy roads out here that will really test the limits of a non-cooled differential and transmission in the LT1. I've hit the limit on the previous car before, which was a real bummer. I'd be doubting the LT1 the entire run. I mean if I'm taking it up there, it means at this point, I would've already purchased the car and I'm kind of screwed if it doesn't perform better than I expected, which is the non-cooled drivetrain not overheating.

As much as I can't stop my brain from thinking about the LT1, I think the safest choice, and the lowest trim for my purposes is a plain 1SS, and that's being completely honest with myself. I'm still on the lookout every day for a 1SS or 1SS 1LE that's coming sooner. Maybe I can pick one up from a dropped buyer.

[GAOLDGUY]

OK, mentioning the spirited mountain run kind of changes my opinion. Watch this video if you haven't seen it.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...6FORM%3DHDRSC3

GM should pay Randy Pobst a commission for selling 1LEs after he made this video. This car would rock in the mountains and I think there is a mechanical advantage there between it and a regular SS.

[Edward Paul]

2022 LT1 6sp w/NPP & Tech package. $38,450 off the lot with no wait.
There isn't a road course near me, but a few 1/8th mile strips where I race my bikes.
From what I see if you drag race, you want an LT1. If you road course you want an SS preferably an 1LE. Either one will work fine for everyday roadwork.

[95 imp]

Originally Posted by lt4camaro

Gotta love it, I never even considered anything other than a bare bone 10 speed auto LT1. 13000 miles and many trips down the 1/4 mile track and love it to death.

I woulda took a stripped ZL1, or a LT4 powered LT1....

gm (not GM) doesn't do such things any more.... sigh.

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by Camden45

Alright guys, I'm kind of under the gun here with some new info and I really need your guy's input and expertise on the matter.

I've come upon an LT1 here. Not really ideal, I'd much rather have a lowly specced 1SS Manual than that but pickings are extremely slim as we all know.

1SS 1LE is definitely a bad ass car. Love the forged wheels and the non-run flat max performance summer tires. Mainly went with 1LE is because that was what was available.

However it's about $9000 more than the LT1 I have a line on. I have to be honest with myself, it's going to be a purely street car, so the 1LE is definitely overkill. Plain 1SS is the sweet spot, so the LT1 is definitely a compromise.


One of the downsides is the LT1 only has engine oil cooler. Upside is as it's obviously bare bones, less things to break. Will I run into any kind of overheating of any drivetrain components on spirited mountain runs?

What say you all?

If you want to road track the Camaro, get the SS. Otherwise the LT1 handles the same as an SS with SS tires.

So with the LT1 you get a Winter tire setup. But you can get takeoff SS wheels cheap and have a car that handles the same.

And the lighter LT1 is the fastest V8 Camaro, but only by a little. It's a drivers race.

Mountain runs on an LT1 with better tires is cool. But if you want to go more aggressive get the big front brakes and all will be good. like the LT1 look better than the SS which I also have owned. But I am in the minority with that preference.

And the Lt1 Roadrunner effect is cool to me.

[Wyzz Kydd]

Once you swap out LT1 tires to SS you’re going to lose part of the already minuscule difference in 0-60 and 1/4 mile times, and you’ll still have a car that is a little over 25 mph slower.

[N Camarolina]

Originally Posted by Wyzz Kydd

Once you swap out LT1 tires to SS you’re going to lose part of the already minuscule difference in 0-60 and 1/4 mile times, and you’ll still have a car that is a little over 25 mph slower.

You keep pointing out this 25mph top speed difference, which in absolute terms is 155 vs 180 mph. Where have you driven >155 mph? What proportion of Camaro drivers would be in a position (suitable very long drag track or empty desert road of high enough quality?) to be able to safely do >155?

I drive mine at some road course tracks that have long, 1/2 mile straights and my top speed was just under 150. So any capability above that is pretty much wasted (you have to brake for an upcoming corner).

[Wyzz Kydd]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

You keep pointing out this 25mph top speed difference, which in absolute terms is 155 vs 180 mph. Where have you driven >155 mph? What proportion of Camaro drivers would be in a position (suitable very long drag track or empty desert road of high enough quality?) to be able to safely do >155?

I drive mine at some road course tracks that have long, 1/2 mile straights and my top speed was just under 150. So any capability above that is pretty much wasted (you have to brake for an upcoming corner).

Then based on your logic we should all be driving econoboxes, right? What proportion of Camaro owners track their cars? 5%? Where can you safely and legally drive your car 90 mph on the street?

The only difference between your position and my restatement are the numbers. The logic is the same.

[N Camarolina]

Originally Posted by Wyzz Kydd

Then based on your logic we should all be driving econoboxes, right? What proportion of Camaro owners track their cars? 5%? Where can you safely and legally drive your car 90 mph on the street?

The only difference between your position and my restatement are the numbers. The logic is the same.

Where did I say everyone should drive econo boxes? I don't think our logic is the same.

You seem to be making the point that the potential top speed advantage of the SS over the LT1 is an important decision critiera for a buyer, even if you'll never use it. Conversely, my point is that since nearly 0 Camaro owners will ever be able to actually drive their cars specifically between 155 and 180 mph the speed advantage of the SS over LT1 is essentially theoretical and a non issue. The OP has already said that he won't be tracking his car, which implies he has no plans to reach such speeds. Thus, it shouldn't be part of his decision making criteria.

I'd argue the value of having a Camaro with a 6.2 V8 (LT1 or SS), at least speed-wise is that it is powerful enough to provide fast acceleration, and can reach reasonably impressive speeds (110-150 mph) on a dragstrip or suitable road coarse.

[Devstrike]

It all depends mostly on what you want. Before I bought mine I took a lot of decision making on mine before I pulled the trigger. I wasn't planning on tracking it and I wanted my car to handle mountain road or other twisty roads well and in a fun way and have a V8. The LT1 checks the V8 box and handles the mountain roads and the twisty roads very fine from my experience taking mine on them.

The 1LE is a very very fun car on the track and was really happy and having the time of my life when I got to take a 1LE for a track drive. The LT1 is not suited for the track due to tires it comes with and not having the cooling required. If you have any chance you might want to track the car get a 1LE or at least an SS. The 1LE can also handle the same twisty and mountain roads the LT1 can and do it faster.

[JamesNoBrakes]

A big issue with the Mustang over the years has been Ford not putting enough rubber on it to support the car, in terms of turning, delivering power, etc. Only in these last few years of the current generation have they actually gone to means to do so, PP2, Mach 1, etc. The LT1 goes backwards in this way, which is not good for such a large heavy car. The 1LE is set up with decent rubber for the size and engine. SS is "ok", but a little on the short side. LT1 makes sense if you are going for a drag racing car and going to switch out the wheels, otherwise, buying wider wheels for an LT1 is a waste of money over an SS that comes with it, as decent wheels and tires will run you a ton of money.