[Dmoney2SS]

Currently contemplating going into a ZL1 from my 22 cammed SS, those of you that have gone from a FBO/cammed SS to a ZL1, would you say there’s a big difference in feeling power wise? Do you regret it/ regret not doing it sooner?

[SOCAL.M6.ZLE]

Great question. I have no regrets...

Although I wish I would have done it sooner... even the ZL1 leaves ALOT to be desired, and I can't imagine having a stock ZLE. That said, had I owned one earlier in life, I would not have been able to do even 25% of the upgrades I can afford now.

But I would never go back. As soft as the ZLE feels stock, it's so much better than a cammed SS IMO.

[Dmoney2SS]

Originally Posted by SOCAL.M6.ZLE

Great question. I have no regrets...

Although I wish I would have done it sooner... even the ZL1 leaves ALOT to be desired, and I can't imagine having a stock ZLE. That said, had I owned one earlier in life, I would not have been able to do even 25% of the upgrades I can afford now.

But I would never go back. As soft as the ZLE feels stock, it's so much better than a cammed SS IMO.

Ideally if I were to get a ZL1 I’d like it to already have some bolt ons and I’d definitely do at least bolt ons for a little bit should I buy a stock one. I’ve just been at a bit of a crossroads since I’ve heard some people say that the ZL1 is a bit underwhelming stock

[KingLT1]

Just put rods/pistons in your LT1, drop down to a BTR stage 1 supercharger cam, and put a procharger on it. You already modded it, might as well keep going. A stock ZL1 isn't going to feel impressive coming from what you have if it's tuned properly.

[dfxrte]

its night and day and a no brainer going from a 2ss to a zl1. for me at least it was.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by dfxrte

its night and day and a no brainer going from a 2ss to a zl1. for me at least it was.

Won't be so drastic for OP who already has a cammed car with +100 rwhp compared to stock.

That said, the LT4 always develops more torque than a built SS with the LT1 even at similar horsepower levels, so this would be a tangible upgrade, even for him. Not night and day, though.

[dfxrte]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Won't be so drastic for OP who already has a cammed car with +100 rwhp compared to stock.

That said, the LT4 always develops more torque than a built SS with the LT1 even at similar horsepower levels, so this would be a tangible upgrade, even for him. Not night and day, though.

Sorry, night and day for people who track their ZL1. Can not even begin to compare the differences on track vs the SS. Corner speed, out of corner speed, straight away acceleration, etc.

As far as OP car making roughly 520whp as an SS, his car is maxed out without dropping large $ on fueling, cooling, forged internals etc. At that point just get a ZL1 is he's considering taking the next step

[KingLT1]

Originally Posted by dfxrte

Sorry, night and day for people who track their ZL1. Can not even begin to compare the differences on track vs the SS. Corner speed, out of corner speed, straight away acceleration, etc.

As far as OP car making roughly 520whp as an SS, his car is maxed out without dropping large $ on fueling, cooling, forged internals etc. At that point just get a ZL1 is he's considering taking the next step

But your ZL1 has a cam and headers...so you already sunk money in it because stock evidently wasn't enough?

The difference in cost trying to sell his modded SS (which he is going to take a loss on the mods) and buying a clean ZL1 would easily pay for a forged bottom end, supercharger, and fuel system. If the SS was still stock, then yeah, I can see the logic behind it. But nobody wants to pay top dollar for a modded SS... especially a cam car because half the time they are not done correctly, and people are trying to unload them.

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

But your ZL1 has a cam and headers...so you already sunk money in it because stock evidently wasn't enough?

The difference in cost trying to sell his modded SS (which he is going to take a loss on the mods) and buying a clean ZL1 would easily pay for a forged bottom end, supercharger, and fuel system. If the SS was still stock, then yeah, I can see the logic behind it. But nobody wants to pay top dollar for a modded SS... especially a cam car because half the time they are not done correctly, and people are trying to unload them.

I have seen so many people sell cammed/built cars shortly after paying for them to get built. This is my hunch as well as to why folks dump their modded cars.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by dfxrte

Sorry, night and day for people who track their ZL1. Can not even begin to compare the differences on track vs the SS. Corner speed, out of corner speed, straight away acceleration, etc.

As far as OP car making roughly 520whp as an SS, his car is maxed out without dropping large $ on fueling, cooling, forged internals etc. At that point just get a ZL1 is he's considering taking the next step

No contest to the fact that a ZL1 straight out the gate is more cost effective. This isn't the question here, though.

At this point, however, we've reached subjective territory. My current setup with 735 rwhp is absolutely night and day vs a stock SS and it's much faster than a stock ZL1, too. However, I rode in 900-1000 rwhp modded ZL1s, and those are the only Camaros that I feel are yet another notch higher up the "crazy pole". So to me, personally, a 200 rwhp difference (starting from sub-1000) is where "night and day" kicks in, but to someone else a much smaller gain could be life changing, too. As I said, subjective stuff.

Corner speed and out of corner acceleration depends heavily on tires and suspension, too, a properly supercharged SS 1LE is very close, if not better than a stock ZL1.

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

If you want more than you have get a ZL1. The advice to sink another $15-20k into your SS is not sound, because you're still left with the value of an SS despite being into it more money than a ZL1. Look at the discussion above as a point of reference - modded cars may even lose value. A stock ZL1 makes more power than your 514 rwhp SS, although only maybe 40-50 more rwhp, but a lot more torque. You can easily modify them to be quicker, though. My nearly stock ZL1 ran a dragy verified 7.39 sec 60-130 mph (-3 ft DA) with only a Tony Mamo ported OEM throttle body and K&N carbon fiber intake, stock tune, and octane booster added (to 95 octane) to prevent timing from being pulled in the 2nd half of the run (car is full weight also). Second, a ZL1 has all the tangibles that makes it more desirable than an SS - the upgraded ZL1 suspension, styling/looks, e-diff, forged wheels, stronger engine, better fueling (than a stock SS), stronger transmissions, better aero, wide body front fenders, etc.

[Joshinator99]

I think that as always, it’ll come down to what the OP actually wants out of a car. If you want more power in a stock experience, the ZL1 is a no brainer. If you’re planning on not keeping the car, the ZL1 will let you have more fun and keep a higher resale as @Idaho mentioned above.

All that said, in retrospect a ZL1 wouldn’t have made sense for me since all of the ZL1 “upgrades” would have been tossed from the car as they wouldn’t have worked at my power level. So if big power and/or drag racing is the goal then you might as well start with the SS and use that extra $15K-$20K to buy big power mods. But this is admittedly not for most…for 90% of the muscle car owners out there the ZL1 will make more sense.

[Dmoney2SS]

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

I have seen so many people sell cammed/built cars shortly after paying for them to get built. This is my hunch as well as to why folks dump their modded cars.

In all honesty, I just kind of realized that to make significantly more power on this build I’d need to dump at least another 10-15k to make over 700whp when I could go and get a ZL1 and throw some money into bolt ons for now and make similar numbers on a platform with a higher ceiling

[Dmoney2SS]

Originally Posted by Idaho2018GTPremium

If you want more than you have get a ZL1. The advice to sink another $15-20k into your SS is not sound, because you're still left with the value of an SS despite being into it more money than a ZL1. Look at the discussion above as a point of reference - modded cars may even lose value. A stock ZL1 makes more power than your 514 rwhp SS, although only maybe 40-50 more rwhp, but a lot more torque. You can easily modify them to be quicker, though. My nearly stock ZL1 ran a dragy verified 7.39 sec 60-130 mph (-3 ft DA) with only a Tony Mamo ported OEM throttle body and K&N carbon fiber intake, stock tune, and octane booster added (to 95 octane) to prevent timing from being pulled in the 2nd half of the run (car is full weight also). Second, a ZL1 has all the tangibles that makes it more desirable than an SS - the upgraded ZL1 suspension, styling/looks, e-diff, forged wheels, stronger engine, better fueling (than a stock SS), stronger transmissions, better aero, wide body front fenders, etc.

That’s exactly what has me contemplating this move. Yes a stock ZL1 might not make a lot more than my car currently does, I have no intention of keeping it stock and I’ve seen plenty bolt on ZL1s making 700+whp which is ideally where I’d like to be (until I decide I want to make 900). Like others have said, I’m pretty much maxed out power wise unless I decide to dump 10-20k on essentially a full rebuild (fueling, engine, trans, power adder)