[mjk3888]

So after my living with the car since the end of November, I'll run through some of my early impressions of the car.

1.) The Recaros are amazing! I love everything about them! Lumbar adjustment would have been a bonus but honestly I haven't missed it thus far.

2.) The mag ride definitely alters the feels of the damping, but tour mode can only do so much aside from smoothing the straight line bumps. (See #3)

3.) The stiffer springs and sway bars are definitely noticeable. Any significant articulation in the rear and it feels like the rear sway is trying to hike one of the rear tires. Try to take a speed bump at an angle at more than a crawl and you will see what I mean. When I leave my office I make a 90 degree turn and cross over a pronounced road crown at about a 45 degree angle, when I do no matter how gentle I am the car always wants to spin the inside tire as if its being lifted off the ground. Not an issue just a reminder of how intense that rear sway is! (See pic below of road leaving office)

4.) I crawled under the car to see that my rear LCA covers are installed and I peeked at the front brake cooling setup while I was under there. I noticed the 1LE definitely uses a more trimmed down version of the SS track brake deflectors, but I also didn't notice any backing plate on the fronts. Once the brakes are mildly warm they are EXCELLENT!!! I pushed relatively hard on my mountain run the first weekend I had it and the brakes just got better and better as I got a good transfer layer on the rotor!

5.) PDR is as awesome as advertised but I do wish there was a way to prevent the reflection of the dash in day time videos.

6.) PTM in conjunction with the E-LSD is a GOD SENT!!! It's hard to say what my favorite part of the car is right now, but the PTM/E-LSD is right up there!!! Putting the car in PTM 3 gave me extreme confidence in pushing it much closer to its limits in the corners (entry and exit) without feeling much interference. It literally was magic the way it would assist the cars rotation!

7.) Gear ratio. After all my research and even reviews by the likes of Randy Pobst, I was convinced the cars gearing would feel too long. I'm sure I may agree with that at some point in the future once I get to a track day, but to this point just carving the back roads in the mountains and commuting to and from work, I think the setup is just right.

8.) Shifting and rev matching. I had to much time between SS test drives and receiving my 1LE so I can't speak to the difference between the two, but I'm very satisfied with the shifter's throw and feel. The rev matching system has been another extremely helpful feature. I'm sure I will get better at rev matching myself, but for now it's extremely nice to know I could just turn the rev match on and focus on braking and chosing a gear without having to heal toe. I hadn't driven a manual regularly in quite some time, but I was able to keep breathing down the necks of the GT350 and GT4 on our mountain run 3 days after taking delivery of the car because of the rev matching system. I couldn't help but imagine how much slower I would have been in the GT350 because I wouldn't have had that added benefit so I would have dialed my pace back quite a bit.

9.) Tires. I'm extremely impressed with Supercar 3's so far I have no complaints. I am currently daily driving the car in 30-40 degree temps and its been fine so far if you don't drive with extreme aggression. I will say, before we moved to the new house the Camaro sat outside at the condo on some mid 20 degree nights. One particular morning after driving home in the rain the night before, the tires made a loud snap sound when I went to back out of the spot as if the tires were frozen to the parking lot. My heart skipped a beat, but I didn't see any visible cracking on the tire or feel any difference in the drive to work that morning. Outside of that I've had no issue. The car is garaged at home so the tires aren't to cold on the morning commute, I'm hoping to get All Season tires for the daily driving soon, but I'll keep everyone posted if any cold weather issues pop up while I'm still on the supercar 3's

[slick3]

I have had mine since Friday. I agree with the big rear bar, mine does the same. I have been getting locked out of second quite a bit from the skip shift. Also, with rev matching on my 1-2 shift, it seems to blip the throttle between shifts unless I rush it. The grip is insane and boy is it a looker, I have gotten so many broken necks the past weekend it's been hilarious.

So far, the steering input and feel and the recaros are my favorite parts of the car. I too thought the gearing would be too tall, it's perfect.

[mjk3888]

Originally Posted by slick3

I have had mine since Friday. I agree with the big rear bar, mine does the same. I have been getting locked out of second quite a bit from the skip shift. Also, with rev matching on my 1-2 shift, it seems to blip the throttle between shifts unless I rush it. The grip is insane and boy is it a looker, I have gotten so many broken necks the past weekend it's been hilarious.

So far, the steering input and feel and the recaros are my favorite parts of the car. I too thought the gearing would be too tall, it's perfect.

I got the skip shift a lot too, but then I learned how to drive around it. I also would go from 1st to 3rd instead of 4th to prevent the bogging. I often when cruising will do a 1-3-5 shift pattern to skip the unnecessary shifting when commuting and use a wider RPM range to assist breaking in at more varied RPMS. I love the steering as well, but I do set the steering independently to tour mode no matter what I have the dampers set to. The track mode steering feels to artificially weighted.

[SS 1LE]

I think once you guys are winding it out more the skip shift won't be all that noticeable. If it bothers you, just get a $20 plug in eliminator. That is my plan if it bothers me.

That sway bar sounds pretty hardcore. It's pretty flat where I live, but I hope I don't end up finding that annoying at times. I guess it's one of those things that are better on the track, but not so much on the road. Is this only noticed on bumps/crests on the road when on a turn?

So how is the throttle sensitivity and lag?

[mjk3888]

Originally Posted by SS 1LE

I think once you guys are winding it out more the skip shift won't be all that noticeable. If it bothers you, just get a $20 plug in eliminator. That is my plan if it bothers me.

That sway bar sounds pretty hardcore. It's pretty flat where I live, but I hope I don't end up finding that annoying at times. I guess it's one of those things that are better on the track, but not so much on the road. Is this only noticed on bumps/crests on the road when on a turn?

So how is the throttle sensitivity and lag?

First day I thought I would probably get the eliminator after a few more days I got used to driving around it pretty easily. Doesn't bother me that much.

Sway bar isn't bad at all to live with but it does remind you from time to time that it's there. it's really only on that road crown leaving work that I notice it trying to pick the tire up. In every other circumstance its fine. I will say you should always take speed bumps square. The splitter clears without issue. If you try to take them at an angle with a little speed the sways are so stiff that it will feel like its trying to toss you out of the side windows. LOL! Once moving at speed its completely fine. I don't have any complaints with them just observations that they are pretty strong.

Throttle lag was a complaint of mine. It does seem to have a fair bit of dead space on initial throttle tip in even in track mode, but when up to speed and pushing the car a little I don't notice it at all. You notice it mostly when giving the car a few revs out of gear not so much when driving. That was another thing that on the first day seemed to need some getting used to but by day 2 I forgot all about it unless I was showing it off to friends and giving it a few blips.

I cannot stress enough how impressed I am with this car! I had very high expectations and it hasn't disappointed me. This car is so extremely good at so many things, but you can tell its best at carving up the turns when you start to push it.

[WhyUMad1LE]

My favorite part is the steering feel in Tour mode. It's better than many hydraulic assist cars.

Worst part is probably the gas mileage, I installed the skip shift eliminator the first week I had the car and I'm averaging 12 mpg. It was at 9 before I installed it though.

[Gen5er]

I haven't had any issues thus far with Skip skip shift. MPG is an average of 15. I am however keeping the RPMs up and varied during the break in period. I will expect to see the MPG go up with normal driving. I've been very disciplined with adhering to the break in period driving practices. Can't wait for that time when the gas pedal gets buried in the floorboards.

[seanblurr]

Can you guys elaborate on this skip shift feature? First i've heard of it.

[SS 1LE]

Originally Posted by seanblurr

Can you guys elaborate on this skip shift feature? First i've heard of it.

It's been around in various forms for decades.

"It's called "Computer Aided Gear Selection" or CAGS — and it's a system which works by using a solenoid in the transmission to force the driver to shift from first to fourth when you're driving in a leisurely fashion in 1989-and-on GM vehicles using certain 6-speed transmissions."

The range where it works in the new SS's is pretty small. When I drive my friends I've yet to hit it. Hopefully mine will be the same...if it's PITA to me, I will add a $20 plug in eliminator.

[slick3]

The dead portion at the start of the throttle is a little annoying. Its better as you get more aggressive in modes. I think it makes the car a little harder to drive out of gear. With that said, its getting easier by the day and tuning will likely fix most of that.

I do notice the car idles a bit rough. Not as smooth as some other cars I have had. Sounds nasty though!

[Mojave]

Very nice review ! I am thinking about adding those sways to my 1SS.

[b4z]

ive got a 2006 gto with coilovers. it lifts the inside rear tire completely off the ground when I go into driveways at an angle. coilovers have very little travel. I will not be doing coilovers when I get a Camaro. my guess is the large swaybar is stopping the suspension from moving. you can put a very large sway bar on an independent suspension and it will start to act like a solid axle.

[OldJedi]

MJK, thanks for the driving impressions. Please keep us updated with your reviews as time goes on.

[tx6g1le]

Great write up man. I'm thinking the Vitesse throttle controller and the skip shift delete may be great options come Spring. I'd like to see what my 1LE feels like on the track before doing too much (other than tires) but I share your perspective.