[ohsmily]

I have a 2019 ZL1 1LE A10. I live in Northern California outside of Sacramento. The roads are just OK up here. Freeways are good. I pretty much daily drive this car. I absolutely LOVE it. The ride is not too harsh for daily drive in my opinion. The bigger problem is low clearance going in and out of various driveways and parking in the very back of every parking lot to avoid some moron denting your door with his.

I had an absolutely transcendent drive today 2 hours each way into the mountains and back for work. Highway 49 was an exhilarating drive shredding the corners in track mode with performance shifting activated. I love this car. (note I went from a Chevy Volt and other past boring cars to this...)

[Scottyz]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

Getting airborne quite easily is not a desired handling trait when you are pushing the car on public back roads.

Having zero control input doesn't sound like much fun to me. The idea is to have and keep all 4 wheels firmly planted to the pavement.

Your car would be doing the same thing.
In a perfect world all 4 tires would be planted. But the roads are far from perfect and same with race tracks.
But it’s nice to know when there’s whoops and bumps this car likely won’t careen you into the ditch or field. Your own car isn’t much different. It stays planted on landing.

[bcasurvey1]

as everyone says go drive and see, for me coming from a supercharged SS there is a lot i dont like about the car but i cant wait to get it on the track that may change my mind as of now i wish i would have gotten just the ZL1 and saved my money, i may track 4 times a year if im lucky and im sure the zl1 would have been enough. jmo

[hammerdahn]

A bit of background, I work at a luxury car dealer and drive 20+ different vehicles a day. I've been dailying my 19 zl1 1le for about 2000 miles and 2 months now on bad Pittsburgh roads. Previous cars 16 WRX, 16 Focus RS, 18 BMW M2.

The good: It's firm but not harsh. You feel everything but rarely anything upsets you or the car. Most modern cars with adjustable suspension ride much harsher in their stiffest mode and don't provide nearly as much feedback. I was prepared for the worst but coming from a Focus RS just about any car rides better lol.. The car does exactly what you it to, which is actually very rare these days with all the tech in cars now. Its completely refreshing and rewarding. It feels like bigger more capable Miata in all the right ways.

The bad: At medium speeds 40-80 it can be "bouncy". The shocks essentially have 2 different "modes" or calibrations that are completely mechanically controlled with the spool valves. At lower speeds it keeps the body roll in check and at higher speeds it prevents just about anything from upsetting the chassis. At medium speeds it seems to be in the middle of those two calibrations and relies on the springs a bit too much which can cause the bounciness. So if the road is bouncy in a normal vehicle it will be even more bouncy the zl1 1le.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by RideZX6R

Just sold my SS 1LE with cam and some other mods and have been debating on he next replacement.

Was thinking of the C8 Z51 but am also considering other options... an A10 ZL1-1LE being one of them.

I have yet to drive one and honestly hardly any dealers in the area have them and the ones that do, are not keen on allowing test drives.

So I'm curious to hear about your back road/street driving experiences. I have a daily driver so it won't be my only car but I'd like to be able to drive it to work on occasion and definitely do spirited driving on backroads on the weekends (and maybe take the wife to do errands and such)

Please let me know your experiences

Have you ever ridden in a car that's well setup for track use? It's no worse than that.. and IMO it's the most comfortable track car I have. The race car and both HPDE cars are stiffer.

If you've ever ridden in a car with cheap coilovers.. it's FAR BETTER than that.

[Crawdog450]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

Have you ever ridden in a car that's well setup for track use? It's no worse than that.. and IMO it's the most comfortable track car I have. The race car and both HPDE cars are stiffer.

If you've ever ridden in a car with cheap coilovers.. it's FAR BETTER than that.

I will chime in here, hopefully not leading myself to the slaughter. I agree here with it being a very comfortable track car! Even on Streets of Willow! I also have not driven a ZL1 Non-1LE for what thats worth. My opinion on a ZL1/1LE driven on the street.... I would describe as a dump truck or perhaps an old CJ7 Jeep. Its not good. Its pretty bad actually. I drive a 2017 F450 that is a far better ride than my Camaro. I have said many times if we didn't track this car I would never buy a 1LE. They ride pretty bad, but that aint its purpose. Just two cents.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by ohsmily

I have a 2019 ZL1 1LE A10. I live in Northern California outside of Sacramento. The roads are just OK up here. Freeways are good. I pretty much daily drive this car. I absolutely LOVE it. The ride is not too harsh for daily drive in my opinion. The bigger problem is low clearance going in and out of various driveways and parking in the very back of every parking lot to avoid some moron denting your door with his.

I had an absolutely transcendent drive today 2 hours each way into the mountains and back for work. Highway 49 was an exhilarating drive shredding the corners in track mode with performance shifting activated. I love this car. (note I went from a Chevy Volt and other past boring cars to this...)

Off topic, but HWY 49 is fun. In the winter, I used to be up there at Yuba Pass, snowmobiling almost every weekend. I got to know 49 very well, unfortunately for me it was always in a 4-Runner with a snowmobile trailer in tow. You ever get to Bassetts Station?

That would be a very fun drive indeed in a ZLE

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Crawdog450

I will chime in here, hopefully not leading myself to the slaughter. I agree here with it being a very comfortable track car! Even on Streets of Willow! I also have not driven a ZL1 Non-1LE for what thats worth. My opinion on a ZL1/1LE driven on the street.... I would describe as a dump truck or perhaps an old CJ7 Jeep. Its not good. Its pretty bad actually. I drive a 2017 F450 that is a far better ride than my Camaro. I have said many times if we didn't track this car I would never buy a 1LE. They ride pretty bad, but that aint its purpose. Just two cents.

The vast majority of people will feel this way about a ZLE. Which, is why you see/will see so many low mileage examples on used car lots. Somebody bought one based looks/coolness factor and end up shocked by the ride quality.

OP, if ride quality is one of the main deciding factors in your purchase between a regular ZL1 or ZLE I'd strongly recommend driving them both if you can. If you can't I'd be very honest with yourself if you can handle it. Or just play it safe and get a regular ZL1 or there will be another low mileage ZLE on a used car lot in the not to distant future.

[MikeEM1]

If you have to ask, it's not the car for you.

[Russell James]

I'd base the decision on 3 things:
Back health
Road conditions
Track days and track experience

Amazing car as long as you don't have the combo of bad back and crappy roads. Maybe a second set of wheels/tires for street and save the OE for track days. A taller softer sidewall at a little less psi may tame it down for less than perfect roads.

[JG61354]

Originally Posted by MikeEM1

If you have to ask, it's not the car for you.

+1

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by MikeEM1

If you have to ask, it's not the car for you.

Yep. Case in point: Watch this vid starting at the 11:00 mark for what it does to the driver on a rough track. He states that the dampers are in their stiffest setting ... but holy smokes he gets jounced around so much he can't control the car well on exit.

On a rough street.... fuhgettaboutit.

[Vtor_ZL1]

There is NO adjustment.. they are on STIFF 100% of the time on ZLE.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by Vtor_ZL1

There is NO adjustment.. they are on STIFF 100% of the time on ZLE.

^This unless he meant or they edited out that it was in full track alignment/lowered.