[Bosse'sBoss]

Originally Posted by RobbyBeefcake87

The zl1 is obviously more car, more money, more power, more speed, I don't want to sound like I'm ragging on it like the ss 1le is a better car or "hating".

What you said just isn't true handling wise. What 1le are you comparing it to? A 1le you test drove for a short period of time or the ss you put some non 1le but 1le like stuff? The 1le and regular one are very similarly setup chassis and suspension wise on top of the same eLSD. Different tuning for weight and power but mostly same equipment. Unless you prefer the feel of a slightly heavier car with a little more weight on the nose the zl1 handling is not better than the lighter ss 1le.

Ask the guys who tracked their 1le's and now track zl1s or even zl1 1le's, the weight is apparent. On the motortrend gt350r vs zl1 article it's mentioned that the ss 1le handles better than both (not that it's a better car, just handling characteristics). Or better yet take Randy Pobst word on it.

Again if you need the extra power and speed as well as more exotic looks, the zl1 is the way to go for sure, but not for its handling characteristics or it's superior performance besides speed/power.

I was surprised when I read this, that I went back to the original article:


"The one thing we haven't talked about is weight, and the GT350R is nearly 200 pounds lighter than the ZL1—3,713 pounds versus 3,912. That big lump of a supercharged V-8—while potent—puts way too much weight in exactly the wrong spot. For reference, the SS 1LE weighs in at 3,735 pounds. I will also go on record stating that I preferred the way the SS 1LE handled compared to the ZL1—and also to the GT350R."



Then one the one about the SS1LE, mentions about the only improvements needed:


The engine is a big V-8, great sounds, fat torque curve, but it takes a while to get to the redline, I think partially because the car has really tall gears and a fairly wide ratio split.



Later on I was surprised to find out that Randy bought his own 1LE but is a 4 cylinders turbo Camaro.
From what I read from MT's Jason Camissa, they were in love with its Alpha platform and ELSD even mentioning that it was better balanced compared to the C7s Corvettes.

[Bosse'sBoss]

Originally Posted by RobbyBeefcake87

The zl1 is obviously more car, more money, more power, more speed, I don't want to sound like I'm ragging on it like the ss 1le is a better car or "hating".

What you said just isn't true handling wise. What 1le are you comparing it to? A 1le you test drove for a short period of time or the ss you put some non 1le but 1le like stuff? The 1le and regular one are very similarly setup chassis and suspension wise on top of the same eLSD. Different tuning for weight and power but mostly same equipment. Unless you prefer the feel of a slightly heavier car with a little more weight on the nose the zl1 handling is not better than the lighter ss 1le.

Ask the guys who tracked their 1le's and now track zl1s or even zl1 1le's, the weight is apparent. On the motortrend gt350r vs zl1 article it's mentioned that the ss 1le handles better than both (not that it's a better car, just handling characteristics). Or better yet take Randy Pobst word on it.

Again if you need the extra power and speed as well as more exotic looks, the zl1 is the way to go for sure, but not for its handling characteristics or it's superior performance besides speed/power.

I was surprised when I read this, that I went back to the original article:


"The one thing we haven't talked about is weight, and the GT350R is nearly 200 pounds lighter than the ZL1—3,713 pounds versus 3,912. That big lump of a supercharged V-8—while potent—puts way too much weight in exactly the wrong spot. For reference, the SS 1LE weighs in at 3,735 pounds. I will also go on record stating that I preferred the way the SS 1LE handled compared to the ZL1—and also to the GT350R."



Then on the one about the SS1LE, it mentions about the only improvement needed:


The engine is a big V-8, great sounds, fat torque curve, but it takes a while to get to the redline, I think partially because the car has really tall gears and a fairly wide ratio split.



Later on I was surprised to find out that Randy bought his own 1LE but it was a 4 cylinders turbo Camaro.


From what I read from MT's Jason Camissa, they were in love with its Alpha platform and ELSD, even mentioning that it was better balanced sport car compared to the C7s Corvette's platform

[LT4Greg]

According to the times listed above at Willow Springs posted by Bosses Boss, the ZL1 has a faster time than the SS 1LE shows that the ZL1 is the better track car of the two. Case closed for me. I used to be a non believer that the ZL1 was just an overpriced Camaro until I finally bought one. I couldn’t afford new so I found one used with very low miles and after owning a 2016 2SS the ZL1 is a far more superior Camaro over the SS! Just my opinion and experience of course.

[Bosse'sBoss]

How could you improve this?
tall gears and a fairly wide ratio split on the 6th gen Camaro.

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by Bosse'sBoss

How could you improve this?
tall gears and a fairly wide ratio split on the 6th gen Camaro.

Buy A ZLE?

[LT4Greg]

That’s it DaveC!!��

[RobbyBeefcake87]

Originally Posted by LT4Greg

According to the times listed above at Willow Springs posted by Bosses Boss, the ZL1 has a faster time than the SS 1LE shows that the ZL1 is the better track car of the two. Case closed for me. I used to be a non believer that the ZL1 was just an overpriced Camaro until I finally bought one. I couldn’t afford new so I found one used with very low miles and after owning a 2016 2SS the ZL1 is a far more superior Camaro over the SS! Just my opinion and experience of course.

It's got 200 more horsepower, no one said it wasn't faster, we're comparing handling here. Yes the car with 200 more horsepower went 1 second faster there, the ss 1le pulls more lateral G's, has a faster figure 8 time, and brakes better. It's the better handling car vs the regular zl1 which is what's being discussed here, not which one is faster. The zl1 is the faster track car, and better track car for you but that is subjective.

I'm glad you enjoy your car, it's a great car, it may be a better and faster car but it's does not have any handling advantage over an SS 1le. You can compare the 1le to the 2ss and say they're both ss's, and the zl1 is a camaro just like the turbo i4, but they're different experiences.

[Bosse'sBoss]

How does your Camaro SS1LE compares to your Corvette Grand Sport handling? Both are great Sport cars

[LT4Greg]

Well Robby, wonder how the SS 1LE would fare against the ZL1 1LE? Both are track cars! And all I was saying that there seems to be a lot of ZL1 haters on the forum and that I disagree with them. I don’t track my ZL1 and probably never will and I don’t badmouth the SS or SS 1LE cars like some folks do with the ZL1s. I’m not implying that you are one of those folks either as I try to get along with all the folks here on the forum even though we disagree with each other at times!

[JROC]

Originally Posted by DaveC113

I'd do what Nicky on here did and build the LT1. Cam, Ti valves, springs, heads, etc... You'll end up with LT4 power, higher redline, no added weight.

But I also agree with the slippery slope comment, it's never enough. I'm keeping my SS stock.

I agree with this guy.

If I wanted a ZL1 then I would of bought one. I prefer my GM cars have large dispacement, compact, lightweight motors that are N/A, and my Fords to be boosted. If I need a high HP highway monster I would get another Terminator, GT500, C6Z, or a Coyote car that I intend to boost. Or maybe I would of just kept my Fbody and built a badarse motor to drop in it and beefed up the rest of the drivetrain. If you want a ZL1 then there's nothing wrong with that. They are the pentical of the GEN6 cars. I just have no desire to get one in place of my SS 1LE. IMO other the the front bumper the SS 1LE in a better looking car. I even like the no sideshirts look. Gives it the old Mustang LX, less is more when compared to the GT kind of styling.

Really I feel sure a H/C/I/Bolton/tuned LT1 done up by people who speak GEN5 SBC will be plenty enough entertaining for most people in a streetcar. Unless you're trying to race H/C C6Z's or boosted Coyotes making north of 650 WHP, or cars in this catagory.

JMO

[JROC]

Originally Posted by RobbyBeefcake87

It's got 200 more horsepower, no one said it wasn't faster, we're comparing handling here. Yes the car with 200 more horsepower went 1 second faster there, the ss 1le pulls more lateral G's, has a faster figure 8 time, and brakes better. It's the better handling car vs the regular zl1 which is what's being discussed here, not which one is faster. The zl1 is the faster track car, and better track car for you but that is subjective.

I'm glad you enjoy your car, it's a great car, it may be a better and faster car but it's does not have any handling advantage over an SS 1le. You can compare the 1le to the 2ss and say they're both ss's, and the zl1 is a camaro just like the turbo i4, but they're different experiences.

For sure.

This makes me think back to 2006 when I traded my 99 Mudstain GT in on my 03 Cobra. Pretty much the 03 Cobra was a far superior car in most every way, but one of the few areas the GT did have an advantage was the frontend was a little more responsive and flickable and the car didn't understeer or push quite as bad as the 03 Cobra did. It was just hard to mask the extra 150-200 lbs sitting on the front axles. Now Alpha is a far superior platform to an old SN95 chassis car, but the basic principals still apply.

[Fraxum]

OP one other possible solution, Go full bolton with your SS. I did with my 2016 SS. I wish now I never sold that car. I did notice the extra weight on the ZL1. That is part of the reason for selling it. Now I have owned and car loved a ZL1 but in the end it was just a check off on my bucket list. I do not regret buying it other than losing that M6 SS. I sold it privately in two days. The first person who drove it fell in love. And still enjoying auto crossing with it I think.

• Larger TB
• CAI
• Ported stock or MSD manifold
• LTs with cats
• Tune

Here you will spend less and have a SS that is comparable or faster than a stock ZL1 M6 in the 1/4. On my car we picked up over 40 RWHP. You really notice the difference. And with real tires and the latest tuning advances you will have an 11.5-8 @120 car. M6 ZL1s stock or with tires run about the same with a good driver but with more MPH.

The MSD manifold has less mid range but a little more on the upper end. I would recommend a ported stocker. Mine did have the ported MSD but looking at comparable dynos I would pick the ported stocker to save a grand and gain more usable mid range grunt.

DO yourself a favor and contact Pray. He can help you all the way either way and all the way. Highly recommended.

[RobbyBeefcake87]

Originally Posted by LT4Greg

Well Robby, wonder how the SS 1LE would fare against the ZL1 1LE? Both are track cars! And all I was saying that there seems to be a lot of ZL1 haters on the forum and that I disagree with them. I don’t track my ZL1 and probably never will and I don’t badmouth the SS or SS 1LE cars like some folks do with the ZL1s. I’m not implying that you are one of those folks either as I try to get along with all the folks here on the forum even though we disagree with each other at times!

It's slower than the zl1 1le for sure by a good bit. The zl1 1le is definately more of a different animal with the dssv shocks vs the magride on the zl1 and ss 1le, as well as all the extra aero work, and better track tires with the sc3r's. Having said that, if you look at the Throttle house videos and the track times they were able to achieve, the ss 1le definately held it's own. Ofcourse this was on a fairly tight track and that ss 1le had psc2's to be fair. Those who have driven both will still confirm the ss 1le has quicker turn it due to the lighter front end, doesn't mean the ss 1le is a better track car than a zl1 1le because it isn't but extra weight is weight and can't be escaped.

I haven't hated on the zl1 at all, I've clearly stated it's the more powerful, faster, and more expensive/exclusive car between the two. However the zl1 camp seems to keep insinuating that it has handling or suspension/chassis advatanges over the ss 1le with no handling disadvantages which simply isn't true. No hate from me, i just like talking cars and comparing different stats and concepts.

[LT4Greg]

Some folks do though Robby. I can tell you don’t from what you have replied. I agree with Mark(Fraxum) about modding the SS to get to the power levels of the ZL1s as I thought that I would go that route with my 2016 2SS but after adding up all the money to get there I decided that it wasn’t worth the cost for me at the time. I was seriously looking at getting a 1SS 1LE when I found the used ZL1 so I figured that was the better option for me. When the SS 1LES came out in 2017 I really liked them and figured I might upgrade to one over my 2SS but the ZL1 showed up and the rest is history.