Homepage Garage Wiki Register Social Groups Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
#Camaro6
Go Back   CAMARO6 > CAMARO6.com General Forums > ZL1 Discussions


BeckyD @ James Martin Chevy


Post Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 11-05-2019, 02:37 PM   #1
RideZX6R
Probably tired right now
 
RideZX6R's Avatar
 
Drives: 1Lap1LE | EV6 FE | 18 F150
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: At the office (CLT, NC)
Posts: 1,133
ZL1-1LE owners - How bad is it to drive on the street?

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

*edit* for reference, the SS 1LE I had, was always a -3.0* camber up front, and 1.25* rear - Was driven in Sport always on the street and Track mode on track. I only used Tour when the wife was in the car.
It always ZLE OEM size wheels/tires (305/325 /30-19 Continental Extreme Contact Sport for street and SC3Rs for track) on it as well
__________________
-Seven
'17 SS 1LE - 1LAP 1LE (Now with more 427!)
'18 F150 Platinum Powerstroke diesel
'22 Kia EV6 First Edition
'18 RS3 (1 of 2) Cumulus Blue
'24 911 T (ordered)

Formers...
'19 RS5 Sportback Sonoma Green | '07 Cayman S 6MT | '16 Audi S3 Prestige Viper Green (APR Stage 3+) | '19 Mustang Shelby GT350R | '17 SS 1LE MBM 575whp all-motor

Last edited by RideZX6R; 11-09-2019 at 10:16 PM.
RideZX6R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 02:41 PM   #2
Vtor_ZL1
Who Needs to KNOW?
 
Vtor_ZL1's Avatar
 
Drives: 18 ZLE
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Left Side of the Moon
Posts: 1,766
Depends on the roads... even expansion joints suck.. esp at slow speed.


If you have pot hole ridden roads, elevated roads w expansion slots / joints.. and you complain about poor ride quality, may not be best car for you. If you can look beyond that and enjoy other 30% of the time = get it.
__________________
ing for grip.


Are you in the NY/NJ/PA/CT region? Join us for autox fun at MetLife Stadium. HUGE lots, tons of runs.

http://www.motorsportsne.com/
Vtor_ZL1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 02:45 PM   #3
900RFWN
 
900RFWN's Avatar
 
Drives: ‘18 ZL1 1LE
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Texas
Posts: 155
No worse than a 3/4 ton truck or a 1/2 ton with those crappy Monroe Quick Struts as replacements. Go for it.
900RFWN is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 03:01 PM   #4
TRZ06

 
TRZ06's Avatar
 
Drives: 22' Porsche PDK GT4
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 2,013
There are at least 5-10 threads on this subject if you do a little research on this forum.
__________________
Current:
22' Porsche PDK GT4 (MCS 2-way remote dampers)

Previous:
18' NFG 2SS 1LE (ZL1 1LE solid rear cradle bushings & Corsa Exhaust)
16' F80 M3 (Ohlin R/T Coilovers)
13' Audi TTRS (APR Stage 1, MSS Springs)
09' C6 Z06
08' E90 M3
06' 335i (KW V2 Coilovers)
03' C5 Z06
TRZ06 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 03:09 PM   #5
Cleancoupe
 
Drives: 18 ZL1 1LE
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Florida
Posts: 702
The suspension setup on these cars is extremely stiff & not very forgiving, but also provides an excellent drivers feedback. Ride quality will depend a lot on the conditions of the road. Here in north fl we have pretty good roads so the ride is not bad. It does get a little bouncy over big bumps & you will feel every crack in the road. It’s a drivers car. Would I drive it as a daily driver, probably not. Could it be driven as a daily driver & put a smile on your face every time you drive her, hell yes! Will it ride like a Cadillac, no. I don’t think the ride is as harsh as some people make it out to be, but everyone’s opinion is going to be different. I would highly recommend you find one that you can test drive & form your own opinion on whether it’s a car for you or not.
Cleancoupe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 03:37 PM   #6
SJFGTO
Oh Oh it's Friday Night!
 
SJFGTO's Avatar
 
Drives: 2018 ZL1 1LE Nightfall Gray
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Walton Woods
Posts: 1,061
Suspension very firm and unforgiving. Totally subjective as to how good or bad it is as an occasional driver. What is not subjective are the tires. Minimal grip in the cold, takes forever to warm up, borderline dangerous on wet roads. For me, I like the ride, with a set of PS4s I have taken two 2,000 road trips on interstates and smooth mountain roads. The ZE was a blast to drive, comfortable seats and 22 miles per gallon.
__________________
2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE NFG; ARH 2” headers, catless mids, ARH full exhaust, Lingenfelter 18% lower pulley, ATI Harmonic Balancer, Roto-fab CAI, EE-catch can, TM ported TB, NX Lid, BMR strut tower brace. Aeroforce dual pod interceptor gauges. Tuned by Vengeance Racing!!! 644 HP @ 6250 rpm / 689 trq @ 3660 rpm

Four that wanna own me
Two that wanna stone me
One says she's a friend of mine...
SJFGTO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 05:32 PM   #7
minn19
 
minn19's Avatar
 
Drives: 22 ZL1, 20 Taco, 20 Cayenne S
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: MN
Posts: 624
As was previously said if you do a Google search you will get a lot of info on the subject. I only have 1100 miles on mine and use it every chance I get to commute with to work, which is 70 miles round trip mixed backroads/highway.

IMO it is all relative to what you are used to or had in the past. If you've never had a car buttoned down like this before it will be an eye opener and probably not a good one is my guess. Most of the time it really isn't as bad as it has been made out to be. But, the ride is always "on/busy" and there is no let up. Even what looks like a perfectly smooth road the car has some bounce to it. Also as has been said many times in the past, avoid potholes and sunken manhole covers like the plague as you will here the bump stops hit/run out of travel quickly.

If you don't mind the above go for it and you will be rewarded with on of the most driver oriented cars currently available on the market today. Assuming you also get it in an MT.
minn19 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 05:45 PM   #8
TRZ06

 
TRZ06's Avatar
 
Drives: 22' Porsche PDK GT4
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 2,013
One of the biggest factors/questions for a car like this is... what shape are the roads in that you normally drive on.
__________________
Current:
22' Porsche PDK GT4 (MCS 2-way remote dampers)

Previous:
18' NFG 2SS 1LE (ZL1 1LE solid rear cradle bushings & Corsa Exhaust)
16' F80 M3 (Ohlin R/T Coilovers)
13' Audi TTRS (APR Stage 1, MSS Springs)
09' C6 Z06
08' E90 M3
06' 335i (KW V2 Coilovers)
03' C5 Z06
TRZ06 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 05:45 PM   #9
URBAN LEGEND


 
URBAN LEGEND's Avatar
 
Drives: 20 X3M CP & 19 ZL1 1LE A10
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Brenham, TX
Posts: 3,517
Forget all of the comments. Go test drive and decide yourself. I have a 2018 and 2019, and came from a 15 Z/28. So 70k miles combined. That tell you where I am at. My wife drives them at will too.
__________________
🔺22 RS E TRON GT
🔺21 Model S Plaid
URBAN LEGEND is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 06:51 PM   #10
pauly1119

 
pauly1119's Avatar
 
Drives: 2018 ZLE
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Palm City Fl
Posts: 1,327
This much fun is probably bad for your health, be careful.
pauly1119 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 08:45 PM   #11
Scottyz
2019 ZL1 1LE MY GOON
 
Scottyz's Avatar
 
Drives: 1980 Z28 Big Red.
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Stoney Creek
Posts: 2,061
Road conditions play a big part. I love the ride of the car. I absolutely love this car and do not regret getting it one bit. Sooooo much fun. Pothole ridden roads then yes it will suck but saying that would you wanna take a regular ZL1 or Corvette down roads like that regularly?
I think the ride is far better than the 2500HD Chev we have at work or my daily which is a F550 mechanics truck. Those two trucks have rough rides.
I also find the car doesn’t tramline at all. Like I have never felt it once and I have about 3500 miles of backroad and highway driving.
Hard backroad driving around here can get the car airborne quite easily with large dips and bumps depending on the conditions of the backroad.
I friggin love it.
Scottyz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 08:47 PM   #12
viurniel
@viurniel
 
viurniel's Avatar
 
Drives: 19 ZLE A10, 15 2SS, 90 300ZXTT
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Miami
Posts: 409
It is very stiff. If that doesn't bother you, then go for it. I drive mine almost daily on a 5 Mile commute and it is unforgiving in some roads. It depends on what you are used to and what you can tolerate. I personally don't mind it at all.
viurniel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 10:46 PM   #13
TRZ06

 
TRZ06's Avatar
 
Drives: 22' Porsche PDK GT4
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 2,013
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottyz View Post
Road conditions play a big part. I love the ride of the car. I absolutely love this car and do not regret getting it one bit. Sooooo much fun. Pothole ridden roads then yes it will suck but saying that would you wanna take a regular ZL1 or Corvette down roads like that regularly?
I think the ride is far better than the 2500HD Chev we have at work or my daily which is a F550 mechanics truck. Those two trucks have rough rides.
I also find the car doesn’t tramline at all. Like I have never felt it once and I have about 3500 miles of backroad and highway driving.
Hard backroad driving around here can get the car airborne quite easily with large dips and bumps depending on the conditions of the backroad.
I friggin love it.
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.
__________________
Current:
22' Porsche PDK GT4 (MCS 2-way remote dampers)

Previous:
18' NFG 2SS 1LE (ZL1 1LE solid rear cradle bushings & Corsa Exhaust)
16' F80 M3 (Ohlin R/T Coilovers)
13' Audi TTRS (APR Stage 1, MSS Springs)
09' C6 Z06
08' E90 M3
06' 335i (KW V2 Coilovers)
03' C5 Z06
TRZ06 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2019, 11:52 PM   #14
waterman

 
waterman's Avatar
 
Drives: Grandad's C2 L89
Join Date: May 2017
Location: 20*51.50N 156*29.60W
Posts: 1,711
OP, to answer your question.

If balance, zero body roll, immediate feedback, predictability and grip (to name just a few) are your thing, you should consider 1LE.

Note; the above mentioned benefits are a direct result of high spring and damping rates, reduced travel rates and mathematically predictable linear compresion associated with spool valve dampers as well as hard mounting.

All will, as expected stiffen up the ride.

FWIW, Corvette finally ditching the rear leafs, going ME and that chassis have radically improved the characteristics of the C8. Don't rule that out. Personally I'm waiting on the numbers of the Z06 level C8 when it debuts in a couple of years. My beautiful wife smiles when I talk of it, so the battle is mostly won... I digress.

The price of (near) race car handling characteristics is a very firm ride. IMHO it is not harsh or rough at all. If you are expecting the ride of a street legal track car, you will be very, very happy.
__________________
2018 ZL1 1LE sw/PDR
waterman is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Post Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:45 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.