[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by mlee

Bringing up body roll is probably the biggest difference between the two but still doesn't mean the non 1LE isn't sharp. Seems you're set on the manual but I'd give that auto a second look too. It's a complete game changer.

I actually think the biggest difference between the two (other than suspension compliance) is the solid rear cradle bushings. The rear-end of the ZLE is much more stable and confidence inspiring.

IMO, the best daily option is either the SS 1LE or the ZL1 and add either the solid rear cradle bushings or the lockout kit.

[Dave-ROR]

For a daily.. the regular ZL1 is fine.

Personally I'm fine with the ZLE on the street but it would suck in areas with terrible roads.

[warren3537]

I did the upgrade from a 17 1SS to a 19 ZLE and couldn't be happier, granted it was rough at first ride wise due to the tires but once I changed them out with the Hankook's it was game on.

[Scottyz]

Congrats Warren.

[photorph]

I struggled with this is a lot and am still deciding. Looking to get a 2020. I'm not planning on taking my car to the track, it will be a daily driver. But I love the looks of the 1LE way more. I've watched every video and read every thread about this. Here is the real answer.

Practically speaking, you should get a ZL1. It's just way more comfortable and practical and will actually be faster in a straight line due to lower drag.

But I'm not very practical and I'm going with the 1LE because I just love how it looks, I like the 19" forged rims, the front end, the black hood, and the carbon spoiler. Yes I can add all that to the ZL1 but that would cost even more than what the 1LE package does. My ideal car would have been the 1LE with the magnetic ride suspension of the ZL1. But at this point I will settle to take the abuse of poor Michigan roads and daily the zl1 1le. Why? Because I get the looks I want and the wheels I want for not that much of a price difference. But unless you live in an area with good roads just be prepared for the bouncing, knocks, bumps, noises, and to change the tires out.

[DONATI_ZL1_1LE]

ZLE for sure!

[mlee]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

I actually think the biggest difference between the two (other than suspension compliance) is the solid rear cradle bushings. The rear-end of the ZLE is much more stable and confidence inspiring.

IMO, the best daily option is either the SS 1LE or the ZL1 and add either the solid rear cradle bushings or the lockout kit.

^^^Exactly... which is why I mentioned his comments on body roll. An autox buddy with a ZL1 rides passenger with me and that's the first thing he notices. Especially on hard brakes

Originally Posted by SFV1LE

I wouldn't buy a ZL1 or any 500+ HP sports car if I planned to never track it.

...in his case he's never going to track it so do you still recommend the 1LE or neither?

[racer01]

Funny how everyone has such a different threshold for certain compromises as well as how high they rate looks, perceived sportiness, having the "top model", etc. Maybe even more interesting in that I was in the same boat and surprised myself which one I eventually decided to purchase.

I have a truck I can daily drive, have ability to afford either, and have 20 years track experience and plan to track the car.
I went with the "regular old" ZL1 with manual transmission and have zero regrets. I drove a friends ZLE (he bought it for 90+% track use) and it pushed me over the edge to trade in my 2020 Supra for the Camaro. Like most, I love the track but still have 90+% of my driving on the street. I can drive my truck to work, but I'd much rather be excited to drive my $60k+ sports car on normal streets.

Just food for thought:
-ZLE really needs a separate set of wheels and tires for the street. Waste to not have the SC3R's on the track and they are really not good for normal street use. You kinda waste the whole engineering point of the ZLE package (stiff shocks, big wings, tons of neg camber and solid bushings) by not running SC3R or equivalently sticky tires and at some point you realize the ZLE package is really really meant for the few % who are really buying the car for 70+% track use.
-Spool dampers are ROUGH on the street. I'm 45 and I'd maybe have lived with it 15 years ago. Hell I drove a spec miata to work quite often 15 years ago...the ZLE would have been more than fine.
-ZLE aero looks really, really mean and works great but you have a big wing in your review mirror on the street and you loose ability to get rear camera rearview mirror.
-I really like the shorter 6th gear in the ZLE. Win win.
-For me and my skill level (20 years as solo DE driver...not a pro racer or racing for $$) the "regular" ZL1 with alignment and SC3 tires should be plenty fast. Probably really needs a cage and race seat to be honest. If I get passed on the track you better bet it is likely the driver's fault not the car.

Just interesting seeing everyone's opinion and just my $0.02 for my personal situation. For what is is worth my last few cars were 18' GT350, 17' M3 comp, 14' GT3, 18' NSX, and 2020 Supra so maybe that helped my normal desire to get the "fastest" model of Camaro and helped me be ok with just getting the one that suited my needs the best. Really appreciate a good ride with roads being crap these days, but really like the fact it is a great manual transmission (rev match is awesome), sounds great in track mode, and has all the cooling and brakes for doing track days while keeping the car 100% stock and in warranty.
Good news is you can't go wrong either way.

[ZRacerLE]

Originally Posted by racer01

Funny how everyone has such a different threshold for certain compromises as well as how high they rate looks, perceived sportiness, having the "top model", etc. Maybe even more interesting in that I was in the same boat and surprised myself which one I eventually decided to purchase.

I have a truck I can daily drive, have ability to afford either, and have 20 years track experience and plan to track the car.
I went with the "regular old" ZL1 with manual transmission and have zero regrets. I drove a friends ZLE (he bought it for 90+% track use) and it pushed me over the edge to trade in my 2020 Supra for the Camaro. Like most, I love the track but still have 90+% of my driving on the street. I can drive my truck to work, but I'd much rather be excited to drive my $60k+ sports car on normal streets.

Just food for thought:
-ZLE really needs a separate set of wheels and tires for the street. Waste to not have the SC3R's on the track and they are really not good for normal street use. You kinda waste the whole engineering point of the ZLE package (stiff shocks, big wings, tons of neg camber and solid bushings) by not running SC3R or equivalently sticky tires and at some point you realize the ZLE package is really really meant for the few % who are really buying the car for 70+% track use.
-Spool dampers are ROUGH on the street. I'm 45 and I'd maybe have lived with it 15 years ago. Hell I drove a spec miata to work quite often 15 years ago...the ZLE would have been more than fine.
-ZLE aero looks really, really mean and works great but you have a big wing in your review mirror on the street and you loose ability to get rear camera rearview mirror.
-I really like the shorter 6th gear in the ZLE. Win win.
-For me and my skill level (20 years as solo DE driver...not a pro racer or racing for $$) the "regular" ZL1 with alignment and SC3 tires should be plenty fast. Probably really needs a cage and race seat to be honest. If I get passed on the track you better bet it is likely the driver's fault not the car.

Just interesting seeing everyone's opinion and just my $0.02 for my personal situation. For what is is worth my last few cars were 18' GT350, 17' M3 comp, 14' GT3, 18' NSX, and 2020 Supra so maybe that helped my normal desire to get the "fastest" model of Camaro and helped me be ok with just getting the one that suited my needs the best. Really appreciate a good ride with roads being crap these days, but really like the fact it is a great manual transmission (rev match is awesome), sounds great in track mode, and has all the cooling and brakes for doing track days while keeping the car 100% stock and in warranty.
Good news is you can't go wrong either way.

Good post

[CruisintheCountryLife]

Originally Posted by guccigrewal

Hey guys I just sold my 2018 Camaro 2SS after roughly 27,000 miles and two years of ownership. I dailyed it and loved the car to death. I’m looking now to upgrade to a ZL1 but I don’t know whether or not to get the 1LE. I want to know if even though the regular ZL1 doesn’t have the groundbreaking track times that the 1LE has, if the base ZL1 still handles well. This is because I have no intention of tracking it but I would find it worth it to get the 1LE still if it handles well. If the base ZL1 didn’t come in a 6 speed then I’d get the 1LE but now knowing that you can get both in a stick I’m torn between which to get. (The 1LE wing also makes me drool)

OP. I bought the ZLE, mainly for the looks if I can be honest lol. I felt the wing, wheels, etc just added so much to the cool factor of the car. I don't mind the ride at all and I like the the rareness of the car with the 1LE package. I have tracked mine and I plan to do more events with it, but like another poster said, most of us will never even get to the limits of the standard ZL1, me included. If your wondering if the standard ZL1 can track... Go to instagram and follow THE_TRACK_ENTHUSIAST. This guy tracks an A10 standard ZL1 and smashes Porsches, Ferraris, McLarens, and more. I don't regret my decision. The black hood, wheels, carbon wing make this car look like no other Camaro ever dreamed of and it has the ability to back it up. Most people have no idea that Chevy ever produced such a monster as this and it breaks a lot of necks!!
Good luck with your decision. You won't be mad any way you go.

[jvandy50]

Originally Posted by CruisintheCountryLife

OP. I bought the ZLE, mainly for the looks if I can be honest lol. I felt the wing, wheels, etc just added so much to the cool factor of the car. I don't mind the ride at all and I like the the rareness of the car with the 1LE package. I have tracked mine and I plan to do more events with it, but like another poster said, most of us will never even get to the limits of the standard ZL1, me included. If your wondering if the standard ZL1 can track... Go to instagram and follow THE_TRACK_ENTHUSIAST. This guy tracks an A10 standard ZL1 and smashes Porsches, Ferraris, McLarens, and more. I don't regret my decision. The black hood, wheels, carbon wing make this car look like no other Camaro ever dreamed of and it has the ability to back it up. Most people have no idea that Chevy ever produced such a monster as this and it breaks a lot of necks!!
Good luck with your decision. You won't be mad any way you go.

I admit to this also. The longer i looked at it the more i liked the 1LE package. Couple this with having a gt350, but always wanting the R model, and i knew what i needed to do. Do not regret getting the ZLE one bit, but also have a jeep to drive on bad days.

Love this car, and totally realize the ZL1 would be better suited for my daily drive, and also that BOTH of them are beyond my current skill level.

OP i didn’t plan on getting to the track often either...but once you get it, you’re going to want to try it, and then you’ll be hooked.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by racer01

Funny how everyone has such a different threshold for certain compromises as well as how high they rate looks, perceived sportiness, having the "top model", etc. Maybe even more interesting in that I was in the same boat and surprised myself which one I eventually decided to purchase.

I have a truck I can daily drive, have ability to afford either, and have 20 years track experience and plan to track the car.
I went with the "regular old" ZL1 with manual transmission and have zero regrets. I drove a friends ZLE (he bought it for 90+% track use) and it pushed me over the edge to trade in my 2020 Supra for the Camaro. Like most, I love the track but still have 90+% of my driving on the street. I can drive my truck to work, but I'd much rather be excited to drive my $60k+ sports car on normal streets.

Just food for thought:
-ZLE really needs a separate set of wheels and tires for the street. Waste to not have the SC3R's on the track and they are really not good for normal street use. You kinda waste the whole engineering point of the ZLE package (stiff shocks, big wings, tons of neg camber and solid bushings) by not running SC3R or equivalently sticky tires and at some point you realize the ZLE package is really really meant for the few % who are really buying the car for 70+% track use.
-Spool dampers are ROUGH on the street. I'm 45 and I'd maybe have lived with it 15 years ago. Hell I drove a spec miata to work quite often 15 years ago...the ZLE would have been more than fine.
-ZLE aero looks really, really mean and works great but you have a big wing in your review mirror on the street and you loose ability to get rear camera rearview mirror.
-I really like the shorter 6th gear in the ZLE. Win win.
-For me and my skill level (20 years as solo DE driver...not a pro racer or racing for $$) the "regular" ZL1 with alignment and SC3 tires should be plenty fast. Probably really needs a cage and race seat to be honest. If I get passed on the track you better bet it is likely the driver's fault not the car.

Just interesting seeing everyone's opinion and just my $0.02 for my personal situation. For what is is worth my last few cars were 18' GT350, 17' M3 comp, 14' GT3, 18' NSX, and 2020 Supra so maybe that helped my normal desire to get the "fastest" model of Camaro and helped me be ok with just getting the one that suited my needs the best. Really appreciate a good ride with roads being crap these days, but really like the fact it is a great manual transmission (rev match is awesome), sounds great in track mode, and has all the cooling and brakes for doing track days while keeping the car 100% stock and in warranty.
Good news is you can't go wrong either way.

Just to add a little to this...

When I was shopping for a car to replace my M3, I originally was looking at the ZLE. I had Ohlin coilovers on the M3 (to fix their crappy stock shocks) which were awesome at body control and superior damping, HOWEVER for a street driven car, it was no doubt a compromise. The ride was BRUTAL over large bumps and it would often make my head hit the roof and cause the stability control to activate.

So, when I went to test drive the ZLE, the ride quality was actually a little better than the Ohlins. Then I discovered the SS 1LE and kept reading all the praises it was receiving, but I WANTED the top dog , most bad ass Camaro there was, as I typically go for such models (Z06, TTRS, M3, etc.)

In the end, for my 99.9% daily driving purpose, I choose the SS 1LE, and after 3 mths in it, and seeing how good the MRC was, there was no way I could go back to a race stiff suspension for daily driving. I can literally take the same roads that have large bumps in them (freeway) 30-40 MPH faster in the SS 1LE than I could in the M3 without it killing my spleen and having my head hit the headliner.

Another big factor for me at the time of choosing the SS 1LE over the ZLE was the tire issue. However, today you can get both the regular SC3 or SC3R for both cars in stock sizes. Now, if that was available at that time, that might have been enough to sway me to the ZLE and to just change to the regular SC3 tires on it.

One last point, if I was forced to choose today stock for stock and didn't want to make any modifications, I would choose the ZLE. IMO, I would NOT choose the ZL1 or the SS 1LE UNLESS I could swap out the rear cradle bushings to solid ones. You are just chasing that read-end too much for my tastes in stock form without them. That is something that I didn't know until after I had some seat time in it and started pushing it.

[ZRacerLE]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

Just to add a little to this...

When I was shopping for a car to replace my M3, I originally was looking at the ZLE. I had Ohlin coilovers on the M3 (to fix their crappy stock shocks) which were awesome at body control and superior damping, HOWEVER for a street driven car, it was no doubt a compromise. The ride was BRUTAL over large bumps and it would often make my head hit the roof and cause the stability control to activate.

So, when I went to test drive the ZLE, the ride quality was actually a little better than the Ohlins. Then I discovered the SS 1LE and kept reading all the praises it was receiving, but I WANTED the top dog , most bad ass Camaro there was, as I typically go for such models (Z06, TTRS, M3, etc.)

In the end, for my 99.9% daily driving purpose, I choose the SS 1LE, and after 3 mths in it, and seeing how good the MRC was, there was no way I could go back to a race stiff suspension for daily driving. I can literally take the same roads that have large bumps in them (freeway) 30-40 MPH faster in the SS 1LE than I could in the M3 without it killing my spleen and having my head hit the headliner.

Another big factor for me at the time of choosing the SS 1LE over the ZLE was the tire issue. However, today you can get both the regular SC3 or SC3R for both cars in stock sizes. Now, if that was available at that time, that might have been enough to sway me to the ZLE and to just change to the regular SC3 tires on it.

One last point, if I was forced to choose today stock for stock and didn't want to make any modifications, I would choose the ZLE. IMO, I would NOT choose the ZL1 or the SS 1LE UNLESS I could swap out the rear cradle bushings to solid ones. You are just chasing that read-end too much for my tastes in stock form without them. That is something that I didn't know until after I had some seat time in it and started pushing it.

I'm a huge admirer of the SS1LE. Brilliant car.

[Techdude99]

Originally Posted by ZRacerLE

I'm a huge admirer of the SS1LE. Brilliant car.

Same here