[SOCAL.M6.ZLE]

Hey guys, I was just curious if anyone has seen any documented modified Camaro ZLE’s breaking the factory ZLE time set back in 2018… I know the car did well in factory form, can only imagine how much faster it would be with another 100 or 200 rear wheel horsepower….

[SFV1LE]

Originally Posted by SOCAL.M6.ZLE

Hey guys, I was just curious if anyone has seen any documented modified Camaro ZLE’s breaking the factory ZLE time set back in 2018… I know the car did well in factory form, can only imagine how much faster it would be with another 100 or 200 rear wheel horsepower….

Other than the Chevy factory record Camaro time, I cannot even find a video of a ZL1 1LE on the Ring. There is an American guy who brought his SS 1LE to Germany and did a lot of laps (with ZL1 1LE parts like dive planes and DSSVs, no supercharger), but didn't see a lap time in the video I found.

I thought the ZL1 1LE was not legal for sale in Germany or maybe other European countries due to pedestrian crash safety issues caused by the very big dive planes.

[Jetrep]

Found this one…

https://performance.univision.com/no...el-nurburgring

Anyone know why it’s getting pulled down???

[Vigilante375]

Originally Posted by Jetrep

Found this one…

https://performance.univision.com/no...el-nurburgring

Anyone know why it’s getting pulled down???

That's the time from GM. The one the OP is asking if anyone has gone faster than.....

To the OP. The ZL1 1LE is banned from Europe streets because of the "aggressive" aero it has to ensure pedestrians aren't hurt by it. Go figure but that's Europe and the UK for you.

I also found out that any LT1 engine powered Chevy from 2019 onward was banned as well. Crazy.

No need to day dream on how much faster we know it would be at the ring since no one here is ever going to take their car there.

[Jetrep]

Spf1le stated he could not even find a video of a zle run….which to me was odd because that video had been out there for a very long time. Now it’s recently been pulled and I’m sure the Univision one will get yanked too

[arpad_m]

It's very expensive to rent the Nürburgring for proper solo test days, it's classified as a privately managed public road in Germany, so renting it for yourself is equivalent to shutting down a public road, plus I'm sure they insist on retaining their track service crews as well.

Look at what GM did for their 2024 special farewell edition, basically a matte black paint color, badges and a watch, and you'll realize they never want to spend another dime on the Camaro.

Third parties with modified ZL1 1LEs don't have much business interest in doing these expensive runs, what benefit would that give them? Say, if Hennessey took an Exorcist to the Nürburgring, do you think he'd sell more of those? Getting a proper driver isn't cheap either, I'm sure Randy Pobst or heck, even Bill Wise would charge $$$ for these runs. I watched his original 7:16:04 run, and it's a balls to the wall, 10/10ths run, looked pretty dicey in several places.


For those that would like to see this GM Nürburgring run, I saved the video while it was available, here you go: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/m4vb0...lqlj1ia9k&dl=1

[pauly1119]

They actually did a run with a better time but couldn’t log it as an official time for some reason. I don’t remember the details on the story.

[SFV1LE]

Originally Posted by Vigilante375

That's the time from GM. The one the OP is asking if anyone has gone faster than.....

To the OP. The ZL1 1LE is banned from Europe streets because of the "aggressive" aero it has to ensure pedestrians aren't hurt by it. Go figure but that's Europe and the UK for you.

I also found out that any LT1 engine powered Chevy from 2019 onward was banned as well. Crazy.

No need to day dream on how much faster we know it would be at the ring since no one here is ever going to take their car there.

Thanks... and yes, I had that point in my post "I thought the ZL1 1LE was not legal for sale in Germany or maybe other European countries due to pedestrian crash safety issues caused by the very big dive planes."

I believe there are ZL1 1LEs in Europe, but maybe it was just ZL1s. I have seen people on this board living in France and Switzerland IIRC, asking for tips about the car, tunes and other mods. If one of these people modded their ZLE they could bring it to Ring and maybe have a skilled racer or great driver from a magazine run it.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by SFV1LE

Thanks... and yes, I had that point in my post "I thought the ZL1 1LE was not legal for sale in Germany or maybe other European countries due to pedestrian crash safety issues caused by the very big dive planes."

I believe there are ZL1 1LEs in Europe, but maybe it was just ZL1s. I have seen people on this board living in France and Switzerland IIRC, asking for tips about the car, tunes and other mods. If one of these people modded their ZLE they could bring it to Ring and maybe have a skilled racer or great driver from a magazine run it.

There is no way you can beat Wise's time with a gazillion other vehicles on the track, most of them with less capable drivers. It only takes one slow corner because of traffic and boom, you lost 2 seconds or more.

As far as I know, those ZL1 1LEs one might see in Europe are all illegal

[swisstyphoon]

Originally Posted by SFV1LE

Thanks... and yes, I had that point in my post "I thought the ZL1 1LE was not legal for sale in Germany or maybe other European countries due to pedestrian crash safety issues caused by the very big dive planes."

I believe there are ZL1 1LEs in Europe, but maybe it was just ZL1s. I have seen people on this board living in France and Switzerland IIRC, asking for tips about the car, tunes and other mods. If one of these people modded their ZLE they could bring it to Ring and maybe have a skilled racer or great driver from a magazine run it.

We have ZL1 1LE's here in Switzerland, and Germany. Legal, officially registered with the wing, canards and everything.
They were just never imported through Chevy Europe.
They were all imported privatly, or through independend dealers.
And the registering process was not easy, and very expensive!
To get all the papers / tests to have a 1LE registered and pass the dmv here in Switzerland it costs about $10'000

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=972ORDjMD2c

[SFV1LE]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

There is no way you can beat Wise's time with a gazillion other vehicles on the track, most of them with less capable drivers. It only takes one slow corner because of traffic and boom, you lost 2 seconds or more.

As far as I know, those ZL1 1LEs one might see in Europe are all illegal

Agree you need an open track to do it, that's why I suggested a magazine on a test day (like Sport Auto who set a lot of fastest laps there) might if presented with a nicely modded ZLE... but you're right, this will never happen.

Would be nice just to see a fastest lap in a basic track-friendly + 100-150 WHP modded ZLE (like a quality low temp E85 tune, headers, RF CAI, by Katech or Janetty) at Laguna or Big Willow, maybe by Randy Pobst who knows the car and is at or above Bill Wise level and likes testing cars in those 2 places. He's already set stock ZLE benchmarks at both tracks.

[SFV1LE]

Originally Posted by swisstyphoon

We have ZL1 1LE's here in Switzerland, and Germany. Legal, officially registered with the wing, canards and everything.
They were just never imported through Chevy Europe.
They were all imported privatly, or through independend dealers.
And the registering process was not easy, and very expensive!
To get all the papers / tests to have a 1LE registered and pass the dmv here in Switzerland it costs about $10'000

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=972ORDjMD2c

Very cool, you have a highly modded ZLE with 2650 and + 250 WHP. Now you just need to contact Sport Auto about testing it on an open track at the Ring. Would make a good story and tons of views on YouTube :-)

By the way, $10k is what many people here in the US pay over MSRP for cars in high demand, including Civic Type R. So it could be a lot worse.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by swisstyphoon

We have ZL1 1LE's here in Switzerland, and Germany. Legal, officially registered with the wing, canards and everything.
They were just never imported through Chevy Europe.
They were all imported privatly, or through independend dealers.
And the registering process was not easy, and very expensive!
To get all the papers / tests to have a 1LE registered and pass the dmv here in Switzerland it costs about $10'000

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=972ORDjMD2c

Ah, that's good to know, thanks. This one in the picture looks pretty good, if I may say so

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

For what it’s worth; In Gran Turismo with a Logitech steering wheel and pedals, I grabbed my ZL1 with sticky tires and 3.0 deg neg front camber, otherwise stock, and went 7:26.4 after a couple of warmup laps. I added 150 hp (didn’t change anything else) and on my very next lap went 7:20.5. Lap after that, after getting used to the earlier brake zones due to higher speeds went 7:16.7. I think I could get a 7:24 at the stock hp levels and a 7:14 at 800 hp if I drove slightly better. It’s hard to put together a perfect lap over 12.95 miles with how difficult the track is and I don’t play/drive that often. So, I’d say on the Ring, 150 hp is worth about 8-10 seconds gain.