[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by ParisTNDude

If you order your 1le 1SS you can't get some of the options available to 2SS cars. You can now buy a 2SS 1le, but the added weight of the options surely affects the all out performance compared to the 1SS because of weight. However, if you're buying a 1le for it's best in class road course performance, you probably don't want the 2SS options anyway. I haven't heard of a road course comparison between a 1SS and 2SS equipped 1le, but that would be interesting to see.

People keep saying this, but it turned out to be a myth, why? The 1SS comes with the same seats, already piped for the cooling, etc. It doesn't have the wiring and computers to support all of these things, but I think the shipping weight difference was something like 8lbs between the two, almost nothing. This was already verified by several users.

[Boost Creep]

The 1LE option is what makes the car heavy.
When I was looking, the 2SS was heavier than a 1SS, but when you looked at the 1LE, it usually outweighed the 2SS.

[arpad_m]

From the 2018 Camaro playbook:

[ParisTNDude]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

People keep saying this, but it turned out to be a myth, why? The 1SS comes with the same seats, already piped for the cooling, etc. It doesn't have the wiring and computers to support all of these things, but I think the shipping weight difference was something like 8lbs between the two, almost nothing. This was already verified by several users.

Well, I learned something today. My thought about weight was only an assumption, more stuff has to weigh more?

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by ParisTNDude

Well, I learned something today. My thought about weight was only an assumption, more stuff has to weigh more?

Well, there really isn't much that weighs more. The leather trim instead of plastic probably has no weight penalty. The interior lighting is going to probably be a pound or less total. Heated steering wheel is probably negligible, it's probably the same damn wheel in both cars with the same wiring, just the 1SS doesn't have the programming and harness to connect to it, like the seats. The cross-traffic backup protection is probably just programming. The lane-changing lights is a couple sensors and probably less than a pound. Bose speakers probably weigh a bit more, so maybe another pound or two. But that's about it, the difference from this and the 1SS is minimal, since it has the same seats, which weigh a ton anyway. If you add a sunroof that adds a little weight, probably the most significant by itself, but since the difference is almost nothing to begin with, the penalty isn't huge.

The 1SS is a huge winner for value, nothing comes close to that performance for the price IMO. The 2SS gives you some GT-type niceties that make it more liveable day-to-day for me.

I think you notice that it becomes incredibly challenging to go to ever-higher performance, as more HP usually weighs more, which in turn requires heavy duty parts, which all weighs even more, so bigger brakes are required, which also weigh more, etc. It gets into a feedback loop pretty fast, unless, and this is the big one, unless you only care about one metric, such as straight line. I remember back to my WRX mods that made it much faster in a straight line, and I remember hitting the brakes when over 100 and being surprised at how ineffective they were. No surprise due to the size of the brakes, but the point was I should have probably upgraded something other than power first.

[DorkMissile]

The 1LE weighs more primarily due to the rear diff - the center section itself is substantially larger, has larger axles, has a larger differential, it adds the ECU and electronics to run it, and the rear cradle is substantially beefier.

[MATTY-1LE]

take a pic and send to us, we'll tell you what dat sumbich is

[OVRKLL]

Thanks for all the explanation of what the 1LE is.
I think it's exactly what I'm looking for and my Tuesday, is now Saturday, so I'm hoping to be experiencing what the car can do.


I'm not looking for a smooth riding DD, as I'm use to driving some stiff suspension cars. My 2016 Chevy Z71 RCSB was smooth running...so I sold it for this SS. I need to feel the road and the dynamics of both the car and the road when driving.


Looking forward to be a 1LE owner...soon!

[ParisTNDude]

Originally Posted by OVRKLL

Thanks for all the explanation of what the 1LE is.
I think it's exactly what I'm looking for and my Tuesday, is now Saturday, so I'm hoping to be experiencing what the car can do.


I'm not looking for a smooth riding DD, as I'm use to driving some stiff suspension cars. My 2016 Chevy Z71 RCSB was smooth running...so I sold it for this SS. I need to feel the road and the dynamics of both the car and the road when driving.


Looking forward to be a 1LE owner...soon!

No matter WHAT it is, I'm going to guarantee you're going to like it. Just be aware that it's a different animal in the wet or before the tires are warmed to normal. It can get you into trouble...lol. Enjoy!

[Rayvan]

Originally Posted by Boost Creep

The 1LE option is what makes the car heavy.
When I was looking, the 2SS was heavier than a 1SS, but when you looked at the 1LE, it usually outweighed the 2SS.

Heavy? Was 65 lbs. really a deal breaker for you? Just wondering
That's like what, a half-tank of fuel?

Seems a small price to pay for massive front brakes, better rear traction, a more stout rear-end & axles, and a bunch of heat exchangers/coolant that will never,ever let the car overheat...

[Boost Creep]

Originally Posted by Rayvan

Heavy? Was 65 lbs. really a deal breaker for you? Just wondering
That's like what, a half-tank of fuel?

Seems a small price to pay for massive front brakes, better rear traction, a more stout rear-end & axles, and a bunch of heat exchangers/coolant that will never,ever let the car overheat...

Uh, I have a 1LE.
What are you going on about?

Dude was worried about 2SS options adding too much weight, I pointed out the 1LE option seems to add the most weight. That fact was proven true in the next post.

[Rayvan]

Originally Posted by Boost Creep

Uh, I have a 1LE.
What are you going on about?

Dude was worried about 2SS options adding too much weight, I pointed out the 1LE option seems to add the most weight. That fact was proven true in the next post.

With a bruised heart and a deflated ego, with sad soul and a head hung low. I apologize to you unconditionally. I didn't even look at what you drive.

[Boost Creep]

Originally Posted by Rayvan

With a bruised heart and a deflated ego, with sad soul and a head hung low. I apologize to you unconditionally. I didn't even look at what you drive.

It's all good.
I went through a lot of comparisons while deciding on my purchase of the 1LE and happened to notice that the 1LE seemed to weigh more than most other Camaros.
Thought that was interesting since the car is suppose to be great on the track yet is carries more weight than the others.

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Originally Posted by ParisTNDude

I can vouch for the awesomeness of the 1le after driving mine for only 400 miles before it was creamed. The cornering ability was awesome, but there are some drawbacks to be remembered.

Unlike the bulging fenders of the ZL1, with the same tires on the 1le the tires stick out a bit from the lip of the wheel well. This allows it to throw up unbelievable amounts of gravel, sand, or whatever ruining the paint in various places. Mine had Xpel, but you could see clearly where even that was chipped. Driving over any graveled roads threw up tons of stuff on your paint job.

Speaking of the tires, I bought my 1le with just under 10k miles on it and the original Goodyear tires were shot. So every 10K you need a new set of $1300 tires. Yeah, I know, someone will surely say theirs lasted 20K, but the ones on my car didn't and others didn't get that much out of them. I believe my car was driven reasonably hard carving canyons because that's what it was built for...no regrets. However, many will tell you that other tires with the same performance potential wore approximately the same and were more expensive. So the Goodyears were a bargain for the performance. Oh, and you are warned that it's dangerous to drive them in temperatures under 40 degrees...the tires may crack!

The 1le is absolutely dangerous to drive with any spirit in the rain. I know! On ramps are tempting to accelerate quickly, but in the rain, simply don't do it! The electronic traction control will not save you!

The 1le carries a huge amount of oil in the reservoir and it's expensive as all get out to service at a dealership.

To achieve the best road course performance, you have to do a performance wheel alignment on the 1le as well at $80 bucks a pop. with that alignment, tires wear even more quickly than the street alignment.

If you order your 1le 1SS you can't get some of the options available to 2SS cars. You can now buy a 2SS 1le, but the added weight of the options surely affects the all out performance compared to the 1SS because of weight. However, if you're buying a 1le for it's best in class road course performance, you probably don't want the 2SS options anyway. I haven't heard of a road course comparison between a 1SS and 2SS equipped 1le, but that would be interesting to see.

Out of the box, a 1le won't be able to stay with an 8A Camaro 1SS on the street in acceleration or at the drag strip. So, don't buy a 1le if the only sanctioned racing you will do is the drag strip. It launches poorly from what I've read.

With all of that said, even with ONLY 455 hp, the Camaro 1le simply can't be beat for the purpose it was built. There are some drawbacks, but there are some very clear advantages. It comes very close to staying with the Mustang GT350R which is at least $20k more expensive if you could find one at MSRP. In the end, Chevys rule.

The dealership oil change with the Dexos1 AC Delco stuff is actually extremely cheap, but not rated for track duty however for daily the oil change is actually quite reasonable. The issue comes when useing the 0 or 5w-40 Dexos 2 oil, $10 a quart you have $100 in oil into it before filter or labor.


Also on the track alignment, my tires are worn the opposite, I for sure need more negative camber, the track alighnment specs are actually quite modest, 2.5 degrees negative I think, if you drive hard at all this will be beneficial.

Originally Posted by Boost Creep

It's all good.
I went through a lot of comparisons while deciding on my purchase of the 1LE and happened to notice that the 1LE seemed to weigh more than most other Camaros.
Thought that was interesting since the car is suppose to be great on the track yet is carries more weight than the others.

I wish they would have went more hardcore with a lighter weight audio solution and lighter seats.