[Bangkok_ZL1]

Today I picked up Miss America (that's her name here),

I want to write this quickly as I just finished driving here about 30 miles. Here are my first impressions of this car, the 2019 ZL1. And this will obviously be in comparison to my 2002 RX-7. Because they are sportscars, track cars even.

#1) She's heavy. She feels heavy too. When I just touch the accelerator some, like at 10 or 20 MPH, the car doesn't jump (at all) like my 7 did. There is a reason this car has 650hp. it needs it just to move this big girl. But even with so many horses, I was a little surprised how hard I had to press the accelerator to get this girl in motion. Those 1100 pounds are VERY noticeable. (Obviously in the break-in period, I'm not flooring it. Just a small estimated 25-33% throttle. Rarely and only momentarily got into positive boost). Still I expected more jumpiness from her. Also and importantly, this came with a tank of gas. I have no idea what they put in (maybe 87... who knows, dealership at the port can be cheap. So I'm gonna run this through as easily as possible, while scouring for octane booster or 100 Oct race gas which is available here).

#2) The steering is very VERY responsive. I mean after I noticed all the weight weighing on the acceleration, I thought the steering would have been a bit sluggish, or I'd get body roll as well. It was anything but that. It was extremely sharp. Maybe even sharper than my 7, which is very surprising. You'd think with 1100 extra pounds, it would show on the turn ins, not at all on this ZL1, which was a very pleasant surprise.

#3) She is extremely low with a longer wheel base. I already tested an up ramp and I heard the exhaust just begin to touch right in the middle of the car as I was slowly going up and over the top. I had to stop and go back. On the other hand, for a stiffer ride, the longer wheel base keeps a lot of the jostling out of passenger compartment, which is nice. My 7 you definitely would be jostled when I had the suspension set on a stiffer setting. Although to be fair, I did have ALL the bushings replaced with much harder durometer bushings, and some bushings were replaced with metal sleeves; that would jar you.

#4) toll booths tickets. I learned immediately I will have to pull much closer than I'm currently used to for toll booth tickets. I pulled up and the attendant had to help me. This is the same as my 7 actually, I had just forgotten since I've been driving a CRV for the last 10 years.

#5) I better have deep pockets for petrol. She's a drinker, but so was my 7, in fact she was an alcoholic. But in Japan they had 100 Oct gas (94-95 in the states). But here, $$$$, if you want to play, don't complain just pay. So, I will need a race gas additive here or just buy racing gas which they have here. Maybe $150 to fill the tank on my DD. Either that or I'll go Flex fuel, which I'd like to do.

#6) Miss America is not only heavy she's also bigger (taller, wider, longer). She is bigger than my 7 substantially in every way actually, but I just can't get over how responsive her steering feels for her size and amount of weight; it's amazing actually! However, this makes me wonder how she'd feel if she was lightened up about 5-600 pounds. I bet she'd feel amazingly responsive in everyway. I might consider lightening her, If I can get some people to tell me the best way how.

#7) Miss America is very solid. She is noticeably more solid than my 7. Of course the RX-7 never had a real frame.... I'm sure that's why the ZL1 is heavier. The stiffness of the frame is very noticeable, which is nice I think.

#8) She is hot, literally. I rolled down the window and the heat bellowed in. I'm think I'm going to need to use every aftermarket option to keep her cool, thermostat, expansion tank, and anything else any one of you can recommend (make more vents, or some small under the hood fans to circulate and expel the hot air maybe, cause if you get caught in a jam here in bangkok, it has taken me 2 1/2 hours to go less than 7 miles; I could have ran it faster). Fortunately, Thailand is in it's cooler period so I got some time. It's only 90 degrees for a few hours a day now (instead of 98+ all day and into the night).

These are my initial impressions. I will take her on a long drive tomorrow. I hope I can get some racing fuel tomorrow. I really don't like driving 200 miles on this tank of fuel.

One last thing, it's extremely obvious to me that I'm way over my head concerning the mechanics of this car. This car takes a real professional to service, and I'm a weekend backyard hobbyist. Yeah, I'm going to buy a lift. But I sure as hell hope nothing goes wrong with this girl.

[SSDan]

First - congratulations on your expat beauty queen. I will not weigh in on all your input but would like to mention throttle responsiveness. I do not know if your RX7 had a cable throttle or not but your Camaro is 100% throttle by wire computer controlled. You press on the gas pedal and thus demand how much throttle you want but the ecu will decide how much it will open the throttle blade.

The bottom line is that you will not get an immediate snap or jump with a little stab to the gas pedal. There is a lot of torque management dialed into the throttle mapping to keep that 650 ft lbs of torque from killing you when you stab at the throttle. Some performance modes will give you a better throttle feel than others. I'll let ZL1 owners weigh in on that. My SS gives me the best part throttle response in Sport mode.

Enjoy your new ride!

[Gunkk]

Congrats on the new ride!

If you're not driving it in Sport, then try it. Throttle mapping goes something like this:

Wet/Ice ... limited to something like half torque maximum
Track ... very linear.
Normal ... a bit more low end punch than track (1/4 throttle in Normal is like 1/3 throttle in Track).
Sport ... most low end punch (1/4 throttle in Sport is like 1/2 throttle in Track).


Sport also lets the tires break loose a bit more.

[KMPrenger]

The ZL1 IS much heavier...yes. But as mentioned it's the drive by wire / throttle mapping that's making your throttle jabs feel lackluster...not the weight. If that car was tuned with a closer feel to a cable throttle, it would throw you head back.

Heck, my SS "only" has 455 HP, and when I put it in manual mode and stab the the throttle in sport mode it may take the ECM a second to figure out what I want, but when it does it will throw you back. That ZL1 is on another level.

Congrats on a beautiful ride.

[gblaue]

That's the difference between a rotary engine and a V8. The rotary will rev to the moon and back, but doesn't a lot of torque. The LT4 revs, but not like a rotary, and builds torque.

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by SSDan

First - congratulations on your expat beauty queen. I will not weigh in on all your input but would like to mention throttle responsiveness. I do not know if your RX7 had a cable throttle or not but your Camaro is 100% throttle by wire computer controlled. You press on the gas pedal and thus demand how much throttle you want but the ecu will decide how much it will open the throttle blade.

The bottom line is that you will not get an immediate snap or jump with a little stab to the gas pedal. There is a lot of torque management dialed into the throttle mapping to keep that 650 ft lbs of torque from killing you when you stab at the throttle. Some performance modes will give you a better throttle feel than others. I'll let ZL1 owners weigh in on that. My SS gives me the best part throttle response in Sport mode.

Enjoy your new ride!

Thanks for the input. I believe it was cable. Nevertheless, the ZL1 feels very heavy to me. I drove that 2700 pound 7 for 7 years. I remember quite clearly the feel. I bought this ZL1 for touring. So I think that it will be just fine. I'm not racing her, not yet at least. They do have a track here. But at this time, she's my DD, not my toy. I will be testing all the modes tomorrow. It's gonna be exciting.

[ZX-10R]

You're fortunate to have owned the last FD RX-7, it is a collector car - why did you sell? I owned a '93 for 18 years and it was high maintenance but a joy to drive. There are still RX-7 specialist builders here in the states (IR Performance) and they can still get new rotary engines from Mazda

Yes the Camaro is much heavier but it's also less fragile, there were many weak/failure points on the FD

How much is a GT3 over there? If you want a lighter weight, reliable hard core sports car, that's probably your best bet

[Mark R]

Congratulations on making the effort to get that car into Thailand. I'm looking forward to your pics from Soi Cowboy.

Consensus here is to not use octane booster, but race fuel concentrate instead.

As far as the cooling, you don't need to do anything at all. These cars have massive, well engineered cooling systems. I'm not totally sure about that expansion tank for the supercharger, but anything else is really not needed.

As an example, I had my transmission fluid changed in late summer. The transmission needs to be up to temperature to have the fluid level re-checked after service, and the technician had to idle the car for 90 minutes in the lot just to get the trans up to temp for the fluid level check.

When you finally give that car the beans, you won't tell yourself that she is a slowpoke.

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by Mark R

Congratulations on making the effort to get that car into Thailand. I'm looking forward to your pics from Soi Cowboy.

Consensus here is to not use octane booster, but race fuel concentrate instead.

As far as the cooling, you don't need to do anything at all. These cars have massive, well engineered cooling systems. I'm not totally sure about that expansion tank for the supercharger, but anything else is really not needed.

As an example, I had my transmission fluid changed in late summer. The transmission needs to be up to temperature to have the fluid level re-checked after service, and the technician had to idle the car for 90 minutes in the lot just to get the trans up to temp for the fluid level check.

When you finally give that car the beans, you won't tell yourself that she is a slowpoke.

Yeah, I might have to wait until New years to hit Soi Cowboy. The timing is just off this time. But I promise I will do so. Anyways, I really want to get the flex fuel kit asap. I need to have this lined up. The best Fuel Thailand has is 91 octane. There is VP Racing MS100 here, as well as their Octanium (unleaded), Torco also has an outlet (Torco High Octane Accelerator), and other of their products. For a DD, I'd be adding the entire MS100 19 liter can to a tank to raise my 91 octane fuel to 93 and change. Those cans are over a hundred bucks a can. Plus how many cans can I carry around Thailand with me. Seems ridiculous. Need to drop the cash and switch to the E85 (I mean E50-60). I need to find a remote tuner who is professional. I contacted one so far who seems to have a reputation as an good tuner. However, they haven't responded yet, and I'm beginning to doubt their business Professionalism, irrespective of their abilities.

[SJFGTO]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Congrats on the new ride!

If you're not driving it in Sport, then try it. Throttle mapping goes something like this:

Wet/Ice ... limited to something like half torque maximum
Track ... very linear.
Normal ... a bit more low end punch than track (1/4 throttle in Normal is like 1/3 throttle in Track).
Sport ... most low end punch (1/4 throttle in Sport is like 1/2 throttle in Track).


Sport also lets the tires break loose a bit more.

Agreed. Even before my mods I noticed a significant difference in Sport. Track is a blast on spirited twisties, but Sport is clearly most responsive throughout the rpm range.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Bangkok_ZL1

#1) She's heavy. She feels heavy too. When I just touch the accelerator some, like at 10 or 20 MPH, the car doesn't jump (at all) like my 7 did. There is a reason this car has 650hp. it needs it just to move this big girl. But even with so many horses, I was a little surprised how hard I had to press the accelerator to get this girl in motion.

Have you considered an aftermarket throttle body? I have the Soler LT5, and it made a quite tangible difference in how the car "jumps" during initial accelerator pedal travel, particularly in sport mode.

See all the juicy technical details here: https://www.solerengineering.com/technical#block-yui_3_17_2_1_1550968985421_639014

(They also have a throttle controller if the TB alone still isn't enough; I for one won't go there, don't want the throttle to be twitchy, plus any curve the TC produces could be baked into the tune as well, so all it really gives is multiple settings per drive mode.)

[2out2sea]

I have never bought anything from Janetty racing, but Ted has spent time on the phone with me on a couple of different occasions and has been a straight shooter. Many on here say he's a good choice for a remote tune. You might send him a pm here on the forum. He also had his own e85 system so you could handle everything in one conversation. Good luck and keep us updated. I'll bet you get a lot of looks with aZL1 in Thailand!

[radz28]

+1 for Ted. I think you'll get the most bang for your buck at the lowest stress for your car with his methodology.

[TRZ06]

I'm going the opposite direction. Also I only have the SS 1LE, it is still heavy and you can feel the weight when throwing it around.

I am moving into the PDK GT4 next summer to get back to a small/light car again.

The biggest single thing you can do to the ZL1 and SS 1LE are add ZL1 ZLE solid rear cradle bushings. It tightens up the rear-end and gets rid of the lateral movement. It also helps to mask a bit more of its weight as the rear takes an immediate set and you don't need to make mini mid-corner steering wheel adjustments chasing the rear-end.

Also, get a track alignment, it gives you better initial bite and will hold a little more lateral G's in the corners. You will still get good tire wear. I use track alignment on mine year round on the street.