[L8Apex]

Not sure you would ever even notice the eLSD, and the price difference is pretty significant for a S/C. I couldn't justify it.

[appleman22]

his 1le does have an Elsd

[c4racer]

Originally Posted by Wyzz Kydd

I’m in the get it from the factory crowd. I love my SS 1LE, but when the kids don’t need to be driven to school anymore (1.5 years till the middle son can drive the two youngest) I’ll probably move the SS to the back of the garage and buy either a ZL1 1LE or a factory supercharged new Vette, if they’re available.

wait to see what college might cost you - that can severely impact car plans for awhile! Ask me how I know!

[DaveC113]

I'd do what Nicky on here did and build the LT1. Cam, Ti valves, springs, heads, etc... You'll end up with LT4 power, higher redline, no added weight.

But I also agree with the slippery slope comment, it's never enough. I'm keeping my SS stock.

[Lafourche1]

The engineering is in the ZL1. The SS 1LE is engineered for its engine, weight and performance envelope. The ZL1 is just engineered for a higher performance envelope. In fact, it is so good, you sometimes don't realize how good it is, until you drive something else. My recent experience puts the ZL1 right in between the AMG GT-S and AMG GT-R. Let that settle in for a bit.

[RobbyBeefcake87]

Originally Posted by DaveC113

I'd do what Nicky on here did and build the LT1. Cam, Ti valves, springs, heads, etc... You'll end up with LT4 power, higher redline, no added weight.

But I also agree with the slippery slope comment, it's never enough. I'm keeping my SS stock.

This, if you value NA power keep the 1le and go H/C fbo and you can have mid 500s to around 600 whp without any added weight. Not much less than where you should safely keep a non built lt1.

Though you will be out a warranty and I can be a slippery slope as mentioned.

In my opinion, keep the lt1 NA and mod it to its potential. Look at what Prays NA cars are doing, 9s and low 10s. If you want to supercharge it, then got with a zl1 off the gate. You'll want to mod that too eventually but at least you can just turn up the wick on an already boosted car.

[RobbyBeefcake87]

Originally Posted by Lafourche1

The engineering is in the ZL1. The SS 1LE is engineered for its engine, weight and performance envelope. The ZL1 is just engineered for a higher performance envelope. In fact, it is so good, you sometimes don't realize how good it is, until you drive something else. My recent experience puts the ZL1 right in between the AMG GT-S and AMG GT-R. Let that settle in for a bit.

Besides acceleration, what higher performance envelope does the zl1 have over the ss 1le? Same tires, suspension (tuned for weigh differences ofcourse), and elsd. It's faster, it's also heavier at the nose. Now a zl1 1le has a few more advantages.

[c4racer]

Originally Posted by RobbyBeefcake87

Besides acceleration, what higher performance envelope does the zl1 have over the ss 1le? Same tires, suspension (tuned for weigh differences ofcourse), and elsd. It's faster, it's also heavier at the nose. Now a zl1 1le has a few more advantages.

essentially the same chassis and drivetrain between ZL1 and 1LE, although there are probably little nuance things like spring and shock rates, ESD algorithms, TC and TM algorithms - lots of little things you may not realize are even there but add up to an engineered package to wrangle in all that power.
How critical are those elements? I am not sure any of us would even know - it would be all speculation! Could be negligible could be huge.

[RobbyBeefcake87]

Originally Posted by c4racer

essentially the same chassis and drivetrain between ZL1 and 1LE, although there are probably little nuance things like spring and shock rates, ESD algorithms, TC and TM algorithms - lots of little things you may not realize are even there but add up to an engineered package to wrangle in all that power.
How critical are those elements? I am not sure any of us would even know - it would be all speculation! Could be negligible could be huge.

I know, that's what I stated (the same besides suspension tuning for the added weight and different TC and eLSD tuning for the extra power). So besides the acceleration and power there is no other performance advantage to the zl1. By most accounts the lighter less nose heavy ss 1le has better handling characteristics.

Obviously the zl1 is better suited and factory tuned chassis wise for the added weight of a supercharger vs a boosted ss 1le if thats what Lafourche1 was getting at.

[Zaqwert6]

Just want to reiterate, we're talkin about on the street. Talking like 20 grand to improve your stoplight to stop light time by a second? That's a bit steep. You can throw a NOS kit on there and do the same thing for under a grand, and keep your warranty if you're smart about it. Now if we're talkin doing autocross or something, and wanting to keep your warranty, then that's a different story.

[crosive]

I had a 2017 2SS that I put a lot of the 1le suspension stuff on (not the kit from gm, and not the mag-ride reprogram), and I traded it in for a zl1, with the intent (at the time) to trade that in for a new 2020 2ss 1le once they started hitting shelves.

I will not do that now. The zl1 not only has the obvious power, but the handling is better than the 1le, to me. It could be in my head, but once you add everything up, the other side of the equal marks shows the zl1 being the better deal overall.

[Realist]

If you can truly afford a ZL1, go that route. Mods can put a smile on the face but generally see no return on $’s spent. They also make selling the car more difficult. If you plan to keep the car longer term, the beating on mods may not be so bad. Plan to take a beating if trading in the SS with the deals going on now. To me, no matter what you do to an SS, it’s still not going to be what a ZL1 means to me.

[RobbyBeefcake87]

Originally Posted by crosive

I had a 2017 2SS that I put a lot of the 1le suspension stuff on (not the kit from gm, and not the mag-ride reprogram), and I traded it in for a zl1, with the intent (at the time) to trade that in for a new 2020 2ss 1le once they started hitting shelves.

I will not do that now. The zl1 not only has the obvious power, but the handling is better than the 1le, to me. It could be in my head, but once you add everything up, the other side of the equal marks shows the zl1 being the better deal overall.

The zl1 is obviously more car, more money, more power, more speed, I don't want to sound like I'm ragging on it like the ss 1le is a better car or "hating".

What you said just isn't true handling wise. What 1le are you comparing it to? A 1le you test drove for a short period of time or the ss you put some non 1le but 1le like stuff? The 1le and regular one are very similarly setup chassis and suspension wise on top of the same eLSD. Different tuning for weight and power but mostly same equipment. Unless you prefer the feel of a slightly heavier car with a little more weight on the nose the zl1 handling is not better than the lighter ss 1le.

Ask the guys who tracked their 1le's and now track zl1s or even zl1 1le's, the weight is apparent. On the motortrend gt350r vs zl1 article it's mentioned that the ss 1le handles better than both (not that it's a better car, just handling characteristics). Or better yet take Randy Pobst word on it.

Again if you need the extra power and speed as well as more exotic looks, the zl1 is the way to go for sure, but not for its handling characteristics or it's superior performance besides speed/power.

[Lafourche1]

Originally Posted by RobbyBeefcake87

Besides acceleration, what higher performance envelope does the zl1 have over the ss 1le? Same tires, suspension (tuned for weigh differences ofcourse), and elsd. It's faster, it's also heavier at the nose. Now a zl1 1le has a few more advantages.

I don't want to start a mine is better than yours thread hijack. Basically, the ZL1 is engineered and is faster in 0-60 | quarter mile | around any road course and has a higher top-end. The ZL1 also has larger front brake rotors, different front fenders (wider) and a different front fascia.

Once again, this is the engineering thing.