[Scottyz]

Originally Posted by Maro_89

Well said here I like what you wrote seems pretty convincing to get the ZL1 1LE.

Do it. You won’t regret it. If you go the other way you will just keep second guessing your decision. It’s a great machine.

[GreenZLE]

I think this all comes down to what your personal preference is and what you expect out of the car.


If you care about too harsh of a ride and want what most would consider a daily driver, get the regular ZL1 with an auto. If you want all it can do on a track and then some, get the ZLE with the auto.



If you're a hard core badass that would literally drive a face plated gearbox car on the street (I do) , get the ZLE. Be ready to run right out and buy new tires for it too. I put 888R's on mine in the back and they make plenty of noise. Oh well. My wife gets car sick in this thing. I LOL'd. Too bad. Stay at home and bake some cookies. The 888R tires stick great BTW. A good bump will literally toss you off the seat so use the ratchet feature built into the seat belts to keep you planted.



Surprising, even to me, I went with the auto once I read the auto feels like adding 100RWHP to these cars. They aint lying. IMO, the decision of auto or stick was the toughest for me. I couldnt properly describe the auto shifting characteristics of these cars to you if my life depended on it. It borders on life changing. You couldnt talk me into a stick now for anything, and I put 28K daily driven miles on a face plated 2002 Camaro SS.



Launches are awesome in this car. The suspension response is second to none. Proper modulation of the throttle and it does exactly what you want.



Cornering is almost more than the average joe can handle....and I consider me an average joe .85g's+ on an on ramp, turn your head to look out of the side glass, feel the blood drain from one side of your head to the other. It'll make you delirious. I'm betting its downright terrifying to the passenger. I'm a terrible passenger and if I had to ride with me, I'd almost piss myself.


The car is always ready to go. Its almost as if it's pissed cause you aint got it floored. Its weird. It really lets you know you aint as good a driver as you always thought you were. I've always known I could push my other cars beyond their limit. Not so much with this one.



As if you couldnt tell, I love this car more than any other Camaro I've ever owned, and I've owned several. The only things I hate, and I do hate them, about this car, are the visibility and the brake dust. Someone should have figured out they needed the rear view mirror camera more in the 1LE model than the regular ZL1 and they should have gave me the option of paying another $3K for carbon rotors that kept the wheels clean.


Other than those things, its perfect.


Edit: I also want to mention I ran a 2018 Z06 and they are about dead nuts even up to 140......where the ZLE pulled a bit on the Z06.

[ZX-10R]

Originally Posted by GreenZLE

Surprising, even to me, I went with the auto once I read the auto feels like adding 100RWHP to these cars. They aint lying. IMO, the decision of auto or stick was the toughest for me. I couldnt properly describe the auto shifting characteristics of these cars to you if my life depended on it. It borders on life changing. You couldnt talk me into a stick now for anything

Yep - for all the talk of how "manly" it is to row your own (and I drove a manual FD RX-7 for 18 years) modern autos are faster in every situation. They also allow you to focus more on other things like driving the car. The 10 speed is brilliant.

Visibility - raise the seat to highest position. It doesn't bother me at all.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by ZX-10R

Yep - for all the talk of how "manly" it is to row your own (and I drove a manual FD RX-7 for 18 years) modern autos are faster in every situation. They also allow you to focus more on other things like driving the car. The 10 speed is brilliant.

Visibility - raise the seat to highest position. It doesn't bother me at all.

I love manuals, but I do hate it when it is described as "manly" or purist etc. Get what you want and enjoy it.

OTOH, I and I know many other manual drivers don't care if the DCT/new autos are faster on a track because it isn't about that. I know I've never won any prize money at the track so I'm out to have fun. For me the manual is a lot more fun, especially on the street where I drive 99% of the time.

[ZX-10R]

It is fun, especially on a track or mountain road - not sure I really miss it though.

[minn19]

Originally Posted by ZX-10R

It is fun, especially on a track or mountain road - not sure I really miss it though.

I did, I had a couple of DCT M cars and had very good test drive in a 10 speed regular ZL1. They are amazing pieces of tech, but I found out they aren't for me. It isn't my daily as I am fortunate to have a truck/car to use for commuting etc if I want to. If it was my only car, I maybe would of looked harder at a 10 speed, I'm guessing I still wouldn't have. I wish my wife's Jetta was a 6 speed as those are a lot of fun with a manual, but she refuses to learn how to drive a manual so it is what it is.

[Nucdancer01]

Originally Posted by GreenZLE

Cornering is almost more than the average joe can handle....and I consider me an average joe .85g's+ on an on ramp, turn your head to look out of the side glass, feel the blood drain from one side of your head to the other. It'll make you delirious. I'm betting its downright terrifying to the passenger. I'm a terrible passenger and if I had to ride with me, I'd almost piss myself.


The car is always ready to go. Its almost as if it's pissed cause you aint got it floored. Its weird. It really lets you know you aint as good a driver as you always thought you were. I've always known I could push my other cars beyond their limit. Not so much with this one.



As if you couldnt tell, I love this car more than any other Camaro I've ever owned, and I've owned several.

These are my sentiments exactly.

The ZLE really makes me want to scratch the itch I got from riding sportbikes for over a decade once I got past the stunt-scene (let's be honest, I never really got past it, that's why I went Harley D.) The first time I put my knee on the ground, I was hooked. Bikes were way more capable than me in the beginning, but I learned, practiced on the track, and got better. That's what the ZLE makes me want to do.

Spend my money on tires, brakes, seat time, and enjoy driving this beast of a car!

-Jeremy

[Nucdancer01]

Originally Posted by minn19

I did, I had a couple of DCT M cars and had very good test drive in a 10 speed regular ZL1. They are amazing pieces of tech, but I found out they aren't for me.

Same here.. It wasn't about how many 10 thousandths I could shave, it was about how much I LIKE shifting gears.

I had an E46 SMG M3, and an E92 DCT M3 Comp. Both were great, but I couldn't keep them because they didn't have a clutch pedal. I know they shifted faster/smoother/better than me.. that didn't matter. The mechanical connection to the car makes me want to drive it. I'm not bashing the A10, I'm just commiserating with this guy about the stick.

[Pantherzl1]

Get the regular zl1 with the 10 speed, it’s faster In every way you could possibly drive on the street.

[Flowtie1]

I wanted a non 1le car. I also didn't want a moonroof car. Mine is an M6 . It can perform way above my talent level.

[The Manalishi]

Originally Posted by Revalot

Oldsteel 68, I am 49, and Have a 72 chevelle LS powertrain, new moog bushings threw out the car. I wanted a ZL1/1LE bad, real bad, drove a regular used ZL1 it was great, then drove a ZL1/1LE, in Dallas for like 10 minutes on great streets, freeway etc. No bad I thought. Then one day I went to look at a Hyper blue 2018 ZL1/1LE I knew this was it, I then asked the salesman to let me take it down some bumpy roads, To be fair I had a headache that day, but the car was so rough I changed my mind. I found a ZL1 with all the OEM 1LE stuff on it.
I'm grateful !

If that Hyper Blue was at Reliable, I own it now. Put some Pilot 4S on it and it rides much better. Man I love that car. I will say the 3R is brutal on a bumpy road but on a decent road this car is bonkers compared to a regular ZL1, on either tire.

[IntimidatorZ]

Originally Posted by GreenZLE

Cornering is almost more than the average joe can handle....and I consider me an average joe .85g's+ on an on ramp, turn your head to look out of the side glass, feel the blood drain from one side of your head to the other. It'll make you delirious. I'm betting its downright terrifying to the passenger. I'm a terrible passenger and if I had to ride with me, I'd almost piss myself.

Yep consider me an average joe as well lol. I took a half-circle highway exit ramp last week, pulled near 1G and did that exact motion of looking to the left to look for traffic from the side window and damn... I was legit dizzy for a few seconds afterwards lol. I've watched YouTube videos with fighter jet pilots and always wondered if I'd be able to tolerate the types of G's they pull... I think I found out the answer- negative ghostrider!