[travislambert]

Over the weekend at PittRace, I rented a '21 ZL1 1LE Auto from 89X Motorsports (https://trackcarsolutions.com/). Being very particular about vehicles, I was a little skeptical, to say the least. When I arrived, the car was waiting on me with brand new brake pads, new 3R tires, fresh oil, and a fresh alignment. They took care of tech inspection, fueling, rotating tires, tire pressures, and checking the car between every session. Literally, all that I had to do was drive.

Michael Fitzpatrick is the owner. He raced motorcycles professionally for many years before transitioning to 4 wheels. Now he spends nearly every weekend at the track and occasionally finds time to enter competitive events in his 2018 SS 1LE. Needless to say, Mike knows what he’s doing when it comes to prepping and maintaining these cars. From what I could see, he isn’t cutting corners anywhere.

I was simply blown away by the service provided while at the track. Not only were we provided an amazing car, they provided lunch and dinner for the entire group I was with.

The ZL1 1LE was $4,800 for the weekend (SS 1LE is less expensive). That may seem like a lot at first, but when you add up the expenses, I think it’s a killer deal. I shared the car with a friend and we basically went through an entire set of DS1.11 pads. We eventually corded the new tires, and it’s hard to say how much fuel they had to put into the car. They’re also doing all of the prep work prior to the track day and the cleanup after, which we all know can be very time-consuming. In addition to the car, this price includes track insurance. They probably spent hundreds of dollars on food and drinks as well. All said and done, you can’t beat that deal.

In my case, I was working on my ZL1 and wasn’t 100% sure it would be ready in time. To guarantee I had a car available to drive at the event I had booked, I rented the car. Before this experience, I never considered renting a track car, but now I see it makes a lot of sense. I’m now thinking instead of towing my car across the country, I could fly to some of the tracks, drive their car, then fly back.

Anyway, these guys are just getting started, but they are doing it right. If you need or want to hit the track this summer but don't have a lot of time to prep your car, check them out.

https://trackcarsolutions.com/

(I am in no way affiliated with 89x Motorsports. I’m just a happy customer and wanted to share my experience.)

[gtfoxy]

Sounds like you had a blast.

Very cool.

[Wuiquen]

Originally Posted by travislambert

Over the weekend at PittRace, I rented a '21 ZL1 1LE Auto from 89X Motorsports (https://trackcarsolutions.com/). Being very particular about vehicles, I was a little skeptical, to say the least. When I arrived, the car was waiting on me with brand new brake pads, new 3R tires, fresh oil, and a fresh alignment. They took care of tech inspection, fueling, rotating tires, tire pressures, and checking the car between every session. Literally, all that I had to do was drive.

Michael Fitzpatrick is the owner. He raced motorcycles professionally for many years before transitioning to 4 wheels. Now he spends nearly every weekend at the track and occasionally finds time to enter competitive events in his 2018 SS 1LE. Needless to say, Mike knows what he’s doing when it comes to prepping and maintaining these cars. From what I could see, he isn’t cutting corners anywhere.

I was simply blown away by the service provided while at the track. Not only were we provided an amazing car, they provided lunch and dinner for the entire group I was with.

The ZL1 1LE was $4,800 for the weekend (SS 1LE is less expensive). That may seem like a lot at first, but when you add up the expenses, I think it’s a killer deal. I shared the car with a friend and we basically went through an entire set of DS1.11 pads. We eventually corded the new tires, and it’s hard to say how much fuel they had to put into the car. They’re also doing all of the prep work prior to the track day and the cleanup after, which we all know can be very time-consuming. In addition to the car, this price includes track insurance. They probably spent hundreds of dollars on food and drinks as well. All said and done, you can’t beat that deal.

In my case, I was working on my ZL1 and wasn’t 100% sure it would be ready in time. To guarantee I had a car available to drive at the event I had booked, I rented the car. Before this experience, I never considered renting a track car, but now I see it makes a lot of sense. I’m now thinking instead of towing my car across the country, I could fly to some of the tracks, drive their car, then fly back.

Anyway, these guys are just getting started, but they are doing it right. If you need or want to hit the track this summer but don't have a lot of time to prep your car, check them out.

https://trackcarsolutions.com/

(I am in no way affiliated with 89x Motorsports. I’m just a happy customer and wanted to share my experience.)

Can you comment on your experience with the ZLE at the track versus the ZL1(assuming you have tracked your ZL1)? Was it a big difference?

I understand the ZLE is a race car but how does the ZL1 compares to it at the track?

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[Paintslinger16]

With everything they did here it actually seems cheap, and you split the cost with another driver? if they were at other tracks a great way to see the tracks of the US.

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by Wuiquen

Can you comment on your experience with the ZLE at the track versus the ZL1(assuming you have tracked your ZL1)? Was it a big difference?

I understand the ZLE is a race car but how does the ZL1 compares to it at the track?

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

I don't want to derail the thread too much, but both are great. It has been a while since I've tracked a stock ZL1, but stock vs stock, I would estimate I'm about 3-4 seconds faster at PittRace with the ZL1 1LE. Tires are going to make the biggest difference (3s vs 3Rs). Next, the aero is obviously better for the turns, etc, but it slows the car down significantly on the straights. On the front stretch, it was a 4-5 MPH top speed difference stock vs stock). The stiffer suspension helps, but I'm still not convinced it's a huge factor on these cars at PittRace. People like to believe it is, and that's fine. I'll just have to disagree with those people. I think it feels faster because it beats the crap out of you, but when you actually compare times, I think the MRC is darn close.

My ZL1 is now a mutt/monster. It's basically a ZL1 1LE on steroids. It has nearly every meaningful 1LE part short of the front fascia and rear glass (Before any smartasses say it doesn't have the same 6th gear ratio, I'll tell you it actually does.) I had my car at the track this weekend as well. I drove it back to back with the ZL1 1LE, and the biggest difference is the aero. The APR front and rear aero on my car produces a lot more downforce. It can really be felt through the esses and the higher speed turns. Of course, that comes with a compromise in the form of drag, but my car was set to about 800 rwhp that offsets the drag pretty well.

This was my first experience driving the A10, and it is amazing. It seemed to shift perfectly in all scenarios. I was really impressed. It pulls like mad too. Even at 800 RWHP in my car, I could barely pull on the A10 out of the turns. The gap widened with speed, but still, the A10 is stupid fast. It takes a lot of extra horsepower to break even when driving the manual. At the end of the day though, I like the manual. I'd probably get bored driving the A10. (My friend, who is a professional driver, was on the track with me at the same time. We ran together for several laps to compare.)

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by Paintslinger16

With everything they did here it actually seems cheap, and you split the cost with another driver? if they were at other tracks a great way to see the tracks of the US.

Exactly! I'm already planning my next rental. Tracks like Road Atlanta are pretty far for me, but when I can fly in, drive at the track, and fly back; I can now fit it all into a weekend.

[Wuiquen]

Originally Posted by travislambert

I don't want to derail the thread too much, but both are great. It has been a while since I've tracked a stock ZL1, but stock vs stock, I would estimate I'm about 3-4 seconds faster at PittRace with the ZL1 1LE. Tires are going to make the biggest difference (3s vs 3Rs). Next, the aero is obviously better for the turns, etc, but it slows the car down significantly on the straights. On the front stretch, it was a 4-5 MPH top speed difference stock vs stock). The stiffer suspension helps, but I'm still not convinced it's a huge factor on these cars at PittRace. People like to believe it is, and that's fine. I'll just have to disagree with those people. I think it feels faster because it beats the crap out of you, but when you actually compare times, I think the MRC is darn close.

My ZL1 is now a mutt/monster. It's basically a ZL1 1LE on steroids. It has nearly every meaningful 1LE part short of the front fascia and rear glass (Before any smartasses say it doesn't have the same 6th gear ratio, I'll tell you it actually does.) I had my car at the track this weekend as well. I drove it back to back with the ZL1 1LE, and the biggest difference is the aero. The APR front and rear aero on my car produces a lot more downforce. It can really be felt through the esses and the higher speed turns. Of course, that comes with a compromise in the form of drag, but my car was set to about 800 rwhp that offsets the drag pretty well.

This was my first experience driving the A10, and it is amazing. It seemed to shift perfectly in all scenarios. I was really impressed. It pulls like mad too. Even at 800 RWHP in my car, I could barely pull on the A10 out of the turns. The gap widened with speed, but still, the A10 is stupid fast. It takes a lot of horsepower to even break even when driving the manual. At the end of the day though, I like the manual. I'd probably get bored driving the A10. (My friend, who is a professional driver, was on the track with me at the same time. We ran together for several laps to compare.)

Thanks for the detailed answer.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[gtfoxy]

Originally Posted by travislambert

I don't want to derail the thread too much, but both are great. It has been a while since I've tracked a stock ZL1, but stock vs stock, I would estimate I'm about 3-4 seconds faster at PittRace with the ZL1 1LE. Tires are going to make the biggest difference (3s vs 3Rs). Next, the aero is obviously better for the turns, etc, but it slows the car down significantly on the straights. On the front stretch, it was a 4-5 MPH top speed difference stock vs stock). The stiffer suspension helps, but I'm still not convinced it's a huge factor on these cars at PittRace. People like to believe it is, and that's fine. I'll just have to disagree with those people. I think it feels faster because it beats the crap out of you, but when you actually compare times, I think the MRC is darn close.

My ZL1 is now a mutt/monster. It's basically a ZL1 1LE on steroids. It has nearly every meaningful 1LE part short of the front fascia and rear glass (Before any smartasses say it doesn't have the same 6th gear ratio, I'll tell you it actually does.) I had my car at the track this weekend as well. I drove it back to back with the ZL1 1LE, and the biggest difference is the aero. The APR front and rear aero on my car produces a lot more downforce. It can really be felt through the esses and the higher speed turns. Of course, that comes with a compromise in the form of drag, but my car was set to about 800 rwhp that offsets the drag pretty well.

This was my first experience driving the A10, and it is amazing. It seemed to shift perfectly in all scenarios. I was really impressed. It pulls like mad too. Even at 800 RWHP in my car, I could barely pull on the A10 out of the turns. The gap widened with speed, but still, the A10 is stupid fast. It takes a lot of horsepower to even break even when driving the manual. At the end of the day though, I like the manual. I'd probably get bored driving the A10. (My friend, who is a professional driver, was on the track with me at the same time. We ran together for several laps to compare.)

Again I reverberate the appreciation of your insight.

Being an appreciative of both autos & manuals, especially the trained footwork involved in pushing a manual to compete with the programming in the A10 TCM, if one can relatively compete they may very well be a god among mere mortals.

That being said, as a mere mortal, I wouldn’t mind the opportunity to master both the paddle & shifter controls offered in the A10 to an equivalent of said TCM programming.

Minus the footwork of a 6spd utilizing the meat of the gear function of the A10 in a strait line, let alone around a wide-ranging road course, would undoubtedly take an enormous amount of focus & practice much like the 6spd. What it lacks in varietal appendage actuation would be balanced, undoubtedly, by near constant attention to RPM and reaction time.

Some food for thought.

[Village Idiot]

How many sessions did you get in? Everything included + not having to beat the piss out of your own car that’s not too bad.

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by Village Idiot

How many sessions did you get in? Everything included + not having to beat the piss out of your own car that’s not too bad.

Since I got my car ready in time, my buddy ended up getting a lot of the track time in the ZL1 1LE. Total we ran 2 warmups, 8 regular sessions, and 1 happy hour session.

While he was driving the ZL1 1LE, I was beating the piss out of my car. Actually, I took it really easy this weekend. It was a completely new engine, transmission, fuel system, brakes, etc. I think I only truly ran 2 laps. The rest of the time I was only running at about 70%. Everything was working fine. It was just a bit of a break-in and tuning weekend.

The current pricing on the rentals is a great deal, especially for an advanced driver who burns through consumables quickly. I imagine the price will have to go up at some point. Otherwise, I don't see how they're ever going to make any money.

[kropscamaro16]

how much is the ss 1le vs the zl1 1le?

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by kropscamaro16

how much is the ss 1le vs the zl1 1le?

I assume they are custom quoting based on the track, rental duration, etc. For 2 full days at PittRace, my rental was $4,800 for the ZL1 1LE.

On their website, it shows the SS 1LE starting price is $400 less than the ZL1 1LE, so I assume it's normally $400 per day less expensive for the SS 1LE.

Don't take my word on it. I'm just guessing based on their website. If you contact them, I'm sure they'd be happy to provide a quote.

https://trackcarsolutions.com/

[Scottyz]

We’re you testing your car hard enough to test that new fuel system contraption you made? I’ve been waiting for an update

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by Scottyz

We’re you testing your car hard enough to test that new fuel system contraption you made? I’ve been waiting for an update

Yeah, I'm confident in the testing for the new low-side fuel system. It turned out awesome, and I honestly don't think there's anything on the market that comes close. In fact, it works so well I've been holding back from posting about it. I have an automotive accessory company that I may expand to offer the system I developed.