[Saberscar223]

A while ago I was thinking of upgrading to a 2022 Zl1 but the thought of starting over on a car that wouldn’t sound as good, would be slower, and cost a lot more really drove me away.

If my 2SS was stock, was a pre 19 SS, had a 1SS or if the ZL1 was cheaper I feel like it’d be worth it but for the first year or so I’d just be in a slower, quieter version of practically the same thing. I love the look of the ZL1 hood and Bumper but I much prefer the 20+ SS headlights.

But as I said the main thing is I’d be slower starting out but paying a lot more a month.

Did anyone do the upgrade and regret it or also stop themselves from upgrading?

[FarmerFran]

That is a very personal question to answer.

What have you done to your car? What kind of faster? straight? twisties? 2SS is pretty loaded but the ZL1 Alcantara interior and outside effects.

[arpad_m]

As Fran says, there is no universal answer to this. Even when you tell us what kind of build you have already, there are so many subjective elements at play here.

I have a built 2SS with the maximum amount of power I or any normal street tires can handle, strong forged internals, and wouldn't want to trade it for a ZL1, because it's a sleeper, has all the features and electronics the ZL1 does (except line lock), and looks 100% the way I want (can't stand the cut up ZL1 hood, the giant gaping holes in the ZL1 front grille aren't my favorite either etc.).

Also, and I know this will be controversial, but the 2SS with a supercharger and the ZL1 are pretty much the same car when used in the street, where my car spends 99%+ of its life. Sure, the electronic diff is great on the track, but the standard LSD is not half bad either. Now if one has a 2SS 1LE with a supercharger, that's even closer to a ZL1, almost identical.

What I'm saying with this is that unless one has a very mild SS build and wants to drive the car at 9.5/10ths, IMO there is no point in wasting a ton of money trading a built 2SS for a stock ZL1.

[Saberscar223]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

As Fran says, there is no universal answer to this. Even when you tell us what kind of build you have already, there are so many subjective elements at play here.

I have a built 2SS with the maximum amount of power I or any normal street tires can handle, strong forged internals, and wouldn't want to trade it for a ZL1, because it's a sleeper, has all the features and electronics the ZL1 does (except line lock), and looks 100% the way I want (can't stand the cut up ZL1 hood, the giant gaping holes in the ZL1 front grille aren't my favorite either etc.).

Also, and I know this will be controversial, but the 2SS with a supercharger and the ZL1 are pretty much the same car when used in the street, where my car spends 99%+ of its life. Sure, the electronic diff is great on the track, but the standard LSD is not half bad either. Now if one has a 2SS 1LE with a supercharger, that's even closer to a ZL1, almost identical.

What I'm saying with this is that unless one has a very mild SS build and wants to drive the car at 9.5/10ths, IMO there is no point in wasting a ton of money trading a built 2SS for a stock ZL1.

Yeah I understand, part of me knew the zl1 is easier to get power out of since it’s forged but you need a lot of power for that to really make a difference. Also the 2ss does have line lock and launch control? Unless only the 19+ SS have it.

[Saberscar223]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

That is a very personal question to answer.

What have you done to your car? What kind of faster? straight? twisties? 2SS is pretty loaded but the ZL1 Alcantara interior and outside effects.

I’m FBO E85 Heads and a stage 2 cam.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Saberscar223

Yeah I understand, part of me knew the zl1 is easier to get power out of since it’s forged but you need a lot of power for that to really make a difference. Also the 2ss does have line lock and launch control? Unless only the 19+ SS have it.

Indeed, mine is a 2018 and doesn't yet have line lock. Not sure whether or not the 2019+ SS has line lock, but it does have programmable launch control whereas mine came with fixed rpm, non-programmable launch control.

[Saberscar223]

Yeah mine does have Line lock along with the rearview camera mirror and updated dash and infotainment ui. I’m assuming all 2SS and ZL1s have them 19+ maayyyybe 3lt but I’m not sure about that one.

[ZPirate]

Originally Posted by Saberscar223

A while ago I was thinking of upgrading to a 2022 Zl1 but the thought of starting over on a car that wouldn’t sound as good, would be slower, and cost a lot more really drove me away.

If my 2SS was stock, was a pre 19 SS, had a 1SS or if the ZL1 was cheaper I feel like it’d be worth it but for the first year or so I’d just be in a slower, quieter version of practically the same thing. I love the look of the ZL1 hood and Bumper but I much prefer the 20+ SS headlights.

But as I said the main thing is I’d be slower starting out but paying a lot more a month.

Did anyone do the upgrade and regret it or also stop themselves from upgrading?

Unfortunately, the answer to your question is very subjective and may vary from person to person. It really depends on what you want, your budget and how much you have already invested in modifying your current SS, how you use the car and what options are important to you.

I went from a basically stock 22 1SS 1LE to a 23 ZL1. I don't regret the change at all, although in my opinion the SS 1LE is the sweet spot in the Camaro line up in terms of bang for the buck. I'm more interested in handling, braking and overall feel of the car than I am in straight line acceleration. I could care less about drag racing, but recognize that is important to others. The ZL1 basically drives like a SS 1LE, but with 200 more horsepower.

My suggestion would be to test drive a ZL1 if you haven't already done so. That would be the best way for you to answer your questions about the differences in the two.

I'm in my early 60s and have owned a number of sports/performance cars over the years, including Nissan Zs, Corvettes, BMWs and Camaros. Although I loved my 1LE I wanted a ZL1 before Chevy stopped making them. I've also been the mod route before. I once invested about 20K over a period of a few years in mods to a car. At the end of the day I realized that for me I was better off investing that mod money in a higher performance car than in the car I was modifying as I would never get that money back when I sold the car.

That's not to say that I don't modify my cars, I do to a degree. I just try not to get carried away. At the end of the day I now prefer to spend my money on something new/better than on mods.

[ZPirate]

Originally Posted by Saberscar223

Yeah mine does have Line lock along with the rearview camera mirror and updated dash and infotainment ui. I’m assuming all 2SS and ZL1s have them 19+ maayyyybe 3lt but I’m not sure about that one.

Yes the 19+ 2SS and ZL1 basically have the same standard creature features. The ZL1 comes standard with Recaros that are an option on the 2SS and of course with the performance upgrades similar to the SS 1LE.

[SpeZ]

My friend went from his pro charged SS to a stock ZL1.
He doesn't regret it at all. Even tho the SS pushed 700 hp crank.

The ZL1 has more power spreaded on the entire speed range. Especially you feel the torque more at low revs.
Got great recaro seats, alcanthara everywhere.
And most important thing, it is more reliable than his procharged SS with stock internals at 700 hp...
He plans to do further upgrades like porting the blower and sport catalytic converters during winter time

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

I've seen these threads before and never seen anyone reply that they regretted going to a ZL1 from an SS. Is your built SS that much quicker than a stock ZL1? What does your SS run in the 1/4 (et and mph) and 60-130 mph split? For 60-130 mph ~8.5 sec is typical for a stock ZL1. A few easy mods and 7s are easily obtainable. Some ZL1s with stock tune are getting high 7s (e.g. 7.9 sec) 60-130 with just an OEM ported throttle body and a no-tune intake. A stock SS is in the 11s 60-130, so to get into the 7s it needs a lot more power (which I'm sure you have with heads/cam/E85), but a ZL1 is very easy to get into the mid/low 7s and not hard to get into the high 6s (still talking 60-130 mph, of course).

Aside from the stronger LT4, the ZL1 has a lot of upgrades over an SS - some subjective (like the looks) but others not subjective (e.g., stronger transmission, bigger brakes, etc.).

[LT4Greg]

I don’t regret going from a 2016 2SS to a 2017 ZL1 but that’s your decision, not mine. Do what you feel is best for you!

[Booher]

I went from a bolt on 17 2ss to a 19 zl1, because someone totaled my car. The zl1 definitely felt faster, but not near the mods you have. One thing to keep in mind is insurance will go way up along with fuel usage, it's quite noticable. That's something I really miss with the 2ss, the Mpg was so much better

[MyNameIs]

Originally Posted by Saberscar223

A while ago I was thinking of upgrading to a 2022 Zl1 but the thought of starting over on a car that wouldn’t sound as good, would be slower, and cost a lot more really drove me away.

If my 2SS was stock, was a pre 19 SS, had a 1SS or if the ZL1 was cheaper I feel like it’d be worth it but for the first year or so I’d just be in a slower, quieter version of practically the same thing. I love the look of the ZL1 hood and Bumper but I much prefer the 20+ SS headlights.

But as I said the main thing is I’d be slower starting out but paying a lot more a month.

Did anyone do the upgrade and regret it or also stop themselves from upgrading?

SS grills look better than ZL1, just so much cleaner, as the ZL1 grill just has too much going on.