How does a built 5th gen stack up to a 6th for handling?

[SS 310H55A]

My 2014 SS is all stock for now. The prices on the 6th gen is tempting me to jump ship. I have two kids (6 and 4) that love driving around in my camaro and the lack of published rear seat interior dimensions for the 6th gen leaves me thinking it’s really just a 2 seater in disguise. If that’s the case, a 6th gen won’t work for me.

I realize the 6th gen is superior to a 5th gen in every way imaginable and I probably already know the answer, but I’m gonna ask anyways. How does a 5th gen with built suspension compare to the 6th gen? I don’t want to make the investment if it means spending thousands of dollars in upgrades only to sit in a 6th gen and regret investing in the 5th gen.

[bkevind]

I dunno but I'm sticking with my 5th gen for a good long while. I like the exaggerated style, has a lot of character. My build is headed towards 98% track only car. I'm adding power, will add downforce (real wing + splitter), and will add lightness where possible. Putting the same effort and money into a 6th gen would most likely net a better result, but at a hobby level it hardly matters.

Power is the last thing I should do but...in a few weeks I should be close to 600whp NA. Grip will be thanks to MCS 2 way coilovers and 19x11 wheels with for now 305 RE71R street/track.

Half cage and proper seats with harness to come. I'm just doing to the car what I want it to become, not worried about the latest and greatest. It's me in my car vs the clock.

[bkevind]

Oh yeah and the backeat in the Gen5 is decently roomy for young kids, as you know. Gen 6 is a joke of a backseat as I'm sure you've read about.

[VR Baron]

Depends on what type handling your after. My car is a good comfortable dd and is setup for autocross . I feel It will out handle a new SS 1le and is faster now by a little bit. At this point it is who is a better driver. For road course you will need the power of a zl1 to keep up with the new zl1 and more then that to keep up with the top competition. My car has what’s in the sig and for race day has in addition 19x10.75” wheels and re71r 305/30s. The wheel tire setup is a must

[SS 310H55A]

Originally Posted by bkevind

I'm just doing to the car what I want it to become, not worried about the latest and greatest. It's me in my car vs the clock.

That's a good point you bring up. It's easy to get caught up with the latest and greatest but I guess there will always be something better to look up to.

Originally Posted by VR Baron

Depends on what type handling your after. My car is a good comfortable dd and is setup for autocross . I feel It will out handle a new SS 1le and is faster now by a little bit. At this point it is who is a better driver. For road course you will need the power of a zl1 to keep up with the new zl1 and more then that to keep up with the top competition. My car has what’s in the sig and for race day has in addition 19x10.75” wheels and re71r 305/30s. The wheel tire setup is a must

My intention was for autocross and road courses but you mentioned something I didn't think about and that's keeping up with ZL1's and beyond. I suppose my intention now is a fun hobby car that I can also autocross.

[Matty Ice]

To roughly put things in perspective:

Gen 5 1le is equal to a Gen 6 SS
Gen 5 Z28 is equal to a Gen 6 1le

On track days it comes down to the driver getting the most out of the vehicle. Also it comes down to repeatability. A Gen 5 1le could possibly put down one or two laps as fast as a Gen 5 Z28 but it will not be able to do it lap after lap like the Z28 will.

[SS 310H55A]

Originally Posted by Matty Ice

To roughly put things in perspective:

Gen 5 1le is equal to a Gen 6 SS
Gen 5 Z28 is equal to a Gen 6 1le

On track days it comes down to the driver getting the most out of the vehicle. Also it comes down to repeatability. A Gen 5 1le could possibly put down one or two laps as fast as a Gen 5 Z28 but it will not be able to do it lap after lap like the Z28 will.

Thank you for putting all this into perspective.
What is it about the gen 5 1LE that struggles with consistency in the track? Is it inferior brakes?

[bkevind]

Originally Posted by SS 310H55A

That's a good point you bring up. It's easy to get caught up with the latest and greatest but I guess there will always be something better to look up to.





My intention was for autocross and road courses but you mentioned something I didn't think about and that's keeping up with ZL1's and beyond. I suppose my intention now is a fun hobby car that I can also autocross.

Yep, there is always something better, it's a never ending, never satisfying pursuit. This is true in most hobbies that have ever improving technology.

I've heard many times "why upgrade the old model, or the lesser model? Just buy the better model, the new model." And yeah that does make some sense. Sure, spending money on an older car can cost quite a bit to achieve what you want. And yeah that money spent could be put into purchasing newer better. The ZL1 1LE is certainly a tempting machine.

But now, Gen5 is too old, too big, too heavy. As time goes on it is ever more the underdog. That underdog tag appeals to me, a lot. Especially if I can make my underdog perform as well as or better than <fill in the blank hot new thing>.

Even better, the road course crowd tends to gravitate towards the same few cars, because they simply make sense, and in come cases open doors to fun competitive wheel to wheel racing. aka the spec Miata. There is a reason there a lot of well built BRZ and Miatas out on racetracks everywhere. They're cheap to run, and capable of setting really good lap times on most tracks, using momentum. But ... I will resist that as long as I can, and I will fill up their tiny mirrors with my giant, roaring car as much as I can!

[alaskacamaro]

As others have stated, it depends on your willingness, time and of course wallet size as to how well a 5th gen can stack up against any vehicle. I have also seen plenty of wealthy supercar owners that have not a clue how to drive or handle their 300K+ cars.

[Tomsusername]

I've thought about upgrading to a 6th gen 1LE. However, When you start looking at the electronics in the 2 cars, I feel like there's a lot more that could go wrong in a 6th gen in the long run. Not saying that the 6th gen or LT1 is unreliable, but while the variable valve timing, direct injection, no-lift-shift, auto rev-match, E-dif, multi-mode traction control, and mag-ride make it a more balanced platform, they seem like something that would be a PITA to fix in the long run.

The 5th gen SS is a modern car, but still essentially an LS engine with (comparatively) limited electronic intervention that relies mostly on mechanical grip. I'm at 24K miles right now, and my goal is to get mine to 200K before I have to think about getting something else.

[Tomsusername]

Also... at the track, this car is faster than I am as a driver. (I'll totally admit this every single time!). I'd rather focus on the driver mod before I throw more car at the problem.

[bkevind]

Originally Posted by SS 310H55A

Thank you for putting all this into perspective.
What is it about the gen 5 1LE that struggles with consistency in the track? Is it inferior brakes?

If anything, yeah the brakes are a little small sized, but with cooling ducts can be fine. If you're upgrading grip and power, then your pace will be higher, so you should upgrade the brakes as well to either ZL1 front calipers+two-piece rotors or an aftermarket BBK.

Originally Posted by Tomsusername

Also... at the track, this car is faster than I am as a driver. (I'll totally admit this every single time!). I'd rather focus on the driver mod before I throw more car at the problem.

Every car and bike is faster than I am as the operator haha.

[Matty Ice]

Originally Posted by SS 310H55A

Thank you for putting all this into perspective.
What is it about the gen 5 1LE that struggles with consistency in the track? Is it inferior brakes?

Pretty much everything; Brakes, cooling, suspension, differential, engine, tires.

GM beefed everything up on the Z28 so it could handle lap after lap. Think of it like this, a Z28 driven at 8/10ths is like 1le driven at 10/10ths.

[bkevind]

Originally Posted by Matty Ice

Pretty much everything; Brakes, cooling, suspension, differential, engine, tires.

GM beefed everything up on the Z28 so it could handle lap after lap. Think of it like this, a Z28 driven at 8/10ths is like 1le driven at 10/10ths.

i agree, but each of these items are easily addressable with the 1LE. Basic upgrades or swapped parts isn't hard, though costs add up of course.

Z/28 will always be more cool, and also upgradeable If I had one that I wanted to road race (that's just it, there are fewer of them so I'd probably not vs the more plentiful 1LE which have much less value) - I'd be replacing the ccb brakes with iron and the suspension with upgrades anyway.

Brakes are the weakest link for lap after lap, first step to address that is cooling ducts.

On your list *engine* I suppose could mean power (easy to match stock LS7 power reliably), or oil starvation (baffled oil pan helps that) etc. LS3's are pretty reliable generally.

Any engine used extensively for road course / road racing is going to need more frequent service intervals - including cam/springs etc, than just a street driven car.

I'd rather start with a more basic (and non-collectible) version since I'm going to throw money at upgrades anyway (base SS or 1LE). I wouldn't have started with my 1LE to be honest, because it has a bunch of extra crap I don't want on it anymore (2SS RS package), but it has become my track car and I will continue to develop it to my liking.