[Mr. Wyndham]

ZL1 1LE: Deep Dive
by: Joe Bella

Now that we’ve had some time to process the new ZL1 1LE and its impressive list of track equipment, we can start to learn more about the details of the winged beast. The closer you look, the more impressive it becomes.

Let’s start with the design elements. It’s menacing, low to the ground, and sharp. When the very first spy pictures surfaced, I said it looked to me like a ZL1 in armor…and now that the camouflage is gone…well, I still think it does!

GM designers wanted to make it very clear that this car was designed to be used on a track, and not simply to roll in and out of a local car show on the weekends. Both versions of the car are ridiculously fast, but think of the ZL1 as “pretty”, and the ZL1 1LE as “hardened”. We’re talking Grand Tourer versus Streetable Racecar. All of the bold black accents like the grilles, splitter, rocker panels, etc. remain – but they are now satin black as opposed to Mosaic black paint. In addition, the mirrors and new 19” wheels are now also satin black.

But the boldest design elements (in terms of color) must be the 1LE staples: a Satin black hood wrap, and Bright red brake calipers. Functionally, the brakes are unchanged, but the splash of red leaves no mistake what lineage this car draws from.







Completing the exterior design is the high wing, and the heat extractor insert on the hood. Both are exposed carbon fiber, standard with the 1LE package on this car.

Speaking of that wing…what a great example of what happens when you lock designers and engineers in a wind tunnel together with some carbon fiber. It is the most exotic piece of equipment that the Camaro Team has ever worked on; it is a true airfoil design, and serves to generate 300 lbs. of down force at speed without causing very much drag at all. It rests on hollowed-out, lightweight stanchions, which utilize the very same holes in the deck lid as a standard ZL1’s spoiler does. Good news for anyone wanting to duplicate this look!!

Why does that matter? Remember the 200 mph run news regarding the ZL1 automatic a couple of weeks ago…that sort of speed wouldn’t be fathomable with tons of drag created at high speeds (e.g. Z06/Z07). It is possible that this ZL1 1LE will be able to reach those sorts of speeds without much effort, thanks in part, to the big carbon fiber wing. The total aerodynamic package results in the ZL1 1LE generating negative lift (real down force).

Some will see it as “rice”, as the tall wing image was made infamous by silly FWD import tuners, who were and still are notoriously more show than go. But to those naysayers…I implore you to wait until you see one in person…it is sculpted and 3D, following a multitude of body lines in it’s overall shape. The endplates feature a triangular structure, rather than just being flat and boring. In fact, designer Adam Barry referred to a “Klingon War Bird” when describing it’s shape and look (that’s a space ship from the Star Trek universe, for those non-trekkies out there) In any event, it’s a far cry from the aluminum shelving units you’re used to seeing bolted to the back of a multi-color Civic. You can’t see or describe this complexity properly on paper, so trust me for now. And the impact it has on the handling and performance of the car Can. Not. Be. Overstated.





The relationship between the extended front splitter, dive planes, and rear wing were dialed in over time, resulting in the optimal height, pitch, and shape to achieve the down force balance front/rear that they wanted.

And if you look really close…there’s a small ‘X’ decal on the sides of the wing…Adam says “It’s a subtle indication of how extreme the performance jump is between SS 1LE and a ZL1 1LE.” The font and style of that graphic may look familiar, because we saw it on the Auto-X concept last year.



There’s some cleverness going on at the front of the car, too.

The splitter is extended, and has new end plates secured to the sides with recessed bolts. It is a direct replacement for the standard ZL1s, though it has completely reworked strakes and air dams underneath. It actually overlaps the bottom of the fascia, to give it that “blacked out” look, and snaps into the bottom of the main grille. So, if you have it in your head to get that splitter…the good news is you don’t have to do anything to the fascia if you have a ZL1…but realize that you’ll need to go for the grille, too.

They opted to divert more air into the main grille opening by extending the ends of the grille out and shaping them into deflectors that “grab” more air and direct it into the gaping maw of a grill that has become such a calling-card of this generation ZL1. The deflectors feature a textured pattern that really speaks to the level of detail on the car as a whole. The new grille also features a larger pattern up front, with bigger gaps for more airflow in general. This pattern was included in the upper grille, as well, for a uniform look. The now famous “flow tie” remains as it was on the standard ZL1.

Flanking the main grille are the auxiliary grilles, or “grillettes”. The ZL1 1LE has ditched the LED daytime running lights, in favor of “plugs” that no longer have a fin in the middle, and are designed specifically to work with the new dive planes. These dive planes help generate down force at the front of the car, to balance the work that’s being done at the rear by the big wing. They snap into the small grille openings, and then are fastened through holes in the fascia to the same component. It’s all one piece in order to properly transfer that down force to the wheels without tearing the fascia apart. These dive planes also feature that same texture as the main grille deflectors, for a more up level appearance. It will be interesting to see if the aftermarket can produce some Carbon Fiber versions of these…







Now, onto the engineering and racer equipment side of things; we’ve read all the sound bytes…DSSV suspension, adjustable ride height, a revised 6th gear, camber plates, and big fat Goodyear F1 Supercar 3R tires…Here’s what may have been missed by the media-types…

First of all, the car was lowered 19mm in the front, and 16mm at the rear, resulting in a lower center of gravity, and reduces the apparent gap created by the smaller-diameter tires.

Furthermore, Chevrolet has never offered this level of suspension adjustment on a car.

The front struts feature 5-coil springs, and are replaceable with springs you can find in your favorite performance parts magazine, and the rear stabilizer bar has three settings, to allow true track rats to further customize their cars dynamics.

The camber plates up front allow for up to 3.7º of negative camber, and there is a height adjustability for the front struts as well, to get the car as low to the ground as you can when you’re at the track. The engineering team pushed the limits of the company’s internal standards for ground clearance in order to achieve the results they wanted.



All suspension mounts, links, and connections are hard…that is to say: that there isn’t an ounce of rubber isolation in this car. And to top that off, the DSSV dampers aren’t exactly “soft” themselves. In a conversation with Al Oppenheiser, he made it quite clear: “The ZL1 1LE is the most extreme track Camaro we've ever done. It is not the daily driver for everyone; it’s meant for the track, and for people who appreciate what that means in terms of track capability. We want people to understand what they’re buying before they check all the boxes they can on a ZL1 order.”





To further emphasize that point…the 6th gear in the manual transmission has been revised to better suit the car’s track focus. In the standard ZL1 manual it is a very tall obviously-for-fuel-economy gear. In the ZL1, it’s been swapped from a .536 : 1 to .675 : 1. With an unchanged axle ratio, what this means is that mathematically…the ZL1 1LE should be able to hit 200 mph in 6th gear, at 6500-6600 rpm, where the standard ZL1 manual could not. However, on the highway, the engine will be spinning at 2300 rpm at 70mph (compared to 1800 in the standard ZL1).

What does all this result in? A track time around the Milford Road Course that is 3 seconds faster than the standard ZL1…which is already faster (albeit slightly) than a Gen 5 Z/28. That is ages in terms of time. I am, as I’m sure you are, extremely eager to see a Nurburgring lap video, or even to see magazines like Car and Driver, and Motor Trend get their hands on one for more documented track times.

I hope you enjoyed some of the overlooked details of this phenomenal new Camaro variant. What the Camaro team has done here; is quite possibly have built one of General Motors’ fastest cars (on track) ever…and that’s something for the record books.

[cleoent]

Beastly

[Sven59]

Very well done!

[Eric SS]

Beautiful. It sounds like you can buy that wing if you want. I bet it will cost an arm and a leg!

[Hammerli]

Well written, while I have no interest in it other than to read about what it can do, I was curious about the new 6th ratio. Thank you for finding that, I had been reading each article that came out hoping to see that out of curiosity. The implications for highway will definitely be noticeable, and the pragmatic side of me is happy with my CAFE friendly 6th. Wonder if this impacts the GG Tax?

[Naturday13]

I think this new beast needs a sub-forum of its own.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Hammerli

Well written, while I have no interest in it other than to read about what it can do, I was curious about the new 6th ratio. Thank you for finding that, I had been reading each article that came out hoping to see that out of curiosity. The implications for highway will definitely be noticeable, and the pragmatic side of me is happy with my CAFE friendly 6th. Wonder if this impacts the GG Tax?

It shouldn't...because technically, it's an optional package, not a new model.

[Michigan1LTRS]

It would be cool to have two wings. Big wing for racing and SS 1le wing for cruising. Simple click on click off

[MoreSpeed]

That suspension adjustment is huge and more important than horse power on some courses. 3.7 degrees negative is a lot of adjustment for a "street" car. You would need to use non DOT rubber to take advantage of all that, but if you did... wow, this would stick on corners. Great job, GM!

ps. Suspension flexibility is one of the reasons Porsche's GT3 and GT2 Series of cars have been so potent. It certainly is not horse power, nor torque.

[Artos]

I love the car for what it is what made for...I find the wing simply too much, but will admit it continues to grow on me & really appreciate the function it provides.

Tickled to death they are offering it & not one of those who feel it devalues the current ZL1, nor do I feel it needs to be 'sold' to us enthusiasts. It is what it is & if I lived closer to road courses where I could take advantage of her application?? I would likely have canceled my A10 order & moved forward to being a 1LE owner at a later date.

I hope GM continues to raise the bar...we will see what the future holds, till then I am going to be all giggles with my A10. Let the good times roll.

[90503]

I think this car is a long overdue Grand Slam Home Run for Camaro....I hope it does well...Not mentioned were some of the lightening features, seats, glass, etc....

That suspension and adjustments really are amazing for the weekender...Nothing but upside and more good news to come....Awesome build from the factory.

[DrkPhx]

I can appreciate them being honest about the car's ride and use as a daily driver. With that said there will be a lot of parts for 6th gen owners to pick and choose so they can customize their cars to their own liking. That's interesting about 6th gen. On my 5th gen ZL1 the rpm are at 2000 at 70 mph. The regular 6th ZL1 is at 1800 rpm according to the article.

All suspension mounts, links, and connections are hard…that is to say: that there isn’t an ounce of rubber isolation in this car. And to top that off, the DSSV dampers aren’t exactly “soft” themselves. In a conversation with Al Oppenheiser, he made it quite clear: “The ZL1 1LE is the most extreme track Camaro we've ever done. It is not the daily driver for everyone; it’s meant for the track, and for people who appreciate what that means in terms of track capability. We want people to understand what they’re buying before they check all the boxes they can on a ZL1 order.”

[KaBoom1701]

Love it!

[JoeP@TeamBeckyD]

Very Well Written Mr. Bella.