ZL1 1LE runs record lap

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The Chevy Camaro just keeps getting faster and faster, this time setting yet another new mark for the 2-seat coupe at the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany.

Test crews using a 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE ran the track’s 12.9-mile (20.8-km) north loop in 7:16.04. The ZL1 1LE is a special track-focused Camaro with a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission mated to its 650-hp supercharged LT4 V-8 engine. Its time was 13.56 seconds faster than a record loop for the nameplate set earlier this year by a ZL1 outfitted with an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission from General Motors but without the 1LE track package.


[If I'm reading it correctly, you can't compare the 10AT to 6MT -- different vehicles. I was fooled at first, then realized that tidbit.]

Personally I'm not impressed. Vans have been known to do it in ten minutes.
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted By: supton
[If I'm reading it correctly, you can't compare the 10AT to 6MT -- different vehicles. I was fooled at first, then realized that tidbit.]


I'll bet the real world difference between the two cars (AT vs. MT) is very, very, very small.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: supton
[If I'm reading it correctly, you can't compare the 10AT to 6MT -- different vehicles. I was fooled at first, then realized that tidbit.]


I'll bet the real world difference between the two cars (AT vs. MT) is very, very, very small.


right one was a track package MT and a regular AT non-track package.
 
Why so much hype about the ZL1 Camaro? Doesn't Chevy also make a ZL1 Corvette? I would think the Vette would outperform the Camaro...
 
My take?
I don't think the Corvette can get enough air through the front for engine and brake cooling. The Camaro is not a "bottom breather" and has more frontal area than the vette. The test tracks are not high enough speed for Corvetts to take advantage of their aerodynamic advantage, low speeds with lots of braking hurt their ability to cool.
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Why so much hype about the ZL1 Camaro? Doesn't Chevy also make a ZL1 Corvette? I would think the Vette would outperform the Camaro...


Comparatively low entry price vs the competition.
 
Originally Posted By: userfriendly
My take?
I don't think the Corvette can get enough air through the front for engine and brake cooling. The Camaro is not a "bottom breather" and has more frontal area than the vette. The test tracks are not high enough speed for Corvetts to take advantage of their aerodynamic advantage, low speeds with lots of braking hurt their ability to cool.
Nürburgring Nordschleife isn't you typical test track no?
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Why so much hype about the ZL1 Camaro? Doesn't Chevy also make a ZL1 Corvette? I would think the Vette would outperform the Camaro...


There is no Corvette ZL1. The Camaro ZL1 shares its powertrain with the Corvette Z06, however. The cars do have very similar performance, yes.



Originally Posted By: userfriendly
My take?
I don't think the Corvette can get enough air through the front for engine and brake cooling. The Camaro is not a "bottom breather" and has more frontal area than the Vette. The test tracks are not high enough speed for Corvettes to take advantage of their aerodynamic advantage, low speeds with lots of braking hurt their ability to cool.


The Nurburgring is absolutely a high-speed track -- go watch the videos. If you plug in the Camaro's time, and assume that's for the full 12.93 mile circuit, the average speed works out to almost 107mph.

The Corvette can get plenty of air, especially if it has the brake cooling ducts (standard on Z06 & Grand Sport, optional on the Stingray). Its aerodynamics are far better than the Camaro's and it also weighs several hundred pounds less.

For perspective, the current Corvette Z06, which is an older platform than the new Camaro, ran a 7:22 -- only a few seconds off the above posted 7:16.
 
It is standard GM procedure to take their higher performance models to their own track and run a 24 hour continuous test. It's not the Ring, but it is a grueling test...
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
It is standard GM procedure to take their higher performance models to their own track and run a 24 hour continuous test. It's not the Ring, but it is a grueling test...


They don't run the 24 hours in one go. They accumulate the time over a few days. I don't think the brake pads could go 24 hours.
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Why so much hype about the ZL1 Camaro? Doesn't Chevy also make a ZL1 Corvette? I would think the Vette would outperform the Camaro...


GM did make a ZL1 Corvette, but that was back in 1969 where the ZL1 aluminum big-block 427 was offered as an option. Only 2 are known to have been sold to the public. 94 ZL1 engines with the Corvette code are known to have been produced, but most of those were sold to racers.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
It is standard GM procedure to take their higher performance models to their own track and run a 24 hour continuous test. It's not the Ring, but it is a grueling test...


They don't run the 24 hours in one go. They accumulate the time over a few days. I don't think the brake pads could go 24 hours.


I believe they did for the dual overhead cam engine lt5 zr1 90-95 vette to prove the reliability. It was a circle track where you could just hold the hammer down.
 
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Obviously bad news for overly sensitive Corvette owners, but which GM production car will be the 1st to break into the 6s?
The smart money is on Cadillac.
 
That's awesome, but that guy is driving past the limits of that car and for sure the tires. Those tires are begging for mercy.

I hope we don't hear about someone getting killed or ending up in a wheelchair to achieve some number for the sake of marketing hype.

That car should have a full cage and fire suppression to be going that fast. Probably a bunch of other race safety equipment too.
 
How much faster would the car be if they stripped out the interior, air conditioning, passenger air bags, power windows, dash & put a fuel cell in the trunk?
Where is the battery in that car?
 
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Originally Posted By: MarkM66
Originally Posted By: userfriendly
GM posted the video... Can you find 16 seconds?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4zSIVpVMaw



Not with street tires,
smile.gif



The tires that GM is putting on their track-worthy cars are closer to race tires than they are passenger car tires. I instructed a driver at VIR who was in a Chevrolet SS. I looked at his tires before we went out so I could understand what grip level to expect. They were the factory Bridgestones, and had a treadwear rating of 150. In comparison, the Nitto NT05's on my Camaro have a treadwear rating of 200. Normal factory tires are about 500.
 
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