philpacs

I put this on the Camaro6 Forum but thought you guys might like to read the comparison and give feedback. I had to sell my modded C6Z after recently getting married to consolidate to one car. I chose the 18" ZL1 since I can still track it without major modifications and comfortably use for daily commuting(so no 1LE). My track comparison experiences are below.

I finally got to PBIR to track my new ZL1 A10 so I thought I'd give some initial impressions and get your feedback. I am a former C6Z H/C/I owner which also had track suspension, brakes and R888's and about 550whp. I am very familiar with PBIR tracking the vette there dozens of times and overall have been a solo level driver for more than 15 years.

I haven't driven a stock street car on the track in a very long and my ZL1 is 100% stock, no aftermarket parts. So my assessment is from that perspective.

Power= Good power, more low end torque, but the last 10% throttle travel seems to give you like 30-40% more power so I had to learn to modulate that. The ZO6 was the opposite with much less below 3.5K. I was about 10 mph less down the back straight in the ZL1, probably due to less exit speed tire grip and the vette being much lighter. The cars feel similar but the vette had more violent pull and ZL1 was smoother. I feel the vette would pull on the ZL1 though from a roll. My oil temps never went above 280 and no warnings of anything else.

Transmission= So I was very curious and read all the praise on the A10. My opinion is mixed. The up-shifts are awesome and they didn't seem to upset the car at any-point but if it was my choice I would've slightly changed some shifts. I kept in auto Sport 2 track mode till I get more comfortable. I assumed the downshifts were going to be imperceptible feeling and not throw off the balance but i absolutely felt each one. The rev-matching wasn't as smooth as I assumed. I'm not sure if my car has a problem or they just aren't butter smooth with no weight transfer. That being said it didn't ruin the fun. I held the brakes a slight bit more waiting for the shift to transfer weight forward to time my turn in for more front grip. Most corners it didn't seem to matter. I would like you road course guys opinions here. Also when I start to cool down it's hard to get the algorithm to change out of holding gears to redline. I found myself using the paddles.

Handling= The ZL1 was overall very neutral. Great job GM. I definitely felt the cars weight over the ZO6 and it leaned a lot more as expected but definitely a good mix of comfort, track and street. I wish track mode was stiffer of course but you can't have everything. I experienced both understeer and oversteer. It pushed, I lifted, waited for grip and tracked out nicely out of tighter corners and the faster stuff was progressive with slight understeer going in and almost no oversteer on the way out. The ZL1 will oversteer in sport 2 with an aggressive turn in which is easily caught by the throttle and or opposite lock. Good fun but you have to ready to catch it quickly. My ZO6 was harder to get loose. Being a street stock car smoothness is highly rewarded.

Braking= The brakes worked great being stock. The first session I was in sport 1. After pushing the car I felt the brake travel soften but the bite didn't change much. Sport 2 gave less softening in the later session. I assume the nannies were engaging the brakes to much. Don't expect track pad brake force or stopping but very good for stock pads and they never hit the floor and remained consistent with good modulation. I'm curious what track pads would be like and would the extra weight transfer upset the balance etc.

Tires= The first session I forgot to air down but according the display I had them 37-39lbs hot so I thought I was good. I learned you can't trust the display, checking with a gauge they were way off. The second session I took 4 to 5bls out and measured after and they were 39-41 lbs hot. They felt better after I dropped the pressure. The first session they seemed to feel more greasy and the following session after I aired down they were more consistent and less scrubby. I did expect more overall grip but again I'm used to the hooked up ZO6 on R888's. They seemed to take the abuse well and more consistent than my memory of street tires which only took a few laps before major slippage.

Overall= This surprised me. My best laps in the ZO6 was 1:28's with maybe hero 1:27's in the winter months. The ZL1 did 1:31's consistently. I used the PDR but it didn't overlay the info so I watched and timed laps myself. I need to learn the PDR. For a stock car to be only a few seconds off the track modded ZO6 in a much more familiar car I thought was fantastic. I felt I got the ZL1 up to limits pretty well but with practice I know there is a 1 or 2 seconds left in there. Also I was 10mph slower down the back straight so to me it means the handling is better than I think in the ZL1. The ELSD, mag ride, PTM and torque probably make it less work to be consistent and help more than I imagine. Then no major pad or tire changes, no hot center console, just cruise home in cooled seats rocking to sat radio. OTW home it seemed like it didn't want to go less than 80mph weird huh?

To add I miss the C6Z. It's lighter, less artificial, quicker and is more hooked up the way I built it. The ZL1 actually helped me appreciate it but it took a lot of work to get the ZO6 to perform well on track once you approach limits. At first I chased brake cooling issues eventually needing to change them completely, I couldn't get more than 3 hot laps without cooking oil, then the suspension/bushings were holding me back so I changed both, my engine also dropped a valve so I rebuilt it etc. I miss the ZO6 but it's nice to have a daily stocker only a few seconds off a modded vette. In time I hope to be back in the fold when I can get a second car.

WA 2 FST

Great write up from someone with experience. Enjoyed the read!

Patriot Six

JMCZ06

80atez

Nice write-up.. Strikes me that the 10mph difference at the end of the straight IS the difference in handling minus the HP advantage. I mean, the Z06 must be handling better if it has 100 less hp (??) and is faster at the end of the straight.

Also, 280 oil temp is nothing to brag about... Seems high to me but I live up north.

Thanks again.

philpacs

Thanks, the ZO6 had 550 wheel hp so close to the same 650 crank hp as the ZL1. My vette did handle better but it took GT2 coilovers, new delrin poly bushings, aggressive alignment, sticker tires to get there. Otherwise the ZL1 definitely handles better. Stock for stock the ZL1 will out handle and out pull a C6Z despite the weight penalty. The ZL1 doesn't have the weak points of a stock ZO6 with brakes, cooling and handling for serious road coursing. I agree 280 is high, that was my peak after a hard 25 minute + session. I could only do like 10-12 minutes in the ZO6 before it got above that. So for tracking a car with a full stock warranty the and comfort for daily driving the ZL1 is hard to beat. It's good to see GM is working to correct the weak points, at least in the Camaro. That being said I miss my modded C6Z as she was my build and labor of love. The community here is the best though.

80atez

Nice to hear.. We're not all nice here, unfortunately... But you do hear a lot of opinions...

I tracked my stock LS7 Z06 with suspension mods (LG G2's, sways, alignment, street tires) one day when a guy had an older ZL1. It was maybe in 2012?? I think it was the 550hp one. I was faster, but not by much. I still have a hard time seeing a stock new ZL1 with same tires beating a stock c6z06 on a track. I guess I am severely biased. And I haven't driven a fully stock Z in a while...

TXGS507

I have a friend here locally in DFW (He is a member here FSTFRC) who recently sold his 06VY C6Z. (Awesome car). He picked up a 2017 ZL1 A10. He let me drive it and I have to say how impressed I was/am with the car. It is nimble and quick. Doesn't feel heavy at all. The ZL1 is actually a car you can DD in comfort, take it to the track and beat on it. I won't be selling my Z for one but it is a great car in my opinion. Headers, a pulley, and a tune really wakes it up.

philpacs

The new generation ZL1 is much different than the previous, a lot more power, lighter weight, better suspension, brakes, tires etc. Before my last suspension mods I tracked my otherwise modded Z and couldn't keep up outside of the straights with a stock 2017 ZL1, at least at Sebring, PBIR with it's decreasing radius corners could be different. With headers, pulley and tune you are approaching 700 wheel hp on the ZL1. They are two different beasts overall. I appreciate them both. I may get into another C6Z track car in the future if all the weak points are addressed but for now I'll enjoy the turn key ZL1 and reminisce on the ZO6. Apparently I had the tires way too hot on the track with the ZL1 still and along with alignment it should be better next time.