[LOWDOWN]

Originally Posted by MS3DALE

Not totally true,no '96 SS Camaro's had the LT4 (These were reserved for manual trans Corvette's only that year) and only 100 '97 Camaro SS cars were built with the 330 hp LT4,they were all 30th Anniversary pkg cars,and they were built/modified by SLP...

http://www.carcraft.com/roadtests/908/

The rest had the 285 hp LT1.

Actually, the 1997-only SLP-produced-for-GM LT4s were as follows:

SS/LT4 (US-bound) = 100

SS/LT4 (Canadian-bound) = 6 (denoted Czerozero1 thru C006 by SLP)

Firehawk LT4 = 26 in total

All LT4 engines used in the F-cars were hand-assembled AND dyno-tested by Zeke's Automotive in Lasalle QC (dyno sheet shipped with every car!), a shop formerly owned by SLP-Canada's then-President Terry "Zeke" Maxwell...who owns LT4 Czerozero1, which has a GM VIN earlier than Rick Hendrick's "Serial Number 1" LT4...

By the way, Zeke also owns the original Red '96 SS engineering mule (LT1/MX0), used as a media car. Zeke also drove a '97 SS-LT4 into the '12s on stock tires, a feat covered in one of the buff-books of the day.

Originally Posted by PYROLYSIS

Nobody should be concerned with weight on an LS7 Camaro.

SS curb weight-3860 lbs
1LE- 3875
ZL1- 4120
With the 1LE even with lighter weight wheels and tires were not enough to keep it from gaining weight. Ask some 1LE owners how it performs compared with an SS. Night and day difference. The ZL1s handling prowess needs no explanation. Expect an LS7 Camaro to land somewhere under the ZL1s weight just under 4100 lbs depending on content. A Z28 or 1LE/LS7 equivalent will leave plenty of competitors chasing it around a road course. Mustang? Puhleeeez. I believe this next Camaro will hold its own well into the mustangs next generation.

Brembo 6-piston front brakes (ala ZL1) and (in my mind) the mandatory HD ZL1 diff. will add some weight to the 1SS/1LE Base. However, depending on what hood/aero mods/seats are utilized, the final Curb could be 3925...or less...or about the same (roughly) as a GT500...

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

I see the "Z28" around the same weight as the 1LE.

Should be a lot closer to the 1LE than the ZL1 is...with better "balance" than the ZL1, particularly with the HD rear diff...which is necessary for TWO reasons:

1) Durability - this car WILL see track duty - both straight-line AND road course - and, with 50 ft/lb extra torque on hand, it makes no sense to put what might be a "marginal" diff. in a vehicle with upgraded "sticky" tires. Build it once, RIGHT, and customer satisfaction will ensue.

2) The aforementioned extra weight, although unsprung, will move the chassis closer to the engineering-ideal 50/50, fr/rr.

"If you build it, they will come". "They"...are HERE!