Automobile Magazine Camaro ZL1 Review

[mickey123456]

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...ort/index.html

[Blown355]

"During development, one ZL1 endured 600 clutch-dumping launches"

WOW!!

[mmarx82]

This was a good read!

[den318]

0-60 in 4.3 sec??? C&D's 1320m is 12.3sec.... wow..it's barely any faster than a 12GT500 or 12 Boss.


Our instrumented testing measured nearly identical 0-to-60-mph times of 4.3 seconds (we don't remove one-foot rollout from our times), with the Corvette posting a quicker time by just hundredths of a second.

[GoldenBear]

Originally Posted by den318

0-60 in 4.3 sec??? C&D's 1320m is 12.3sec.... wow..it's barely any faster than a 12GT500 or 12 Boss.

Motor Trend achieved a 0-60 MPH time of 3.8 seconds for the ZL1 and 4.0 seconds for the Boss 302. Times can vary quite a bit depending environmental conditions, including temperature, wind, track, etc., as well as with the driver, and testing methodology.

[den318]

Originally Posted by GoldenBear

Motor Trend achieved a 0-60 MPH time of 3.8 seconds for the ZL1 and 4.0 seconds for the Boss 302. Times can vary quite a bit depending environmental conditions, including temperature, wind, track, etc., as well as with the driver, and testing methodology.

On the test that show it gets to 60 in 3.8sec, the quarter miles is only 12.1 sec @ 117.4 mph. Quarter mile is really the true test of how fast a car is. The trap speed is only 117.4mph. That is barely faster than a 2012 GT500, certainly not SUPER CAR caliber. Even Randy Pobst couldn't pull off a 11.xx run. The ZL1 should be the Z28 instead. Great track car, avg drag car.

[radz28]

Originally Posted by Blown355

"During development, one ZL1 endured 600 clutch-dumping launches"

WOW!!

I noticed that, too! WOW is right!!!

[GoldenBear]

Originally Posted by den318

On the test that show it gets to 60 in 3.8sec, the quarter miles is only 12.1 sec @ 117.4 mph. Quarter mile is really the true test of how fast a car is. The trap speed is only 117.4mph. That is barely faster than a 2012 GT500, certainly not SUPER CAR caliber. Even Randy Pobst couldn't pull off a 11.xx run. The ZL1 should be the Z28 instead. Great track car, avg drag car.

The 0-60 MPH time is the true test of how fast a vehicle is from 0-60 MPH, and the 1/4 mile time is the true test of how fast a vehicle is in the 1/4 mile.

I believe that you are correct that the ZL1 was designed to be a high performance track car, and not an all out drag strip car. If one wants a vehicle optimized for the 1/4 mile, then I don't believe that the ZL1 is the vehicle that one should choose.

[radz28]

Originally Posted by GoldenBear

The 0-60 MPH time is the true test of how fast a vehicle is from 0-60 MPH, and the 1/4 mile time is the true test of how fast a vehicle is in the 1/4 mile.

I believe that you are correct that the ZL1 was designed to be a high performance track car, and not an all out drag strip car. If one wants a vehicle optimized for the 1/4 mile, then I don't believe that the ZL1 is the vehicle that one should choose.

Or - just throw some DRs on the car. Look at the improvements in ET that cars like ZR1, Z06 and the GT500 make with sticky tires! Also, some magazine also don't run a prep'd track, powershift, and do absolutely everything (this side of VHT and such) to make the best possible runs. I, too, thought the ET and traps would be higher, too, but I don't know the conditions of the tests, so I'm reserving judgement.

[GoldenBear]

Originally Posted by radz28

Or - just throw some DRs on the car. Look at the improvements in ET that cars like ZR1, Z06 and the GT500 make with sticky tires! Also, some magazine also don't run a prep'd track, powershift, and do absolutely everything (this side of VHT and such) to make the best possible runs. I, too, thought the ET and traps would be higher, too, but I don't know the conditions of the tests, so I'm reserving judgement.

Certainly, there are some relatively easy things that people can do to get the ZL1 to run lower times in the 1/4 mile. I'm confident that people will be able to run the 1/4 mile in the 11's without too much difficulty. My point is that if one is really only interested in performing 1/4 mile runs, a lot of the ZL1's technology will be wasted, and purchasing a ZL1 may not be the best use of one's resources.

[radz28]

Originally Posted by GoldenBear

Certainly, there are some relatively easy things that people can do to get the ZL1 to run lower times in the 1/4 mile. I'm confident that people will be able to run the 1/4 mile in the 11's without too much difficulty. My point is that if one is really only interested in performing 1/4 mile runs, a lot of the ZL1's technology will be wasted, and purchasing a ZL1 may not be the best use of one's resources.

As usual - you post what I'm thinking but can't/don't post, lol.

[den318]

Any car can made to run faster in the 0-60 or quarter miles. We are talking about STOCK here. The ZL1 is a 12sec stock car. There will be a few people that might be able to pull an 11.9x out of it. Motor trend, Car and Driver or Automobile magazine cant do it.
I have to give it props thou...for a 4k lbs car, it handles like a champ.

[radz28]

Originally Posted by den318

Any car can made to run faster in the 0-60 or quarter miles. We are talking about STOCK here. The ZL1 is a 12sec stock car. There will be a few people that might be able to pull an 11.9x out of it. Motor trend, Car and Driver or Automobile magazine cant do it.
I have to give it props thou...for a 4k lbs car, it handles like a champ.

And that track conditions (at least in one of the reviews) was not exactly good (cold and dusty was a comment made by another magazine on the same track, presumably about the same day). I'm making some assumptions based on the information they posted, but no less than you that these are times to be expected from a stock car. GM has posted pretty accurate acceleration data in the past, so I expect these are going to be pretty close to the numbers we'll see, real world. If I'm wrong about conditions, I'll stand corrected.

[den318]

Originally Posted by radz28

And that track conditions (at least in one of the reviews) was not exactly good (cold and dusty was a comment made by another magazine on the same track, presumably about the same day). I'm making some assumptions based on the information they posted, but no less than you that these are times to be expected from a stock car. GM has posted pretty accurate acceleration data in the past, so I expect these are going to be pretty close to the numbers we'll see, real world. If I'm wrong about conditions, I'll stand corrected.

You are not wrong about the one mag's condition. 3 magazine couldn't get the ZL1 to 11.9x quarter. Chevy themselves put the ZL1 as a 12sec car as well. It's safe to say that the ZL1 is a 12sec car? I am sure some guy in a hero run will do a 11.xx, but does that make it a 11 sec car?