Camaro Z28 Official Nürburgring lap time. Your prediction?

[LEADfoot927]

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Nurburgring lap times have become the gold standard by which modern day performance cars are measured and compared. The famed "Green Hell" features technical elements of all sorts and is widely considered the toughest, most dangerous, and most demanding purpose-built racing circuits in the world. It has therefore become a test track for auto manufacturers, and its demanding layout had been traditionally used as a proving ground.

A fast Nurburgring lap time signals a serious performing car and that's why it's so encouraging to see the Camaro Z28 prototype being tested on the Nurburgring, and why our members have taken to educated predictions of the production Z28's eventual official Nurburgring lap time.

For reference, here are the Nurburgring lap times of a few notable current cars:

Corvette ZR1 - 7:38
Corvette C6 Z06 - 7:49
Cadillac CTS-V - 7:59
2010 Camaro SS - 8:20

What do you guys guess think the official Nürburgring lap time will be for the Z28? Im going to guess 7:57, two seconds faster than the cts-v. Whats your estimate?

[Zabo]

Less than 12 parsecs. But that's wishful thinking.. Damn Correlian Freighters always have hyperdrive issues.

On topic: 8 flat. CTSV and Camaro are about equal in mass and with the latter having it's tweaks based on the former...

[thebrander]

Originally Posted by LEADfoot927

What do you guys guess think the official Nürburgring lap time will be for the Z28? Im going to guess 7:57, two seconds faster than the cts-v. Whats your estimate?

From what I've read, the V left some time on the table, so I'd say 7:57 is an upper bound if they can make the Z28 lighter, but with the same MR suspension as the V and ZR1. If Chevy wants to beat the new Shelby, they need to go pretty aggressive with the suspension tuning, put the ZR1's PTM system in it, and try to hit 7:49 (that's Horst Von Surma's time in a C6Z - though Magnussen hit a 7:43).

[69Z/28Camaro]

Originally Posted by Zabo

Less than 12 parsecs. But that's wishful thinking.. Damn Correlian Freighters always have hyperdrive issues.

On topic: 8 flat. CTSV and Camaro are about equal in mass and with the latter having it's tweaks based on the former...

the cts v and z28 will probably be a 100-200 lb difference. the V is a really heavy car. a 2SS weighs just over 3800 lbs. i bet the Z will weigh ~4000.the CTSV weighs in at 4100-4200 lbs. i bet the Z can pull off 7:55

[TheClassicCarKid]

Originally Posted by LEADfoot927

What do you guys guess think the official Nürburgring lap time will be for the Z28? Im going to guess 7:57, two seconds faster than the cts-v. Whats your estimate?

I'm thinking 7:57 too

[bolteon593]

Originally Posted by LEADfoot927

What do you guys guess think the official Nürburgring lap time will be for the Z28? Im going to guess 7:57, two seconds faster than the cts-v. Whats your estimate?

slower then the gt-500...





seriously though, a hair faster than the cts-v sounds about right.

[thebrander]

Originally Posted by bolteon593

slower then the gt-500...





seriously though, a hair faster than the cts-v sounds about right.

If it is slower than the GT500, there will be massive disappointment. Imagine how much disappointment there would have been if the 5.0 did not outperform the SS? The latest release should always be the best release. That way we all benefit (and the old release owners can just mod ).

[bolteon593]

Originally Posted by thebrander

If it is slower than the GT500, there will be massive disappointment. Imagine how much disappointment there would have been if the 5.0 did not outperform the SS? The latest release should always be the best release. That way we all benefit (and the old release owners can just mod ).

i'll put 5 bucks down that it'll be slower.



the balance always has to maintain itself. if they add lightness, they'll raise the price; if they raise the horsepower; the gas millage will suffer.


something always has to give and there's little to be done about facts such as 200lbs of weight.

[Kyle2k]

Does the '11 GT500 even have a nurburgring time?

[thebrander]

Originally Posted by Kyle2k

Does the '11 GT500 even have a nurburgring time?

No, so we might be stuck with other track times. Although, I swear I heard/read somewhere Ford was taking it to Germany.

[thebrander]

Originally Posted by bolteon593

i'll put 5 bucks down that it'll be slower.



the balance always has to maintain itself. if they add lightness, they'll raise the price; if they raise the horsepower; the gas millage will suffer.


something always has to give and there's little to be done about facts such as 200lbs of weight.

That's all I'll put on it as well. Though a part of me thinks they'll simply use aggressive coilovers, sway bars, and either poly bushings or spherical bearings with the GS2 tires and that will be good enough. In that case, the Z28 loses in the comfort category (unless they are adjustable...). The CTS-V coupe is faster than the Shelby in a straight line, so I expect the Z28 to win there (although I'm personally not a straight line racer). What I'm saying is that weight can be compensated for in handling with the right suspension.

[DroptopZ]

I'd really like to see MR at least as an option... the ZR1 has a smoother ride than any performance car I've driven when it's in touring, but crank it over and it's a completely different animal. Having tested the system on a limited basis first-hand, I'm a big fan. I'd say somewhere around 7:55 as well, though I'd really love to see something a bit faster. We'll see...

[bolteon593]

Originally Posted by thebrander

That's all I'll put on it as well. Though a part of me thinks they'll simply use aggressive coilovers, sway bars, and either poly bushings or spherical bearings with the GS2 tires and that will be good enough. In that case, the Z28 loses in the comfort category (unless they are adjustable...). The CTS-V coupe is faster than the Shelby in a straight line, so I expect the Z28 to win there (although I'm personally not a straight line racer). What I'm saying is that weight can be compensated for in handling with the right suspension.

agreed, there's wiggle room but the biggest reason why the ctsv coupe is faster is cause of the gearing. and only the auto is faster as far as i know aswell.

first gear is around 4.11 or so, that's a shit ton higher then the 3.53 in my shelby.


like i said before, the balance gets destroyed and you end up with 12mpg city driving with the coupe V... and thus a heavy gas guzzler...


i'm hoping that the engineering department has a few things they can tidy up on the current camaro platform...

for one thing, the steering on my shelby is lightyears better then the steering was on my 2SS... it would help a bit, and give them the power to increase some mpg... maybe enough to get it out of the gas guzzler.


one way or another, it's exciting stuff... personally i can't wait to have the muscle car wars continue cause in the end; we all win.

[thok mcbeefstew]

The Z28 is a statement car from GM. This car will more than "just beat out" a GT500. It’s been a long time since the Z28 has been out. I would say that his car will be under 7:50. Expect less weight, (from somewhere I don’t know, but somewhere) because everyone has complained about that since the ss came out. Again, Sub 7:50, don’t sleep on Chevy!