New ZL1 Owner

[WhiteZL1___]

Hi Everybody,

A few weeks ago I purchased a white 2012 ZL1 automatic with about 43k miles on it , that I am using as my daily driver. for context, i was driving a Maserati Ghibli SQ4, but some guy decided to run a red light and totaled it, I know Maseratis get a lot of hate but honestly, it may be the best combination of luxury and sport on the market when bought used and CPO. That being said I decided to replace the Italian luxury with some good old fashioned American muscle and I have a few questions.

First of all, I think the car is running slightly hot, but I'm unsure. when fully warmed up, my oil temp gauge usually stays pinned a bit over 210, is this normal for a ZL1 or is it indeed running hot?

Next, the car currently has a stock exhaust system, which I don't think does the car any justice. I'm quickly learning the car is incredibly fast but the exhaust doesn't match at all. I have narrowed down the option to 2 choices, Borla and Corsa, I'm sure you're all shocked. my question is, is it worth it to shell out the extra money for the Corsa exhaust (both would be the full catback system)?

I am also planning to swap out the infotainment system, because i can't deal with the outdated technology. I have my eye on the full tablet setup by Digital Octopus, but I'm nervous since they are such a small company, have any of you tried any of their products? also, do you know if there simple way to reroute the rear view camera to any new radio screen that I may install?


I would appreciate any help i can get and I'm proud to say I am a Camaro ZL1 owner, it really is a special car.

[SIM GhostrdrZ]

Corsa, yes.
Underdrive pulley with ATI super damper
Update supercharger brick and cooling system
Update intake system
Etc.
idatalink with HU of your choice
Solid rear cradle bushings
There’s so much you can do to the ZL1 but still a great driver to enjoy.

Good luck

[Happy_Dan]

I have a Kenwood double din radio in my car and very happy with it.
I also hated the 2012 radio. My rear camera shows up on both the radio and the mirror. I did not do the install but it is a great improvement with wireless apple car play and NAV.

I have stock exhaust but ceramic coated headers and it is plenty loud for me. It is pretty quiet when going easy but when WOT it is very loud.

There is so much you can do to the car. It's all in what you want. I suspect since it's a daily driver you will want to maintain the comfortable ride.

[ZMEnow]

Originally Posted by WhiteZL1___

Hi Everybody,

A few weeks ago I purchased a white 2012 ZL1 automatic with about 43k miles on it , that I am using as my daily driver. for context, i was driving a Maserati Ghibli SQ4, but some guy decided to run a red light and totaled it, I know Maseratis get a lot of hate but honestly, it may be the best combination of luxury and sport on the market when bought used and CPO. That being said I decided to replace the Italian luxury with some good old fashioned American muscle and I have a few questions.

First of all, I think the car is running slightly hot, but I'm unsure. when fully warmed up, my oil temp gauge usually stays pinned a bit over 210, is this normal for a ZL1 or is it indeed running hot?

Next, the car currently has a stock exhaust system, which I don't think does the car any justice. I'm quickly learning the car is incredibly fast but the exhaust doesn't match at all. I have narrowed down the option to 2 choices, Borla and Corsa, I'm sure you're all shocked. my question is, is it worth it to shell out the extra money for the Corsa exhaust (both would be the full catback system)?

I am also planning to swap out the infotainment system, because i can't deal with the outdated technology. I have my eye on the full tablet setup by Digital Octopus, but I'm nervous since they are such a small company, have any of you tried any of their products? also, do you know if there simple way to reroute the rear view camera to any new radio screen that I may install?


I would appreciate any help i can get and I'm proud to say I am a Camaro ZL1 owner, it really is a special car.

189 -191 is normal, if stop and go above 80 degrees 210 is very reachable.

[Robmnrd]

I'd say if you're in a position to drop the kind of money a full Corsa catback setup costs, you should instead look into a (fairly common) setup that is as follows:

Longtube headers (brand of your choice), hi-flow cats, stock NPP but pull the fuse so it's always open.

Then have a quality tune done.

I see you are in NY, so you may have stricter emissions and inspection standards than those of us lucky enough to live in areas that don't have any of it - the setup described should pass the sniffer and if you can find a shop that isn't full of A-holes most will look the other way regarding the headers if you pass the sniff test and also aren't too crazy loud (this setup isn't crazy loud).


No real input on updating the infotainment system - sorry. Just not something I've honestly ever looked into. I believe that sort of thing (all things electronics/entertainment/audio/etc.) will have a big enough following you may even be better off searching for a forum specifically related to those sorts of things. Most of what you'll get here is more related to performance and exterior visual upgrades.

In hot weather if you're doing some stop-and-go driving, hanging out near (or slightly above) 210 is totally normal. Especially if your stop-and-go is accompanied by some spirited driving that would drive temps up.

[Kings2010]

https://gromaudio.com/

Check out the vlink v2

I think I might go that route for the apple car play

[Tomtom87]

My oil temp gauge is the same at a bit over 210 and that is normal. Heres a pic for reference.

[WhiteZL1___]

Originally Posted by Happy_Dan

I have a Kenwood double din radio in my car and very happy with it.
I also hated the 2012 radio. My rear camera shows up on both the radio and the mirror. I did not do the install but it is a great improvement with wireless apple car play and NAV.

I have stock exhaust but ceramic coated headers and it is plenty loud for me. It is pretty quiet when going easy but when WOT it is very loud.

There is so much you can do to the car. It's all in what you want. I suspect since it's a daily driver you will want to maintain the comfortable ride.

Yea reliability is definitely a concern for me, and I live in a place that has winters so that should be fun. but I still have the urge to modify. the car already has a JLT cold air intake on it and the exhaust is a must for me. I've been looking into the E85 conversion but no one line really goes into detail about it, would you know what the purpose is and how much is the conversion?

[WhiteZL1___]

Originally Posted by Robmnrd

I'd say if you're in a position to drop the kind of money a full Corsa catback setup costs, you should instead look into a (fairly common) setup that is as follows:

Longtube headers (brand of your choice), hi-flow cats, stock NPP but pull the fuse so it's always open.

Then have a quality tune done.

I see you are in NY, so you may have stricter emissions and inspection standards than those of us lucky enough to live in areas that don't have any of it - the setup described should pass the sniffer and if you can find a shop that isn't full of A-holes most will look the other way regarding the headers if you pass the sniff test and also aren't too crazy loud (this setup isn't crazy loud).


No real input on updating the infotainment system - sorry. Just not something I've honestly ever looked into. I believe that sort of thing (all things electronics/entertainment/audio/etc.) will have a big enough following you may even be better off searching for a forum specifically related to those sorts of things. Most of what you'll get here is more related to performance and exterior visual upgrades.

In hot weather if you're doing some stop-and-go driving, hanging out near (or slightly above) 210 is totally normal. Especially if your stop-and-go is accompanied by some spirited driving that would drive temps up.

I will look into the LTH setup, and i definitely plan on getting a tune regardless of what set up i end up with. I'm also curious about an E85 conversion but am not sure what the purpose or cost is. everyone on youtube is super vague when they mention it.

[NZZL1]

Originally Posted by WhiteZL1___

I am also planning to swap out the infotainment system, because i can't deal with the outdated technology. I have my eye on the full tablet setup by Digital Octopus, but I'm nervous since they are such a small company, have any of you tried any of their products? also, do you know if there simple way to reroute the rear view camera to any new radio screen that I may install?.

I have recently installed the Digital Octopus DOTS-1015 into my 2013 ZL1 and it works well. The 2013 rear view camera is plug & play, but I think that may only apply if you have MyLink which may not be present on a 2012 (but you will be able to get it working easier enough).

My system configuration is a little complex with the DOTS-1015 running PlexAmp casting to a Win 10 PC Plex Media Server with 1TB of FLAC music and 5.1 TOSLINK to a Alpine DSP. The DOTS-1015 has all the functionality and verstality that you would expect from Android to support this configuration. The DOTS-1015 supports all of the Camaro CAN signalling that is needed, and "more". The "more" is support for other manufacturer's or vehicles, which means that there are some menu and screen functions that are present but are inactive eg. HVAC supports dual zone which the ZL1 does not have. The DOTS-1015 large screen modernises the look of the dashboard, and I am happy to be with out the stock non-viewable console gauges and funky HVAC controls.

[Robmnrd]

Originally Posted by WhiteZL1___

I will look into the LTH setup, and i definitely plan on getting a tune regardless of what set up i end up with. I'm also curious about an E85 conversion but am not sure what the purpose or cost is. everyone on youtube is super vague when they mention it.

From my researching (and I've researched it kind of a lot, actually...) converting to E85 on an otherwise stock (or nearly stock, such as just a CAI and/or exhaust upgrade) will have two benefits.

The first (obvious) one is a bit more power. Not a huge bump, but you might see about 35rwhp on full E85 with a quality tune.

The second (slightly less obvious) one is the small inherent cooling effect that running E85 has. In a nearly stock application I think it honestly just comes down to the simple fact that you're gonna push a larger amount of "cold" (from the tank) fuel to the engine, which then mixes with the "hot" (from the supercharger) air to cool it a bit prior to combustion as compared to gasoline.

The few examples of this type of setup I've found online (and honestly there aren't many ZL1 or CTSV owners posting about this type of setup...) tend to run really well, actually. Not in a "makes a ton more horsepower" sort of way, but in a "is very reliable, makes really good torque, and stays slightly cooler slightly longer" sort of way.

It's honestly not a bad first mod (or combination of mods) to do, if someone isn't looking to make high horsepower while potentially giving up reliability (adding boost, rpm, etc.). Slightly expensive to do it right, but most things are expensive to be done right.

I found an old thread on the topic where I actually posted a very similar answer, and you'll see some other info as well:

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=553340