1LE first impressions

[MarkSS]

My 1LE is finally where it belongs and I have put 60 miles on it, so I thought I would give an update, since it is now getting too cold to drive it for the night.

For background and comparison's sake, I will give a little history. My last Camaro was a 2010 1SS manual that I ended up leaving stock (won't happen this time).

Overall: The best way I can describe the difference is that the 1LE has more edge to it. My 2010 was a great car, but seemed too tame, a great grand touring car more than a muscle car or corner carver. The 1LE has a more edgy look, sound, and feel. More of what I feel a performance car should be. It does that without loosing the solid feel of every 5th gen Camaro I have ever driven. It takes all that is good about an SS and adds a healthy dose of attitude.

Appearance: First, I love the look more in person than in pictures. The stance is awesome, the front tires protrude slightly beyond the front facia and even the fenders. This, coupled with the wider rears, give it a much more aggressive appearance than a regular SS. It looks ready to pounce. It appears lower to me, but I don't know that it really is. The overall look gives the impression of a smaller car, maybe added to by the black wheels. I agonized over color choice, and while I think that it will look great in almost any color, I am glad I chose white. It has a very clean look with all the black accents.

Sound: Next, and I know this has been commented on already, but the NPP exhaust has a great sound on start up. I already had a guy walking by say "Holy S***" when I started it. It is not obtrusive going down the road at cruising speed, but more noticeable than the 2010. At WOT, it has a nice aggressive tone, but not as loud as I expected. I guess I haven't driven it with the window down yet due to the cool temps today, so will have to see if that makes a difference when I am on it hard.

Tires: It just cracked 40 degrees here in Minnesota today, so it was borderline to even drive it home on these tires. I understand some have had problems with cracking, but I think another issue with running these in cold weather is that they have no grip until they warm up (just like race tires). I got on it a little (maybe half throttle in second gear) when they were cold and they immediately spun and the traction control kicked in. Be careful until you have some heat in the tires.

Acceleration: I didn't want to beat it too hard with so few miles, but I did run up through the gears once or twice and I like the gear spacing. End of third is exactly 100mph, so a shift to 4th will be needed when drag racing. My gut feel is that this is noticeably quicker than my 2010.

Cornering: This is supposed to be the strong suit of this car and...... it is. Super confidence inspiring. Very neutral. It really is made for the track, because to approach the limits on the street means somewhat ridiculous speeds. This was my main complaint on my 2010. It was too soft, and pushed the front end way too easily. These problems are definitely solved. I pushed it pretty good on my favorite on ramp and it went around at 6 mph more than my 2010 ever did, and this was the first time. I actually accelerated through a decreasing radius corner. This gave just a slight wiggle from the back exiting the corner, but not enough to turn on stability control, which I had left on. To really get the full picture, it needs to be on the track, which, sadly, mine won't be until next spring. One more thing, it corners FLAT, which makes it feel lighter.

Ride: The ride is very civilized and better than I expected. It is firm (which I like), but not punishing. I had a 2007 Cobalt SS and it is considerably less harsh than that was, and also less impact harshness than my dad's 2007 Z06. Very doable for a daily driver in my opinion.

Shifter: Better in every way (shorter throws, tighter feel), I even like the suede feel (never drove a Hurst equipped one though).

Misc: I really like the frameless mirror. The look mimics a chrome surround and reminds me of my dad's 69 Chevelle (except with Onstar). Also, it is smaller and you need all the forward visibility you can get in this car.

My front splitter was not delivered with the car, and I am not yet sure what the normal process is for that, but I have confidence that it will be resolved. I will update when I know what is going on.

Also, it did not come with the PCV catch can. I have never seen that it should on anything coming from GM, but there are threads here that made me expect it. I am planning to check on this soon as well.

Here are a couple new pics, I am going to go do my first modification and take a bunch more that I will post on the 1LE pic thread.

[tramtwo]

[PYROLYSIS]

Nice writeup. Congrats on your delivery and being the first person with a 1LE on Camaro 5. It's a shame it's getting too cold to enjoy it more. It will be almost like waiting for delivery again if you park it the whole winter.

[Doglife1LE]

Two words. So jealous.

[Jayrcr3]

Very nice!

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[newb]

Congrats! I wish I could say I am not jealous but I am! The wait just got a little bit harder.


Sent from a rainbow while riding a unicorn

[stikSS]

Nice write up... I like how you've already put the car through some subtle paces... kinda sets the tone for what this car should expect from its owner!.

Can you take some underhood photos? like how the wrap is around the hood. I'm curious as to how they have protected the edges of the wrap so it doesn't start to peel later on.

And finally... Congrats on your ride!

[b4z]

Congratulations! Don't see how you guys up north deal with the cold weather, I would go crazy with it being 40 degrees inoctober. Enjoy your car!

[NinoSS]

Nice car! GL!!!

[OHBuckI81]

Gotta feel pretty cool to probably be one of the first people in the world to actually get handed a set of keys to a certain car! I'd be annoyed about the splitter (considering how long we've all waited), I'm interested to hear how that is resolved and timing. White looks good too, all that wide rubber is definitely going to throw some war paint (tar) though. Congrats!

[b4z]

I don't think that technically it's a catch can.

[OzzySS]

thanks for the write-up, and congrats with the delivery. hope they figure out the splitter and separator soon...

definitely making me more excited about getting mine!

[Hylton]

Congrats!

[DanSS24]

love it. more pics and vids please. the more I see this car, the more I keep sane.