What to buy? a 5th Gen 1LE or a 6th Gen 1LE
 

This may be a little bias posting in the Camaro5 forums but I want to ask anyhow. I may post over in the Camaro6 forums as well.

As many of you are aware, GM just announced the new 1LE. Ignoring the fact that they have a V6 option for this discussion I would like to discuss the differences between the 5th Gen 1LE and the new V8 1LE.

I was planning on picking up a 14'-15' 1LE later this spring/early summer and then I saw the announcement for the new 1LE. I got to say, I am really impressed by it. For me, this will be a secondary car, meaning not a daily driver. It will be used mainly for track work and some occasional mountain carving-road trips.

5th Gen 1LE benefits for me are the following:
-More of a timeless look. I can see these being run in SVRA in 15 years and still looking good.
- LS engine is simple, makes good power and is reliable.
- More mechanical drivetrain, I imagine driver involvement is more key to you squeezing the potential out of the vehicle.
- proven design
-Cost. About $10k less then the suspected cost of the new 1LE, for a low mileage stock 5th gen.

5Th Gen 1LE drawbacks are the following:
-WEIGHT, she's a thick bitch to say the least
- the need to upgrade many components for heat dissipation and due to the fact that it is so heavy. e.g. larger front brakes (6 piston CTSV), oil coolers, catch cans, etc
- interior is meh. Not horrible but not great either.
- refinement

6th Gen 1LE Benefits:
- New, refined chassis which is amazing (28% stiffer!!!)
- MRC tuned specifically for the 1LE with track driving in mind (i know for a lot of people this is a draw back but I think people are going to be surprised how good it will be)(plus its an added sell for the wife not having to be in a car with rock hard suspension on road trips)
- The eLSD is a huge asset. A true Torque Vectoring rear differential is unheard of on something with a cost entry as low as this will be.
- all oil coolers are stock with the package
- Recaros are stock
- 6 piston front brakes are stock
- less weight
- HUD stock with the 1LE package
- NPP stock with the 1LE package

6TH Gen 1LE Drawbacks:
- Cost. Not so much in the initial purchase but over the long run. There's a lot of tech in this vehicle and while most modern cars are fairly reliable, its still a nagging concern. The silver lining is most all the tech has been in play for a couple years with the Stingray and most all the kinks worked out.
- the eLSD. I'm not sure how the feedback is going to be at the limit. predictability, reliability etc. Again, I have watched a few videos in regard to the Z51 package on the stingray where they use this eLSD and most all are very pleased with it.
- Looks. I personally like the looks of this car but how will it age? Will it still look good in 10 years or will it be more of a eye sore. Think of like a 64' split window Corvette versus a C4 corvette.
-Reliability?? unknown at this time.
-Driver involvement. again, unknown. I'm not against technology progressing but I still want to be able to A) shut that shit off when I want and B) not impede on the driving characteristics of the car.

At the end of the day I want something I plan to keep for many years to come. I want a car that puts a smile on my face every time I drive it and I want something I can build up and make my own. There will always be faster cars out there but I want a Driver's Car.

For me the 6th Gen is just a refined 5th Gen. They learned a lot from the trials and tribulations of the 5th and worked out some of the kinks from all that data with the 6th Gen. It seems you get a lot more right out of the gate with the 6th Gen so I would be able to focus on enjoying the car right away with my only concern being tires and brakes for a while.

Sorry for the long ass post. I look forward to some engaging feedback. Keep in mind I don't currently own a 5th Gen so the concern of upgrading is not in contention.

I would make no decisions until I saw a real price, but based on the best guesses out there, a gen 6 might be hard to beat.

If I was in the market right now i would buy the 6th Gen.

For me and my DD, all that matters not. So about my car, let me say that this about that. This past Saturday and Sunday, I found myself driving down the Interstate for miles, just because this car is so friken fun to drive, and the Recaros are so comfortable. I hit some ramps more than once...:thumbup::thumbup::w00t:

You should obviously buy the 6th gen if you can wait for it (for almost a year). Alternatively, you can get a 5th gen NOW for a better price, and switch to 6th gen in a year or later if you so desire.

Personally the aesthetic on the gen 5 1LE trumps the extra 30hp and lighter weight. Some people like to deal in absolutes with these, like that difference is a deal killer. The deal killer for me is the look of the 6, you're going to be spending infinitely more time looking at either than noticing a difference the 1% of the time you are canyon carving.

The gen 6 still has not grown on me, nor does it matter since I don't fit in one...
If the look of the new Cam-mustang turns you on, go for it. The more I see the gen6 the less I'm liking it.

It was the '63 that had the split back window ;)

As far as the decision between 5th and 6th gen 1LE, it seems to me that you value performance more than anything, and from the sounds of it, the 6th gen is gonna be pretty amazing in that regard.

Do what you want though!

Encourage you to find, if possible, a '14 or '15 1LE in the spring when you can test drive it for yourself along with at least the '16 SS. Of course you won't have the experience of driving a new '17 1LE at that time, but you will probably come away with some better insights on the right decision for you. My back seat is still likely to get some use, so that tilted me toward a gen 5 and also the sunroof, because it is still limited visibility and space back there.

Hard for me to believe you could go wrong either way, but to me, no substitute for actual driving experience.

Good luck!

Stop thinking about it, buy the 6th gen. PDR, PTM, 6 pistons calibrated to car, eLSD, MR, less mass, soooooo much more power and torque, so much extra cooling for track duty, NPP I dont know what else you need to convince you. You will hold for a long time you said so the extra money shouldnt be an issue.

This is an evolution and growth of the 1LE car, exponetially. And the looks are killer too. What a car, a day has not gone by without me looking at it.

You cant go wrong with previous models too, its like saying if buying a E30 M3 is smart when the e46 is such a better car. Win win man, win win.

I stand corrected :sorry:

And yes, I am leaning towards the 6th Gen after contemplation. I'm looking forward to some more info on this. I was truly taken aback by what they offered with the new 1LE.

+1

There's no point in being conservative on track cars... The past is the past.

Ok, I highlighted the area where you may have just answered your own question, perhaps even inadvertently.

I think this is where the line of disagreement might be at play here, and it is where some of you think, including in some press releases, that the 6th gen is more of a refined 5th gen. A couple of journalists even whined, "wow it looks almost the same".

I will argue, they are almost two entirely different beasts. One journalist said it best, carves more like a knife, one pounds like a Sledgehammer.

I mean, look at the size difference and presence on the road, side to side? Even the new Mustang GT350 looks huge compared to the new 2017 1LE side by side. At least to my eyeballs anyways.

I think, this is where the car is rubbing some of us the wrong way (including me), on exterior looks. It really does look like comparing a short and stubby looking, Boeing 747SP(special performance) model, to a regular 747. The latter looks more elegant, and timeless in design, but the former whips its ass with the numbers. I see the Gen5 and Gen 6 in the same light.

I hate to say this, but every time I look at the 2016 SS or 2017 1LE, I can't help but think, how the GT350 team has the design execution nailed, but the new Camaro doesn't :facepalm:.

It was the other way around when comparing previous Gen5 vs Mustang on looks.

The new 2017 1LE better whip that GT350's ass on the track, or it will be in......



Exactly..well I think I understood you? Probably not..lol

Back in the day, on the forums, when the E36 M3's came out, everyone was talking the same talk you see over at the Camaro6 comment section right now as we speak. "Evolution=Better, blah blah, out_with_old....in_with_the_new."

Of course, in the mainstream swing of things, this statement most likely is correct, and has proven as such to a certain extent.

There are exceptions, and one of my favourite words, in retrospect, which is my polite way of saying, I told you so back then :biggrin:, the E30 M3 not only has gone up in value whilst the other newer ones have plummeted, but from a drivers perspective, the ultimate driving machine that re-wrote the rules :rules: on how a car should feel and drive, will be testament to the test of time, and we are seeing this right now, as I said so back circa 1992, in regards to the ol E30 chassis.

2017 1LE? I need a test drive.

The 1LE option wasn't out when I was car shopping for the 1LE now.
The dealer told me to wait for the 6th Gen because it is a lot better and lighter and faster and it has a new engine. blah blah blah.
The one thing that stopped me from getting the 6th Gen ?
The looks. It looks horrendous when it was revealed in May and it still looks horrendous now. My original plan was to get the 50th Anniversary Edition SS. But once I saw the exterior I didn't like it at all.
You can always make the ride stiffer, faster and lighter. But the exterior looks so European.