DRIVE: GT500 vs. ZL1 (by Chris Harris)

[C5RocksC5]

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

Exactly! The "only" reason the GT500 keeps up with the ZL1 on the track is the extra power it has. Add that to the ZL1 and it's no contest.

I don't think the ZL1 needs GT500-like hp, it needs to lose some weight.

[DanSS24]

Freedom of choice is wonderful.

Camaro and Coke for me. Coke Zero.

[C5RocksC5]

Originally Posted by Punk_rider

Then you don't need a 580 nor 660 hp car ... and then the best ride is a Spark ...


I do think the GTR is better than the Z06. But that's not the point.

I couldn't care less about the "ford vs Chevy" war, I'm european and that's non sense to me. I want a ZL1 cause I find this car plain beautiful and giving raw power for what is said to be a good daily driver handling.
GT500 is more powerful, faster, but looks like it brakes bad and handles regular roads not that good. This makes a dangerous car to me (having a brother who almost killed himself in a 1990 ZR1, I'm not to much into high power "soapy" cars).

And besides, I find the GT500 kinda ugly. There's no competition to me.

Overall, these comparisons and discussions are pretty funny, cause I'm pretty sure 99% of people here don't have half the skills required to use these two cars at their top level. But when people with the required skills seem to find a car is safer than the other, knowing i'll never have the required skills ... I take the safer one (the one that brakes, that handles bumps, ...)

I'm not looking for the best car on Earth, if that would be the case, i'd be a formula 1 pilot ... I just want a car that I love, and I will always find someone with a better car ... so what?

sorry but you are contradicting yourself all over the place. 99% don't have the required skills but yet you think the brake fade that has only been reported once is dangerous enough for daily driving. There are other cars that ride harsher than the ugle Shelby..they are not dangerous. I think your opinion is solely based on reading a lot of opinions and not actually sample driving these cars.

[eolson]

Anyone who thinks any of these modern cars is too dangerous for daily driving is being silly. Unless you can't control your right foot? Erik

[Teamradrz1]

me me I have a hard time controlling my right foot!

Coke for me also or Mt Dew!

[rmyers]

Originally Posted by VTXFrank

That guys enthusiasm while he was driving the GT500 is contagious! Makes me want to go drive my car even though it isn't a GT500!

I think this is the best review I've seen of these two cars pitted against each other.

Ditto....with the added benefit that my car is a ZL1!

Just completed a 750+ mile round trip and averaged 20 mpg at 75 mph, with over 750 crank hp!

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by rmyers

Ditto....with the added benefit that my car is a ZL1!

Just completed a 750+ mile round trip and averaged 20 mpg at 75 mph, with over 750 crank hp!

<= My face, after reading your post.

[Bad@ssCamaro]

Sports Drinks- less calories, better for you

[lexlueger]

Chris Harris is the man. I drink breast milk.

[john2000car]

Originally Posted by Punk_rider

Then you don't need a 580 nor 660 hp car ... and then the best ride is a Spark ...


I do think the GTR is better than the Z06. But that's not the point.

I couldn't care less about the "ford vs Chevy" war, I'm european and that's non sense to me. I want a ZL1 cause I find this car plain beautiful and giving raw power for what is said to be a good daily driver handling.
GT500 is more powerful, faster, but looks like it brakes bad and handles regular roads not that good. This makes a dangerous car to me (having a brother who almost killed himself in a 1990 ZR1, I'm not to much into high power "soapy" cars).

And besides, I find the GT500 kinda ugly. There's no competition to me.

Overall, these comparisons and discussions are pretty funny, cause I'm pretty sure 99% of people here don't have half the skills required to use these two cars at their top level. But when people with the required skills seem to find a car is safer than the other, knowing i'll never have the required skills ... I take the safer one (the one that brakes, that handles bumps, ...)

I'm not looking for the best car on Earth, if that would be the case, i'd be a formula 1 pilot ... I just want a car that I love, and I will always find someone with a better car ... so what?

I agree with the point you are making here. It corresponds to my opinion.
The most horsepower doesn't win ALL of the races, or speed competition.
That would depend on driver and nerve, particularly off-track.
A thought has occurred to me that I will behave myself around a Mustang driver on the road, not for fear of losing a competition, but the other guy/gal might not be able to handle the road and seriously injure themselves, or someone else.

Another personal road trip 2010 Camaro V6 story with good outcome:
Somewhat unwisely, I decided to pass 3 cars on a 2 lane country road. I kicked it to get around before any oncoming traffic showed up. I got around with little to spare before entering a 40 mph curve. My speed had reached ~90 mph before removing foot from accelerator. For first time, I really thought the car would roll (why I did not brake), it didn't, thankfully. I sure was glad I had the RS 20" Pirelli tires (no screeching) and the car's lateral capability, etc. I honestly don't believe there are many vehicles that would have had this good outcome. I did learn a lesson on that one. Be more patient, even when not too many passing opportunities on that road for many miles.

[rmyers]

Originally Posted by LeviG

Did I hear him correctly? Chevrolet detuned the Corvette ZR1's engine for the Camaro ZL1? In a previous post I thought this same thing, but I was corrected and read in a magazine that the ZL1 and the CTS-V did not use the LS9 but had their own engine. What gives?

Architecturally the motors are the same, in design and displacement. However the LS9 uses a bigger blower, (2.3 liter vs 1.9 litter) and it also uses stronger materials and lighter weight materials on things like connecting rods, pistons, and crank. The ZL1 and CTS-V both have the LSA.

[ParisTNDude]

Originally Posted by Deki

No but you're $4300 away from a full Pedders set up that will pull 1.2G's at the track and that will more than walk away from the ZL1 in every respect. The point I was trying to make, you can't compare modified cars. It's a useless argument. Stock for stock, they are neck and neck. MT observed brake fade, no other publication did. I think a few things attributed to that....1. Insufficient cooling because Ford wanted to claim the 200mph+ top speed 2. RP took the car to it's ragged edge and exploited the weakness of the insufficient cooling of the brakes and 3, which is just a speculation, they did not use the proper fluid as stated in the manual to prevent the over heating of the fluid. We have no evidence to show us whether the fade was caused by the pads, rotors or fluid. From the Raven footage at Sebring and the other track which I'm too lazy to think of or look up, their modified GT500 with tune and DOT4 fluid, on stock rotors, pads, and tires, never had an issue with brake fade, which leads me to believe it was the fluid in the MT that did the car in. 15" 6 piston Brembos up front are no joke, and have been shown to slow the GT500 from 60 and 70mph faster than the ZL1. Just my 2 cents.

Dang!....Deki...this is the second time in recent weeks we agree on something...the sky is falling!

It is silly to bench race two fantasy cars with mods. Just take both of these awesome cars at face value and enjoy them. It's unfortunate that I will never be able to afford both, so I have to rely on the magazines for their impressions on cars I'm interested in. When you read ALL the reviews, a savvy car guy can weed out the BS and, even by concensus, determine for themselves which car is the better. At some point in life, we have to realize our "favorite" isn't always the winner.

[Bob Cosby]

The better car is the one you spend your own money on....what makes it better is personal opinion.

[eolson]

Looks like the mud slinging is officially over in here, bummer..... Erik