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Old 04-12-2020, 05:53 PM   #1
Mattzkatz
 
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Z/28 in Indy?

Any z/28s in/around Indy? I’d like to try and get a locals opinion for what these cars are like around our roads if possible. I understand the quarantine thing (i work in healthcare), so I don’t necessarily have to meet and understand not meeting anytime soon. Would be nice to have a car/person local (outside of a dealership) to get some ownership knowledge from. I’m torn between the z/28 and ZL1. Both have different pros and cons....LS7 and heads for the z/28 and the mag ride of the ZL1. Some say that neither of these are concerns, but there are plenty of threads and opinions to both issues. Right now the z/28 has the lead in “next car” later this year, but the head issue and rough ride have me skittish. I will be DD the car, but DD to me is around 5-6k miles per year at most (I live 2.5mi from work lol). Neither car will see a track or drag strip at any point during ownership. So that’s a mute point for me.

Would just like to be able to spend some time around a z/28 WITHOUT a salesman in my ear and be able to experience more than 10-15min of uninterrupted time to help make a decision.

Thanks in advance!! Happy Easter lol
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Old 04-12-2020, 09:11 PM   #2
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This is interesting as this kind of sounds similar to me. I’m in the market for either one of those cars as well but still deciding. I have driven both but not having a lot of seat time in both cars still makes the decision difficult. They both sure do have their pros and cons and are great cars but IMO I think which ever one you pick if you truly like it enough you will be able to deal with those cons.

As far as the heads issue on the Z28 I kinda cringe with that as well but for peace of mind the best thing you can obviously do is to get them fixed, or do a heads cam package or maybe but not totally sure if it covers it but an extended warranty on it could be another option especially if you want to keep it stock.

Also from what I hear most people swap out the original stock Trofeo R tires for something more daily drivable for an example like continental extremes or even Michelin super sport tires. When I drove the car it didn’t seem all that rough and was fine honestly it had the continental tires on it at the time so duno what it’s like with the original tires but a lot of used Z28 I’ve seen usually have different tires on them already from previous owners so that may be a plus since you don’t have to swap out the original tires.

Even though I don’t own either one of these cars yet hopefully my advice was helpful in a way. I’m sure many will chime in and share their experience in regards of the cars and the information they can tell you about them would be more than what I can offer at this point. Wishing you the best of luck with your decision and Happy Easter to you as well! Here is my thread about the two cars. https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=569089
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Old 04-12-2020, 09:11 PM   #3
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Being in the house all day sucks! That being said I took my Z for a spin since it was a beautiful Sunday Easter. Because of the stay in home order, the roads were wide open without any traffic. Nice!

The main thing is what do you like or must have for you to DD the car. Before I bought the Z/28, I've also looked at ZL1. It would be nice to have both, but life is unfair and I can only have one.

This is my opinion...If I were to DD the car, I would of gotten the ZL1.
1) parts are easy to get and I think it's got more aftermarket options.
2) ride is better because of mag ride.
3) its got infotainment my-link system.
4) its got back up camera.
5) later down the road replacing the rotors and pads won't break your bank.
6) it's fast as hell.
7) It looks good (second to Z/28).
8) It got modern car comforts.

I only got the Z/28 because I will not track it or DD the car. It's there for weekends and free spirited weekend drive. I want to say for me it's more of a fun collector car.
1) parts are some what hard to get. If you do, you'll pay for it
2) ride is harder DSSV by Multimatic
3) its got NO infotainment my-link system.
4) its got NO back up camera.
5) later down the road replacing the rotors and pads will cost arm & a leg.
6) it's fast as hell.
7) It looks good really good.
8) It got NO modern comforts only radio and A/C (only options)

To me since I drive this one or twice a month non of the modern comforts mater to me. I just like the old school N/A engine sound and feel Z/28 gives me. That's why I chose the Z/28, like it just the way it is.

Extra 2 cents worth. SS 1LE isn't a bad choice.
Good luck and hug a Camaro.
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Old 04-13-2020, 12:43 AM   #4
ariZona28
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+1! Pzero said it all. Z/28 makes a great hobby car but I would not want to DD for all the reasons mentioned.
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Old 04-13-2020, 06:41 AM   #5
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I daily my 1LE with suspension mods. It's fine in Louisville but I take a beating driving through Indy.

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Old 04-13-2020, 07:53 AM   #6
ronchev
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pzero View Post
Being in the house all day sucks! That being said I took my Z for a spin since it was a beautiful Sunday Easter. Because of the stay in home order, the roads were wide open without any traffic. Nice!

The main thing is what do you like or must have for you to DD the car. Before I bought the Z/28, I've also looked at ZL1. It would be nice to have both, but life is unfair and I can only have one.

This is my opinion...If I were to DD the car, I would of gotten the ZL1.
1) parts are easy to get and I think it's got more aftermarket options.
2) ride is better because of mag ride.
3) its got infotainment my-link system.
4) its got back up camera.
5) later down the road replacing the rotors and pads won't break your bank.
6) it's fast as hell.
7) It looks good (second to Z/28).
8) It got modern car comforts.

I only got the Z/28 because I will not track it or DD the car. It's there for weekends and free spirited weekend drive. I want to say for me it's more of a fun collector car.
1) parts are some what hard to get. If you do, you'll pay for it
2) ride is harder DSSV by Multimatic
3) its got NO infotainment my-link system.
4) its got NO back up camera.
5) later down the road replacing the rotors and pads will cost arm & a leg.
6) it's fast as hell.
7) It looks good really good.
8) It got NO modern comforts only radio and A/C (only options)

To me since I drive this one or twice a month non of the modern comforts mater to me. I just like the old school N/A engine sound and feel Z/28 gives me. That's why I chose the Z/28, like it just the way it is.

Extra 2 cents worth. SS 1LE isn't a bad choice.
Good luck and hug a Camaro.


Yeah! What he said!
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Old 04-13-2020, 03:36 PM   #7
Mark_Z28
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattzkatz View Post
Any z/28s in/around Indy? I’d like to try and get a locals opinion for what these cars are like around our roads if possible. I understand the quarantine thing (i work in healthcare), so I don’t necessarily have to meet and understand not meeting anytime soon. Would be nice to have a car/person local (outside of a dealership) to get some ownership knowledge from. I’m torn between the z/28 and ZL1. Both have different pros and cons....LS7 and heads for the z/28 and the mag ride of the ZL1. Some say that neither of these are concerns, but there are plenty of threads and opinions to both issues. Right now the z/28 has the lead in “next car” later this year, but the head issue and rough ride have me skittish. I will be DD the car, but DD to me is around 5-6k miles per year at most (I live 2.5mi from work lol). Neither car will see a track or drag strip at any point during ownership. So that’s a mute point for me.

Would just like to be able to spend some time around a z/28 WITHOUT a salesman in my ear and be able to experience more than 10-15min of uninterrupted time to help make a decision.

Thanks in advance!! Happy Easter lol
I have driven in Indy in mine, you guys' roads aren't really all that bad. If you're driving around town just cruising for hours on end you will get sick of the z28s ride, but 2.5 mile commute yea that would not be bad at all. What I don't recall is the Indy area having that many curvy roads close-by but you're not that far from KY and they have some awesome roads down there. Which is where I drive mine the most. Actually with lockdown and working from home, most lunches I take the z28 out on some empty backroads for a quick blast which is where you feel like you bought something special. Pretty much the perfect isolation therapy aid ever if there was such a thing.

For context I have a 15 which I bought in september of 2016 with 840 miles. It now has 71,256 miles. I have driven it all over Ohio, Kentucky, PA it has been to Dallas and served daily duties for a few months when I lived there. Honestly I hated the Z when I was in Dallas because the roads were just so atrocious. If you're puttering along on the highway or doing 30-60 minutes plus commutes on a concrete highway as a daily commute I'd probably say get a daily beater, but you're in indy so you probably already have one. If its just for short blasts or fun driving only, its hard to argue against the Z28.

I just don't think you get the raw excitement that you get from the Z28 with the 5th gen Zl1(its been a while since I drove one though). I just recently drove almost back-to-back a 2020 SS 1LE in the new rally green color, a 6th gen ZL1 and drove up to see those in my z28, and when I got back into the both times z28 its just raw goodness that the other two don't deliver. I'm not a track driver, so I'm not talking about 9/10ths or 10/10ths driving feel nor do I mean driving on track tires. Put some decent street tires on it and you can play with the car on some tight back roads enough for it to feel just perfect. I personally just absolutely LOVE the LS7, it sounds amazing even in stock form and it revs so nicely I don't think there is much that can compete with the feeling of just overall grunt and body control capability in a raw(almost in-your-face manner) the way a z28 can. And once you get going the DSSVs really just come into their own and shine. I'm not trying to downplay the ride harshness at all. It IS brutal and once you drive a z28 long enough, you will get on a road and look ahead and notice all of the oncoming imperfections on the road(if its a bad road), and you will in your head adjust how you go down that road just because you know in advance how jarring its about it get.

If you're keen on doing power mods though, 5th gen ZL1 all day. Or if you're just cruising to car shows with a fresh coat of ceramic or whatever, you'd probably get as much enjoyment out of a zl1.

I'm in wooster, Ohio. If it wasn't for isolation. Id say come drive the car when I visit my friends in Muncie or carmel.

If you're going to have one fun car the Z28 is definitely worth choosing over the Zl1. Get one with AC. You don't need a backup camera or blue tooth. You can still plug your phone in and play your tunes, you're not cranking down windows, its got power windows and power steering even power seats to an extent and all the modern conveniences you could ever want. you can add what the Z28 is missing if you really want the doodads, but you can't add the feel of the z28 onto a zl1.

Last edited by Mark_Z28; 04-13-2020 at 04:00 PM. Reason: grammar nazi proofing
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Old 04-13-2020, 03:36 PM   #8
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Thanks for the quick responses!! Like I said about DD...my DD is prolly still less than what most people do for their “weekend only” cars. I only live 2.5mi from work and have averaged ~5k miles per year (and that includes driving all over the state when I pull OT) lol. It’s one of those, I’m prolly just over-thinking it and putting too much effort in trying to make the “right choice” and I don’t think either is really a bad choice hahaha. When I’m closer to pulling the trigger I’ll prolly try and hunt out a car that’s already had heads, cam, headers b/c why not & who doesn’t WANT to do those anyhow lol. Luckily, I’ve had someone contact me that lives close that I can try and craw around a Z/28 without having to do it through a dealer. Now, it’s just wait for the weather to break and get a little nicer!

For now I’ll keep lurking and trying “pro v con” my way through until eventually it’ll be a paper-rock-scissors to make a decision. Don’t really see having either is necessarily a wrong choice or a bad decision Hahahaha (first world problem I guess)
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Old 04-13-2020, 03:50 PM   #9
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Thanks for the reply Mark!! I live on the SE side of Indy, so it’s more “country” than Carmel (or REAL country if you ask people in Carmel hahaha) so there are still some fun roads and areas to cruise around. I’ve got family that lives in KY, but those trips are typically family trips and don’t know that the wife and kids when enjoy the ride for that long lol. I’m leaning more z/28 currently, but doing all of the back and forth with myself has me here venting if you will. My wife is thankful for CF by the way!
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