ZL1 to Corvette 1 Year Report

[Ls_Camaro]

Originally Posted by Annatar

And while we are on the subject of genuine conversation, I have a few confessions to make:

I kind of, sort of like the way C6 Corvette looks.

I love the way C7 Z06 and especially the C7 ZR1 looks.

I think the RS, SS and LT 5th generation Camaros looks like absolute crap in the front with that 50's square grille, and that they are not aggressive enough for a pony car, never you mind that they do not have enough torque for such a heavy vehicle.

I love the way Z/28, ZL1 and ZL1 1LE look; I could stare at them for hours on end (6th generation less so, but I still find them beautiful).

I would love to own a 2014 Z/28 and hope to acquire one after I sort out the next set of priorities.

I think that the Dodge Hellcat wide body is the most beautiful American car to ever be designed; once I start collecting cars, a manual version will definitely be on the short list for my collection. Please help me decide between "Go Mango" and "Plum crazy Purple"!

I’ve seen both colors in person, they both look good in their own ways can’t go wrong with either. The Go mango is a little too bright for my taste but if you added the dual racing black stripes across the middle of the whole car it can look well and give it more added detail complimenting it’s look.

The Plum crazy purple is nice as well and a darker color of course in which I prefer since I like dark colors which explains why my Hellcat is black. I like the more understated sinister dark color look without screaming “look at me!” Between the two colors I’d probably lean more towards the purple but this is entirely subjective and up to you.

[Annatar]

Originally Posted by Bigtime53

What the hell does this have to do with this conservation? I am totally confused!! I don't mean anything in a cocky way I am just trying to figure this part out?

Some of the Brits can be snobs, and I tried to explain where that comes from.

The conversation is around how a lot of the Corvette people turned from normal people to "I own a Corvette because status".

For me personally, I'll probably end up buying the C7 because it's a track weapon, a driver's car, and it comes with a manual.

[Bigtime53]

O ok thanks for clearing that up for me. A C7 with a manual would be fun I figure to track as I have read they work well. I thought about a manual ZL1 before I bought mine that has a A6 in it to do that as there is a track about 2-3 hours from me and sometimes wish I had did that to go try some course racing but backed out after I read the automatic was faster by a little. Maybe next year or late this year I might buy another ZL1 with the stick and still go and try doing some road course racing to see if I like that. The more I think about it I am liking that idea! lol

[redcoats1976]

i like the looks of the vette,but i also have 4 grandkids so i needed a back seat for those occasions where i might have more than one passenger.the camaro is a fine car,im hoping it will last the rest of my driving career.

[MIZL1]

I bought a 12 ZL1 new then in 14 bought my wife Vett Z51 when they were freshly redesigned. Never tracked, drive on the streets and both really fun. ZL1 feels more violent or out of control which is fun to me as long as your mindful of your environment. The vette is well planted maybe as fast or faster depending upon conditions but just feels more planted. I’m 6’ 245lbs and the Camaro is much more comfortable to me, my wife prefers her car which is fine by me.

After a health scare I decided to buy a 2019 Hellcat as life is too short. The ZL1 was paid for and my lifetime keeper so I rotate cars in summer months to keep insurance manageable. The Dodge is super comfortable much faster and to date the best deal I’ve ever got as it was much less expensive than the other two. I choose the poverty options like cloth seats etc (52k) although 717 hp & A8.

I look forward to driving my ZL1 it’s truly the car that kicked off the American modern day horsepower wars and truly blessed to have been able to own a few.

Not looking forward to electric autos, I’m a gas and oil guy 😂

Just my 2 cents

[Ls_Camaro]

Very nice, the go mango orange with the black dual stripes is a great combo. I have a 2019 Hellcat as well with the A8, great car and a beast in track mode with the brutal shifts. Well loaded with the Laguna leather, sunroof, red seat belts etc. When you’re done with those stock 275 Pirelli’s I may suggest getting a set of 10.5” wide replica wheels from PK auto with a set of 305 Nitto 555r2s in the rear. It will make a world of a difference.

[MIZL1]

Originally Posted by Ls_Camaro

Very nice, the go mango orange with the black dual stripes is a great combo. I have a 2019 Hellcat as well with the A8, great car and a beast in track mode with the brutal shifts. Well loaded with the Laguna leather, sunroof, red seat belts etc. When you’re done with those stock 275 Pirelli’s I may suggest getting a set of 10.5” wide replica wheels from PK auto with a set of 305 Nitto 555r2s in the rear. It will make a world of a difference.

Yep I have to agree, I bought the replica wheels going to wait on the tires until I’m worn out. The electronics in these cars and performance menus are awesome.

I do like the appearance of the ZL1 better, but in a straight line your not going to beat the cat stock vs stock.

[silversleeper]

Originally Posted by Ls_Camaro

Very nice, the go mango orange with the black dual stripes is a great combo. I have a 2019 Hellcat as well with the A8,

Didn't happen without pics


Thanks Mi ZL1, for pics. I don't subscribe to the car mags anymore and nice to see some clean realistic muscle cars and not some magazine mega$ creation things.

I'd think most of us like a Hellcat nearly as much as our ZL1's for its hp and throwback styling.

[Annatar]

Originally Posted by MIZL1

I do like the appearance of the ZL1 better, but in a straight line your not going to beat the cat stock vs stock.

"Motortrend" did some testing and the cars were virtually identical in a straight line. It came down to hundredths of a second, if my memory serves me.

Personally I have a very low opinion of drag racing, because in my opinion going straight fast is not interesting, but going fast in technically demanding curves is, and for that, ZL1 will crush a Hellcat because it's lighter and has a superior handling geometry.

By the by, that's a nice big garage, perfect for throwing in a car lift and wrenching one's heart out on one's cars...

[Ls_Camaro]

Originally Posted by silversleeper

Didn't happen without pics


Thanks Mi ZL1, for pics. I don't subscribe to the car mags anymore and nice to see some clean realistic muscle cars and not some magazine mega$ creation things.

I'd think most of us like a Hellcat nearly as much as our ZL1's for its hp and throwback styling.

.

[Mmcmon]

Originally Posted by Annatar

And with that observation, you have crossed deep into the Venn diagram where sociology, psychology and anthropology intersect. Paul Fussel, a professor of English literature at university of Pennsylvania and a specialist in cultural history, discussed the subject at length in his Class: a guide through the American status system. GM themselves have worked towards elevating and engineering the Corvette away from the perception of cheap muscle for the proletariat to a machine capable of competing with the likes of Lamborghini, McLaren or a Ferrari, as became quite evident with the C7 and now the C8.

When I bought my ZL1, I bought it after watching a fellow colleague, the chief engineer of the Camaro team at GM give thorough presentations on the engineering his team did to make the vehicle into a do-it-all track weapon, and as my goal was to get into (semi)professional racing, there was an overlap (not to mention that GM is a long standing customer of a company where I previously worked at). I bought my ZL1 for what a car enthusiast would buy and own such a car, and I never expected to meet anyone else who owned such a thing here: I figured it would be a lonely life. At the time, because of my background and experience I worked in a shall we say cliche industry, so every morning as I'd stop at the traffic light, I'd be surrounded by high-end models of Maseratis, Porsches, Ferraris, Bentleys and Lamborghinis. One would look inside those cars and be blinded by the expensive, brand name White shirts and ties which alone costs thousands, and watches starting at $30,000 and easily climbing into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I never told this to anybody and the only reason I'm writing it now is because we are anonymous in this context, but it gave me a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction deep down, that I drove a lowly ZL1 for a 1/10th of the price they paid while having the same or higher amount of performance, looking better than their cars and being basically an unbreakable, bullet proof vehicle. A bonus on top of that was that those guys, down to a fault, would be hard pressed to show one what the major components of their super and hyper cars were, let alone work on them themselves, while I happily wrenched away on my Chevy and knew what serial defects were in the design before I had even bought it.

To them, the car was an ostentatious way of displaying their self-perceived power and success and nothing more; to me, my ZL1 was and remains a source of joy.

Imagine my shock, then, when I discovered that there is a huge community of U. S. car fans in the country where I live, but, as I'd discover soon thereafter, the class which was supposed to be a purely American thing seems to have seeped into the community here: mostly plumbers, heat technicians, Blue collar workers who had worked all their life, now in their 50's and 60's drove these cars. These were their mid-life crisis measures of dealing with it, showing to the rest of the world that they too had made it.

I said nothing and kept my observations to myself. Enthusiasts - yes, but all they talked about was more horsepower; I'd listen to a guy go on for ten minutes about all the modifications, but when I'd ask him

"and with the speed cameras everywhere, the fines we have, losing your license and the car getting permanently confiscated, where will you ever be able to feel and use all that horsepower, are you taking your car to the race track?"

it would stop the show in its tracks immediately. So different layer of society, but same as the ultra-rich guys in expensive White shirts, ties and watches.

The Corvette owners tended to also be older guys, but with one crucial difference: they were all self-made men, entrepreneurs. Started out as regular workers, made a small size company out of it. Although I didn't observe this myself, I was told by the other guys in the community that the Corvette owners looked down on them. Corvette owners liked to discuss the upgrades their vehicle possessed, but when I'd ask them whether they did it themselves, the answer so far, 100% of the time has been: "no, I had it done by a shop". That tells me everything I wanted or needed to know. I was still very much alone in my enthusiasm. To be fair to the Corvette guys, they have far more balls then the pony car owners here, as a good number of them took or takes their Corvettes to the race track, whereas the Camaro owners here just talk and talk about the modifications and the horsepower, but when the push comes to shove, they don't have the balls to take their cars to the race track.

I guess what I want to say is that my observations align with yours, and that with what GM has done with the brand, your observations are consistent with Corvette moving upwards in the social layers, so to say. It all makes sense (at least to me).

One thing I want to touch upon is the community here, which in my experience, as limited as it might be, has transcended a car community and feels like a big family, there to support one with good, useful advice and a kind word when one needs that little extra "pick-me-up". It's amazing and wonderful.

Older corvette owners have more balls for taking their car to a track? I think you mean more money bud, going to the track isn’t cheap. I’m 32 years old and did a lot of wheelin and dealin to end up in my ZL1. I imported a couple C63 amg’s and sold them to your rich friends for a profit, also got some good deals on a few Rolex’s and sold those to your rich friends for a profit. When I see you on the high way I’ll let you know what time it is.

Oh, and when your engine starts knocking after trying to catch up bring it to me and I’ll fix it for you and do the tuning myself. After all, us Z owners take care of each other.