ZL1-LSA-MR+LS7+Pedders Coilovers = Z28?

[2cnd chance]

I'd like the DI. If we can get it in a 5Gen, however the LS7 is ready now. I just want a 5Gen Z28!

[Fightinfire921]

Originally Posted by 2cnd chance

I'd like the DI. If we can get it in a 5Gen, however the LS7 is ready now. I just want a 5Gen Z28!

I wanted it yesterday!

[JusticePete]

The only down side to DI is the lack of tuning software. Bosch has it locked down tight. The leads to my question.

If the Z28 comes with DI will it help or hurt sales?

[Blizzard]

Originally Posted by Z284ever

Hmmm, what if the 5th gen did possibly get a GenV?

Just sayin'. :emoticon7:

Hmm, where have I heard this before.....

I have brought this up many times, and for the most part still believe its a very likely option. A base line LS7 Z28 would most likely cost us around 45-48 msrp, but a GenV V8 could have us at 38-40 msrp. Now this is if the SS also gets the GenV V8 with a different tune. When the launch of the GenV V8 comes along I see 4 different versions released at one time, a replacement for the LS9 (also the LSA both with same internals this time just a different Supercharger), a hand built replacement for the LS7, a replacement for the LS3 for truck and SS duty, and another for the Z28 and Corvette GS.

[Edge.128]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

The only down side to DI is the lack of tuning software. Bosch has it locked down tight. The leads to my question.

If the Z28 comes with DI will it help or hurt sales?

yes the V6 people are slowing working out the tunning. so hopefully what they are learning can be applied in this situation.

[LOWDOWN]

Now that the ZL1 will be available with an Automatic, the differentiation for the Zee28 is suddenly clearer...STICK ONLY...as one would expect for an enthusiast-centered, track-likely canyon carver. I'm not saying this makes the ZL1 any less of a "halo", and it surely adds to its potential sales. But the Zee, for me, is now in a different Class...just as the GT500 (600?) is to the BOSS.

With this newfound "focus" for the Zee, the debate concerning (LT1, is it?)Gen-5 SBC vs. LS7 (the only REAL alternatives?!) is one of "intent" and "timing" and "viability". And the predication for this debate, or Business Case (call it what you will), would center around WHEN...

When is it conceiveable for GM to foist this much-needed and -anticipated version? How quickly can the Team ready, for Production, the Zee? Or, rather, how quickly DO THEY WARRANT its necessity, at whatever risk they assign its potential sales against the ZL1's numbers?

If there is concern about folks "settling" for a Zee at the expense of the ZL1, it would frankly put the ENTIRE Program at risk. Why? 'Cause the clock is ticking on the Gen-5 platform. 'Cause the costs incurred for the Gen-5 Camaro Zee Program have to be amortized over "X" units, and the sooner the Program launches, the easier the costs will be to recover, and true profit$ will be realized, and the lower the end MSRP is likely to be and, therefore, the ultimate sales success for the Program...

That scenario, in and of itself, means the Gen-5 engine is likely at best a '14-MY intro (somewhere early-'13 calendar year or so). Is that long enough to recoup? Me thinks NOT...not with Alfie due shortly thereafter, by MY '15...

Which brings us four-square back to our good ol' friend, the LS7...available NOW...certifiable/validatable NOW...or anytime the Team deems "appropriate". Complete with ZL1 driveline components which are undergoing this process as we speak.

Production is now slated to commence 1st 1/4 '12 as MY '12s, for the ZL1:

1) How many of those potential folks would really rally 'round a Zee, instead? At $10K less for admittedly less content, but no less road course excitement, and just about as many grins on the daily commute?

2) Or, would our Zee-lusting brothers and sisters simply avoid a ZL1, anyway, but be willing to open a payment account for the Zee, instead?

That was Ford's conundrum, and we know how that turned out.

Will GM do something for US?

Stay tuned...

EDIT:

An historical "been there-done that" occurs to me... Fred Gibb, with Dick Harrell, "blindly" ordered the first 50 Gen-One ZL1s, with Vince Piggins' assurances that the "price would be right"...and then the "beancounters" (not for the first time, and certainly not for the last...) made Vince, and Gibb, and 19 other orderers PAY...150% more for the COPO 9560 Package than the basic Camaro chassis retailed for. If you take a Base LS Camaro, and factor in 150%...BANG ON what a loaded ZL1 will be, again. Maybe THAT'S why the late name change...

As to the likelihood of a Zee...the clock IS ticking...

[JusticePete]

You are right, the clock is ticking.

[calbert1999]

Originally Posted by Milk 1027

LS7 is going to stop being mass produced as soon as the next gen Corvette comes

I thought people wanted a lightweight Z28?

The LS7 is pretty heavy, and it's more expensive to produce than it's worth.

I'm less concerned with weight than I am with power. Case and point Mustangs are too light to stick to the pavement with the power they have.

[JusticePete]

It isn't so much that the Mustang is light, it is the solid rear with a three arm setup. My company has done extensive work on both. We have the Mustang and Camaro running in virtually a dead heat. I say virtually because on the road course the Camaro was 3 tenths of a second faster. Keep in mind that the Mustang out brakes and out accelerated the Camaro. The Camaro had dyno number of 568 RWHP and the Mustang only 449. Weight is important, but the heavier Camaro IRS allowed the Camaro to carry more speed into and out of the turns.

You can read about both here. http://www.peddersusa.com/news/1/article21

The picture is at speed and I am 'hiding' in the mustang.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

It isn't so much that the Mustang is light, it is the solid rear with a three arm setup. My company has done extensive work on both. We have the Mustang and Camaro running in virtually a dead heat. I say virtually because on the road course the Camaro was 3 tenths of a second faster. Keep in mind that the Mustang out brakes and out accelerated the Camaro. The Camaro had dyno number of 568 RWHP and the Mustang only 449. Weight is important, but the heavier Camaro IRS allowed the Camaro to carry more speed into and out of the turns.

You can read about both here. http://www.peddersusa.com/news/1/article21

The picture is at speed and I am 'hiding' in the mustang.

Wasn't the Camaro making substantially less power when it was actually on the track compared to when it was tested on the rollers?

[calbert1999]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

It isn't so much that the Mustang is light, it is the solid rear with a three arm setup. My company has done extensive work on both. We have the Mustang and Camaro running in virtually a dead heat. I say virtually because on the road course the Camaro was 3 tenths of a second faster. Keep in mind that the Mustang out brakes and out accelerated the Camaro. The Camaro had dyno number of 568 RWHP and the Mustang only 449. Weight is important, but the heavier Camaro IRS allowed the Camaro to carry more speed into and out of the turns.

You can read about both here. http://www.peddersusa.com/news/1/article21

The picture is at speed and I am 'hiding' in the mustang.

Sort of the point I was trying to make. I think the weight of the Camaro is good, planting it to the ground a little better and more TQ is what it needs to get moving. Personally, I like the idea the vehicle has some real metal, and I'm not sitting in a piece of fiberglass with a 8cyl. engine bolted on.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Wasn't the Camaro making substantially less power when it was actually on the track compared to when it was tested on the rollers?

The GM computer is smarter than the Ford computer making it more sensitive to heat soak. How much less is hard to say, but yes the power numbers would have been down. We ran into the issue in our first track session two years ago. Working with my 'friends' we made quite a few changes in our approach to thermal management. In the shootout with the Mustang we did not see any change in timing due to the heat so the changes were effective. That said, the Camaro did not feel as strong in the heat no matter what the computer told us.

Our track experience is why I had asked for a number of things in my design for the Z28. Here is a short list.

Exhaust manifolds coated inside and out
No sound insulation above the plenum
No hood blanket
Ambient Air Induction
Heat extractors in the hood
Oil cooler
PS cooler

A cool LS series engine is a happy LS series engine

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by calbert1999

Sort of the point I was trying to make. I think the weight of the Camaro is good, planting it to the ground a little better and more TQ is what it needs to get moving. Personally, I like the idea the vehicle has some real metal, and I'm not sitting in a piece of fiberglass with a 8cyl. engine bolted on.

We hit the track at 4187 including driver and fuel in the Camaro. The Mustang was almost 300 pounds lighter. If we could shave 100 pounds out of the Camaro...don't forget mine was S/C.

One of the mistakes I made in the setup of our Camaro was running an aftermarket hood. This time I want a factory hood with heat extractors. It will easily be 15 pounds lighter or more. Another 20 or 30 pounds of sound deadening out of the Z28. Another few pounds with the Brembo two piece rotors. Titanium exhaust. We are getting really close to where I would like to be. The N/A LS7.

How soon can they build it?

[LOWDOWN]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

How soon can they build it?

"Tomorrow"...we're just not quite sure how many "grains of sand" are in the "GM Hourglass"...

Again, we see a reappearance of the "LS7 is heavy" urban legend... Converted to wet-sump, as per crash-testing (no tank) AND weight avoidance, the LS3 in any guise and the LS7 are within a handful of pounds, dressed but "naked" as requested by Pete. With judicious application (or rather lack of) "stuff 'n doodads", a 1SS (with LS interior) + LS7 + HD (ZL1-derived) Driveline - MR +FE4 + ZL1 Wheels/Tires/Exhaust = <1SS Curb Weight. And the LS7's life expectancy is equivalent, roughly, to the Gen-5 Camaro. Here's a recipe to ensure that...

At that weight, with cat-like reflexes, the arrow missing from the Camaro quiver...isn't...at a premium well below a ZL1, but equally above a Base 2SS...