Repair-It

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2017-che ... 325A9BDA83

Headline says Hellcat killer but that is entirely missing the point.

Random quote:

3,850 pounds based on our measurement of the previous ZL1. That’s about 150 pounds heavier than the SS, but the extra 60 hp and 84 lb-ft ought to handle it fine.

The power/weight is also missing the point. The Gen 5 ZL1 was really more of a GT car (and is distinguished of being the first Gen 5 to gain serious credibility, by 2012). This one will add a lot more sport into it, FWIW.

Sigh.

Chevrolet’s all-new, paddle-shifted 10-speed automatic (co-developed with Ford, in an amusing twist) is optional

Of note: the mechanical trans was co-developed. The trans control is still proprietary to each brand.

Two questions:
1) What does GM gain from Ford's involvement? Just a bigger R&D budget? I hope they lead the project...

2) What does a 10 speed automatic do that an 8 speed does not? Snarky answer: shift more.

They had cars available, but I think it was passengers only.

With Ammann and Reuss at the wheel, the 10-speed-equipped ZL1s were a thrilling ride. The Camaro is thrillingly quick—it hooks up and accelerates smoothly without the violence of something like a Challenger Hellcat. The 10-speed automatic appeared to shift instantly at the pull of the steering wheel-mounted paddles as the GM execs rattled up and down through the first six gears on the track. The Magnetic Ride shocks helped keep the Camaro ZL1 flat through corners, and it shrugged off the track’s curbing, much like the old Camaro Z/28.

After the lap we had a chance to catch up with Al Oppenheiser, the chief engineer behind the new Camaro. When we asked him if the new ZL1 was quicker around the track than the Z/28, he said, “The ZL1’s benchmark was the Z/28. And you know what benchmarks are for.”

The old ZL1 was good for a 3.9-second sprint to 60 mph at a 12.2-second quarter mile at 116.6 mph on our test track, and we expect this lighter, more powerful car to bring those times down and that trap speed up. The old car’s 0.99 average sustained g and 24.0-second figure-eight lap time at 0.85 average g are both likely to bested, as well. The last ZL1’s 100-foot 60-to-zero stopping distance will be tough to beat, but that will probably fall, too. Given that old ZL1 was nipping at the heels of the 707-hp Dodge Challenger Hellcat on the dragstrip, this new car will likely outrun the Hellcat just as easily as it runs circles around the big coupe. Ford, if it does another Mustang GT500, will have a hell of a fight on its hands.

You can get yours late this year, sometime in the fourth quarter. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but the old model’s $57,650 starting price is likely indicative of where this new ZL1 will start.

So they are coming out with a future GT500 competitor before the GT350R competitor (Z/28). I still think the 1LE will be very, very good. The old 1LE had better figure 8 performance than the old ZL1!

And oh by the way, a new $37k 1SS is as fast in the 1/4 mile as the old ZL1 (the same ballpark as a CTS-V2). So much for the Gen 6 being overpriced.

Cooling on the Z06 was such a big deal they needed to preemptively mention this:

No need to worry about overheating, either; a ZL1 aerodynamics engineer told us that while keeping the LT4 cool is always a challenge, his team was able to shoehorn 11 heat exchangers into the Chevy.

Here we go... Hope this stupid collaboration was worth it:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-pa ... spartanntp

Maybe this will push me to get the manual...

FTW...

That means the 2017 ZL1 Camaro and future GT350R Mustang will likely share the same transmission.

This is still my favorite comment:

I've owned Ford, GM and Dodge vehicles. Never an issue with Ford or GM relative to transmissions. Dodges? Oh, hell yea - rebuild or replace ever 30K.

Ford sucks, but at least it isn't Dodge. LOLOLTROLLLOLOL

http://www.lsxtv.com/features/car-featu ... -the-camo/

Watch the second video.

I think this joint venture 10-speed may finally be the equal of the dual clutch manual. Now, let me remind everyone that good automatics already work great from a performance standpoint, including the drag strip and even the road course.

But the place where a transmission like the 8L90 fell short compared to a dual clutch manual is in response from the shift paddles in manual mode. The shifts themselves were pretty quick, and left in auto, there was no performance left on the table. However, if you wanted to shift for yourself, it wasn't that great.

So watch the second vid from the above (or here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLDSlYvprTM) and tell me those shifts don't look almost instantaneous.

Other interesting tidbits from the article: there is speculation that this car may be to Camaros what the Z06 is to Corvettes. Supposedly, the Z06 replaced the old Z06 and ZR1. So perhaps this ZL1 replaces both the ZL1 and Z/28, in one car. In Mustang terms, it could compete with the GT350R and upcoming GT500. In Dodge terms, well, they still have the Viper.

That may be possible and it may actually work. My only real hope is that they do a real follow-up to the LS7. They can put it in anything, really...just make it.

If they don't make one, then the Z/28 could really only be a stripped down, lightened track special that would be kind of a one trick pony against the GT350R. Maybe they don't need that.

And on the GT350, we may not get to see how the Camaro SS does against it before the 1LE comes out. Last time, we had to wade through a bunch of articles comparing the Mustang GT with a track pack to the 1LE, before someone got smart and started looking at the Boss 302 and Leguna Seca, against which the 1LE fared very well (and cost less - I sense a theme here).

kevm14 wrote:Cooling on the Z06 was such a big deal they needed to preemptively mention this:

No need to worry about overheating, either; a ZL1 aerodynamics engineer told us that while keeping the LT4 cool is always a challenge, his team was able to shoehorn 11 heat exchangers into the Chevy.

More quote:

Chevrolet displayed great confidence in the durability of their prototypes, hot lapping the pair for more than an hour without a hitch and stopping only long enough to change passengers. As the sun set, the drivers pushed harder into the final short straight before braking at maximum effort, intentionally setting the front rotors of the Camaros aglow in the gathering dusk. In light of scattered reports of customer C7 Z06 cooling issues under heavy track use, we certainly got the feeling that Chevrolet was going even farther with the ZL1 to ensure it’s as bulletproof under fire as they can possibly make it.

This is good.