Just picked up a poor man's Viper TA, LOL

[VENOM V]

It's obscenely orange, it has sinister black wheels and ground effects, and lots of go-fast goodies. That makes it pretty much the same as a Viper TA, right? C'mon, just look at the two side by side!

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I just couldn't take it any more. As many of you know, I ordered my Viper last November, really got tired of waiting, because...

I want to play on the track! I also wanted something that I can take on the track and not sweat every little rock chip. Something that I can drive hard, and this Camaro fit the bill. This is the Camaro SS with the 1LE option, a rare option indeed as I had to drive 400 miles to find one. The 1LE is an amazing bargain, considering you get track-ready suspension with beefier anti-roll bars, wider wheels and sticky tires, stout Brembos, heavy duty wheel bearings and suspension links, a shorter 3:91 rear end. At 3825 pounds and 426HP it's no Viper, but it spanks the Boss 302 Laguna Seca, and posted a faster lap at VIR than the Audi R8 V10, Carrera S, and Corvette Grand Sport. Those time are not same driver, same day, so I don't know how fair that comparison is (probably not very), but clearly this Camaro kicks ass for a $35K track toy!

So far, I freakin' love it. The ride is surprisingly comfortable, considering how flat it is in the corners. In fact, it has the same spring rate as the standard Camaro SS, although you really feel the beefier anti-roll bars with any big bump in the road. I have to admit, acceleration feels weak compared to what I'm used to, but the last two performance cars I drove were a ZR1 and a Z06. So to be fair, it moves just fine for it's price.

I'm tracking it July 20-21 at Thunderhill, I'll let you know how she does.

PS- Sorry I left this little detail until the end of my post... I put aside all of my frustration and decided that I love the Viper too damned much to cancel! So I'm still going to get it, even if it takes all summer. Latest update from the factory is that I should receive it sometime in late August.

 

[ViperSmith]

The bright side is, you have year round driving in CA... So you'll be lucky in that respect. Nice pickup!

 

[mnc2886]

That's awesome. I'm glad your not giving in on your order. I bet the Stryker cars will demand more of a premium than a LE will. On a side note, if I had ordered a Gen V and because SRT hadn't built it yet I wanted to go get a hold me off toy like this, my wife would have my head!!!

Congrats and enjoy in good health safely!! Might turn into a awesome DD once the snake shows up.

 

[TrackAire]

Congrats and smart move. That is an awesome choice and parts and mods are cheap for the GM platform. I fell in love with the new Z28 that's coming out, hopefully it lives up to the hype.

I find that having two cars you can track is an advantage since sometimes you may not want to take the Viper due to possible bad weather, not knowing the track, not knowing the group you're running with, etc. Plus it allows me to modify one car and still be able to drive the other when the car being modified is on the rack torn apart.

My goal is to do at least one open track event a month this year. So far it's working out but the last two this month were damn hot, lol.

Cheers,
George

 

[Policy Limits]

ahhh the Band-Aid...yup I know that one! have fun. btw, did u say late August?? that's nuts but your car is special with stryker paint at least. if I like this ride enough I might upgrade to the stryker green vert...then again, by that time the Gallardo successor will finally be out so we'll see.....

PS: you have way more patience than I do!

 

[VENOM V]

The bright side is, you have year round driving in CA... So you'll be lucky in that respect. Nice pickup!

Thanks brother, but when you're getting teased every day by the nice weather, and you attend NorCal VCA meetings in a station wagon, it begins to warp your mind. The Camaro was like a drill into my skull which vented that pressure, LOL.

 

[VENOM V]

That's awesome. I'm glad your not giving in on your order. I bet the Stryker cars will demand more of a premium than a LE will. On a side note, if I had ordered a Gen V and because SRT hadn't built it yet I wanted to go get a hold me off toy like this, my wife would have my head!!!

Congrats and enjoy in good health safely!! Might turn into a awesome DD once the snake shows up.

Hard to give up on a rare opportunity like the Stryker Red. And if the Viper wasn't so bad ass I would've been gone long ago.

On that other note, I will admit to wondering if my lady, family and friends are quietly raising an eye brow. I can hear it now... "What the hell is wrong with Todd? First, he orders a super car at a ridiculous price, then buys another!" Haha, yes maybe I am a little nuts.

I'm going to play it by ear. I think the Camaro will be the car I track most of the time. The Viper will be for special occasions.

 

[VENOM V]

Congrats and smart move. That is an awesome choice and parts and mods are cheap for the GM platform. I fell in love with the new Z28 that's coming out, hopefully it lives up to the hype.

I find that having two cars you can track is an advantage since sometimes you may not want to take the Viper due to possible bad weather, not knowing the track, not knowing the group you're running with, etc. Plus it allows me to modify one car and still be able to drive the other when the car being modified is on the rack torn apart.

My goal is to do at least one open track event a month this year. So far it's working out but the last two this month were damn hot, lol.

Cheers,
George

Thanks George. It took me a while to warm up to the Camaro. But with the performance that they are putting out, it's hard not to like them.

The 1LE is like a Z/28-light (or -heavy, LOL). It really got my attention too. The only thing that's missing in my 1LE is more grunt. The 500HP 427 cubic inch powerplant would solve that. To me, the key is price. My 1LE was just under $36K, which makes it's track performance remarkable for the price. I really hope they don't overprice the Z/28, it has promise.

Good to hear that the two track car idea isn't over the top. I'm not a rich man, so the idea of repairing a Viper has given me some pause. I'm sure I'll track it, but as you said, at tracks I'm comfortable at. I'm relatively new to tracking, but really enjoy it. I've got two events planned and am returning to Ron Fellows for the Level 2 class in October. I'll probably road-trip the Viper out there, love that track and feel confident on it. The guy that runs the school will let me run my Viper every day after class, no charge. Very cool. I'm going to let him drive it too, it will be interesting to see what he can do behind the wheel. I've ridden with him when he's driving at 9/10ths in a ZR1, it was eye opening how much faster he was than me. A good learning experience of what these cars are capable of in the right hands.

 

[VENOM V]

ahhh the Band-Aid...yup I know that one! have fun. btw, did u say late August?? that's nuts but your car is special with stryker paint at least. if I like this ride enough I might upgrade to the stryker green vert...then again, by that time the Gallardo successor will finally be out so we'll see.....

PS: you have way more patience than I do!

Yep, you know it Rick. I thought of you and the Granturismo as I was hopping on the plane to go pick up my 1LE, LOL. The wait was wearing on us all- You, me, MoparMan, ViperSmith, Capt Van, 09 Venom, vipernut, to name a few. We all dealt with it in our own way, and we all nearly or did cancel our orders. Most came back. Hopefully we all end up with our dream machines when all is said and done.

 

[JeffInDFW]

I think this was a GREAT move. There have been two low cost cars that have shocked me on a road course. One was the Cobalt SS (front wheel drive 4 cylinder? You've got to be kidding me?!), and the other was the new 1LE Camaro. I had driven a lot of Camaro SS at DE events as an instructor in 2010 and 2011, and they were -really- bad. I got to do 2 20 minute sessions in a 2013 1LE this spring, and I got out of the car in shock. I can't believe it is basically the same car. It made me go online and read up on the 1LE, and I'm impressed. To the rest of you track rats out there, if you get the chance to drive one, DO.

I also used to track both a Camaro and a Viper. The Viper was so much faster, but the Camaro was a lot more enjoyable because it was all so CHEAP. Tires, brakes, were a fraction of the cost of the Viper, and I always knew if I shelled an engine it wouldn't hurt the bank account. I'm seriously knocking around the idea of picking up one of these 1LEs to be a cheap track toy myself. Enjoy. Oh, and it goes without saying, CONGRATULATIONS on your Gen 5 Viper that you have coming. What a ride!

 

[Voice of Reason]

Congrats on the new toy. If you want to firm up the ride a little more check out BMR Fabrication and Pedders. Even being a 1LE i bet there are a fair number of rubber bushings that you could replace with poly. The new Camaro and my G8 are on very similar platforms and I have almost everything BMR makes on my car. It really made a difference in how the car handles.

 

[SADVIPER]

Thanks brother, but when you're getting teased every day by the nice weather, and you attend NorCal VCA meetings in a station wagon, it begins to warp your mind. The Camaro was like a drill into my skull which vented that pressure, LOL.

LOL
station wagon, drill skull, vent pressure= CAMARO!!! I need a similar recipe.
congrats btw dude enjoy

 

[SSGNRDZ_28]

Great choice... 1LE is a great package and a good value! A (1LE / ZL1 / Z/28) is on my short list as well...

 

[Nine Ball]

1LE is a great car, and was Chevy's response to all the Boss 302 press that was out there. It came out and ended the Boss' honeymoon with the magazines.

The main problem with the 5th gen SS handling had to do with the tires and widths selected. The normal Pirelli PZero tires with puny 245 wide front tires were horrible for understeer. The 5th gen handles best with a nearly square tire width combo. Meaning, having fronts nearly as wide (or equal) to the rears. That is where the 1LE and upcoming Z/28 shine. 285 all the way around on the 1LE, and the Z/28 will get 305 wide front tires and 315 wide rears.

I've owned two supercharged 5th gen Camaros. Excellent bang for the buck, and comfortable daily drivers too. I may do the Z/28 also.

 

[HyperViper]

Congrats! Very cool car

 

[DMan]

Very nice, I'm lovin the matte black look these days. This weekend I picked up a '14 GT500, track pack, perf pack, Silver/Matte black, etc. Not quite as economical a package as that 1LE, but it's a "knock the snot outta you" fun ride, and good weather daily driver. I had an '11 modded GT500 I tracked, so we'll see how this one does next week. Enjoy the new ride, nice that we can share & enjoy the thrill of somewhat more mortal cars too. ;-)

 

[VENOM V]

Very nice, I'm lovin the matte black look these days. This weekend I picked up a '14 GT500, track pack, perf pack, Silver/Matte black, etc. Not quite as economical a package as that 1LE, but it's a "knock the snot outta you" fun ride, and good weather daily driver. I had an '11 modded GT500 I tracked, so we'll see how this one does next week. Enjoy the new ride, nice that we can share & enjoy the thrill of somewhat more mortal cars too. ;-)

It's amazing how muscle cars have been refined to the point of approaching true sports cars. I'm just waiting for Ralph to give us something that's light enough to compete with the Mustang and Camaro. I've been a muscle car guy all my life. I've owned a '70 'Cuda, a Mustang, a Challenger SRT8, and this will be my second Camaro. But this is the first I've owned that handles as well in the twisties as on the drag strip. Enjoy that GT500, beautiful machine!

 

[VENOM V]

I think this was a GREAT move. There have been two low cost cars that have shocked me on a road course. One was the Cobalt SS (front wheel drive 4 cylinder? You've got to be kidding me?!), and the other was the new 1LE Camaro. I had driven a lot of Camaro SS at DE events as an instructor in 2010 and 2011, and they were -really- bad. I got to do 2 20 minute sessions in a 2013 1LE this spring, and I got out of the car in shock. I can't believe it is basically the same car. It made me go online and read up on the 1LE, and I'm impressed. To the rest of you track rats out there, if you get the chance to drive one, DO.

I also used to track both a Camaro and a Viper. The Viper was so much faster, but the Camaro was a lot more enjoyable because it was all so CHEAP. Tires, brakes, were a fraction of the cost of the Viper, and I always knew if I shelled an engine it wouldn't hurt the bank account. I'm seriously knocking around the idea of picking up one of these 1LEs to be a cheap track toy myself. Enjoy. Oh, and it goes without saying, CONGRATULATIONS on your Gen 5 Viper that you have coming. What a ride!

It's impressive how much they improved the handling of the 1LE as compared to the base SS, at least according to the unanimous reviews. I'm going to put in some high temp brake fluid, and am considering a track alignment before my maiden voyage at Thunderhill. Would you? I'm less concerned about tire wear as this isn't my daily driver. I want track performance. Also thinking about a Corsa or Borla exhaust for that bad ass muscle car sound, but need to find out if either would exceed the Laguna Seca dB limits. Mine came with the standard, relatively quiet exhaust, not even the optional factory dual-mode exhaust that opens up when you are WOT. Because I live so close to Seca, I may keep the stock exhaust if need be.

 

[eucharistos]

congrats!

your description of the ss-1le makes me want one

 

[v10enomous]

Local dealer just got one of these in. It was in his inventory and I went there the other day but he didn't have the car so he threw me the keys to a Hot Wheels Camaro on the lot The Camaro is far superior to the Mustang and Chally in this class of car. I was feeling the Z28 at the Auto Show but he had no information about that. I figure if I keep going to look at cars something will really hit me and I'll buy it. I'll probably shoot over there later today to see the SS1 1LE although it has a bunch of crap I would never order.

 

[VENOM V]

Local dealer just got one of these in. It was in his inventory and I went there the other day but he didn't have the car so he threw me the keys to a Hot Wheels Camaro on the lot The Camaro is far superior to the Mustang and Chally in this class of car. I was feeling the Z28 at the Auto Show but he had no information about that. I figure if I keep going to look at cars something will really hit me and I'll buy it. I'll probably shoot over there later today to see the SS1 1LE although it has a bunch of crap I would never order.

Mine was a 1SS RS 1LE with minimal options, no leather, no nav, I paid just $35.9k. Perfect low cost track car. I am having a blast in it...

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=308953

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

Congrats on the 1LE!