PAIR OF FIRST-CLASS PERFORMERS
Enhancements make both V6 and V8 more suitable for the track, writes Costa Mouzouris
The 1LE production code tacked onto the Camaro order sheet might not mean much to most, but to a few diehard driving enthusiasts it designates a penchant for performance. Racetrack performance.
We got an opportunity to test the 2017 Camaro 1LE at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, located one hour west of Las Vegas. But first, here’s a little 1LE history.
Chevrolet started working on variations of the 1LE in 1988, to improve the then thirdgeneration Camaro’s racetrack handling, for events such as the Player’s Challenge Series, which ran from 1986 to 1992. Race teams had asked the folks at Chevy to improve the car, and they in turn installed larger calipers from the Caprice, and bolted on Corvette rotors and suspension components, among a few other handling-enhancing items. Thus the 1LE was born, and by 1989 it was available through Chevy dealers.
The company followed up with a 1LE package for the fourth-generation Camaro throughout the 1990s, installing Koni shocks and further enhancing its handling. The fifth-generation Camaro 1LE was introduced in 2010 and was criticized for its excessive understeer, which prompted Chevy engineers to respond two years later by introducing the highest performance Camaro to date, the 580-hp ZL1, which borrowed parts heavily from the Corvette ZR1.
The Camaro 1LE returns for 2017, though there’s a new twist to this track-ready muscle car: for the first time since its introduction there will be a V6-powered 1LE available alongside the traditional V8 model. The 1LE package is available with the 1LS and 2LS 3.6-litre V6 models, and with the 1SS V8 model.
If you’re averse to using both feet when driving, you’ll be disappointed to learn that the 1LE is available only with a manual gearbox — but everyone else can rejoice! The six-speed manual is operated conventionally in the V6, while the V8-powered SS incorporates no-lift shift (permits full-throttle, clutchless gear changes) and rev-matching functions (automatic throttle blips on downshifts).
Externally there are a couple of styling cues giving away the 1LE’s enhanced handling package, including the addition of a front splitter and rear spoiler, and matte-black hood wrap. The SS 1LE has hood vents, hinting at its more muscular power plant beneath. The V6 and the SS roll on 20-inch wheels, though the latter uses 1.5-inch wider wheels (9.5 in. front; 11 in. rear) and also rolls on stickier Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires, as opposed to the V6’s run-flats.
The SS 1LE uses a 455-horsepower, 455-pound-feet, 6.2-L V8, while the V6 model produces 335 hp and 284 lb-ft of torque. The engines in the 1LE models are identical in spec to the non-1LE cars; the differences are hidden within the undercarriage.
The V6 1LE uses front suspension components from the Camaro SS, with performance-tuned shocks all around. It also has a mechanical limited-slip differential with a shorter ratio than the standard V6, and it’s equipped with four-piston Brembo calipers up front.
The SS 1LE gets its chassis components from the Camaro ZL1, including the adjustable FE4 Magnetic Ride suspension, sixpiston calipers and larger discs up front, and four-piston calipers in the rear. An electronically controlled limited-slip differential is also part of its standard equipment. To keep the driver planted firmly with the added grip of its wider, stickier tires, it also has form-fitting Recaro front seats.
To prolong lapping sessions, both cars are equipped with engine, transmission and differential oil coolers, and both cars have dual-mode exhaust systems. There’s a very short list of available options: the Recaro seats are an extra-cost option on the V6 1LE, and you can add a Performance Data Recorder to either car, which records lapping info and also has an on-board camera to record your track sessions.
Our lapping session began in a V6 model, though we alternated between both models throughout the day. Although we were granted only seven laps per session, the 3.8-kilometre track had 11 turns, providing ample opportunity to tax both cars’ handling. Both cars were set to Track mode (there were three modes in the V6, four, including Race Mode, in the SS), which loosens up the electronic safety net enough to get sideways without going all the way around.
The V6 has a bit more understeer than the SS, partially because of its less grippy tires, but also because its suspension is a bit softer and induces a bit more body roll, though both cars feel remarkably tight through corners. Steering effort is lighter in the V6, and with the lower terminal speeds at the end of the straights, it requires you try to carry more momentum into and through corners for quick laps. It’s also more difficult to make up lost ground in the V6 if you make a mistake.
The SS, on the other hand, requires more focus to drive, as this one will sink you into the driver’s seat at corner exit. It steers quicker and responds more faithfully to driver input, and is almost completely void of understeer — if you want to push the front through corners you have to do it deliberately, otherwise it steers exactly where it is pointed. It’s also considerably faster; the SS was the only car making the passes during the lapping sessions, almost regardless of who was behind the wheel. Its larger brakes are more responsive and the pedal is firmer, though both cars maintained the same brake feel from the first lap to the last.
Despite sharing platforms, the two 1LE models are completely different in character. The Camaro V6 1LE is the more affordable option, and can be regarded as more of a street car that you can take to the track. And you can easily improve on its racetrack performance by installing stickier tires. The Camaro SS 1LE is more of a track car that you can drive on the street. It’s faster, louder, stiffer and, of course, it has that luscious roar lacking in the V6 model.
Canadian pricing has yet to be released, but in the U.S. the V6 1LE costs US$4,500 above the base model, and the SS 1LE costs US$6,500 more.