2019 Chevrolet Camaro 4cyl 1LE configurator now available

I don't mind the I4 engine in the Camaro. It pulls nicely and the power feels pretty linear, but there's nothing above 6k. I tend to think the V6 is the way to go vs. the I4. It may be the best n/a V6 out there.

The biggest problem with the 6th gen Camaro is the size. It's smaller than before, but it still takes up a larger physical footprint than other cars of similar weight like the 370Z. It's stiff competition for lots of different types of cars. I like it better than the FRS/BRZ and it's not because of the straight line thrust difference (although that doesn't hurt).

Funny story - I wanted to get a ND or Fiat 124. My wife vetoed the idea because she felt they were unsafe for a daily driver. Last night I put in an offer on a 6th gen Camaro with *exactly* 300hp more. Much safer. We'll see what I end up getting, it will be a 6th gen Camaro, but I'm open minded on all three engines depending on the value equation.

spacecadet said:

Dave M said:

mazdeuce - Seth said:

It's a really good chassis, fits huge tire, and I'm completely over that whole 150+ mph nonsense on track in a street car. Mileage is better, insurance is cheaper and it looks like talent is the big factor on whether this or one of the V8 cars is faster. I get this car. 

I dunno, keep applying that same logic and you get to a Miata, which is just as practical (really, the Camaro has the tiniest excuse for a back seat and trunk) and much, much lighter.

Edit: Holy crap, I looked it up and the Miata is 900 lbs lighter!!

ND's are great, but not infallible and are absolutely lighter, but are extremely softly sprung. I'm with Mazdadeuce, I'd take this over an ND all day. But that's a moot point, I'm not trading in my Focus ST anytime soon. 

Yeah but you can fix the ND shocks, whereas you can't really fix the weight of the Camaro if it's your daily (not to mention the inability to see out of it). I guess it's super-competitive in AutoX if that's your jam though. Don't get me wrong, I love the SS...

Snrub said:

I really don't like the way the front end looks on the 2019s.

For the record the 2L Camaro is a ~3300lbs car. You can build your own 1LE suspension for not a lot of money. The springs are like $25 each.

How about the brakes and the coolers?

I thought the 1LE also got you the fancy magnetorheological shocks, whuch you ain't buyin' for $25...

Knurled. said:

Snrub said:

I really don't like the way the front end looks on the 2019s.

For the record the 2L Camaro is a ~3300lbs car. You can build your own 1LE suspension for not a lot of money. The springs are like $25 each.

How about the brakes and the coolers?

 

I thought the 1LE also got you the fancy magnetorheological shocks, whuch you ain't buyin' for $25...

I'm pretty sure that only the SS 1LE gets the ZL-1's MagneRide shocks, while the V6 1LE and 2.0T 1LE make do with standard SS shocks and springs

In reply to NickD :

Oh, that is kinda disappointing, but I can understand if true.

In reply to Knurled. :

Just checked and, yes, the V6 1LE and 2.0T 1LE come with the FE3 suspension, which is the SS suspension with conventional dampers and springs. That being said, that is still a really good chassis.

Knurled. said:

In reply to NickD :

Oh, that is kinda disappointing, but I can understand if true.

Yes, but the DSSV dampers are also now in the GM performance catalog, they're not the Magride, but they're phenomenal performance shocks. even at the $5k price tag top top of the 4Cyl 1LE, that's still $9k shy of the cost of the SS1LE

https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/parts/84352121.html

 

Dave M said:

spacecadet said:

Dave M said:

mazdeuce - Seth said:

It's a really good chassis, fits huge tire, and I'm completely over that whole 150+ mph nonsense on track in a street car. Mileage is better, insurance is cheaper and it looks like talent is the big factor on whether this or one of the V8 cars is faster. I get this car. 

I dunno, keep applying that same logic and you get to a Miata, which is just as practical (really, the Camaro has the tiniest excuse for a back seat and trunk) and much, much lighter.

Edit: Holy crap, I looked it up and the Miata is 900 lbs lighter!!

ND's are great, but not infallible and are absolutely lighter, but are extremely softly sprung. I'm with Mazdadeuce, I'd take this over an ND all day. But that's a moot point, I'm not trading in my Focus ST anytime soon. 

Yeah but you can fix the ND shocks, whereas you can't really fix the weight of the Camaro if it's your daily (not to mention the inability to see out of it). I guess it's super-competitive in AutoX if that's your jam though. Don't get me wrong, I love the SS...

the 1LE is actually only super competitive if you nuke turbos with tuning like the GM guys are. But having driven the V8 cars, they're not my thing.

sure they make tons of power but they require a throttle patience and driving style I'm not really a fan of for autocross. 

the base 4cyl is very competitive and slots in a class just above my focus. 

The ND are great, but I've owned a ND1 already and won't own another since they fixed my #1 issue on the ND2. the telescoping steering wheel. I have short arms in proportion to the rest of my body, Mazdaduce and I are about the same height and I quite often move the seat forward a bit when we co drive. Also like I said before.. the ND2 RF is more expensive than this Camaro with not much more features. Yes lightweight is wonderful, but I love the midrange torque of the modern 2.0 Turbo 4's. It's enough to be fun, but not too much to actually use on a daily basis. 

 

It's not realistic to create your own identical 1LE from a I4 or V6 because of the diff cooler. I suspect it would not be terribly difficult to add the two small auxiliary radiators and the oil cooler. How necessary the diff cooler is for say track days, I can't say. GM's testing standard is lapping on a track for 24 hours straight. You won't be factory warrantied on the track either, only 1LE or SS+ cars have this benefit.

The I4/V6 1LEs get the base suspension from the SS, which is FE3. The FE3 springs are different between the smaller engines and the SS. You could build your own by buying the shocks, springs, swaybars, sway bar end links. There's also a link or two with stiffer bushings. The 4-piston brake calipers can purchased for not a lot of money. I'd argue you can save a bunch of weight by buying a set of 18" wheels in similar widths to the factory 20" (8.5/9.5" f/r).

The SS 1LE and the ZL1 have FE4 suspension, which have magnetic shocks, etc. I'm not aware of an easy upgrade to these because there is a software difference, etc. If you have a regular SS with magnetic shocks, you can upgrade.

As mentioned the trick ZL1 1LE setup with DSSV shocks is the FEA suspension. The FEA sway bars are stiffer and you can buy them for not a lot of money.

There's also the GM performance parts lowering/handling kit for $1200-1500, plus a sway bar kit. GM produces some lap time data that while not an apples to apples comparison suggests it might not be much behind the ZL1 1LE stuff. I have to wonder if this sway bar kit is all that much better than the FEA sway bar.

I'm not sure that there are huge top end gains to be had by tuning alone with the I4 engine. I think they've selected  a turbo which makes good low end power, but doesn't have much more to give up top. The older LNF engines in say the Solstice/Sky/Cobalt may have been better for tuning. Obviously the turbo can be changed.

Snrub said:

I'm not sure that there are huge top end gains to be had by tuning alone with the I4 engine. I think they've selected  a turbo which makes good low end power, but doesn't have much more to give up top. The older LNF engines in say the Solstice/Sky/Cobalt may have been better for tuning. Obviously the turbo can be changed.

The LTG engine still picks up solid power with a tune. I know there were peak gains of around 90hp/90lb-ft on the Regal GS and Trifecta claims that their Camaro 2.0T tune has "Specific gains over factory calibration are up to (SAE corrected) 67lb-ft of torque and 80 horsepower, with peak gains clocking in at up to 47lb-ft of torque and 41 horsepower, with no vehicle modifications beyond the calibration."

^ I agree, that's pretty good, but when I've searched on the forums, etc. I've had a hard time finding anyone who has posted dynos with those kinds of improvements.

^I'm sure it's just like my 135, a tune will make the fat midrange even fatter, but it's still wheezy up top.

Has anyone here tuned their 2L Camaro?

It's been a while since I've driven one, but I'd argue a 135i/335i isn't too bad up top. The power falls off a little but it's not terrible.  The 2L Camaro's power starts dropping off after say 5.5k, but it's not bad until after 6k. I hated the ecoboost mustang because the power drop off is so severe. It's fast, but it's just not fun. I drove a Hyundai 1.6L turbo right after it  and though Ford could learn a lot from it. :) I kind of wonder if a tune would make the 2L Camaro feel like an ecoboost...

I find it amusing that the "performance" package removes the 18" wheels and puts on 20" boat anchors with heavy runflat tires. But maybe the black hood wrap offsets that.

STM317 said:

In reply to z31maniac :

... FRS with a wheezy flat 4 and Prius tires.

Every time I read about the "Prius tires," I shake my head and think there's so much people don't know. It a wag statement by half assed journalists meant to sell articles and nothing more.

Appleseed said:

STM317 said:

In reply to z31maniac :

... FRS with a wheezy flat 4 and Prius tires.

Every time I read about the "Prius tires," I shake my head and think there's so much people don't know. It a wag statement by half assed journalists meant to sell articles and nothing more.

That's valid. Sorry to spread non-truths. I was really just exaggerating to make a point. They wanted a sporty car. Then they put an engine in it that makes no torque, so to compensate for their engine choices and make it a bit more tail happy, they equipped it with narrow tires with poor grip. It a great chassis that's underpowered and undertired in factory form.  The first things that most serious drivers do to them is add tire and try to increase power/torque.

The 4 cyl Pony cars (especially this 1LE) seem like the thing that we all want the Frisbee twins to be, but Toyota/Subaru refuse to build.

I'll say the the whole "warranty at the track" thing GM does is very cool. The service I had through Cadillac with the V wagon when I was tracking it was exceptional and being able to get that with a $30k Camaro would be excellent. 

Appleseed said:

STM317 said:

In reply to z31maniac :

... FRS with a wheezy flat 4 and Prius tires.

Every time I read about the "Prius tires," I shake my head and think there's so much people don't know. It a wag statement by half assed journalists meant to sell articles and nothing more.

Except the tires that came standard did come on the JDM Prius with the "performance package" option. So that's where the info came from. 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

I'll say the the whole "warranty at the track" thing GM does is very cool. The service I had through Cadillac with the V wagon when I was tracking it was exceptional and being able to get that with a $30k Camaro would be excellent. 

Could you elaborate?  They warranty vehicles used for racing?

Now you have me thinking about a rally Camaro...

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Not sure about "racing" racing, but the normal car warranty, drivetrain and all that, is honored no matter where you blow it up as long as you didn't modify things in such a way that they will deny it. Enter your stock Camaro on Hoosiers in TT and the diff explodes? They got your back. Throw an antilag tune on your turbo car? Not so much. They were fine with my use of the Cadillac on One Lap and that didn't affect warranty at all. We actually has the Cadillac dealer bring cars out to autocross a couple of times. My friends with big gnarly Camaros have had similar positive experiences.

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

That's really cool of them, honestly.  I always assumed that timed competition=no warranty.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Not sure about "racing" racing, but the normal car warranty, drivetrain and all that, is honored no matter where you blow it up as long as you didn't modify things in such a way that they will deny it. Enter your stock Camaro on Hoosiers in TT and the diff explodes? They got your back. Throw an antilag tune on your turbo car? Not so much. They were fine with my use of the Cadillac on One Lap and that didn't affect warranty at all. We actually has the Cadillac dealer bring cars out to autocross a couple of times. My friends with big gnarly Camaros have had similar positive experiences.

What I read was NO MODIFICATIONS. Not just stuff that shouldn't impact the warranty. 

The car has to be bone stock and then they'll honor the warranty for HPDE-type stuff. At least that is what the guy at the dealership told me when I test drove it last year, so take it with a grain of salt. 

In reply to z31maniac :

So I guess a cage would void that, as would removing airbags.  Stuff needed for serious racing business.

But time trials and stuff are fair game.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

mazdeuce - Seth said:

I'll say the the whole "warranty at the track" thing GM does is very cool. The service I had through Cadillac with the V wagon when I was tracking it was exceptional and being able to get that with a $30k Camaro would be excellent. 

Could you elaborate?  They warranty vehicles used for racing?

Now you have me thinking about a rally Camaro...

Likely would be a decent SR rallycross car. You can fit 16s and the lsd is standard in the base 2.0

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:

In reply to z31maniac :

So I guess a cage would void that, as would removing airbags.  Stuff needed for serious racing business.

But time trials and stuff are fair game.

You'd have to ask. I don't know why a 4pt bar/harness/seats would, but you never know. And I'd likely want that stuff given how fast and capable the car is.