New Camaro SS with ZL1 1LE Parts Becomes a Road Racing Machine

A new Chevrolet Camaro SS is transformed into a competitive road race car with a handful of components from the ZL1 1LE, most of which is available through Chevrolet Performance – meaning that all 6g Camaro SS owners can give their muscle car competition-quality performance with a short list of production-based upgrades.

The 6th generation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE is the most track capable Chevy muscle car ever, but far more people buy the less expensive and less powerful Camaro SS. With 455 horsepower, the LT1-powered Camaro SS doesn’t offer nearly the same straight-line performance as the ZL1’s supercharged LT4, but it still offers impressive handling capabilities. However, as Trans Am racer Todd Napieralski has proven, adding some ZL1 1LE components to a Camaro SS creates a muscle car worthy of the SCCA production based road racing series.

Todd Napieralski’s Camaro SS
Todd Napieralski’s Chevrolet Camaro SS race car competes in the SCCA TA4 spec class began its life as a basic, road-going muscle car, including the LT1 V8, the 6-speed manual transmission, the Brembo high performance braking package and the factory limited slip differential.

While working with Chevrolet Performance and Total Performance Racing, Napieralski’s Camaro SS was fitted with some ZL1 1LE parts that are already offered by Chevrolet Performance along with some ZL1 1LE bits that are currently listed as concept components.

From the current Chevrolet Performance parts catalog, this Camaro SS race car is fitted with the Multimatic DSSV Lowering and Handling Suspension Upgrade System (PN 84352121) and the Suspension Upgrade System (P/N 84352119), solid-mounted rear suspension cradle mounts and the ZL1 rear spoiler. The Multimatic DSSV package includes the Multimatic DSSV dampers, the 1LE front and rear coil springs, and the 1LE front sway bar. This package drops the car by about a half inch (this is adjustable in the front) while also stiffening up the spring rates by as much as 245%. The Suspension Upgrade System adds front end links, front handling links, rear upper and lower trailing links, rear knuckles, stiffer bushings and stiffer ball joints to the Camaro SS – all of which are found on the ZL1 1LE.

In other words, the Camaro SS TA4 race car has pretty much every aspect of the Camaro ZL1 1LE suspension setup, allowing the less powerful SS to handle as well as the record-setting supercharged 1LE.

Finally, to enhance the overall performance capabilities of the Camaro SS, the Chevrolet Performance added the front fenders, the front fascia, the grille, the front splitter, the dive planes and the hood from the ZL1 1LE – improving the aerodynamics of the Chevy muscle car in every way. These items are currently listed as being concept parts, but for a Camaro SS owner who wants to turn their street car into a great weekend racer, they can do so by adding the body bits from the new Camaro ZL1 1LE.

When coupled with the ZL1 1LE handling upgrades, the ZL1 1LE aerodynamics package makes the Camaro SS as track-capable as the 1LE – just with less power.