2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Coupe
The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is built from some of the most awesome automotive hardware there is. Its magnetorheological dampers read the road 1000 times per second. An electronically controlled limited-slip differential metes torque between the rear wheels with microchip-controlled precision. A wet-sump variant of the Corvette Z06’s supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V-8 delivers incredible thrust. The Camaro ZL1 packs 650 horsepower, with the drivetrain hardware to put it to the ground and the chassis to wrangle it around any curves, all for $63,435.
Imagine a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat that can corner, a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 with an additional 124 horsepower, and a BMW M4 with great steering. The Camaro ZL1 is all of these things and more.
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the 10R gearbox developed jointly with Ford. While Ford engineers led the 10-speed engineering effort, the ZL1’s Hydra-Matic 10R90 is a high-torque application developed by Chevrolet engineers exclusively for their own use. Their changes include a different torque converter, GM-exclusive control algorithms, and uprated components in the clutches, the planetary carriers, and the output gearset to cope with the LT4’s brutal 650 lb-ft of torque.
The real magic, though, is in the tuning. ZF’s acclaimed eight-speed automatic—used by BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Jaguar Land Rover, and the Volkswagen Group—finally has a worthy rival. In Los Angeles traffic, the transmission shuffled through the ratios virtually imperceptibly. At any speed, it shifts with minimal fuss and never hunts for the right ratio. When you demand thrust, the gearbox executes a quick yet smooth downshift without any intermediate steps. Mat the throttle from 60 mph, and the automatic executes a flawless 10th-to-third transition that wakes the LT4 like a sleeping lion poked with a cattle prod.
Switching between the ZL1’s driving modes brings only minor changes to the transmission calibration. The engine cuts fuel on upshifts for faster gear swaps and a satisfying blat in Sport and Track, yet the computer still targets the same shift points.
VIEW 83 PHOTOS
However, once you begin driving enthusiastically in Sport or Track mode, one of three performance algorithms for the transmission is automatically triggered. The initial level holds gears when you lift off the throttle and matches revs on downshifts; the most aggressive one constantly holds the lowest possible gear. The controller monitors throttle and brake inputs and lateral g’s to activate performance shifting or to revert to the standard algorithm after a period of soft-pedaling. The only way to decipher which performance algorithm is active is to study where in the 7500-rpm tachometer the needle is spending its time. It’s a slightly strange and opaque way to control the transmission logic, but it works surprisingly well. All it takes is a single corner of hard driving to trigger the behavioral change.
The sheer number of gears removes a lot of the joy from manually paddling through the cogs, not to mention that these paddle-actuated shifts feel significantly slower and clunkier than when the gearbox is left to its own devices. Engineers did attempt to address the tedium of toggling through six, seven, or eight gears by writing code that jumps to the lowest possible gear when you hold the left paddle, but we found the system to be wildly inconsistent. Sometimes the downshift was nearly instantaneous. Other times, whole seconds passed before the shift occurred. And sometimes, inexplicably, there was no shift at all, no matter how long we held the paddle.
Want to choose your own gears? Stick with the standard six-speed manual gearbox. Its shifter is topped by a well-weighted suede shift knob, the substantial clutch pedal offers great feedback, and it’s augmented with no-lift shifting and rev matching (that can be switched off). Plus, the manual’s taller gearing allows the ZL1 to hit 61 mph in first gear, a boon for minimizing the zero-to-60-mph metric.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2017-chevrolet-camaro-zl1-first-drive-review
The 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is built from some of the most awesome automotive hardware there is. Its magnetorheological dampers read the road 1000 times per second. An electronically controlled limited-slip differential metes torque between the rear wheels with microchip-controlled precision. A wet-sump variant of the Corvette Z06’s supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V-8 delivers incredible thrust. The Camaro ZL1 packs 650 horsepower, with the drivetrain hardware to put it to the ground and the chassis to wrangle it around any curves, all for $63,435.
Imagine a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat that can corner, a Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 with an additional 124 horsepower, and a BMW M4 with great steering. The Camaro ZL1 is all of these things and more.
VIEW 83 PHOTOS
the 10R gearbox developed jointly with Ford. While Ford engineers led the 10-speed engineering effort, the ZL1’s Hydra-Matic 10R90 is a high-torque application developed by Chevrolet engineers exclusively for their own use. Their changes include a different torque converter, GM-exclusive control algorithms, and uprated components in the clutches, the planetary carriers, and the output gearset to cope with the LT4’s brutal 650 lb-ft of torque.
The real magic, though, is in the tuning. ZF’s acclaimed eight-speed automatic—used by BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Jaguar Land Rover, and the Volkswagen Group—finally has a worthy rival. In Los Angeles traffic, the transmission shuffled through the ratios virtually imperceptibly. At any speed, it shifts with minimal fuss and never hunts for the right ratio. When you demand thrust, the gearbox executes a quick yet smooth downshift without any intermediate steps. Mat the throttle from 60 mph, and the automatic executes a flawless 10th-to-third transition that wakes the LT4 like a sleeping lion poked with a cattle prod.
Switching between the ZL1’s driving modes brings only minor changes to the transmission calibration. The engine cuts fuel on upshifts for faster gear swaps and a satisfying blat in Sport and Track, yet the computer still targets the same shift points.
VIEW 83 PHOTOS
However, once you begin driving enthusiastically in Sport or Track mode, one of three performance algorithms for the transmission is automatically triggered. The initial level holds gears when you lift off the throttle and matches revs on downshifts; the most aggressive one constantly holds the lowest possible gear. The controller monitors throttle and brake inputs and lateral g’s to activate performance shifting or to revert to the standard algorithm after a period of soft-pedaling. The only way to decipher which performance algorithm is active is to study where in the 7500-rpm tachometer the needle is spending its time. It’s a slightly strange and opaque way to control the transmission logic, but it works surprisingly well. All it takes is a single corner of hard driving to trigger the behavioral change.
The sheer number of gears removes a lot of the joy from manually paddling through the cogs, not to mention that these paddle-actuated shifts feel significantly slower and clunkier than when the gearbox is left to its own devices. Engineers did attempt to address the tedium of toggling through six, seven, or eight gears by writing code that jumps to the lowest possible gear when you hold the left paddle, but we found the system to be wildly inconsistent. Sometimes the downshift was nearly instantaneous. Other times, whole seconds passed before the shift occurred. And sometimes, inexplicably, there was no shift at all, no matter how long we held the paddle.
Want to choose your own gears? Stick with the standard six-speed manual gearbox. Its shifter is topped by a well-weighted suede shift knob, the substantial clutch pedal offers great feedback, and it’s augmented with no-lift shifting and rev matching (that can be switched off). Plus, the manual’s taller gearing allows the ZL1 to hit 61 mph in first gear, a boon for minimizing the zero-to-60-mph metric.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2017-chevrolet-camaro-zl1-first-drive-review
