There has been a lot of talk about the Camaro SS 1LE and for good reason, this car is crazy fast. And the reason it is fast is because it has the “1LE” at the end of its title. Chevrolet has taken good care of the 1LE moniker over the years by making it the end-all-be-all extreme track package.
If you want to compete in any series in a Camaro you need to ensure your purchase order has the code 1LE present. For this, you get the best track suspension, the best track brakes, free-flowing exhaust, extra coolers, and the lightest version of the car. These are things that put you out front of the competition in any type of racing.
Camaro 1LEs were designed, engineered, tested, and proven on race tracks. This is where Camaro 1LEs earned their reputation in the 1980s and still earn their name today every time they hit the track.
If you know GM, you know they like to win races. They like it so much they don’t sit on their laurels and let other manufacturers out-engineer them. In fact, they keep engineering the cars they have already sold to the public. Hence the latest performance upgrade for the Camaro SS 1LE.
For a mere $350, you can take your Camaro to a Chevrolet dealership and they will make it go into the corners better and come out faster. You don’t have to get your jack out, or your jack stands, or climb under the car and get greasy. Nope, simply take your car to a Chevrolet Performance Dealer and they will handle all of the hard work for you, simply by recalibrating the eLSD.
When you order the 1LE package, you get Brembo brakes front and rear, Recaro bucket seats, performance exhaust, Magnetic Ride Control with performance tuning, sticky tires, more coolers for track duty, and a suede leather steering wheel and shift knob. And now you can upgrade the tuning of the eLSD.
The Camaro SS comes with a heart-pumping 6.2-liter V8 direct-injection engine, which puts out 455 horsepower and an equal 455 lb-ft of torque. That is a ton of torque to try to push through the tires and get to the pavement. With that much smash coming from the accelerator pedal it is crucial to have an effectively limited slip differential in order to get the car to go down the track, instead of just sitting in one spot, smoking one very expensive Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3 tire.
The back of your Camaro is what you want the competition to see, and it can be done as long as all of the 455 lb-ft of torque and 455 horsepower can be put to the ground appropriately. That is all done effectively through the rear differential, and in the case of the Camaro SS 1LE, it is done through the eLSD.
GM’s eLSD (electronically limited slip differential) on the Camaro is a really cool piece of engineering, as it utilizes computer-controlled hydraulic pressure to smash the clutch packs together to essentially make a solid differential out of the rear end (of course, only when a solid differential would be appropriate).
As a car traverses a curve, the inside rear wheel travels along a shorter radius curve than the outside rear wheel. Because of the differences in the path of travel of the rear wheels (one shorter than the other), it is important that a differential allows the wheels to spin separately from each other (like a non-limited slip differential). This helps cars turn. But, when you are exiting a corner and you want to put 455 lb-ft of torque to the pavement, one tire can’t handle that much Whamo!
For racers, being able to turn into a corner and get out of a corner makes all the difference in going fast. GM has upgraded their calibration for their eLSD to help teams get to the finish line first.
Time and track testing are the best teachers. GM has learned from experience where there was room for improvement (especially for track cars) in their stock eLSD calibration. Their upgraded version allows for quicker de-coupling of the clutch packs to allow for better turn-in at corner entry as well as quicker re-coupling of the clutch packs during corner exit.
These may sound like minor changes, but any racer will tell you it makes all the difference at the track. The new upgrade considers steering angle and throttle position to ensure the car is giving the driver every advantage in every corner. So, if you autocross, track day, or road race your Camaro SS 1LE, then get down to a GM dealership and get yours upgraded so you can punish the competition. To locate a dealer who can perform the install, go HERE.
DISCLAIMER: This upgrade is not designed for exiting a parking lot after a Cars and Coffee event. Just kidding! Keep the shiny side up!
