Stock Camaro SS 1LE Hits Gridlife Road America, Posts Impressive Lap Times
This mostly stock Camaro SS 1LE put on a good show at Gridlife Road America in spite of less than perfect conditions.
Now gone but certainly not forgotten, the Chevy Camaro remains an amazing performance value, even in today’s inflated world. The last-gen Camaro is also an impressive machine on the track, particularly when spec’d out the right way, which can’t be said for much of its competition. In fact, pretty much every comparison test the Camaro has competed in over the years reveals that this is a true driver’s car, one underpinned by a fantastic chassis and sold for a reasonable price. At the recent Gridlife Road America event, those facts were on clear display with this stock Camaro SS 1LE, too.
Christian Aranha recently posted this video of a recent track day in his Camaro SS 1LE on his YouTube channel, which is truly interesting to see. His car is essentially stock – at least in terms of its mechanicals and even exhaust – but it is fitted with some Hawk brake pads, 18×11-inch Apex wheels, 315/30 Nankang CRS V2 tires, and a DSSV suspension setup with SPL semi-trailing and upper arms, as well as a BMR toe rod.
Otherwise, the car’s optional 1LE Track Performance package helps make it a far more competent track performer, with enhanced cooling and brakes, a limited-slip differential, unique suspension tuning, and dual-mode exhaust. Its naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V8 is solid right out of the box, generating an even 455 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque that’s strong throughout the rev range, and in this case, it’s matted to a proper six-speed manual transmission.
Aside from sounding truly amazing out on the track, this Camaro SS 1LE lays down some solid lap times at Gridlife Road America, with a best time of 2:27.013. Aranha admits that his goal was to hit 2:27, so he certainly achieved that, but wound up placing P6 in this particular outing. He notes that the weather wasn’t great, as it was pretty hot on this particular day – and his own driving wasn’t perfect – but he walked away satisfied, regardless. Now, he’s looking ahead to the next event at Lime Rock, where he’ll hopefully be able to improve upon this solid effort.
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