2020 ZL1 1LE Will Trounce the Carbon Fiber 2020 GT500, Here’s Why
It’s definitely lighter, but there are other glaring reasons why Bowtie’s flagship will still whoop on the new GT500.
The cat has been out of the bag for a while concerning the details on the new DCT-driven GT500, and for what it’s worth, they are pretty impressive. However, despite having 110 less horsepower, the ZL1 1LE still remains the top track assassin.
We all know that the GT500 will be dual-clutch only. So for the sake of being fair and balanced, we naturally chose to compare it to the shiftable automatic option in the ZL1, which bumps up the base price a little but not by much.
Much Cheaper Performance Package for ZL1 1LE
We’re going to go ahead and slay that gigantic pink elephant in the room. The GT500’s Carbon Track Package is outrageously expensive compared to the ZL1 1LE Extreme Track Performance Package. ZL1’s package is $7,500, while GT500’s is a heaping $18,500, about 2.5 times more. As you can see above, you get some nice upgrades.
So, what the heck do you get for $18 grand? Well, take a look.
Clearly, the carbon fiber wheels are the main culprit here, but honestly, forged aluminum would have done just fine.
Highly-competitive Aerodynamics
In terms of aerodynamics, we know that improving laminar airflow starts with shifting the aerodynamic balance of the car forward. And inhibiting the additional vortices down the side of the car is one area of focus.
Let’s talk about the two ways both cars approach staying flat around corners. The GT500 employs splitter wickers directly attached to the front splitter to direct air up and over the sides, away from the wheels. The ZL1 LE prefers a longer front splitter and strategically-placed canards on the side of the front bumper to route the air up and around.
Canards are designed with high angles of attack to aggressively manage air vortices. The reason dive planes (canards) are positioned the way they are is because the air flowing from the sides is much more turbulent than it is further down low. As a result, the space between the dive planes and the splitter matter greatly because they strip each other’s downforce in that middle field. This is the reason you see them placed much higher towards the hood on time-attack cars.
However, the steeper the angle is, the more attached flow you will have.
As you can see, the ZL1 dive planes sit lower, however they aggressively swoop upwards which help (albeit they have smaller roles) the front splitter create fantastic anti-lift at high speed. In the case of the GT500, the splitter wickers seem steeper in angle, but they are neither high enough, nor have enough surface area to be as effective.
Bear in mind that total downforce for the GT500 is 550 pounds at 180 mph top speed, while the ZL1 makes 300 pounds at 150 mph (top speed is 200 mph). That includes the rocker panels, GT wings, rear valences, etc.
Less Horsepower, but More Torque for ZL1 1LE
The new 5.2-liter Predator V8 in the 2020 GT500 produces 760 horsepower, 625 lbs-ft of torque, according to Ford. However, that is crank horsepower. Dynoing it would most certainly yield lower results, and we know that parasitic drivetrain loss is a little higher in automatic cars compared to manuals. The GT500 will likely have less power drain with its Tremec dual-clutch compared to the ZL1’s GM torque converter-mated automatic tranny. However, we all know that horsepower sells cars, torque wins races.
Let’s apply the “Rule of 15 percent” here for a real world drag race. That places the GT500’s torque at 531 versus the ZL1’s 552.5. That may not seem like a lot, but remember that Ford’s snake is also pushing 4,225 pounds compared to Chevy’s top dog automatic Camaro, which weighs in at 3,944. The ZL1’s top-end power kicks in at 6,600 rpm. The GT500 starts making real power at 7,300.
Taller Gears, but Much Shorter First Gear Ratio
That brings us to our next point—rear gears. The manual ZL1 uses 3.73 gears, automatic uses 2.85. Anyone would look at this and say that the GT500 clearly has the advantage with its 3.73 gears, but when you take a deeper look at the gearing ratios, you’ll see why that’s not true at all. In first gear, the 2.85 rear diff is at 4.70, while the GT500 is at 3.70. So obviously, the Camaro will get out of the hole very quickly. Not to mention that it has more torque, anyway.
Add in that nice little eLSD update to spice things up and you’ve got trouble off the line.
Better Suspension, Better Handling
Interestingly, the Carbon Fiber Track package gives you lighter wheels, a track wing, rear seat delete and other goodies but offers nothing in the way of suspension upgrades. Supposedly, Ford tuned its MagneRide system for track driving.
But, there is a reason the track package for the ZL1 replaced the MagneRide dampers. The much more track-appropriate Multimatic DSSV (Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve) dampers shave off about 23 pounds of weight. This, along with 19-inch forged aluminum wheels wrapped in Goodyear SuperCar 3Rs (305s in the front, 325s in the back) allow the Camaro to push a maximum 1.11 g around corners.
The GT500 will use 20-inch Michelin Pilot Cup Sport 2 tires (front is 305, rear is 315) and can push up to 1.5 g. Granted, its turning radius is six feet wider than the ZL1 1LE but we will see how Ford’s track-tuned MRC suspension matches up with GM’s DSSV. Pilot Cups are excellent track tires, by the way.
More Performance, Less Wallet Impact
Overall price for ZL1 1LE: $74,190 (before $1,500 cash allowance, including destination charge). Overall price for GT500 with Carbon Track Package: $92,495 (including destination charge). It’s really not hard to choose here.
We still have yet to see a serious head-to-head on the rumble strip between these titans, but for now we’ll stick to our guns and claim the ZL1Â remains the better track toy.
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