Back in the saddle again... but with a new horse

Last week I took delivery of a brand spankin’ new 2018 Camaro with the 1LE track package, a Performance Data Recorder and little else. It’s white, which the internet has well proven is the fastest color.

I’ve wanted a 1LE since I drove a students car almost exactly a year ago. I simply couldn’t believe a Chevy could brake and turn so well. That car was completely stock and I did a total of about 20 laps in it over a weekend and found it to be incredibly easy to drive fast - and I did.

Just weeks after my experience with the 1LE my dad bought a Chevy SS sedan which he has now done nearly 20 track days in without any issues.

After 2 decades of BMWs I’m now trying something new, and since the BMW M4 is $75k and the M2 is over $60k, paying just $38k for the 1LE was an easy choice.

My plan is to leave is totally stock and use it when I coach at HPDE events and for both NASA and SCCA time trialing. It is almost exactly 10 pounds (with driver) per wheel horsepower so it should fit in NASA TT3.

According to the large group of people who regularly do track days in 1LEs they really don’t need anything at all to lap at pretty high speeds. I suspect at tracks like Laguna Seca which as famously hard on brakes, some sort of track pad may be required. Also required at Laguna will be some sort of exhaust turn out as the 1LE produces close to 100db at full tilt.

I plan to resume writing in these pages to document my experiences with the car, focusing on using my Solo2 DL data logger and describing the methods and techniques I use to optomise both car and driver.