Why it's actually quite normal that the new ZL1 hits 60 mph in 1st gear.

The whole car world seems to be absolutely fascinated with the new 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 package. While it’s looks are certainly polarizing (as they always have been for the past few Camaro generations), there’s one thing nearly everybody agrees on: It’s badass.

However, nothing has taken the internet more by storm than the fact the new ZL1 can hit 60 FREEDOMS per hour in 1st gear (with the 6-speed manual). There were many articles about it over various car news sites (including this one), and surprisingly it also created a massive debate.

Well today I will explain to you that while this new info about the ZL1 is pretty cool, it’s also quite a normal for a car of this caliber.

The new LT4 engine vs the old LSA engine

I won’t get too technical here, but the point is that while both of these are 6.2L Supercharged Pushrod V8’s, they differ quite a bit. Namely that the new LT4 has Direct Injection, a new supercharger, and is overall much more advanced. This means that the new LT4 engine has much more Power and Torque. Take a look at these engine dynos provided by General Motors:

First, peak torque for the new LT4 engine is 650 lb-ft at 3600 rpm while the old LSA engine torque is 556 lb-ft at 3800 rpm. This means the new engine makes 94 lb-ft of torque more 200 rpms sooner. That’s quite the difference. Also, near idle speed (around 1000 rpms), the new LT4 engine makes approximately 440 lb-ft while the old one made a “measly” 375 lb-ft. So in English this means we have a lot more torque, which means much quicker acceleration.

Another note, the new LT4 engine revs up to 6600 rpm, while the old LSA engine stops at 6200 rpm. This will be important in a minute.

The 6-speed manual

1st gear is quite an important one. It does the job of getting the heavy metal thing rolling from a dead stop, and provides the greatest mechanical advantage for the engine, meaning maximum acceleration and max torque to the wheels. Now, GM has not released the information what transmission the new ZL1 other than that it is a 6 speed manual. Since the old ZL1 and new SS versions of the Camaro use the Tremec TR-6060 transmission, I will make an assumption that the new ZL1 is also using this same transmission and the same gear ratios as the old ZL1.

Using a gear calculator, I calculated that the approximate max speed for the old ZL1 was 53mph in 1st gear. This is quite accurate as the real speed of old ZL1 was 52mph in 1st. Changing the max engine rpm and tire diameter, we get that the new ZL1 should do only 54 mph in 1st. Since we know this isn’t accurate, that means either the new 1st gear ratio is taller or that the final drive ratio has changed. So the new 1st gear ratio would have to be 2.4:1 or taller (vs 2.66:1) or have a final drive of about 3.23:1 (vs the old 3.73:1) in order to reach at least 60mph in 1st gear.

In conclusion, the new ZL1 either has a taller 1st gear or taller final drive ratio than the old one. I’m not a GM engineer so I can’t say for sure, but since Tremec is likely to keep the same gear ratios due to costs and GM already has a 3.23 final drive differential developed (from the old automatic ZL1), I’m assuming the new ZL1 has a taller final drive ratio than the old one, which means it should hit 62mph in 1st gear according to the calculator.

Why it is both a good thing and quite normal for the new ZL1 to hit 60mph in 1st gear.

The main benefit everyone lists about the ZL1 hitting 60 mph in 1st gear is the lack of shifting to 2nd, therefore quicker 60 mph times can be achieved. Since the new ZL1 hits 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, there’s certainly a grain of truth to it.

Lack of shifting is only a small reason, though. A car like the new ZL1 which has an engine making such insane levels of torque like I discussed earlier doesn’t need short gear ratios for fast acceleration. Rather, shorter gear ratios could have the opposite effect. You see, with all that torque burnouts are quite easy, and who doesn’t love a good burnout? Well, when it comes to performance, spinnin’ means you’re not winnin’. If you’re having to fight for grip every time you give a good bit of gas from a dead stop, you not only are going to have slower acceleration times but also have a lot more danger. So for cars that have little engine torque but want to go fast, it’s common to have really short gear ratios for maximum acceleration (for example, the new Miata has a 1st gear ratio of 5.087:1) whereas for big torquey V8 cars like this it’s common to have taller 1st gear ratios (most LS cars have around 2.667:1 for 1st).

The old C6 Z06 could hit 60 mph in 1st gear too, and it did this a decade ago. Funny how people forget! It had a 1st gear ratio of the common 2.66:1 for LS cars, but had more torque and could rev higher. It also had nearly the exact same 0-60 time as the new ZL1 despite being N/A and 10 years older! Sometimes you really don’t need short gear ratios to be quick, and it’s normal for other high torque cars like the Shelby GT-500 to hit 60 mph in 1st too.

The last benefit of this is that chances are 6th gear is still quite a tall overdrive, which will help with fuel economy, even if supercharged V8 is the exact opposite of fuel economy.

Anyways, thank you for reading! Can’t wait for the new ZL1 to come out!