Kevin509

Put some super wide Eagle F1 supercar tires like the camaro has on your track pack GT and you'd be most of the way there to keeping up with the 1LE I think. That and firmer springs/shocks/roll bars/etc.

PJRManagement

Where I live, we will never see a 1LE for less than $45k. So it's a substantial price difference compared with a GT. Boss 302 vs. 1LE is the better comparo. Many other great talking points mentioned above...terrible GM interior (have you ever felt their plastic seats that they call leather?!), awful sight lines, worthless trunk opening, big, huge, & fat - and drives that way. But kudos to GM for improving on the SS with 1LE & ZL1, both great cars. However, with 400+hp, 300lb+ less weight, suspension, wheels/tires, & brake upgrades (less than $5k), no 1LE will lose me and my 11GT on the track.

EuroGirl

I don't trust anything motortrend does. Everything they do for the most part is biased. Just like when they compared the V6 mustang and camaro to the genesis coupe. They gave the genesis the win when the mustang out preformed both cars in everything. Maybe if car and driver made a review.....but motor trend is sketchy to me.

Dave07997S

You got to give credit where credit is due. A 200+ lb heavier car out handled the Mustang with the track pack. Two things come to mind..

1. Properly sorted out the IRS..

2. The 1Le has a huge tire advantage...

Things will be reversed when the 2015 Mustang comes out...I hope.

Dave

EuroGirl

I'm not saying it didnt. Just that I don't trust motor trend. Also I find it to be trivial to be upset about this when most people upgrade their suspension anyway.

Dave07997S

Not saying you're not...just my observation.

Also different track, different days could have different results.

Also, mistake on the spec sheet...not showing the 14" Brembos for the Stang.
Dave

EuroGirl

Lol you lost me. Anyway I guess we have to let the camaro people win something. eh eh lol jk XD

frank s

This is what the Ford dealer's 2013 source book says about the swaybar diameters:



Note (1) on the Boss indicates the Laguna Seca has a 26mm bar.

The book doesn't mention "Track Pack" that I saw. I don't think I missed anything. There isn't a lot of room between the Brembo/GT 24mm and the Boss 25mm; seems to me the Boss is the halfway item, between the GT and the Laguna Seca.

Kris Warwick

If the mustang had as much rubber at the camaro it would be close. By today's sports car standard the mustangs run on pizza cutters. Hell the 662hp gt500 runs on just 275s on the rear. If I'm not mistaken the zl1 has 275s on the front! The miniscule contact patches the mustang works with is most of the problem. Spend the price diffrence on wider rims and tires with good rubber and it will run the Chevy down.

2012GT

Why 275 or 285 tires isn't a GT option or even standard still baffles me. The stock 235's are a joke and look ridiculous. 275's came on my LS1 Camaro a decade ago standard.

steven46746

This, and it's not even a money issue, the factory 255 Pirelli's cost just as much as the 285's they used on the 1LE

MRGTX

As for the consipracy theorists about MT's bias...get real.

The tire difference is huge...and that is a good point. Matching rubber would certainly allow the Mustang to make up some of the time...but that does nothing to address the body control advantage that the Camaro has.

I'd prefer to keep this discussion purely on the performance differences. The political comments, the criticism of the sight lines, interior quality, ergonomics...all have their place but I feel that they're pretty irrelevant.

I'd just like to say that my basically stock BBP GT is one of the most enjoyable cars I have ever driven and I have no regrets and no plans to trade in for a Camaro. I like and respect Camaros, Challengers...and any other performance oriented car but I own my favorite.

Comparing the Boss 302 to the 1LE doesn't help. The 1LE still aparently spanks it.
Car and Driver Lightning Lap feature sure indicates this:

Boss 302 Laguna Seca put down a 302.8
Camaro 1LE turned a 3:01.5

By the way,

Camaro 1LE $37,035,
Boss 302 $42,995
Boss 302 LS $49,990

EuroGirl

They are extremely biased. They compared a challenger srt8 to a Shelby GT500 and the Shelby won in every test and they gave the win to the challenger. Stating that it "looked more like a adults muscle car". Yeah cause something that drives like a boat and is slow compared to the mustang is better. In this case they are biased but in a lot of other things I have seen they were probably paid off to give the win.

MRGTX

Ok...can we just get this out of our system? Is anyone familiar with the concept of libel? If you're going to assert that Chrysler paid off MT to slant their article, you'd better be able to back up that claim. Afterall, both companies buy ad space in the magazine.

If you're merely stating that MT liked one car better than the other....that's opinion, not bias. They drive hundreds of cars, know the business and people pay to read their opinions.

Second, We don't have to agree with their opinion...but when a professional driver like Randy Pobst takes all of these cars for a rip and has a strong opinion at the end, it's worth listening to. He really liked the 5.0 BBP GT back in 2010...it has been surpassed.

Avoiding media that disagrees with our existing opinions is a disease in this country. I really hope that we can grow out of this habit, even when it applies to something relativelu unimportant like car magazines.


Regardless, this opinion about the excellence of the ZL-1 and 1LE is emerging as standard. I take in a lot of auto publications and so far, the praise has been universal. The 1LE is a **** fine car and by many measures, it beats the Mustang, like it or not!

I much prefer the looks, size and heritage of the Mustang compared to the Camaro...but I'm unbiased enough to admit when the car I'm rooting for gets beat. After all, I'm a diehard Mopar guy who bought the Mustang because it just plain rocked....and beat the pants off of the Challenger.

conv_stang

1LE was $43,105. And the mustang is out shocked, and out tired. And the Laguna Seca was tested on different days, different times, different weather....if they want a real comparison test them same time, same track. And the tracks make a huge difference. Just look at the best handling car issue C&D did a couple months ago. GT500 beat the ZL1 by over half a second. But in the Lightning Lap lost at VIR by over 2.5 seconds. You can pick a track where you know one car with deficiencies will show them. The GT500 isn't going to fair well at VIR bc it doesn't handle as well and VIR isn't a track where HP can make up for that. Same with the Boss and GT vs a 1LE. sorry but the Camaro has a much better suspension than the Mustang and it shows on technical tracks like VIR

u00mem9

Is this true? I assumed the 1le tires were more expensive....more like the r comp tires on the Laguna seca model.

It seems like the competition has driven both cars into a tire war to get good press. It makes me wonder what the 1le and zl1 are like on tires with thread wear >200

MRGTX

I think you're wrong about that price...and I even think a 1LE can be had for even less than the $37k that MT's stickered at...
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...le_first_test/

As for the different days/weather point- that is a valid one. Year vs. year comparisons aren't as valuable as back to back comparisons...but it's about as good as any bench racing ever gets and the test is fairly standardized.

Has anyone bothered to see what the weather was like on the respective testing days? I haven't... but it could be the case that the weather was better for performance last year and actually hurt the Camaro! We shouldn't assume.

If you read other forums where people's favorite car loses, folks will either say that the track favors horsepower or favors handling. The fact is that it was chosen because it offers a pretty good balance. The better all-around performance cars just tend to do better.

conv_stang

I was going by the list price motor trend gave for the 1LE. the base price is $37,xxx. VIR is a great track, but it's not one the mustang stock for stock will do well against an IRS car. So many elevation changes, off camber turns. Hard for an under-tired, under shocked live axle car to have a chance. And I agree with you...the Camaro handles above what it should. Gotta give GM their due...
And I know they did the lightning lap over 2 days, and the first day it rained. But that's all I've read about it. And even if they ran them on the same day and the 1LE beat the Boss worse. Oh well, we have a true comparison.

steven46746

Well anyone getting a 1LE will clearly get it barebones so they can say their a couple seconds faster on X track. Also don't forget your gas guzzler tax!!

2012GT

Please please give me a 1LE at any red light of your choice or drag strip.

That competition boiled down to IRS & quality tires vs live axle and pizza cutter tires. If I bought a car to drive on that track only, then maybe the 1LE would be my choice. Where was the drag strip showdown in that article??? We know how that would turn out along with a roll race, 40 MPH punch etc. That's where our cars are made to shine.