Camaro Chief Engineer Al Oppenheiser Shows Off Camaro ZL1 Underbody (With Video)
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The Camaro ZL1 is a beast. A powerful, roaring, and brawny beast that also happens to be as maneuverable and controllable as an agile power lifter (if there is such a thing). And a big part of what makes the ZL1 so special is the engineering that went into turning a great pony car into an impressive race car, especially the intricate aerodynamic improvements made to the car. To demonstrate these aerodynamic qualities, GM took a real ZL1, removed three of the wheels and tires, and then placed it on a stand that flips the car 90 degrees. Then Camaro chief engineer Al Oppenheiser gave a lucky fella this brief yet detailed tour of the ZL1′s underbelly:
The Aeronynamics
Starting with the very front of the ZL1, Oppenheiser points out the redesigned upper and lower grilles, front splitter, and brake cooling ducts (the veins) all work together with the hood extractor to push air through and out the hood in an effort to increase downforce. The front fascia works in conjunction with the belly pan, which is designed to manage air flowing under the vehicle while helping to reduce drag. The pan features unique ducts to to cool the transmission tunnel with the underbody air, while “ski ramps” channel additional air for brake cooling.
The Exhaust
The (NPP) active exhaust system (straight from the Corvette) uses an induction vacuum to drive the valves in the back. Perhaps more interesting is the fact that the system is a straight-through exhaust, with Oppenheiser describing that if one were to drop a golf ball in through one of the exhaust tips, it would be able to roll all the way to the catalytic converter without hitting anything — a quality that exemplifies the fact that the ZL1′s exhaust system uses all the engine sound possible without any obstructions. Plus, the start-up mode will let your neighbors know when you’re about to leave (which may not be such a good thing). At the least, Al’s neighbors know when he goes to work every day.
Camaro ZL1 vs. Mustang Shelby GT500
And when it comes to comparing the ZL1 to the Mustang GT500, Oppenheiser makes it a point to mention that all of the equipment — including all of the cooling gear for the oil, transmission, and differential, is standard on the ZL1 — the car offers no options save for cosmetic items such as stripes, wheels, body color, interior materials, and a sunroof — while the GT500 has performance-based options up the wazoo. As such, the ZL1 is fully track-capable out of the box; it has seen race tracks around the globe and was the fastest Chevy around the Virginia International Raceway (VIR), with the exception of the Corvette ZR1. And unlike Ford, which outsources a good amount of performance work to Shelby (and Roush), The ZL1 is all GM engineering.
The Fuel Pump
The ZL1 utilizes a new high-efficiency fuel pump. GM engineers performed computer analysis to see where gasoline sloshes around in the fuel tank and added extra pick-up points in the outermost areas capable of using every ounce of gas in the tank — something that isn’t always possible when fuel is moving around with the car. Oppenheiser recommends pitting first if the ZL1′s low fuel warning is active.
The Rear Diff Cooler
The rear diff uses pre-cooled liquid from the oil cooler that’s capable of reducing temperatures of the diff by 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 100 degrees! And that’s standard on every ZL1.
The Half Shafts
The ZL1 also has those new half shafts that have been the talk of GM enthusiasts since the car’s release. The shafts are specifically designed to work with the ZL1′s powerful differential to handle the loads that go through the driveline while eliminating wheel hop of those beefy 305s. Oppenheiser said that it was the duty of two engineers during the ZL1′s development to make the car fail. Do as they might, they could never break the half shafts or the differential.
Ultimately, the ZL1 is a car worthy of having “race” in its name. It’s not a straightener like some other segment contenders (ahem, GT500), and its aerodynamic properties can prove advantageous – qualities that we appreciated during our time with the ZL1.
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Great mechanical engineering guys – People are surprised that I’m a fan of cars like this ( as toys and weekend warriors ).
It’s so odd to see the end days of the infernally combusted engine as the main source
of automobile power. By “end days” I mean it could be a decade or two in death throws before we see battery and hydrogen powered mainstream wheels in nearly every garage – but truly we’re seeing the absolute refinement of gas cars to the nth degree with vehicles like ZL-1 or ZR-1 and supercars like Bugatti Veyrons, Porsche 911s and Ferraris.
Squeezing performance out of the old ways is interesting to watch. It’s like everyone reading this knows that SSDs or solid state drives will take over all computer and laptop memory chores as soon as the price comes down with economies of scale, yet me and you are slogging away with the last bastions of computers strapped with a big old hard drive. It’s a good comparison since manufacturers have toiled mightily on the old hard drive, making them smaller and smaller, lighter and having tons of capacity, yet it’s a technology that’s gotta go. Why? Intrinsically, their moving parts and susceptibility to malfunction by vibration or damage make our computers at-risk of failure and disaster. Hard drives, like Internal Combustion piston and rotary engines have gotten us a long way in over 100 years – to supercars like Veyron that the ultra rich can buy that’ll do 252mph if you have 5 miles of straight safe territory to do it in. We’ve seen all sorts of attempts to squeeze efficiency, lower pollution and fuel mileage from ICEs that’ve shown the prowess of some of the best engineers in the world. Today – we see in ZL-1 a prime example: An AMERICAN MUSCLECAR that can carve corners and be quite “efficient” in relation to other ICE performance cars.
I see ZL-1 and other expensive cars like this as toys and investments. I’m not going to drive my ZL-1 to work every day – how ridiculous! This thing burns enough gas in a trip to work to heat a forienger’s shack in a Shantytown for a whole year! We have no “civil right” as Americans to waste valuable non-sustainable fuel on burnouts from stoplight to stoplight – that is NOT our God-given right! > It’s waste. This car is great because it represents a pinnacle of sorts for a dieing breed. These cars, like the last Shelby Mustangs should be cared for, cherished – and brought out and beaten like a rug now and then in the name of fun – and then garaged appreciated for the tech of old that they are. Nothing wrong with taking it out on the sunny weekend day to a show or a track – or just a cruise.
It’s truly an interesting time. Electronics, and sensors – or simple battery/electric cars are the way of our future for many reasons. For our own good – national security, a stronger economy and air our kids can actually breathe. Electric cars or ( much more into the future ) hydrogen – electric cars are so much smarter and use their energy in a far, far more efficient way compared to explode and burn technologies. That said, this ZL-1 is an impressive beast – that it is!
One more way to look at cars like this is Swiss watches. NFL athletes and tycoons often sign a big contract and then rush down to the jewelry store and buy some nonsensically expensive, complex Rolex with a Swiss watch movement worthy of awe in it’s complexity. Slap on some jewels and gold to impress – but then, what have they got? They have a beautiful piece of mechanical engineering for someone with a lot more money than common sense.
Sure, if you want to flaunt – or flaunt wealth, go ahead – buy junk like this. But truly, who is impressed? Older fellas, and some materialistic ladies, I suppose….But really – is it smart? And we all want to be smart, right?
Timepieces today with no moving parts and connections to atomic clocks run by governments can tell you the time with accuracy that can blow your mind. No mechanical timepiece can compare. And truly – when I turn on my smartphone to see what time it is – I NEED TO KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS – I’m not out to impress anyone.
Just like cars, when we start it up to go to work, the store, the girlfriend’s house or take the family on a trip – we need reliable, quick and efficient transportation. It’d be great ( Chevy Volt, Tesla Roadster and Model S ) if it were a beautiful vehicle to behold as well…And it would be great if that electric car would be 200% more efficient than our old complex mechanical car that had hundreds of parts to our electric car’s two or three moving parts…It would be great to see sub 4 second ( instant 100% torque at 0 rpm – no complex transmission with hundreds of parts needed! ). But we have that. All those things are coming online as we read this – And cars like Volt exist which cure most if not all electric car’s shortcomings.
I understand why we drool over unobtainable supermodels in bikinis – it’s natural. But why do we drool over Rolex watches and cars using 19th century technology even though they do it in a very impressive way?
Just askin’.
any company could build a big engine but is not all company abel to build a car for race track,,,,,and this is wy ford have problem whit the gt..
Does the 2013 ZL1 camaro Have skip shift?(six speed manual shift)
What in the world is skip shift?
Skip shift that’s slang for computer aided gear selection. CAGS. When you shift from first gear to second gear a mechanical device moves the shift lever so you get fourth gear instead. Under the right parameters. If you use less than 30% throttle and the shift is made between 12 and 19 mph. the engine must be partially warmed up I don’t recall the temperature needs to be. This has been on every GM car with V8 and six speed manual transmission since the 1989 Corvette.
In north America I don’t know if the rest of the planet gets this too.
The ZL1 camaro skip shift. The owners manual shows skip shift up to 21% throttle. The dealer data shows only 13% The dealer mechanic was only able to make it operate once. I have been able to have it operate twice.The parameters window seem too small: Speed 15-19 MPH,Coolant temp. 171 degrees,Barometric pressure is greater than76 Kpa,Throttle position is less than 13%.
Yeah it is not set up for the real world. It is for the EPA emission test/city mileage test.