Chevrolet has quietly rolled out a new upgrade for the Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE. Owners of the car can request a Camaro ZL1 differential flash from Chevy dealers, which will provide faster locking and unlocking from the eLSD. The AutoX calibration was developed on a SCCA CAM-C Camaro SS 1LE last year, driven the General Motors autocross team.
The update is fairly simple. The black box in the trunk of any Camaro SS 1LE, called the Integrated Chassis Control Module (ICCM), receives a flash to control the eLSD and NPP exhaust. All that changes is the eLSD behavior when both the traction control and electronic stability control are disabled. Those who want both flashes can purchase a second ICCM, plug it into the Camaro SS 1LE, and swap between both when needed.
According to our source, the flash’s cost varies by the dealership, but some will do it for as little as $300. The flash does not void the warranty, either. And any dealer can perform the flash now.
Comments
Frankly you should only have to pay for a half hour of billable labor. That’s $60 to $80 at most dealerships.
(I’m assuming GM isn’t charging this as a performance part, like the Stage 2 tunes for Cobalt/HHR/Sky/Solstice/Regal/Corvette).
All it requires is for them to connect the car to a flashing computer, launch TIS, enter the VIN, and scroll to ICCM. From the available calibrations, it will show up, select it, and click flash. That takes 5-10 minutes, tops. If you’re paying $300, you’ve done something wrong.
Yep, a complete and unadulterated punch in the face.
It would be nice to see the benefits laid out more clearly between old & new and if there is a benefit in some situations to keeping the old version?!
Reading through this, the LSD will turn off faster when you are in race conditions (with ESC off and TC off).
I can’t see any benefit to keeping the old calibration, except maybe some (small) amount of tire preservation. But if you’ve turned off ESC and TC, and have a 1LE, you’re probably not concerned about that as much as your lap time.
I think this was well thought through. With street driving, the eLSD stays engaged because TC and/or ESC is staying on.
On the other hand, if you solely street drive, you are a smart person and don’t endanger others by turning ESC off. So this won’t affect you at all. Don’t be one of those guys (charged with a felony, ahem) that turns ESC off on the street:
Turning ESC off is NOT a felony. It’s not even a misdemeanor. Racing on public roads is the issue.
So basically you have to take your car to the dealership to pay $300 for what Ford includes in the Mustang Track Apps for free and come with the car when you buy it. Not cool General Motors… not cool at all.
I contacted my dealer who sold me my 2017 Camaro SS 1LE and is a “performance parts dealer” about this upgrade. They quoted me $650!!! They admitted “they’ve never done this before and are hedging their labor hours for this”. I want this upgrade, but not interested in doing this at a dealer who doesn’t know what they are doing or are buffering their hours estimate to ensure they aren’t losing money on the job. I decided to wait on this upgrade as their response left a sour taste in my mouth. Though I’m ticked because I do track my 1LE and love. The GM performance parts website lists who performance parts dealers are, but doesn’t list who “competent performance service shops are who won’t rip you off on this.”
If the dealership said what you describe, it’s reprehensible. A good dealership that gets the first customer in the door for a GM Performance *software* upgrade says “cool, we’ll do this at a little below the standard rate, because we want to see what it does.”
It’s time to find a new dealer, if you can.