RPM Motorsports’ 2017 ZL1 First To Go 9s!

We all know that when ever a new model of performance vehicle from Chevrolet comes out, it’s a mad dash for shops to mod them up and be the first to hit X number with them. However, RPM Motorsports out of Garner, North Carolina might just be the first shop we’ve ever seen break a couple of records within a week of taking delivery.

We first brought you the RPM Motorsports ZL1 back when they first picked it up from the dealership. In true badass fashion, the guys ripped off a fatty burnout in the dealership parking lot while even the salesmen filmed. Now if that’s not the right way to break in your ZL1 we don’t know what is.

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What makes the car unique is that it just so happens to be one of the first 10-speed equipped ZL1s ever delivered and it just became the first to do a couple of other things as well. When we were first introduced to the guys over at RPM Motorsport, they told us that they had a ZL1 on the way and they weren’t going to waste any time getting down to the task at hand—and they weren’t lying.

As we mentioned in our previous article, the car in question is a 2017 Camaro ZL1. It has just 60 miles on the clock and the guys are RPM told us that it still has the gas from the dealership in the tank. But no matter, one the car’s first destination was the drag strip anyway.

Since the ZL1’s considerable grunt would need to be harnessed by more than the stock Goodyear Eagle F1s, the guys are RPM instead opted for a set of 17-inch Weld RTS drag wheel wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Street Rs. Other than the wheels and tires, no other changes were made to the car for its maiden voyage down the drag strip—well, that and a bit of nitrous, but we’ll get to that.

Screen Shot 2017-04-11 at 7.11.38 PM

The ZL1’s stock wheels were ditched in favor of some shoes with a little more grip. The RPM crew opted for a set of Weld RTS wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Street R tires.

The sticky set of slicks rewarded the team with a 10.91 at 129 mph on the very first pass, all motor! Making this particular ZL1 the first 10-speed equipped example to ever hit 10s. This bested the previous record of 11.16 at 127 mph, set by GuitarmageddonZL1 in the world’s first publicly delivered 10-speed ZL1. We’ve always said that the 10-speed car should be able to easily go 10s on just a set of drag radials and it turns out that is more than true—Hellcats watch your back.

And while most people would call it a day and head for home base, the guys at RPM weren’t finished yet. They came to the track prepared. But what does that mean exactly? Well, that means that they showed up with a Nitrous Outlet plate kit bolted to the LT4’s supercharger inlet.

With the nitrous system armed, they pulled back to the line. And, as you can see in the video, this rewarded the RPM team with a neck-breaking time of 9.98 at 140.14 mph. Needless to say, the run was virtually unbelievable.

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The proof is in the pudding and this ZL1 makes going 9s look simple. Stay tuned as the crew at RPM Motorsports dives even deeper into their sixth-gen Camaro.

If you were to tell us, just even a few years ago, that cars would be laying down 9-second passes with just a little huff of nitrous, we would have thought you were huffing some yourself. However, the run didn’t go without any complications.

“The transmission is untuneable at the moment and didn’t like the added power shifts 4,5,and 6 were all over reved with the added power, the car then pulls up to 20 degrees of timing during the over rev allowing the transmission to catch up and execute the shift,” said Jon Doc of RPM Motorsports. “To say that the car has more left in it is an understatement. And the car only has 60 miles on it haha both passes were made with the same fuel that the dealership put in it!”

Now that the team at RPM was the first into the 10s and 9s, will they be the first into the 8s? Only time will tell, but the guys at RPM tells us they’re doing their damnedest to be there first too.

About the author

Chase Christensen

Chase Christensen hails from Salt Lake City, and grew up around high-performance GM vehicles. He took possession of his very first F-body— an ’86 Trans Am— at the age of 13 and has been wrenching ever since.
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