Car Feature: Mike Franz’s 2013 1LE Camaro

by Tim King

@ LSX TV

In 2013, Chevrolet released the 1LE package for Camaros. This package was an upgrade from the SS package, that offered an affordable alternative that had many of the ZL1′s upgrades, but didn’t have the super charger bolted to the motor. Many aspects are on the car though, such as the blacked out hood, upgraded suspension, and suede appointed interior. 

Our shop can get extremely backed up with project cars, so having a local shop that specializes in late-model GM’s is a valuable asset. When it comes to GM cars, our partner to help with the work load is Cunningham Motorsports.

 CMS specializes in tuning and tweaking GM cars. One day when we were at CMS, we noticed a brand new shiny red Camaro SS 1LE sitting out front and had to know what the story was behind the car. 



After asking the original owner, Ryne Cunningham the owner of Cunningham Motorsports, who’s car it was, he said the Camaro was his personal ride. We chatted with him about the car, but not much else was said about it. However, over the course of a year we noticed that the Camaro wasn’t left stock and was receiving upgrades. CMS had to put their touches on the car to make sure that the Camaro reached its full potential. 

Acquiring The 1LE

We asked Ryne what caught his eye about the 1LE Camaro, besides the bright red paint. “For me it was the price point. I was able to get an SS Camaro, with a ton of upgrades for a great price.” His plans with the car were to take it to the occasional road race, but mainly drive it daily. The plan was never to leave the Camaro stock form though. 



 Starting Modifications

Showing what CMS was capable of they started by installing a set of American Racing headers to help free up some horsepower. These headers are 100% American made from stainless steel. According to their website, just bolting on these headers will provide an extra 32 whp, without a tune.

From there he ordered up one of his own custom ground Comp Cams. These cams are specifically ground to CMS specifications. With this cam, the motor has a nice lope to it, but is still street able and tame. Being a proprietary CMS product, Ryne wouldn’t give us the exact specs. After the new bump stick was installed, a cold air Airaid intake was installed. 

 

After all these modifications were complete, the car was thrown on the dyno to see what it could do. What Ryne walked away with was an impressive 432 lb.-ft. of torque and 472 hp, at the wheels

Suspension Upgrades

Turning his attention from the engine, Ryne looked at the suspension. Even though this car had the upgraded 1LE suspension, he knew there was more potential in the Camaro to make the car handle flawlessly on the track. What he did was replace the stock sway bars for a set of high performance Pfadt sway bars in the front and rear to keep the car planted.

While he was tinkering with the suspension, a set of Pfadt drop springs were thrown in to get the stance on the car just right and lower the center of gravity. In the rear a set of Pfadt cradle bushings were added as well, to keep the rear end in the right spot and prevent any driveline vibrations.

Now that the car had the right stance, a new set of wheels was in order to finish off the menacing look of the car. Cunningham called Forgeline to get a set of wheels for the car. In the front he opted for a set of 20×10.5″ GA3′s and a set of 20×11.5″ for the rear.

 The GA3 wheels are worth noting as well as these aren’t just a fancy set of wheels. Forgeline used all of their racing knowledge to produce this street version of their race GA3R wheel. They are made from 6061-T3 aluminum with heat treated rim shells and assembled with stainless steel hardware. The “I-Beam” technology reduces weight in the wheel but provides extra strength. 

With custom finishes available from Forgeline, Cunningham picked a gloss black hoop with contrasting flat black spokes for a dramatic look. They are wrapped in a sticky set of BF Goodwrich Rivals, 285/35/R20 in the front and 315/30/R20 in the rear to keep the car stuck to the ground like glue.

Testing The Limits

Once all the mods had been done, Ryne wanted to really test the car out. “I took the car on an half mile airport strip and did 147 mph, hitting the rev limiter.” That just tells us the car has more in it for a higher speed, but the car wasn’t built for that. “I also took the car to Big Willow Springs, where I ran the course in 1:34.4.”

 Big Willow is a 2.5 mile road course located two and a half hours north of Cunningham Motorsports. Looking at the Big Willow track records, we see Mario Andretti holds the record at 1:06.050 seconds in an Indy Car. Cunningham’s record is pretty impressive for a car three times the size and weight of an Indy Car.

Selling The 1LE

But just like most gear heads, the car was “finished” and Ryne got bored with the car with only 7,200 miles on the odometer. He decided to sell off the car to help finance the next project. We asked him what happened to his red hot ride and he pointed to his right hand man in the shop, Mike Franz.

 When Ryne decided that he was ready for that next project, he started asking around if anybody was interested in the 1LE. Mike raised his hand saying he would love to buy the car. A deal was struck and the car now resides with Mike.

New Ownership

Mike is a Chevy man through and through. This 1LE Camaro is actually the fifth Camaro he has owned. “I grew up in a Chevy family, so I was raised around Chevys” says Mike. After test driving a Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang, Mike knew the Camaro was the car he wanted. ”For me these 5th gen Camaros were the fastest, most comfortable, with a back seat and in my price range.”

We asked Mike what he really loved about the car. “I’m the bully at the stoplight” he said laughing. “I have a car that catches eyes but has the power to back it up.”
Even though he’s not a big fan of red cars, something just drew Mike to this particular Camaro. “I was just drawn to the red on this car.

 Plus I’m the one that turned all the wrenches on this Camaro at CMS, so I knew it well.” Since all the upgrades had been done with the car, Mike said he hasn’t really made any major modifications to the car since it’s been in his possession. 

The few modifications that Mike did to help make the car his own was to add a pair of ten inch Rockford Fosgate subwoofers in the trunk for a little bass. Since he also worked at CMS, he couldn’t just leave the car alone.

 He figured out how to control the two stage mufflers with a remote control. Now he can push a button and go from stealth mode to race mode and back again. A neat little trick to have in your pocket, especially if the police are sitting behind you at a light.

Future Plans

We noticed that Mike really babies this car when cruising around. Being big gear heads we would want to constantly mash the throttle. “This car is my daily driver that I rely on to get to work and back, so I try to not beat it up too much.” He does have plans to take it down the drag strip to see what the car can do though.

 “I don’t really want to take it on a road course because that beats up cars pretty good, and I still have to make it to work on Monday.” 

When talking about the car, Mike has nothing but a huge smile on his face. He said that he drives the car everywhere, in any weather.  There’s nothing wrong with daily driving a super car, except trying to keep your foot out the gas! 

2013 Camaro 1LE

Owner: Mike Franz
Builder: Mike Franz, Cunningham Motorsports tuned
Engine: 6.2L LS3 with American Racing Headers, Custom CMS Comp Cam, Airaid Intake
Horsepower and Torque: 472 whp, 432 lb.-ft. torque
Transmission: Stock 6 Speed, Short throw ZL1 shifter
Suspension: Stock 1LE, Pfadt sway bars front and rear, Pfadt lowering springs
Wheels/Tires: Forgeline VX3C, BF Goodrich Rivals. 20×10.5″ in front with 285/35/R20 tires, 20×11.5″ in the rear with 315/30/R20 tires.
Interior: Stock, Dual 10″ Rockford Fosgate subwoofers
Top Speed: 147 mph in standing half mile, drag times unavailable

1LE Upgrades Over SS

1LE package is offered on 1SS and 2SS coupe models
Exclusive Tremec TR6060MM6 6-speed manual transmission with a standard air-to-liquid cooling system
3.91 geared limited slip differential
Exclusive monotube rear dampers
27-mm solid front stabilizer bar
28-mm solid rear stabilizer bar
Higher-capacity rear-axle half shafts
Strut tower brace
ZL1-based 20 x 10-inch front and 20 x 10-inch aluminum wheels
285/35ZR20 Goodyear Eagle Supercar G:2 tires front and rear (identical to the front tires for ZL1)
ZL1 wheel bearings
Toe links and rear shock mounts
ZL1 high-capacity fuel pump and additional fuel pickups
Matte black hood
Black front splitter and rear spoiler
10-spoke ZL1-based wheels
ZL1′s flat-bottom steering wheel trimmed in sueded microfiber
Short-throw shifter from the ZL1 trimmed in sueded microfiber

After all these modifications were complete, the car was thrown on the dyno to see what it could do. What Ryne walked away with was an impressive 432 lb.-ft. of torque and 472 hp, at the wheels.