Lucas Bell 
It’s not very well known, but General Motors has a competitive performance driving team that regularly attends SCCA autocross events. Several of them have gone to SCCA Nationals to win trophies, while others have burned the midnight oil to create absolutely wild projects, such as this Cadillac ATS-V we covered last year. Go figure that this involvement has resulted in unique performance accessories. Taking full advantage of this fact, Chevrolet Performance offers a special Autocross Calibration for the sixth-generation Camaro SS 1LE and its eLSD.
According to Chevrolet Performance, the Autocross Calibration for the eLSD (electronic limited slip differential) is the result of the Camaro engineers desire to perfect the car’s on-track and street driving behaviors. During corner entry, the tuned eLSD can now decouple the differential at a faster rate based on pedal and steering inputs, enabling faster yaw rotation. On corner exit, the tune allows the eLSD to couple faster than before, getting power to both wheels sooner. To put it simply, the software upgrade is specifically designed to help the Camaro SS 1LE turn in faster, as well as to put the power down better on corner exit.
Both of these traits should prove to be useful on the tight and technical course layouts typically found at Autocross events. When you consider that most runs only last between 30 and 90 seconds, corner entry and exit speeds can help to make or break your lap, or your timed run.
We were able to experience a Camaro SS 1LE with this eLSD calibration during an autocross event, and the main difference that we noticed from the standard cal is that the power is more eager to get to the ground. Which is perfect if you have the right tires equipped for the job; slicks, or barely-legal street tires in any case. As good as the stock tires are on the Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE, autocrossers tend to have a specific set of tires on hand specifically for the event itself. And a choice of tire can determine what class one’s Camaro ultimately competes in, with racing slicks placing the iconic pony car in highly competitive SCCA categories such as SSR, C-Prepared, or E-Street-Prepared. In other words, this calibration is made for those who show dedication to the sport, and want to take home trophies.
The Chevrolet Performance Autocross Calibration for the Camaro SS 1LE eLSD carries an MSRP of $350 including installation, and is only available on 2017+ models. Installation of the software upgrade has to take place at a Chevrolet dealership, though that is to be expected. Combine the 1LE’s impressive list of track-ready hardware with the re-flash, and the already astounding vehicle dynamics of the Chevy muscle car reaches new heights.
