Even with a great suspension setup, there will be limits to the amount of power a pair of tires can put down in a straight line. With huge power levels, you may have to accept that full throttle won't always be possible in the lower gears. I've driven an SCCA National-Championship winning SM2 Corvette, making less power than some of these Camaros, where even with super-sticky 335 Kumho V710s, we could sometimes never once use full throttle on course. Sure, the car could have received setup changes to help it put power down better, but that would have made it slower through the sweepers, and slower overall. Sometimes it's the throttle foot and not the car that needs adjustment.
Still think somebody needs to put their engine in the back seat, given the complete rule-lessness of these endeavors. The Camaro is always going to be handicapped by its static weight distribution, carbon fiber this-or-that regardless. Get the thing under 45% front static weight and you're getting somewhere.
As for setup, the balance, or change, that works for the guy running within a few tenths of the car's potential may not be the right change for the guy running 6-7 seconds below its potential. In general the quickest drivers fear understeer more than oversteer, while beginners to intermediate drivers have the opposite perspective. No offense to any driver or owner intended. Every setup is a compromise in some way, it's up to the tuner to choose the right (fastest) compromise for that driver on that track on that day.
A completely unloaded inside front tire is ok around peak vector accel at corner exit - any weight left on that inside front tire, could have been back on the inside rear, helping put power down. Of course, if the car is pushing, you want to keep the inside front down. 275 front tire on cars with this much front weight just isn't going to be ideal. With pretty much every one of these P-T cars I've seen, some wide fenders with 315s (or more) up front will be more helpful than anything else you can do. But that's the racer in me talking and I know you guys stay worried about having to make 3-point turns.
Steve, as applies to data acquisition, there are some texts out there on the subject, explaining well how to use it to get faster. In short, you shouldn't be looking just at peak g's or top speeds (though those can be useful at times). Instead, break the lap down into a few sectors (start/finish and each braking point make good sector delineators) and compare each driver's sector times. Tying the data acquisition system into throttle position sensor and RPM can be very helpful (as can steering wheel, brake pedal, or suspension position sensors, down the road). You want to be trying to understand what combination of driver inputs and car positioning, produced the best sector time output. Of course a lot of going fast is gaining the feel and the car control skills, but once you're a ways along that road, you'll find the fast guy isn't faster because he generated higher peak (or even average) lateral g's; it'll be because he positioned the car better, maintained more speed through transitions, was smoother in execution, etc. His crazy-high straightaway top speed isn't because he found a magic NOS button, it's because he set up the exit of the preceding corner in a way that allowed for earlier hard throttle application.
A good data logger is a fantastic way to capture the magic of any star driver you can get into your car. With a good breakdown you may find you're actually doing some things just as well as the best, but that there's other areas, ones you might have actually thought were ok, where you actually need improvement. The data acquisition used well can be a tremendous tool in focusing driver development. I also recommend keeping things to autocross-speed events, so "cajones" do not weigh in as a factor.
Can't wait to get my car finished and get out there to play with you guys. Hope RTTC 3 is as good an event as the first two.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
You know the old saying, if you want to find out how fast your car really is...
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