[mbar]

Note: This post is my opinion only. I do not take liability on what you guys decide to do
After a total of 4 track days (2 weekends) I decided to share my thought on the Competitive Mode.

In my case I drove my first weekend with traction control fully on. There's just so many things that can go wrong with a new car on the track. The car behaved well and the traction control did not feel invasive (as long as you drive smooth and don't do anything stupid). I think the TC helps the most in high G corners / hairpins with preventing the tail kicking out. Also it will help if you go full throttle on Track Out too early. If I were you (and I'm not) I would keep the TC fully on for the first couple of days on the track.

On the middle of my third track day I decided to try the Competitive Mode. NEVER change mode in the middle of a session , always start and stick with the same traction setting. I took it easy for the first 20 min session.

I would say that driving on competitive mode is a night and day difference. You can use more advanced techniques such as throttle steering, and faster track out acceleration (as long as you are smooth). For some reason understeer did not feel as bad with Competitive Mode.

If you are feeling that the nanny is getting involved often in Competitive Mode, maybe you should dial back to full TC and work on your line and smoothness.

Have fun and be safe.

[Thor142]

Originally Posted by mbar

Note: This post is my opinion only. I do not take liability on what you guys decide to do
After a total of 4 track days (2 weekends) I decided to share my thought on the Competitive Mode.

In my case I drove my first weekend with traction control fully on. There's just so many things that can go wrong with a new car on the track. The car behaved well and the traction control did not feel invasive (as long as you drive smooth and don't do anything stupid). I think the TC helps the most in high G corners / hairpins with preventing the tail kicking out. Also it will help if you go full throttle on Track Out too early. If I were you (and I'm not) I would keep the TC fully on for the first couple of days on the track.

On the middle of my third track day I decided to try the Competitive Mode. NEVER change mode in the middle of a session , always start and stick with the same traction setting. I took it easy for the first 20 min session.

I would say that driving on competitive mode is a night and day difference. You can use more advanced techniques such as throttle steering, and faster track out acceleration (as long as you are smooth). For some reason understeer did not feel as bad with Competitive Mode.

If you are feeling that the nanny is getting involved often in Competitive Mode, maybe you should dial back to full TC and work on you line and smoothness.

Have fun and be safe.

I like this line right here. I've heard so many times that the "nannies are interfering way too much". I would be asking myself "what did I do to upset the balance of the car so much that the nannies kicked in?" My goal is usually to try to not feel the nannies. I'm sure they're doing something. I mean I can certainly tell the throttle isn't completely under my control but when I feel or hear ABS going off when it shouldn't be I know I wasn't smooth in whatever I just did.
Then again, I'm not an advanced driver by any means.

[Sp00ner]

Originally Posted by Thor142

I like this line right here. I've heard so many times that the "nannies are interfering way too much". I would be asking myself "what did I do to upset the balance of the car so much that the nannies kicked in?" My goal is usually to try to not feel the nannies. I'm sure they're doing something. I mean I can certainly tell the throttle isn't completely under my control but when I feel or hear ABS going off when it shouldn't be I know I wasn't smooth in whatever I just did.
Then again, I'm not an advanced driver by any means.

I spent a couple years on track, in a very different car, should hopefully be out for track day #1 on the 1st. If you're a novice, and the nannies are kicking in, you're almost certainly doing something wrong. Even in 'normal' mode, the car seems to allow a degree of slip and spin, much more so than my 5th gen did.

I'll certainly see for myself on track, but from 'spirited street driving' it seems like the amount of slip and slide in Track/Normal Traction, should allow more than enough flexibility for a novice before they get into trouble.

If you're an experienced driver, sure, all bets are off.

[Mountain]

The dynamics systems, in any mode, are calibrated very well in the 6th Gen.

Competition mode allows a lot of freedom, yet a nice safety net while getting to know the car.

[kropscamaro16]

i drove a cobalt ss on the track before this always in competitive mode and it was fun and let me do my thing but if i over drove the car it would pull me back in which i like since it was my daily driver lol

being my camaro is way faster and rwd im a lil scared to go on the track with it but will next year and will be cautious a few times

[Sp00ner]

In my Ion Redline, competitive mode was letting the inside wheel spin when I cooked it coming back on the power...

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by mbar

I would say that driving on competitive mode is a night and day difference. You can use more advanced techniques such as throttle steering, and faster track out acceleration (as long as you are smooth). For some reason understeer did not feel as bad with Competitive Mode.

My guess here is that with TC off, you are able to generate slightly larger rear slip angles before Stabilitrak gets interested. Understeer is at least traditionally defined by the difference between front and rear slip angles. The smaller the difference (with the front slip angles being larger) the lighter the understeer. When rear slip angles > front slip angles, you're into an oversteer condition. ST and its yaw sensor probably work a bit differently to come up with more or less the same answers.

If you are feeling that the nanny is getting involved often in Competitive Mode, maybe you should dial back to full TC and work on your line and smoothness.

I think that would mean you got Stabilitrak involved, as TC is supposed to be off in Comp mode.

Serious question - how would you know that either the TC or the ST nanny was getting involved? Without caring which one it was (at least for now), is it that obvious that something kicked in without having to look down for some light in the dash to tell you that it did?


Norm

[mbar]

Originally Posted by Norm Peterson

Serious question - how would you know that either the TC or the ST nanny was getting involved? Without caring which one it was (at least for now), is it that obvious that something kicked in without having to look down for some light in the dash to tell you that it did?


Norm

I did some skid pad practice in each mode. That way you learn the threshold of each nanny in each mode. You can feel the srabilitrack pulsing your rear brakes when you do something stupid. Also if you try to go full throttle on corner exit and don't get much engine power, it's the nanny saving you from a spin

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by mbar

I did some skid pad practice in each mode. That way you learn the threshold of each nanny in each mode. You can feel the srabilitrack pulsing your rear brakes when you do something stupid. Also if you try to go full throttle on corner exit and don't get much engine power, it's the nanny saving you from a spin

Thanks. I'm trying to build up a little more understanding of these systems (when/where - or whether - I'd use them being distinctly separate questions).

Some of that makes sense right away, like the pulsing (keeping in mind that I don't have stability control on the car pictured in my avatar and sig, and the TC it does claim to have seems to be all but worthless).


If you don't mind trying to field another question - if you have any basis for estimating/guessing, how close does ST/TC let you get to tire grip limits in a turn before it/they start cutting engine power in a turn taken fairly enthusiastically? I do have some experience with this in my wife's car very early in our ownership of that car and felt that its stability control intervention was needlessly early. Hopefully your SS's ST isn't set quite that conservatively.


Norm

[mbar]

Norm,
I'm afraid I'm reaching my limit of giving you (and others) a reliable informative answer.
Every car is engineered differently. I would say that with my past Nissan/Infiniti TC/SC was very invasive on a track day, but smooth as a daily driver. The Camaro SS is the opposite: TC/SC is very invasive as a daily driver in order to prevent stupid kids running into a tree, however on a track day It did not get too much in the way. Only when I switch to competitive mode I understood how much the TC/SC were stealthy working in the background.
Sorry I couldn't help more

[Norm Peterson]

Still helps. Thanks.


Norm

[LesBaer]

I drive in competitive mode a lot, but I'm no longer stock. I've really pushed the car hard on some tight turns, pulling over 1g, and I can't even get my tires to squeal. The car is so tight and balanced, I'd really have to push it hard to kick my tail out.