[apexit53]

Thanks to a local friend letting me autocross his car until mine gets here, I had my 1st autocross in a new camaro.

This car is completely different from what I am used to autocrossing but its an absolute blast!!! I had a few issue in the morning hitting ICEMODE... yay lol. Basically on my last run i figured out that with the car, left foot braking just isnt going to work.


This was my last run of the day and 1st run going back to right foot braking after 3 years. finished 3rd out of 8, and we are going to have one stacked FS class in Milwaukee this year! Should be fun.

[fighting irish]

Looks like a good clean run- what tires were you on? You guys must have some pretty quick drivers in your region. I havent tried left foot braking with the Camaro yet... I'm still working on the fundamentals.

[apexit53]

Originally Posted by fighting irish

Looks like a good clean run- what tires were you on? You guys must have some pretty quick drivers in your region. I havent tried left foot braking with the Camaro yet... I'm still working on the fundamentals.

Milwaukee is a tough region but a lot of fun. I only learned how to left foot brake in a STS CRX that you pretty much needed to do that in to be fast in. This car probably not so much and if it means not hitting icemode than right root it is lol

We are on Bridgestone RE71r tire in a 19"

[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by apexit53

... I had a few issue in the morning hitting ICEMODE... yay lol. Basically on my last ...

Could you elaborate? I just did an HPDE this past weekend and found with grippier pads I had be very careful with brake application to avoid the ABS going into a kind of "coast down mode" and greatly increasing braking distances regardless of pedal pressure. Does this sound like what you had?

[Eric SS]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

Could you elaborate? I just did an HPDE this past weekend and found with grippier pads I had be very careful with brake application to avoid the ABS going into a kind of "coast down mode" and greatly increasing braking distances regardless of pedal pressure. Does this sound like what you had?

I think he means he was hitting the driving mode button and accidentally putting it from track to ice.

[apexit53]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

Could you elaborate? I just did an HPDE this past weekend and found with grippier pads I had be very careful with brake application to avoid the ABS going into a kind of "coast down mode" and greatly increasing braking distances regardless of pedal pressure. Does this sound like what you had?

thats exactly what icemode is, or i call it icemode. basically you hit the brake and there is almost nothing... no bite and the car just pushes wide. Had a similar issue with my cobalt turbo way back when and seems common among fellow GM autocrosser.

I came to the conclusion that with left foot braking i was going from full throttle to the brake too fast or maybe with a slight overlap and the car did not like it at all. one run i hit it 3 times. Just something to work around.

[apexit53]

Originally Posted by Eric SS

I think he means he was hitting the driving mode button and accidentally putting it from track to ice.

I wish that was the case lol but no. icemode is basically no brakes.

[Ryephile]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm relieved my situation isn't isolated. I had Ice mode issues in my Lotus but was able to work around it by disconnecting the wheel speed sensors and go full manual brakes, which worked fine running Hoosiers. Doing such in the Camaro would also negate the PTM that I really like in the 1LE, so I'm torn on going that route.

I learned this weekend that smooth initial application of the brakes is key to leaning against threshold braking without activating ABS, but it's admittedly a very narrow window of opportunity. Once "coast down mode" is activated, no amount of pedal pressure improves the stopping distance. I'm calling it "coast down mode" vs. Ice mode, because in the Lotus it really did virtually eliminate braking power, vs in the Camaro it's more like a 0.75g braking.

[apexit53]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

Thanks for the feedback, I'm relieved my situation isn't isolated. I had Ice mode issues in my Lotus but was able to work around it by disconnecting the wheel speed sensors and go full manual brakes, which worked fine running Hoosiers. Doing such in the Camaro would also negate the PTM that I really like in the 1LE, so I'm torn on going that route.

I learned this weekend that smooth initial application of the brakes is key to leaning against threshold braking without activating ABS, but it's admittedly a very narrow window of opportunity. Once "coast down mode" is activated, no amount of pedal pressure improves the stopping distance. I'm calling it "coast down mode" vs. Ice mode, because in the Lotus it really did virtually eliminate braking power, vs in the Camaro it's more like a 0.75g braking.

that makes sense, it is a "coast down mode" better than what i was calling it when i was driving.... lol

[Ryephile]

I appreciate your feedback! If you get to drive the car again, try a lighter & smoother initial application to feel your way towards threshold braking. I don't think the left-foot braking should be a problem per se, as the car allows heel-n-toe downshifting no problem. For me it seemed I was just too quick to a certain pedal pressure, which was more pressure that I needed for threshold.