Had an absolute blast at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend in the ZLE 6 speed car! Heres a rundown.
Tyler’s Camaro is mostly stock, but has a few goodies-
The things that stay the same:
•Rotofab intake
•Corsa cat back
•SPL rear arms
The things that change-
•Girodisc rotors
•Hawk DTC 70 front pads, DTC 60 rears
•Hoosier Track Attack Pro’s
This was my first event with the Girodisc/Hawk combo, and my first event on the TA Pro tires.
Day 1- Brakes: the car felt pretty good, but my last setup was DBA rotors, Hawk 70/60 pads, and Hoosier R7’s. The car felt good and stable, and while the brakes were no doubt amazing, I felt like they weren’t quite as good as the DBA/Hawk combo. Obviously the 200 tread wear TA Pro’s contributed to less grip, but the brake pedal had a discernible difference in feeling under heavy braking.
Tires: I gave the tires zero break in period. I mounted and balanced them on Thursday, and loaded the car straight into the trailer. Session 1 on Saturday the track was still damp from previous rain. The track was VERY slick, and the whole session was sketchy. Session 2 the track started to dry out, and the tires got stickier and stickier. I ran a 32 PSI cold pressure, while targeting a 38-39 hot pressure at all corners. The tires gave me warning when the car was about to understeer, and they were super controllable. With any bit of understeer, I could back off of the throttle to get the car to turn in without moving the wheel anymore. Under heavy braking, the tires bit hard and I rarely noticed ABS working at all.
Drive modes- I had the car in Track Mode, and selected Sport 1. This gave me the freedom to spin the tires some, get the car to rotate a bit, but in the case of massive oversteer, the computer saves my ass.
Day 2: feeling more confident in the setup, having a totally dry track and some nice 70 degree temps, I was very confident in picking up the pace. I accidentally left my Garmin Catalyst at home, so I wasn’t able to track my lap times and lines throughout the weekend. However, my buddy in his M2 was running in a different group and I stole his for a session. I was pretty fortunate to be able to be on track with some other very good drivers, and extremely capable cars. I was on track with a 992.2 GT3RS on Cup 2R’s, and a GT4RS Club Sport on Michelin slicks!
My 2nd lap was a 1:40 and it was a VERY moderately pushed lap, so I knew the car had a lot more time in it. Lap 3 I saw a 39, Lap 4 a 38, and by lap 5 I had ran a 37.12. Low 37’s seemed like the tires limit in most turns, but I knew I could find a couple tenths somewhere with some more precise driving. Lap 6-7 I caught traffic. By lap 8, I was clear of the traffic and decided to push the car a little harder to try for a 36.xx. Turn 1 I entered a controlled slide at around 85mph. As it slid out to the furthest extension of the track, I got hard on the gas and rocketed to the carousel. The carousel was very controlled, but right at the edge of understeer and oversteer at the same time. I saw 123mph going into charlottes web, before rocketing off towards the museum turns where I saw 120+ again. Going into the kink, I saw 108mph, and a low of 95 just before the right handed apex. Exiting that apex, I stabbed the throttle and used the full width of the track before getting back to the inside for the compression zone. By this time my delta was plus .2x seconds, and I knew if I kept up this pace, I’d set a new personal best.
I crossed the finish line with a 1:36.82, and began my cool down laps. The car is an absolute rocket, and I REALLY do love the Hoosier Track Attack Pro’s. I’ve heard people gripe about them, I’ve heard people say that the Vitour P1’s are better, etc etc. I’m glad I didn’t listen to them, and formed my own opinion. They are AWESOME! I will switch it up to the Vitours next time just to see the difference.
August 2024- 2021 Camaro ZL1 1LE 6 speed at barber. DBA/Hawk/Hoosier R7’s. 95 degrees outside. 1:37.85
November 2025- 2020 Camaro ZL1 1LE 6 speed at barber. Girodisc/Hawk/Hoosier Track Attack Pro’s. 70 degrees outside. 1:36.82
I think the time difference comes down to now knowing the track better and cooler ambient temps outside. I’m not saying the brake setup didn’t help, but with the less grip of the TA Pro’s, I’m doubtful.
Thanks for reading and join us out there for Hibernation Hustle in February!