Help me get better (videos inside!) Options

[ilyas]

Hi all, I started racing this season in STU, and have done 3 events in the Atlanta region. This is my first year doing any sort of competitive driving. I usually come in 3rd/4th out of 10. The top 3 STIs usually beat me by 3-4 seconds. Yesterday I attended an even at a smaller region and I believe I won STU. The local pros and the SCCA Starting Line people are telling me that I'm getting 100% out of the car, but I think there is plenty of time to be gained with better driving.

Let's start with the car:
2002 Z28 6spd with 67k miles
lid/long tubes/high flow cats/catback/tune

17x9.5 C5Z with 275/40/17 BFG Comp2 (planning on NT05 when these go)
Koni Red up front, Koni Yellow in rear (bought it this way!)
Strano Springs
Strano hollow 35/22 bars
UMI double roto joint panhard bar
Two point SFC
Two point strut tower brace
Obvious camber on the front wheels - I can't find anything aftermarket on the car that would cause this camber, but it's at least -1.5*
Hawk DCT-30 front pads, stock rear pads
No ABS due to lack of ABS ring in the rear diff, but the gears seem stock (bought it this way)
SS lines going to the ABS unit under-hood, stock rubber lines going to the calipers
SS clutch line

I think the car feels great - very neutral. Maybe a bit more roll that I'd like, but I'm nit-picking. Diff seems to lock up perfectly well, with no one-wheel-action that many suffer from. The brakes feel a bit odd, because they start pulsing like the ABS is about to come on, but it doesn't because it's not connected. The braking pressure is also a bit inconsistent. I like driving it in AutoX/track without ABS because it's more engaging, so I don't plan to add the ABS ring. Should I just bypass the ABS unit in the engine bay?

Yesterday's run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23op01Crr6E

Last week's run in extremely wet conditions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlu-rgER3jQ

Just for kicks, here's a track run at Atlanta Motorsports Park:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9A172kbEHo


How can I improve my times, besides more practice? Anything obvious that I'm doing wrong when driving this car? I came from Subarus, so this is my first true high performance RWD car.

[Smitty2919]

Tires will help. Slicks will net you better times with no changes in driving IMO.