Just a quick comment on some conceptions. Reported skidpad numbers of 0.99G, 0.98G and 0.97G should be considered the same! The instruments are not that accurate! Please think before jumping to conclusions that 0.98 beats 0.97! If you watched the instruments while in use you would see the readings fluctuating wildly. At best, the instruments are + or - 5%, and I'd be surprised to see them any better than + or - 10%.

Skidpad numbers are mostly an indication of tire to road surface friction, not car capability, though I'd conceed the car can affect the results. However, once you have a capable car (Supra, RX-7, Lotus Elise, Corvette C6, RX-8 etc) it's the tire to road surface that swamps the results in a skid pad. Put the same cars on a track, such as Damon has, and it's a different story. In my experience, the limiting factor in "handling" is a rapid transition from side to side. A "poorly" handling car will loose traction in a side to side swerve at the limit, whereas a "good" handling car will just cruise though. Add a bump in the middle to tax the suspension even more to separate the "good" from the "mediocre".

 

Exactly. Skid pad numbers tell you how good the tires are, not how good the car is (the same is true of braking distances). Handling is not about steady state numbers, it's about how quickly you can make the car change direction and attitude without upsetting it.

Everyone spouts off about their fancy shmancy adjustable shocks. Shocks have absolutely zero effect on skidpad numbers, but they make huge differences in overall handling.