Re: Chief Driving Instructor BMW Club laughs at Cayman owners who want 400HP
Enthusiasts typically figure out how close they're using a car to its limits by referencing laptimes to similar models running simillar hardware and tune states and seeing where they fall, but that is really rough because of big differences in driver ability, in the overall setup (little differences have big effect and often not even measured), weather and track surface, across weeks and months.
The smaller the set used for comparison (ie. rarer the car, more expensive (access) or powerful (practicality)) is, the more likely the benchmarks are skewed. Many like to feel they're doing a good job within a skewed benchmarking structure, or are unaware they're operating within one. In this case, only true and sustained desire to really find out will push one to assess the structure to determine if a good position in it means anything at all, or ignore it altogether and keep pushing for tenth after tenth.
The other options are to let an accomplished pro drive your car till he is comfortable with it and says he's putting everything into the time, note it, then have him ride with you and tell you where the differences come up. Data from the quick lap is great, but not required. Lacking sincere focused advice from a true pro, it just helps save a lot of time and money from not having to run trial and error in different areas you think or feel may be inefficient. Also, good drivers sometime aren't good teachers since it is difficult to communicate a combination of quick changing feels and action/reaction points, etc. This is where sufficient data is a huge advantage - quantifying everything, and in order.
So yes it is possible to improve with a lot of power, but only if you're very determined and honest with yourself. From what I've seen though, almost no enthusiast is, although we like to think we are. It almost always takes numerous and obvious external signs that the driving sucks in order to seek efficiency. FWIW, the only immediate positive I can come up with, in terms of driver discipline, from a lot more power, is greater challenge controlling the car with throttle. This positive might not even exist depending on how the additional power is delivered. It can sometimes be easier to drive, in some ways, with more power - though this isn't usually the case.
