[The Stig]

The OP is full of misinterpreted information.

When I picked up my new 2012 2SS Camaro(Automatic V8) the other day the dealer described the difference like this: "If you hit the TCS/Stabilitrak button twice you will be in Competitive Mode which will provide you more power and speed while also maintaining some control. However if you hit the button once then BE CAREFUL because you will turn off TractionControl and Stabilitrak completely and the car will be ridiculously fast but you may kill yourself"

And furthermore I read on a few forum posts that the more experienced racers prefer to have the most control and power, and thus prefer turning off TC completely(hitting the button once), as opposed to the more novice racers that say they rely on competitve mode as something similiar to "training wheels" so they won't lose control and fly off the track.

I have never once read or heard of any drivers referring to competitive mode as "training wheels". While yes, in turning TC off you do increase your chances of gong sideways and possibly wrecking the car. That does NOT mean that turning TC off gives you more power. As nothing engine nor tune wise in the car is changing. All that changes is that your car's computer stops controlling how much power each wheel gets.

I realize that I use the phrase "how much power each wheel gets" while stating that you're not actually getting more power. Let me explain. TC works through a computer sensing how much traction your wheel has (each wheel has TC), and when the computer senses that a wheel is losing traction it automatically decreases the amount of power that goes to that wheel. The purpose of this is that the computer is trying to stop you from spinning your tires. This is why if you're ever stuck in the snow/ice you want to turn off traction control so that both wheels are getting the same amount of power.

So now, moving on to "competitive mode". It is in no way a "training" mode. It uses the same concept as turning off TC, but instead of turining off the computer completely you are dampening the power decrease. This is done to give you that "extra power" while still maintaining traction.

If you really were interested in comparing the TC off versus "competitive mode" you can put your car on a dynograph and run some tests. Do one pull with the car as "normal", one pull with TC off, and one pull in "competitive mode". I'd be willing to be money that you will not see any significant differences between the three pulls. As the car is not actually putting out any more power.

P.S. And there is still one other option I have not looked into yet, which is buying a Tuner to boost speed and performance.. however I'll save that for a seperate thread/discussion since those can be pricey and I'd like to investigate these current options that come with the vehicle first.

Now your "third option" of getting a handheld tuner. That is a COMPLETELY different ballgame than just hitting the TC button. When you use a handheld tuner, or get any tune in general, you are physically changing values within the cars computer. You are adjusting timing, air/fuel ratios, etc. In doing this you can make more power, literally increasing the cars horsepower.