Hidden Valley marked the first time in 14 months that Triple Eight finished a multi-race round without a podium result.
Spearhead Broc Feeney endured a particularly tough time, starting with 13th in Friday qualifying – his worst starting position of the season to date.
Feeney finished 14th in that race before qualifying sixth and finishing seventh on Saturday, and turning fourth on the grid into fifth at the finish on Sunday.
The team had on Friday described Feeney’s early struggle as simply a lack of car balance, continuing to stress it is still learning the Mustang package.
While that was still a key theme in the wake of Sunday, Feeney told Speedcafe that straight line speed had also proven a particular concern.
“We’ve been struggling in a straight line and that’s not compared to one specific manufacturer, it’s compared to everyone, even other Fords,” he said.
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“It’s probably something we struggled a bit with all year, but the first time I really noticed it was this weekend. We were really struggling.
“It’s hard. Being in the first garage out, the first time I noticed I was a little bit down was in the race, I just couldn’t get a run anywhere near anyone.
“We made a couple of changes and I think we were a little bit more competitive [on Sunday].
“We could probably hold the slipstream, but you certainly weren’t making any moves on someone down the straight.”
Feeney also noted he’d had “some brake issues” on Friday.
Triple Eight raised eyebrows when it changed pads on Feeney’s car midway through Saturday qualifying, chasing a persistent knock-off complaint.
Supercars amended its brake rules ahead of Darwin amid suggestions some teams were “playing around” with anti-knockback springs and piston seals to minimise drag.
The springs, which exist to keep the piston up against the pad to eliminate knock-off, are no longer compulsory on the front calipers.
Asked if that rule change and Feeney’s brake and straight line speed issues were related, team manager Mark Dutton said: “Everything’s related”.
“One set of pads was misbehaving, which is not super common,” he added.
“Usually if you’re getting knock-off or a long pedal or anything like that, it’s usually the disc, or is the hydraulic side bled correctly?
“We did a few A-B-A tests and it just kept following the pads.
“But we have limited brakes for the weekend, so we did persist with it and got through that.”
As for straight line speed, Dutton noted the team made “big overnight gains” ahead of Sunday, but said the issue is not “100 percent solved”.
“I wish we could say that we’ve definitely nailed it,” he said.
“A straight line issue is a multitude of things. Obviously, everyone will usually look towards the engine.
“Brakes are a big one for the straight line, but then it’s also car set up, how you’re exiting the corner, things like that.
“It’s body fitment, panel stiffness, etcetera. When you get up in the speed range, the drag plays a bigger part.
“There’s lots to look at.”
Triple Eight lost the lead of the teams’ championship to fellow Ford squad Grove Racing, while Feeney is now just 15 points ahead of Matt Payne in the drivers’.
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