Silly question here from a non race guy on tuning. Race guys in my world here at The Beast have their bases set by Peak Performance at 0/3. Since I never see anyone on Skitalk admit to skiing on flat bases what is up? Are we the only place the race tunes skis flat for folks that want that much grip?
I'm afraid the answer is much more prosaic than you might think.
Shop setup to 0/3 is not the ultimate grip buy, it is actually the cheapskate buy.
The shop doesn't have to do any precision sub-1-degree work - and doesn't have to spend $$$ on keeping its equipment in shape to do sub-1-degree work.
It is trivial for the owner to set a base edge bevel greater than 0 with just hand tools, if they start with 0. Heck, with enough skiing on aggressive snow, the bases begin to bevel themselves.
Fast turnover (no hand work by shop), ultra-precision premium machinery
not required -> lower up front expense for the owner.