1st track day in the books, although it was a 2 hoodie day, brrr.

[DMan]

Hey, guys, my posting has dropped a bit but wanted to share my fun Sunday.

Finally got the car to her 1st track day. Summit Point, WV, Main Circuit - a balmy 42 degree day after 24 hours of rain, track was green & the Corsa's were challenged, but a great day. Did the SCCA PDX, I haven't done an SCCA event in 15 years, I do other events usually, they did a great job and very nice group. Great diversity in cars. My first event with them so they dumped in novice for first 2 sessions then yanked me to intermediate, thank goodness.

Car was awesome, shocker, considering the temps, there was snow off-track, lol, it was amazing. I've only had a few tooling around drives so this was my first real time actually driving her since we've been in a deep freeze since buying her and she passed everything out there, except one session, I did point by a GTR that was throwing flames from the exhaust, very cool car, but at least he didn't leave me.

Got good bonding in, took her easy to get the feel, can't wait for it to warm up more. I was happy about the guys who were complimenting the car, started with cosmetic compliments, and comments about seeing several up there and they always are spinning out and going "off" so they don't seem to handle too well. By the afternoon people were saying how impressed they were with it, my instructor said he hadn't thought much of the viper from watching them previously but that he felt when I was driving it seemed easy, correctable, railed, nimble, he said he couldn't believe it and loved it. Yay, I do like to try to spread the good word and "represent", felt like mission accomplished. ;-)

Best part was, after 90 min each way driving, and the track time all day, when I got home, I wanted to go do something else, I didn't want to stop driving, I love this car.

Dave.

 

[Nsane1]

Wow, I've never even considering running that cold, I guess traction control would give me more guts... Snow off track, wow.

Those GTRs can be fierce in the hands of a good driver, sounds like you did very well.

I love being able to smack people around on the track, and then simply drive home, not many can do that.

Well done and thanks for sharing.

 

[DMan]

Since it was my first time out in the gen5 I didn't actually use the electronic stuff, I just turned it all off. I'm used to tracking vipers since 99 so I didn't want something throwing me off. Next time I want to try using the track setting for stability and push it out and see what she does, SRT was all about it being really track optimized so I do want to try it and see if this old dog can learn a new trick. So much fun and so much more to look forward to in playing with this car. More cold and snow rolling in, man we need warm weather and be done with this winter nonsense already.

 

[ViperJohn]

Dave,

Glad you got out the track and enjoyed yourself. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[ViperJeff]

Would be interesting to see the differences in your lap times with and without the electronics

 

[Stealth]

I have encountered the comments of Vipers spinning and not handling well. In my experience (Gens IV and V), these comments relate to earlier Vipers. Both of my Vipers put the power down very well and are very stable. I think this started with the new Differential in the Gen IVs.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Dman can answer that after one session , it is faster with things turned off. Drove the entire time with everything off at Hastings, Nebraska ( 4th Annual Viper Rendezvous ) and it was on rails. Tons of us drove the base SRT and no one went off track , lost the brakes or even wore out the superb P Zeroes. Unreal car and those that drive one realize how much of a step it is above the previous Generations.

 

[DMan]

Dman can answer that after one session , it is faster with things turned off. Drove the entire time with everything off at Hastings, Nebraska ( 4th Annual Viper Rendezvous ) and it was on rails. Tons of us drove the base SRT and no one went off track , lost the brakes or even wore out the superb P Zeroes. Unreal car and those that drive one realize how much of a step it is above the previous Generations.

Very true.

It's taken some years but I can take people saying how the viper is fat, floppy and out of control / impossible to drive, without getting upset or defensive. I just invite them for a ride along. It's very satisfying to enlighten someone. And I always say I'm a decent intermediate track driver, which means relatively I **** compared to the real players, and the viper makes me look good ... that's impressive.

I'm interested to try the electronics, but I am an old dog, I've never been able to stop blipping throttle on my sport bikes at the track even thought they all have slipper clutches now, lol. I have said that the gen4 to me felt like it almost had a stability system on it, it drifted so well, it was night & day from my gen2 or 3. This gen5 is amazing, I was totally comfortable and again passing everything except one fire breathing GTR, 1st day in the car, almost no street time in it and it was cold enough to snow, that's really saying something.