1st track test

[VIPER GTSR 91]

Drag racing isn't my thing, but for those that are primarily concerned with the drag strip... is the Viper really best suited for drag racing? I would think it's easier to get a cheaper muscle car and mod the hell out of to get the 1/4 mile times you're after. I guess I just don't understand the appeal of buying road racing cars for drag strips and straight-line performance.

Very well said not to mention the fun is not over in just a few seconds.

 

[challenger&viper]

Lets put it this way :

What are the numbers you wanna see ?? ( numbers that an avrage skilled driver can accomplish every time )
0-60 : ?
1/4 mile : ?
Trap speed in 1/4 mile : ?

 

[phavyarden]

0-60: 3.0
1/4:11.0
Trap speed:130mph

 

[Solid Red 98]

I just can't believe what I am reading here in regards to the Viper's very preliminary "numbers." Edmunds? Come on...First off you have to get these cars in the hands of Viper drivers who know how to handle the way the torque comes on. Everyone knows that non-Viper educated drivers often make lots of smoke, and even crash when they press the go-pedal because they are "accustomed to driving other performance" cars. When the Viper came on the scene, it was boasting overpowering specs relative to most designs of the time. Fast forward to today and you have sedans pumping bigger horsepower. 450 horses is no longer a big deal. Even 640 normally aspirated horsepower is considered **-hum. Truly a different landscape, I would say; lots of big power from many manufacturers.

The newest incarnation of the Viper is the STARTING point for the fifth generation. While certainly more horsepower is in its future, both from the factory, and through mods, the focus of this model was to upgrade the platform so that it could handle future craziness. There is a broader issue in terms of drag performance and rear wheel drive cars. We are reaching the limits of rear wheel adhesion in a streetable vehicle/tire configuration. There are cars hitting sub 3 sec. 0-60, but it is a small club and generally a very expensive one. To get there the compromises start, and SRT wants to sell Vipers in the current market, so the car needs to be successful in other ways besides light to light times. If you can afford a +100k car, you should have matured enough to know about time and place with such a piece of hardware, street drags to the kids who think they have something to prove all the time. There is always something faster and that doesn't bother me a bit. I actually had a guy in a hopped up Sebring (modded SRT4 motor and drive train) surprise me once, but you can add horsepower to a U-haul truck and make it fast, but it is not a Viper.

The gen 5 might not be as mod friendly as past models, but the mods will come along with better number, so why don't we just settle down and not behead the new snake before it truly gets its slither on....

 

[V10TT]

Yea, and in my Zip code when one of those "slower cars" lines up next to the new viper they will have a pulley and a tune at the very least. Get my point?

I guess if the Walmart parking lot with the cones challenge is not taken, I can always pull out a magazine and show them the Viper bone stock, is faster than their car bone stock eventhough I just got my A$$ handed to me with $1000 worth of mods.

Please.....

Um, yeah, the only problem with your theory is this.

On the same track the cars you mentioned trapped.

GT500 - 123.5 = 4mph Slower
CTS-V - 117.5 = 10 mph slower
GT-R - 123.3 = 4 mph slower
Z06 - 122.2 and 123.2 = 4-5 mph slower
Turbo S - 125.5 = 2 mph slower
ZR-1 - 128.3 = 1 mph faster (not bad for base Viper vs top of the line fastest Corvette)



Do your homework and then come back. The evidence doesn't support your theory.

 

[01sapphirebob]

Heres video of the test in question.

http://youtu.be/qZUxM3-HK20

 

[V10TT]

I'm wondering if the 1/4 mile speed they got on this test was obatained AT THE END of the 1/4 mile or the average in the last 60 ft. (some one correct me in the actual distance if I'm wrong) which is how the 1/4 mile track actually meassures it.

If they did it at he actual end of the 1/4 mile, we could actually see slower traps posted at real tracks.
Food for thought.

I love the car, but its straight line performance is lacking, and its modability is the same as the 08 and up vipers. Probably why I never see Gen IVs vipers running against the competition, they are MIA.

 

[bluestreak]

Yea, and in my Zip code when one of those "slower cars" lines up next to the new viper they will have a pulley and a tune at the very least. Get my point?

I guess if the Walmart parking lot with the cones challenge is not taken, I can always pull out a magazine and show them the Viper bone stock, is faster than their car bone stock eventhough I just got my A$$ handed to me with $1000 worth of mods.

Please.....

It's the street, anything can happen, people are never stock, and hardly anyone tells the truth about their mods. If you show up to a street race meetup with a stock car, you are going to get it handed to you doesn't matter what you drive. The point there is that we've seen higher trap speed numbers from all of those cars, so assuming the same ring true with the Viper, we could easily see 129-130 maybe even 131 traps and that's just from the mags.

 

[Dom426h]

Probably why I never see Gen IVs vipers running against the competition, they are MIA.

Probably because you are looking in the wrong place.

 

[TrackAire]

I'm wondering if the 1/4 mile speed they got on this test was obatained AT THE END of the 1/4 mile or the average in the last 60 ft. (some one correct me in the actual distance if I'm wrong) which is how the 1/4 mile track actually meassures it.

If they did it at he actual end of the 1/4 mile, we could actually see slower traps posted at real tracks.
Food for thought.

I love the car, but its straight line performance is lacking, and its modability is the same as the 08 and up vipers. Probably why I never see Gen IVs vipers running against the competition, they are MIA.

I don't know how they measured the speed through the traps in this test, but if they were on just the most basic of drag strips with a launch pad and prepped surface, correct rear tire pressures, etc, you're looking at an 11.2 to 11.3 quarter mile run. Heck, I don't think they even heated the tires for the quarter mile runs they did. This is very fast for not using a private track rental thats been prepped as a ringer, great DA, temps just right, etc. I would love to know what the 60' time is....that is the key for what the car will actually do.

Like I stated before, that was a very realistic time for "real world" results. Other than a couple of AWD cars, a couple of uber exotics, and maybe a ZR1...nothing else in the world will come close. A ten second car on a prepped track might be a high 11 second car on the street. At some point, the faster and more power the car has, the harder it is to launch on street type surfaces (especially rear wheel drive).

I'm just disappointed that the results were not in a more controlled environment to show a more realistic 1/4 mile time. SRT won't tell us crap, they keep everything under wraps, keep control of all information, yet the first test results they allow released is this??

This is definately a situation where you never ask the question without knowing what the answer is....not doing so usual bites you in the a$$.

Kinda of reminds me how we all waited to see the reveal in NY, only to be upstaged by a Gen V Hot Wheels car coming out before the official release.

Here is the ultimate test. Take all the worthy competitors and put them on a road course at the same time. Run for 30 minutes non stop as fast as they car can handle the course. The results to look for isn't who ran the single fastest lap, but lap consistency. This is key, because a lot of cars can run one or two very fast laps, but then the brakes get hot or the motor heat soaks or the oil temps go to high or the transmission shuts down, etc. The only cars that I can think of that will be able to this are the Viper, maybe the Porsche and maybe the 458. Most turbo, supercharged and awd cars cannot do this for 30 minutes non stop. So far the biggest performance concern I have for the new Gen V is the brakes....a couple of reviews mentioned brake issues and feel.

Cheers,
George

 

[v10enomous]

These are some really weak launches especially the 1/4 mile pass... I pull out of parking spots harder than that.

Heres video of the test in question.

http://youtu.be/qZUxM3-HK20

 

[Jack B]

if you do not know the 60 ft time the et is meaningless. For every 1/10 off the 60 ft time your ET will drop between 2/10 and 3/10. anyone who drag races should be capable of 1.5 to 1.6 sixty ft time with a viper.

With the way the car nose dived in the video that indicates a 2.0 or higher.

 

[ViperSmith]

I am still baffled why Edmunds are the ONLY ones to release performance times.

 

[DMan]

if you do not know the 60 ft time the et is meaningless. For every 1/10 off the 60 ft time your ET will drop between 2/10 and 3/10. anyone who drag races should be capable of 1.5 to 1.6 sixty ft time with a viper.

With the way the car nose dived in the video that indicates a 2.0 or higher.

Yep!

Personally I'll know the perf #s when either SRT posts them, or we see them fron a reasonable driver in the community (or me , lol), mags are rags.

 

[Bobpantax]

Performance Pershmormance. If Washington does not get their S**t together and we sink into a recession again, all of the manufacturers will be wiping their collective rear ends with many of the cars at the higher price points.

 

[v10viperbox]

I am still baffled why Edmunds are the ONLY ones to release performance times.

Because bad performance times drive site views, which make the web guys look good. It happens in reviews of everything, video games to cars, and its terrible. Plus with something so driver dependent they can always just fall back on that if the cars end up doind the 3.2-3.3 that I have seen around the web.

The factory rated the car at 3.5 in the brochure that I got and autoblog says they got a 3.3 0-60 in one of their reviews so the truth is somewhere in-between.

If you want to go fast in a straight line and thats it there are a bunch of other cars that are better suited for the task. Personally I want the green hell time, with a pro driver. That is the most telling to me.

 

[bluestreak]

You can't be paying attention. Look at the list I posted. Same timing procedure. Every car on that list has posted faster times and trap speeds in real life and most in other mag tests. I'll bet you the Gen V posts better numbers within the next few reviews.

I'm wondering if the 1/4 mile speed they got on this test was obatained AT THE END of the 1/4 mile or the average in the last 60 ft. (some one correct me in the actual distance if I'm wrong) which is how the 1/4 mile track actually meassures it.

If they did it at he actual end of the 1/4 mile, we could actually see slower traps posted at real tracks.
Food for thought.

I love the car, but its straight line performance is lacking, and its modability is the same as the 08 and up vipers. Probably why I never see Gen IVs vipers running against the competition, they are MIA.

 

[bcmarly]

I am still baffled why Edmunds are the ONLY ones to release performance times.

I guess the others have magazines to sell and they'll wait until the issue featuring the Viper is printed and released. It should be a big seller.

 

[SnakeBitten]

That video the launch is soft so the ET sucked but I see a good driver at a drag strip hitting 10's @ 130mph. Gen IV says: "Meh. Been there done that". This thing shouild be hitting 10 @ 133+ trap speeds in the right hands. If not oh well we should have the Nurburgring as solace lol...

 

[01sapphirebob]

These are some really weak launches especially the 1/4 mile pass... I pull out of parking spots harder than that.

Agreed. I guess we could point this out but I'm leaning towards driver error of the numbers that this is a GTS version so it's heavier than the SRT model. Food for though I suppose.

 

[bcmarly]

Agreed. I guess we could point this out but I'm leaning towards driver error of the numbers that this is a GTS version so it's heavier than the SRT model. Food for though I suppose.

On the other hand the driver looked to weigh no more than a buck and a half.

 

[09 Venom]

Useless unless you have a group of cars running together same day, same track, same driver. I once saw a C6 Z06(modded) at Englishtown that coudn't break under 12.5 on a gorgeous day perfect for drag racing. Bring this car to MIR with a differentr driver and you have mid to high 11's. This Edmunds test is just a 'ballpark #'. Let's wait, you now the mags will be having lots of comparisons soon.

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

The new Viper ran exectly the numbers I expected.I mean,it is the same HP and weight as a ZR1,why would it be faster.I have had 3 Vipers,a ZR1 and C6 Z06(Limited Traction).Just as stated, the new Viper will never run with(AWD/PDK) a 911 Turbo S or GTR in the quarter.I am not a drag racer,but I run 10.80s with LC and 11.00s @128 mph at Palm Beach every time in my bone stock 911Turbo S.But,like others,I love Vipers and will be getting one just as soon as that first one pops up on E Bay or from Woodhouse.