+1. It is silly how many people on this thread always talk about the "nannies", and how it seems weak and make it less of a car. I am sure someone will make a wise crack about my comment to make their knots feel bigger.
I would assume these are the same type of guys that laughed at seat-belts when they became mandatory. Yeah, those are for *****'s and serve no purpose.
On that note, Dale Earnhardt RIP.
Since we don't have a choice on ESC because of federal mandates, we do have options on the type of ESC that can be installed on the next Viper. If we're forced to have it, lets have a performance orientated ESC.
What most people don't realize is there are different types of ESC/Traction control. If the SRT guys really want to use the latest and greatest, the ESC will actually make you much faster on the track because if it activates, then you are doing something wrong. Most pro race car drivers will confirm that if the ESC is activating, you are doing something wrong. The ESC can even be programmed via our GPS Nav system to activate differently for different track layouts. So imagine if you data logged Kuno Wittmer's driving line around Laguna Seca. With a touch of a button you could run that track and see if you are online of off line of what Kuno ran. If the ESC kicks in, you ****, if it doesn't, maybe you've missed your calling as a top flight racecar driver. The key is you can learn from the ESC if it is programmed correctly. Then if you want to turn it off completely that's always your option and try the line again.
Since our cars already have anti lock brakes, I don't think that a more advanced ESC is going to add more weight than 1 or 2 gallons of gasoline, max....something you'd burn in the first 2 or 3 laps of a track event.
Reality is most people on here think they are great drivers. I'd venture to say they are in the top 98% of recreational performance drivers in the world. It's that last 2% that is never going to be achieved by those on this forum (otherwise they would be paid racecar drivers and not on this forum). Most can't take the ego hit to admit that they are not pro material, but that's reality.
Hopefully SRT will look that far ahead and give us these type of options. Having an ESC that can have different settings and a complete "off" for guys that want to play Formula Drift would be awesome.
The ESC on the next Viper will allow you to drive on snow and ice that you'd have trouble walking on. The technology is there, even for a two wheel drive car. On the trip back from the VOI, I had 8 hours of constant rain on a stick straight highway. I would have loved ESC for something that boring but potentially dangerous with hard to see puddles and standing water in the dark.
Hopefully SRT will give us an ESC that can also be marketed as a performance learning tool, something that no other US car manufacturer has as far as I know. This would be a good time to really build on "Never Neutral".
Cheers,
George
