Awesome article about new ACR on Autoweek.com

[PhoenixGTS]

Inside the serpent - AutoWeek Magazine

It is an interview with the development team. Really informative for Autoweek.

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[big-n-italian]

what a cool pic!

the car on the far left is the "mule car" that was used in the developement of the ACR. we got to see it in person when we went on our dream weekend a few weeks ago.

they wouldnt allow us to take any pics!

 

[PhoenixGTS]

what a cool pic!

More nice pics on their teaser drive article - but no hard numbers:

Track rat's snake - AutoWeek Magazine

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[big-n-italian]

awesome- thank you!

this car is SO sick-looking in person! whoever wins this car is going to be one very lucky *****!

(i am partial to red cars with dark wheels anyway)

 

[Red Coachwhip]

So now there are 3 ACRs (the raffle car, Prefix's black on black and the red/no stripe on the right of the pic), and 1 mule car.

Whichever one it is, they look astonishing. And advanced congratulations to the one that wins the raffle car.

 

[big-n-italian]

when we saw the mule car, it looked like it had been beaten up pretty bad.

can we make it our next raffle car? it was GORGEOUS! LOL

 

[snakeplissken]

Great article. The ACR is Awesome.

 

[xlr8ion]

WOW, what an article.The interview with the engineers has got me going.I am ready for this car now. Why are they making us wait????

 

[xlr8ion]

How many pounds of downforce would an ALMS car ,F-1 car or Indy car have at 150 mph ???

 

[xlr8ion]

Also did you read the part about warrante to cover track use as long as the car is not modified. Are you listening Porsche????

 

[SoCal Rebell]

Edmunds & Motor Trend ran the same test at WSIR. I have about 2,000 laps at Willow Springs and it is the perfect track for the '08 ACR. Gotta test drive in an '08 Coupe, fast and well handling. One of the 1st ACRs is going to my buddy, he's only 45 minutes from WSIR, I can't wait to take it for a spin around the Springs, hopefully in March

 

[elanderholm]

Edmunds & Motor Trend ran the same test at WSIR. I have about 2,000 laps at Willow Springs and it is the perfect track for the '08 ACR. Gotta test drive in an '08 Coupe, fast and well handling. One of the 1st ACRs is going to my buddy, he's only 45 minutes from WSIR, I can't wait to take it for a spin around the Springs, hopefully in March

Dude, then you are the guy to ask from another thread! Going from Pilot Sports to Cup tires is worth how many secs at Wilow Springs? I figured at least 2 secs on tires alone. From PIR (portland) in my experience going from Yokohama A046 to RA1s was good for 3-4 secs and shaved RA1s gave me 5-6 secs and it's a 90 sec track approx for normal street cars.

 

[WANTED]

WOW, what a article.

 

[Camfab]

Without a doubt, the best no b.s. article I've read in any magazine. It's rare to hear an engineer speak so candidly about the competition and how similar they are trying to one up each other.

 

[xlr8ion]

Very nice photos also.

 

[Boxer12]

You know, every Viper on the assembly line goes through bump steer adjustment using what we call the Viper Alignment Machine. It cost $500,000. It clamps the frame in place, then it cycles the suspension through its full travel, measures toe patterns, also the rear caster, and tells the worker what shims to install.

Um, how are we supposed to put things back in place when we bang a curb?

There were some earlier questions about skid pad numbers and how the aerodynamics affect that. Speeds are pretty low around a skid pad, and in order to affect the grip we had to go to a pretty good rake. In high-speed sweepers we've recorded g-forces at 1.5 g.

Guess that answers that question.

How will the upcoming 35 mpg CAFE standard affect this car down the road? Herb Helbig: I don't think Viper will be affected very much, because volumes are so low. You know, that's an average fuel economy.

Great!

 

[SoCal Rebell]

Dude, then you are the guy to ask from another thread! Going from Pilot Sports to Cup tires is worth how many secs at Wilow Springs? I figured at least 2 secs on tires alone. From PIR (portland) in my experience going from Yokohama A046 to RA1s was good for 3-4 secs and shaved RA1s gave me 5-6 secs and it's a 90 sec track approx for normal street cars.

In a Gen 2 Viper I went from a best of 1:37 on the 220 treadwear compound of Pilot Sports to 1:32 with a 40 treadwear rated Hoosier R3S03. WSIR is so fast the biggest problem was "push". The PS's on the front were 275s while the Hoosiers were 305s so the extra 1+ inch width in front helped. The Pilot Cups are an 80 Treadwear rating and are 295s. So to answer your question on a fast track like WSIR I would figure a real 3 or 4 second difference between Pilot Sports & Pilot Cups of the same size

 

[Newport Viper]

Thanks for the post! GREAT car!

 

[elanderholm]

In a Gen 2 Viper I went from a best of 1:37 on the 220 treadwear compound of Pilot Sports to 1:32 with a 40 treadwear rated Hoosier R3S03. WSIR is so fast the biggest problem was "push". The PS's on the front were 275s while the Hoosiers were 305s so the extra 1+ inch width in front helped. The Pilot Cups are an 80 Treadwear rating and are 295s. So to answer your question on a fast track like WSIR I would figure a real 3 or 4 second difference between Pilot Sports & Pilot Cups of the same size

That's kind of what I thought which makes me wonder why the ACR on Cups is only 2 secs faster then the standard 08 on Pilot Sports according to Helbig. Seems like that would have to do with tires and not the aero and suspension changes. Seems like putting those tires on the 08 would result in at least 2 secs faster, but maybe not.

 

[SoCal Rebell]

That's kind of what I thought which makes me wonder why the ACR on Cups is only 2 secs faster then the standard 08 on Pilot Sports according to Helbig. Seems like that would have to do with tires and not the aero and suspension changes. Seems like putting those tires on the 08 would result in at least 2 secs faster, but maybe not.

I'll tell you this, my friend and excellent driver Terry Rossi took out a stock '08 coupe at Willow Springs and ran a 1:29 and said with a proper alignment would touch 1:27. I think on this particular car the brakes, aero, power and suspension geometry are so good the tires don't make as huge a difference. I drove that '08 Coupe and it is great. My buddy will have one of the first ACRs in Cali and I'll get to take it out on WSIR

 

[Vipermann]

That's kind of what I thought which makes me wonder why the ACR on Cups is only 2 secs faster then the standard 08 on Pilot Sports according to Helbig. Seems like that would have to do with tires and not the aero and suspension changes. Seems like putting those tires on the 08 would result in at least 2 secs faster, but maybe not.

(I think) Helbig's comment referred to testing done by Dodge in the development of the ACR. It's quite possible that he meant the ACR is 2 seconds faster based upon all of the design improvements - with tires not being a factor (excluded). Think about it. If Dodge is making these modifications, the first thing they would do is make test comparisons of modifications with the tires being the same. I guess we won't know until we see some magazine comparisons on the track. But now that we've heard the ACR aero even helps the car accelerate (traction) in a straight line, beyond the obvious cornering gains, it wouldn't surprise me to see huge lap time reductions at the track.