Edmunds First Drive: 2008 Viper ACR

[SSR9999]

Not sure if this has been posted yet. Edmunds First Drive of the 2008 Dodge Viper ACR.

First Drive: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR

 

[Vipermann]

Don't know anything about the 'long track' at Willow Springs, but the article says the ACR is 2 seconds per lap faster than the standard '08 Viper (which already has to be faster than the '03-'06 Vipers) ...

 

[bluestreak]

Seems pretty nuetral to me. I think this test drive is out of the realm of mag editors driving skills.

 

[PDCjonny]

Pretty underwhelming review.

 

[Boxer12]

The Automotive World just isn't as impressed with this car as Viper World would like it to be, but it has yet to be tested on a world class stage. Dodge needs to get that car to the Nurburgring.

 

[black08]

Pretty underwhelming review.

I agree. Very underwhelming. According to the reviewer, there are only two places on the Willow Springs track where you can clearly feel the difference between the ACR and regular '08.

 

[elanderholm]

2 secs that's only tires....

 

[xlr8ion]

I will be glad to read a real test by a real driver.Most of the info was a repeat of intro.

 

[SnakeBitten]

Wow...There didnt seem to be any passion in that article...Probably because they admitted they didnt really try to find its limits....Im surprised that its only projected to be 2 secs faster than the reg Viper..Ah well its only Edmunds.....I will wait for C&D Lightening Lap test at VIR....Hopefully they have both Vipers to test on the same day...

 

[rcl4668]

Thanks for posting the link.

/Rich

 

[JohnnyLightning]

The Automotive World just isn't as impressed with this car as Viper World would like it to be, but it has yet to be tested on a world class stage. Dodge needs to get that car to the Nurburgring.

I agree there the mother of all tracks is the Nurburgring...If you want to be competitive you have to run with the big boys so hopefully they send one over there to see how it performs against the world....

 

[j-rho]

With all its high speed corners, the % difference between the ACR and standard '08 should be bigger at Willow that any other track.

I'm guessing a bone stock '08 would do a mid to high :29, and the ACR a mid to low :27, and into the low :25s or :24s with some stickier tires, wider front wheels, and suspension tuning. That's really moving...

 

[ROCKET62]

Hey - at least they took it easy in MY NEW VIPER Got the winning tickets in the mail just this week!

 

[black mamba1]

I agree, the article was lukewarm at best. I cannot get over how beautiful the ACR is....simply a work of art!

 

[Whoaa GTS]

the only thing that really matters are the times that owners and club members can get. Just becuase some magazine gets 2 seconds faster really doesnt mean anything. Look at quarter mile mag times versus owner times.

 

[elanderholm]

the only thing that really matters are the times that owners and club members can get. Just becuase some magazine gets 2 seconds faster really doesnt mean anything. Look at quarter mile mag times versus owner times.

The quote of 2 secs was from Helbig (Viper chief engineer):

Since we were trying to bear in mind Helbig's advice, we didn't really expect to take this track-tuned supercar to its ultimate limits. Even finding them in a car with this much aero assistance would prove an interesting exercise in technique (and bravery), but we were interested that Helbig insists the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is 2 seconds a lap quicker than its wingless stablemate.

That is the part that doesn't make any sense. The fact the 08 has street tires and the ACR has R-compounds it should be 2 secs because of that...

 

[j-rho]

The Michelin PSC's aren't *that* much better than non-runflat PS2s, especially if you don't get enough hot laps back-to-back to get proper temps into the PSCs. Maybe less than a second difference in that situation.

 

[SnakeBitten]

the only thing that really matters are the times that owners and club members can get. Just becuase some magazine gets 2 seconds faster really doesnt mean anything. Look at quarter mile mag times versus owner times.

That 2 seconds is from the horses mouth not the mags....Herb Helbig himself told them that. Heres the quote: "but we were interested that Helbig insists the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is 2 seconds a lap quicker than its wingless stablemate."

 

[xlr8ion]

Put a pro driver in the cars and you would see a much bigger difference.

 

[elanderholm]

Put a pro driver in the cars and you would see a much bigger difference.

Yeah, I'm sure Helbig was comparing one legged grandma's when he said 2 secs difference....

 

[Warfang]

The Automotive World just isn't as impressed with this car as Viper World would like it to be, but it has yet to be tested on a world class stage. Dodge needs to get that car to the Nurburgring.

F them. What makes one stretch of road so much better than another? It's just asphalt. The rest of the world can kiss my @$$.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Not sure what guys want, but 2 seconds is huge ( try about 20 car lengths per lap ). The article was fairly frank in saying they may not have been at the limits due to Helbig's advice, but with the time improvement over a regular 08 Snake, many track rats are salivating. The tires are part of the equation ( no where near the two seconds as someone suggested ) , but the suspension, weigh,t and aero are doing the rest.

I frankly was hoping it would be 2 seconds faster and I doubt many who track their cars will not also be ecstatic also with that figure.

We do need someone like Tommy Archer, Cindi Lux, Jeff Courtney, Scotty B. White, Stan Wilson, etc. to take the car up to VIR and post a time around that track, as it is definitely becoming a new standard for those in the US.

I would love to see a trip to the Ring, but for 100-150 car production , the costs of transporting, and finding/hiring a top flight driver in the know concerning Nurburgring, it likely wouldn't be cost effective at this time.

 

[elanderholm]

Not sure what guys want, but 2 seconds is huge ( try about 20 car lengths per lap ). The article was fairly frank in saying they may not have been at the limits due to Helbig's advice, but with the time improvement over a regular 08 Snake, many track rats are salivating. The tires are part of the equation ( no where near the two seconds as someone suggested ) , but the suspension, weigh,t and aero are doing the rest.

I frankly was hoping it would be 2 seconds faster and I doubt many who track their cars will not also be ecstatic also with that figure.

We do need someone like Tommy Archer, Cindi Lux, Jeff Courtney, Scotty B. White, Stan Wilson, etc. to take the car up to VIR and post a time around that track, as it is definitely becoming a new standard for those in the US.

I would love to see a trip to the Ring, but for 100-150 car production , the costs of transporting, and finding/hiring a top flight driver in the know concerning Nurburgring, it likely wouldn't be cost effective at this time.

On my local track going from very sticky street tires to Toyo RA1s is worth 3-4 secs and it's a ~1:30 track on my pretty much stock evo. I changed nothing but tires. This is very consistent between different cars not just evos. 2 secs at Willow springs because of a tire change from street tires to R-compounds seems very reasonable.

R-Compounds plus massive downforce should be worth more the 2 secs at willow springs, IMO. But, I have been wrong before...

 

[xlr8ion]

Bill, I'm glad you agree with me about the pro driver.

 

[j-rho]

It would be helpful to know what the laptime differences were, so we can at least gauge how hard they were pushing it. If they went from a :36 in the '08 to a :34 in the ACR, all we can determine from that is that somebody needs to be smacked...

A 1:30 at Willow is an even 100mph average lap speed; a 2 sec drop in laptime from there increases average lap speed by over 2 seconds, which, with the greater straightaway accel of the lower drag '08, means the car is probably 3-4 mph faster through all the corners.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Elanderholm,

I run Toyos on my Race car, and love the tires , but you are comparing the PS2s with the Sport Cups, and the PS2s for the Viper are current generation, whereas the Cups are 2-3 generations old.

Some tires will make 1-3 seconds difference, but the new stock PS2s are soft ---- having driven the 08 on the PS2s and run Sport Cups before ,there is not that much difference.

The car is going to be stinking fast , but I still concur that the tires are only half the equation in this example. I understand your logic , but wait till you drive an 08 on the new rubber --- phenomenal improvement.

Respectfully,
Bill Pemberton

 

[Snakester]

Actually I think that it was a fair article, considering that most auto mag reviews favor the more comfortable Z06, or the more exclusive (and expensive) European high performance cars, mostly for status sake.

It could be that the Edmunds reviewer simply prefered the regular 2008 Viper to the ACR model.

The bottom line is a price of $98,810, including delivery. While one could argue that the standard Viper offers all the power and pretty good dynamics for $12,050 less, it's clear that a track-ready 600-hp sports car at under a $100 grand is better than anybody else can manage right now.

It's important to note that for many years now Edmunds reviews of the Viper were consistantly awful, so even though this review seems tepid, it's actually a HUGE step considering the source.

Plus when combined with their relatively glowing comparison of the '08 Viper against the Z06 previously...
Comparison Test: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe vs. 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
this follow up review of the ACR Viper sounds about right. And actually is great praise coming from Edmunds.

 

[elanderholm]

Elanderholm,

I run Toyos on my Race car, and love the tires , but you are comparing the PS2s with the Sport Cups, and the PS2s for the Viper are current generation, whereas the Cups are 2-3 generations old.

Some tires will make 1-3 seconds difference, but the new stock PS2s are soft ---- having driven the 08 on the PS2s and run Sport Cups before ,there is not that much difference.

The car is going to be stinking fast , but I still concur that the tires are only half the equation in this example. I understand your logic , but wait till you drive an 08 on the new rubber --- phenomenal improvement.

Respectfully,
Bill Pemberton

That very well could be true. I imagine it is, but it was just surprising. I have notput PCS tires on my car, but compared to the RA1s, especially shaved, they seemed to be slower on comparable cars, but it's always hard to tell because of different driver skill. If the tires are pretty much the same and the aero and suspension subtracted 2 secs that would be good. How long is Willow Springs in the config they are running? IRC, willow springs comes in a few different configs. Just minor suspension changes in my evo, evo MR bilsteins and making the car a little lower gave me 1-2 sec improvement at PIR on the same tires. Maybe I was just expecting too much!

 

[DavidSB]

How many of these red/black ACR cars does Dodge have? Is this a special one with a roll cage? To quote the author:

"We were suited up for track driving in fireproof gear and a helmet, and it took a bit of doing to squirm past this ACR's roll cage and buckle into the seat's five-point harness. "

I saw what I thought was the first ACR at the LA Auto Show and I don't recall seeing a roll cage. Is this the raffle car; another car; the author's poetic license?

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I saw what I thought was the first ACR at the LA Auto Show and I don't recall seeing a roll cage. Is this the raffle car; another car; the author's poetic license?

I previously thought of selling the raffle ACR to a collector when I win it and then buying another ACR with the proceeds. But if the raffle ACR has a roll cage then I am most definitely NOT selling it.