First Day at the Track, Impressions/Questions (long)

[wigginz]

Spent a great day at Thunder Hill raceway Saturday, was my first time on a track with the Viper... actually first time ever. Posting some thoughts and questions for anyone who wants to chime in. Driving a mostly stock 2002 ACR with SSR lightweight wheels, Michelin PS2s, Belanger high flow cats and catback.

Impressions:

Wow, the Viper is a whole different beast on the track compared to the street. It's amazing to think of what the car is capable of at the limit. Honestly I'm starting to think there's no real point to taking it out on the street anymore when I know what the car really is capable of on the track.

Having a loud exhaust really shines at the track. At WOT down the long straights I was turning heads every pass.

Questions:

Any low hanging fruit to improve my experience and/or performance on the track? Obviously developing my skills are most important, looking more for what I can change on the car.

I paid $235 for five 20 minute sessions with an option to bring an instructor along with me. Is that relatively expensive/cheap? It's a nice program, no specific mods needed, all street cars are welcome provided you pass tech inspection.

Is it worth filling up with 100 octane gas on the track over the normal 91?

What kind of tire life am I looking at if I'm tracking once or twice a month? Don't mind going through brake pads, they're relatively cheap. I couldn't believe how much rubber I went through at the end of the day.

Saw a few people doing the blue tape thing on their cars, is it worth it? Obviously a few people ended up kicking some dirt/pebbles on the track, but will the tape make a difference against a small rock hitting your paint?

 

[Ratical2]

$235 is a good price. $250-$275 is typical for ThunderHill, Buttonwillow, Reno Fernley, $300 gets you into Laguna Seca. There are several groups that you can join that run track events. Trackmasters, Team, and Green Flag are well run. For those of us in California, twice a year Rocky and Terrie Angen run the Brian Angen Memorial Foundation Track Day. It is usually the day before the Viper Days events. This is a great time to exercise your car with a bunch of Vipers. All the proceeds from the B.A.M.F. go to the Oakland Children's Hospital, so everyone wins. The next one is March 14th in Buttonwillow.

 

[Whoaa GTS]

after going on the track...I all but stopped driving mine on the street. Its just not the same anymore

 

[Camfab]

Don't run 100 octane. I felt a noticeable loss of power.

 

[viperpilot99]

Don't run 100 octane. I felt a noticeable loss of power.

Wow even with those heads and cames of yours? You would think with all that extra air how important raising the detonation threshold would be?

 

[REDSLED]

There will be about 10 Vipers at Buttonwillow this Sat & Sun after Thanksgiving running with Green Flag.

 

[Jerz Viper]

Congratulations! You're now hooked, and if I lived out there I'd be headed to Laguna!

One word of caution, you mentioned pushing the car more on the street.......Keep in mind the track is a controlled enviorment compared to the street, and that's where you should push the car! Safety first my friend

 

[FrankBarba]

Questions:

Any low hanging fruit to improve my experience and/or performance on the track? Obviously developing my skills are most important, looking more for what I can change on the car.>>Seat Time is the most important. This will do the most for you. Along with proper maintenance on you vehicle while you are enjoying sprited driving.

I paid $235 for five 20 minute sessions with an option to bring an instructor along with me. Is that relatively expensive/cheap? It's a nice program, no specific mods needed, all street cars are welcome provided you pass tech inspection. Very good price.

Is it worth filling up with 100 octane gas on the track over the normal 91? No, you viper was developed to run on 91. Why spend the extra $$$

What kind of tire life am I looking at if I'm tracking once or twice a month? Don't mind going through brake pads, they're relatively cheap. I couldn't believe how much rubber I went through at the end of the day. Do you want to stay on street tires or do you want to purchase another set of wheels & some nice track tires???

Saw a few people doing the blue tape thing on their cars, is it worth it? Obviously a few people ended up kicking some dirt/pebbles on the track, but will the tape make a difference against a small rock hitting your paint?>> Depends on you. would you be comfortable with having some chips in your paint? if that is of no concern you don't need it. If you want your paint looking good so you can turn heads, do the tape thing...

Congrats on deciding to track your car. there might come a time where you want to start adding to your current viper. Don't....purchase a vehicle that you can use to track.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Spent a great day at Thunder Hill raceway Saturday, was my first time on a track with the Viper... actually first time ever. Posting some thoughts and questions for anyone who wants to chime in. Driving a mostly stock 2002 ACR with SSR lightweight wheels, Michelin PS2s, Belanger high flow cats and catback.

Impressions:

Wow, the Viper is a whole different beast on the track compared to the street. It's amazing to think of what the car is capable of at the limit. Honestly I'm starting to think there's no real point to taking it out on the street anymore when I know what the car really is capable of on the track.

Having a loud exhaust really shines at the track. At WOT down the long straights I was turning heads every pass. Its alot of fun, ain't it!

Questions:

Any low hanging fruit to improve my experience and/or performance on the track? Obviously developing my skills are most important, looking more for what I can change on the car. Like Frank said, seat time is #1. If you didn't put an aggressive set pf brake pads in, you might want to try that as you get more confident to brake hard and late. Race tires are also an easy thing to try but be cautious, depending on the brand you select, some can give almost no warning when they're at the limit.

I paid $235 for five 20 minute sessions with an option to bring an instructor along with me. Is that relatively expensive/cheap? It's a nice program, no specific mods needed, all street cars are welcome provided you pass tech inspection. Good price. If you didn't opt for an instructor, I'd recommend trying that. They always seem to know how to get through a couple of turns faster than you can by figuring it out yourself.

Is it worth filling up with 100 octane gas on the track over the normal 91? Nope.

What kind of tire life am I looking at if I'm tracking once or twice a month? Don't mind going through brake pads, they're relatively cheap. I couldn't believe how much rubber I went through at the end of the day. I'm getting about 6-700 miles out of a set of Hoosiers. (10 laps of 2.x miles, 4x per day, 2 days per weekend, 3-4 weekends per set of tires) Results probably vary alot with compound and driver smoothness.

Saw a few people doing the blue tape thing on their cars, is it worth it? Obviously a few people ended up kicking some dirt/pebbles on the track, but will the tape make a difference against a small rock hitting your paint?

I find the fascia gets nailed frequently even on the street so I don't bother with the tape....just paint the fascia every two years rather than every four!

 

[Vypr Phil]

after going on the track...I all but stopped driving mine on the street. Its just not the same anymore

This is exactly how I feel about mine too!

Barely driving it anymore on the street.

So I am selling my 2005 SRT-10 to make room for the 2008 ACR.....

Phil

 

[dave6666]

I paid $235 for five 20 minute sessions with an option to bring an instructor along with me. Is that relatively expensive/cheap? It's a nice program, no specific mods needed, all street cars are welcome provided you pass tech inspection.

Is it worth filling up with 100 octane gas on the track over the normal 91?

Driver's Edge here in the DFW area you get (8) 30 minute sessions with instructor for under $300.00. That's 4 hours of track time.

Read these posts on octane...

http://forums.viperclub.org/2453156-post13.html

http://forums.viperclub.org/2453394-post21.html

 

[ruckdr]

wigginz, and others,

Now that you are hooked on the track, as most of us are, take a look at this and "KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE TRACK (ROAD)".
I have it and absolutely love it.

http://forums.viperclub.org/rt-10-gts-discussions/607055-shifting-your-viper-audio-tachometer.html

http://www.modifry.com/products/rlb/RLB-2 Manual 1.8.pdf


http://www.modifry.com/products/rlb/Viper Shift Beeper Instructions.pdf

Later,

 

[wigginz]

I'll have to check out those other clubs. I'd like to take it easy the next couple times until I can work myself closer to full racing speed and work on my lines. The sessions at Thunder Hill are really laid back, easy to work on skills rather than worry about who's behind you. Best part about Thunder Hill is that only turn 15 has an obstacle you can hit (concrete wall), rest of the track you'll just slide off into the dirt.

I talked to one of the SCCA drivers and the list of safety mods you have to make to compete is pretty extensive. If I wanted to get serious, I'd definitely get a different car for racing. For now, I'm just having a blast tracking the same car I drive to the track

 

[RTTTTed]

To get advantages from different octane you need the programing for it. Better ocatne allows more timing/power. The Vec 2 & 3 reprogram with a "smart card".

Glad you're having fun!

Ted