Jesus -- I go away for three days and the smack-talking gets AWFULLY thick around here.
> Could someone please explain how a car that supposedly makes 150 to 200 more rwhp than another could be running a less mph than the less powerful car?
Jason, I'm a bit surprised at you -- anyone with experience racing knows that few runs go perfectly. The effect is worse if you don't get any test time on race day; because of the rain most driversat the VOI drags got only 3-4 runs total, frequently on combinations they'd never tested before. There were a LOT of 11-13 second passes from cars which are capable (on their best day) of clicking off a 9-second run. I've got a bunch of them on videotape if anyone's interested in seeing the (numerous) ways a fast car can run a slow time.
I'll add one data point of which I'm sure -- my DLM car didn't run as fast as I expected because it lacked traction, pure and simple. Have a look at
this video , in which Doug tried at "medium" power (about 1050 RWHP) run in my RT: he launches, goes sideways in 1st, short-shifts to 2nd, goes sideways again (this is on ET streets, mind you), short-shifts to 3rd, turns in a 2.15-sec 60' time (!!) and still runs 147 MPH at the traps. The car is obviously making PLENTY of power, but translating that into traction and good ET & MPH is a matter of further development and seat time.
More generally, a number of tuners -- e.g. Albert, RSI, and DLM -- have recently made considerable strides in boosting the power levels in the Viper engine. It will take a bit more time before the rest of the system -- clutch, tranny, diff, tires, suspension -- can be made to handle that power reliably and put it to the ground predictably. I fully expect to see Vipers from multiple tuners reaching the mid-9s by next year, as the rest of the Viper ecosystem catches up with the strides made recently by the top horsepower brokers.
Finally, I encourage any of you who are "baffled" at why the results are so inconsistent and so far from expectations to
attend a few races with big-HP cars for starters. There is a big difference between a dyno sheet and a fast 1/4 mile, although you need the former to obtain the latter. Viper drag racing is far from the predictable, "take 760 RWHP and mail me a 9-sec timeslip" science many of you appear to believe it is...