Losing control in 2nd gear

[DJ'sviper]

I have a Gen 1 and lost control after I hit second gear at a 1/8 th mile track. Sideways and within an inch from the guard rail and pulling it back on the track. Thought it was mostly the Trans Am that spilled antifreeze as he went in front of me. Old tires also played a factor. Taught me a lesson.

Bought new tires and was at race track (not drag) lost it again as I hit second. Track was cold and it was a little wet. Am I punching it to hard in second. Sift at about 65mph and tach is almost at redline. The car kicks butt going into second but once it starts to drift its like the car has a mind of its own. Last time I just let it slide backwards to the side grass. Really didn't like the cement wall on the other side. This happened after several runs on the track and the second day.

I always seems to be consistent, but every once in awhile? I put oversize rims on and was wondering if the 19" fronts and 20" backs made a difference?

 

[Fatboy 18]

Does the car brake away in the same direction every time or can it break away from either side? Could be something as simple as Tire pressures?

 

[Dom426h]

These vipers have over 400ftlbs of torque from 2Krpm's on up. 1st&2nd can be sketchy especially when applying too much throttle around turns.

race track (not drag) lost it again as I hit second.

Hit second means that you were in 1st... on a road course

Have you had any racing instruction/education? classroom or instructor ridealong?
If no, i suggest you do.

20's on a gen1? Wow That certainly wont help.
Have you ever had an alignment done? Know the current specs your running?


Glad to see your out there racing. Having fun?

 

[Zentenk]

I know I had 20's and the rears spun EASY. They had PS2s, I have 17's with PS1s and they just chirp, soon will be Kumho XS. I think you need to be more gentle shifting gears.

 

[plumcrazy]

i did the same thing the 2nd run on a drag strip. turned had left....not the way i wanted to go..lol

it was the drivers fault in my case

 

[01sapphirebob]

I have a Gen 1 and lost control after I hit second gear at a 1/8 th mile track. Sideways and within an inch from the guard rail and pulling it back on the track. Thought it was mostly the Trans Am that spilled antifreeze as he went in front of me. Old tires also played a factor. Taught me a lesson.

Bought new tires and was at race track (not drag) lost it again as I hit second. Track was cold and it was a little wet. Am I punching it to hard in second. Sift at about 65mph and tach is almost at redline. The car kicks butt going into second but once it starts to drift its like the car has a mind of its own. Last time I just let it slide backwards to the side grass. Really didn't like the cement wall on the other side. This happened after several runs on the track and the second day.

I always seems to be consistent, but every once in awhile? I put oversize rims on and was wondering if the 19" fronts and 20" backs made a difference?

I've had very little instruction so I'm not gonna claim to be an expert but I would suggest this...I remember from watching a Skip Barber instructional video to "Be smooth with the car" Don't mush the gas in turns, wait till she's pointed straight ahead before you punch it.

 

[DrumrBoy]

These vipers have over 400ftlbs of torque from 2Krpm's on up. 1st&2nd can be sketchy especially when applying too much throttle around turns.



Hit second means that you were in 1st... on a road course

Have you had any racing instruction/education? classroom or instructor ridealong?
If no, i suggest you do.

20's on a gen1? Wow That certainly wont help.
Have you ever had an alignment done? Know the current specs your running?


Musta been AutoX.....no reason to be punching first and second on a road course....unless you want to spin coming out of the grid and bear the brunt of the crowd laughing at you!


Glad to see your out there racing. Having fun?

x2...good luck with it.

 

[NI-KA]

I've had very little instruction so I'm not gonna claim to be an expert but I would suggest this...I remember from watching a Skip Barber instructional video to "Be smooth with the car" Don't mush the gas in turns, wait till she's pointed straight ahead before you punch it.

I would suggest that you do not punch it all. Press/Squeeze the throttle and lift off the throttle in a similar matter. The term "punching" is a little to suggestive of slamming the pedal abruptly to the floor which is not wise in a high HP high torque car.

 

[costanZo]

I have 19s front and 20s rear on my 96 GTS and have also lost control of my car, but from what I can remember it was while accelerating in a straight line from 3rd to 4th gear and it was only from braking. I'm almost positive I was going in the range of 65-75mph. Last year a mini van almost side swiped me on the highway by nearly missing my car when I had to cut the wheel and jam on the brakes to avoid him hitting me. Stupid A$$ didn't even look when he merged into my lane, it's kinda hard to miss my car. Anyway, from jamming on the brakes I started to lose control and the backend started to sway back and fourth until the whole backend came out from behind me making my whole car spin twice from the fast lane across the highway into the brake down lane where I eventually stalled out. I had a friend with me at the time since I had just helped him move and we both could have got seriously injured, my car totaled or even worse. There were cars on the side of me and behind me, and I'm still shocked when I think about it, realizing how I managed to dodge 6 cars all around me while spinning across the highway over 3 lanes and survive it.

So I guess my question is, would the reasoning for my car losing control so easily be from the 19s front and 20s rear setup, or possibly because I had Dave's Big Brake Kit installed on my car back in the summer of 2009... so now the brakes in the rear are the same size as the ones in the front..

 

[TowDawg]

My first run on true slicks at 12 psi (not in the Viper) taught me a lesson I had never thought about before. When I hit 3rd, the car got squirrly as hell and scared me to death. The tires didn't actually break loose, but it was just the left and right motion from 12 psi on soft sidewalls. What I learned was that when on the strip and grabbing gears as fast as possible, me left hand was actually pulling the steering wheel to the left with a little **** each time I ripped a gear.
I'm not saying that is case with you, as you are talking about losing traction, but the car wanting to kick sideways when you lose traction could be a result of the same thing I did. It's amazing how little of a move it took to make the car want to move sideways.

 

[Magnus_]

Your 20's in the back will offer you ZERO forgiveness. Those and the front tires will put you into a wall faster than you can blink.

You need tires with some sidewall if you want to actually DRIVE the car.

Secondly, if you were turning while doing your 1-2 shift, even though you were only doing 60, you unloaded the back as you shifted (the weight transfers to the front), then when you got back into it either the back was already on its way out, or the unsettled car just couldn't take it.

Also, on a road course its not about how fast you can shift or how quickly you can mash the gas, its all about being smooth. Smooth shifts, smooth throttle/brake tranisitions, etc.. The only time you should be mashing the gas as fast as possible is if the car is lined up straight and settled.

Put some normal wheels/tires on it if you want to drive it hard though.

 

[01sapphirebob]

I would suggest that you do not punch it all. Press/Squeeze the throttle and lift off the throttle in a similar matter. The term "punching" is a little to suggestive of slamming the pedal abruptly to the floor which is not wise in a high HP high torque car.

Good call. Bad choice of words on my part.

 

[costanZo]

Your 20's in the back will offer you ZERO forgiveness. Those and the front tires will put you into a wall faster than you can blink.

You need tires with some sidewall if you want to actually DRIVE the car.

My tires do have a 30 sidewall. Is that not enough?

Michelin Pilot Sport 2, 295/30/ZR19
Michelin Pilot Sport 2, 335/30/ZR20

I'm gonna be more careful anyways, as i have been since it's not only my car I'm being cautious with, but also being observant of other cars making stupid mistakes and not paying attention.

 

[slysnake]

To me, 2nd is the most dangerous gear. I think most people anticipate the torque of first but usually underestimate second.

 

[forexx4]

To me, 2nd is the most dangerous gear. I think most people anticipate the torque of first but usually underestimate second.

I had a friend ride with me one time to the bank. As we we're leaving I didn't tell him I was about to give it a little throttle so when I nailed it in first and shifted to second all I could do was laugh...then I looked to see my friends reaction and he wasn't in his seat!! He had completely slid under the seatbelt and was sitting on the floor with the lap part of the seatbelt at his neck!

 

[SquadX]

To me, 2nd is the most dangerous gear. I think most people anticipate the torque of first but usually underestimate second.

i agree, 2nd being the most dangerous. In first your spinning and the rear is stepping out slightly but in second, your getting a bit more grip but your a$$ is already out some.

I think your first problem is the conditions are which your racing in. Second would be using the clutch more to control your shifts (ride the clutch some) in those non idea conditions.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

This is , in my experience, virtually 100% driver input, and it comes from the old habit of trying to rim your arm out of it's socket when shifting from 1st to 2nd. Smooth and quick can still be done, but it should be done with your fingertips and not a death grip around the shift knob. What translates to the dragstrip, is equal to the road course, and a smooth , rapid shift is what you need, and there is one bit of common sense that should be used with any powerful machine -- don't shift in the middle of a corner. Even on a road course one often learns to short shift, or wait for a brief period when the car is pointed straight to do most shifts. Occasionally one will have to shift due to course design, but this comes back to the magic word.........smooth.

Practice shifting on a straight stretch of road with little or no traffice and work on minimal motion. There is very little drama whenever you watch anyone race in a professional venue, so use that as your focus. If it becomes effortless it is likely fast and smooth, and going sideways is not fast on a dragstrip or a road course.

 

[Red Shift]

Surprised the car got that squirrely on you. When mine breaks loose it's predictable. Btw, I'm on stock 17s. I'll see if there's a difference when working it out with bigger wheels.

 

[97snk]

Wouldn't a quaife or OS Giken help in this situation?

 

[Twister]

Ive wrecked two vipers just like that. Hit it hard and second gear and the car went left into a guard rail. One was a gen2 and one was a gen3.

Gen 2 had 490 rwt at the time at gen3 had 497 rwt at the time.

These Vipers are different than any other cars out their. No car makes this much torque and this low and fast in the rpm range.

My current gen3 has 530 rwt and you better belieave Im careful with her. Just the other day in second gear at 75 mph she still spun out on me!!!!

 

[1994viper]

Ive wrecked two vipers just like that. Hit it hard and second gear and the car went left into a guard rail. One was a gen2 and one was a gen3.

Gen 2 had 490 rwt at the time at gen3 had 497 rwt at the time.

These Vipers are different than any other cars out their. No car makes this much torque and this low and fast in the rpm range.

My current gen3 has 530 rwt and you better belieave Im careful with her. Just the other day in second gear at 75 mph she still spun out on me!!!!

Weren't you looking for a Ferrari or a Lambo lately? I can now see why.

 

[KNG SNKE]

Weren't you looking for a Ferrari or a Lambo lately? I can now see why.

duh dum, cha

 

[Black Moon]

Surprised the car got that squirrely on you. When mine breaks loose it's predictable. Btw, I'm on stock 17s. I'll see if there's a difference when working it out with bigger wheels.

You have the only predictable Viper on the planet. Just kidding. Wish mine was.

 

[Twister]

Lots of us wreck these snakes. I just have no problem admitting it.



Honestly how they both snapped to the left seems to be the norm. Ive herd the upgraded differential takes care of this and keeps both wheels spinning straight ahead instead of the violent snap to the left.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

This is painful for me to read. We're talking about a 1/4 mile in a stock street car right?

 

[ulllose]

This is painful for me to read. We're talking about a 1/4 mile in a stock street car right?

NO!,,not stock, I think he has a K&N Filter:

 

[-FROG-]

Does the car brake away in the same direction every time or can it break away from either side? Could be something as simple as Tire pressures?

I was gonna say tire pressure. Mine was doing the same thing on the highway at full throttle. Had 45psi in the rear and didn't know it. Way too much air... Should have checked the pressure when I got my new tires put on!!!!

 

[georgethedog]

This is painful for me to read. We're talking about a 1/4 mile in a stock street car right?

I think he said 1/8th mile.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I think he said 1/8th mile.

Even worse. Folks, you squeeze the trigger not jump on it.

 

[KNG SNKE]

You have the only predictable Viper on the planet. Just kidding. Wish mine was.

Actually the folks that really know how to drive the Viper proves that the car can be very predictable.

(I am not one of those folks and still get surprised from time to time)