My '08 is broken-in and wow!

[Flyntgr]

I can't get any traction in low gear, even with the R compound PS2s. It was mid to upper 50's today, with sun shining brightly. Any time I gently **** the loud pedal to the floor in 1st gear she started fishtailing. The tires were warmed up, but I suspect the colder air (even in Louisiana) pushed the horsepower/torque up to a much higher level. I was afraid to run her thru the gears with all that power. Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[Hiss]

What air pressure are you running in the rear tires?

 

[Flyntgr]

27 lbs cold.

 

[SylvanSRT]

sounds low what does the tag inside the driver door recomend?

 

[rcl4668]

I think in a recent SRT engineering chat they stated that the factory recommended pressures were still 29 psi all around.

/Rich

 

[KenricGTS]

Don't be afraid! Roll into that loud pedal

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Don't be afraid! Roll into that loud pedal

Speaking about loud.. the song Kiss - I Love It Loud would suit such an event pretty good

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

Sounds awesome to me. Be careful and enjoy!!!

 

[03gobluecobra]

sounds like your tire pressure is good (better for traction). I'm not surprised the car has no traction. I'd consider switching to a drag radial if you could.

 

[Hamrhead]

FWIW (probably not much), I've got PS2's on my '06. I've got 3.55's, DC Tune, Filters and Corsa as well.

In the warmer weather, say 70's and above when the Blacktop is decently warm, my car will hook at WOT in 1st. When it gets cooler I spin all over the place.

I'd be willing to bet once Spring gets here your traction will improve greatly!

 

[handyman_321]

I am envious Sir!! Envious I tell you...

 

[ROCKET62]

A foot of snow on the ground here in Iowa, Viper in hibernation, you're driving a new '08 Viper, and you want some sympathy? As with all Vipers - need to make sure the wheels are pointed straight when getting on the GO pedal.

Viper looks SWEET! Thanks for sharing as it's good to be able to live vicariously thru stories like this.

 

[Yellow32]

27 lbs cold is TOO LOW!

put it up, make it 32 lbs cold and maybe upwards of 35 if below 50

Contrary to what was said earlier in this thread, lower tire pressure is USELESS for traction!

Now, if you are drag racing then lower pressure will definitely help you smok'm but no good for street'n

-J

 

[Fast Too]

Had my 06 out today, took my neighbor for a ride who is an avid Vett fan and had never ridden in a Viper, or a supercharged car for that matter. Got to the bottom of the mountain from where we live and turned out onto the highway, and when the wheels were straight I lit the tires up. After I let off the gas when I hit fourth he let go of his death grip on the door handle and said damnnnnnnn. He has a much greater respect for our cars now and I can't wait for spring when the pavement is warmer.

 

[black mamba1]

The street might have still been significantly cooler than the ambient air, especially if it has been cold there lately.

 

[SSSSE YA]

 

[Flyntgr]

The factory recommends 30 lbs, cold, so I upped them to 32 after I had warmed them up. But it is still too cold to get any traction, regardless of tire pressure.

 

[CajunViper]

I think you need to spin those tires down my way.

I am going to "No Problem" 01-11-2008.

Let me know

 

[Flyntgr]

You're gonna make me mount my kumho track wheels/tires, aren't you?

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Wouldn't even worry about it at present, as the air temp may be close to 50, but the pavement temp could be far from it. With fewer hours of sunlight, pavement stays colder and takes alot longer to warm up , even in the South. It would take much longer to warm up the donuts, but now is not the time to worry about hook up and what is occurring. The 27 lbs aren't that big a deal this time of year, but I would run them at 29 just for overall wear.

Wait till it is warmer , as a 70+ degree day at Chelsea ( Michigan ) saw a car that hooked up very nicely and Wintertime is not the most advantageous to get the complete feel. Oh, yeh, you are right also..........it do have a bunch mo -pwr.

 

[CajunViper]

Flyntgr check your PM

 

[bluestreak]

I think a lot of people will begin to realize that the rear end grip of the Sport Cups are not very good for torquey cars. I'm not sure if this is all sport cup compound or partially, but they are not great, ESPECIALLY IN THE COLD. They take forever to heat up as well, at least twice as long as most other tires.

They are very precise and good for lapping (after you've spent a good time warming them up), but you have to be delicate and smooth on them, they dont recover from curbing well and dont like brake stabbing (they will fishtail under heavy braking if you're not perfectly straight).

Be careful.

 

[Viper X]

Random thougts on this topic:

Cold pavement is slippery / dangerous. Be careful in any Viper.

I don't know the exact compound of the PS2's on the 2008, but it is not likely an "R" or racing compound.

PS Cups are nasty / slippery in cold weather and take a long time to warm up. I tried these on the track and on the street. They are expensive and I didn't care for their performance. Kumhos and Toyos both worked better and lasted longer for equal or less $$$$.

Dan

 

[Flyntgr]

This is good to know about the effects of cold weather on these tires. I have a set of Kumho's and 18" wheels which have never been used, but Kumho doesn't make a 19" tire.

I wonder if the 18" rears will cause a problem with the suspension, and whether the Kumhos will rut-steer. I've heard that Kumho's should not be used in wet weather and have a short life,too. I don't know about the characteristics of the Toyos.

Can you tell me about these issues for daily use? (yes, I do drive my car daily, except when I KNOW it's going to be wet; then I drive my '62 Valiant hyperpak or my 4 ****** Dakota). Thanks, guys.

 

[bluestreak]

If you are going to drive them daily except for wet, then TAKE YOUR TIME if it's cold!!!! And you'll have to drive a good 5-10 minutes to get them beyond feeling like you are on ice because when it's really cold that's what they feel like. And another good 15 minutes before you pound on it. This is in cold and no sun, if the sun is out and the pavement warm you can cut the times down a little, they'll get to beyond street tire grip very fast, but not up to maximum grip for a while. And this is in 30's 50's temperatures.

I havent driven on them colder than that. And I've almost ate it with AWD and Traction Control.

I couldnt think of a worse tire to put on a Viper with no TC that may be driven in cold weather.

Again, I'm assuming these are the exact same as the store bought MPSC.

 

[SweetRed04]

As with all Vipers - need to make sure the wheels are pointed straight when getting on the GO pedal.

I disagree!

I enjoy active 4 wheel steering in my Viper.

At least the temps are expected to break freezing here today in IA...

 

[Warfang]

NOW we get bad news about the PS2's... for months now all I've heard was how great they are... especially the blend made specifically for Vipers.

Glad I didn't get a set yet. I'll wait until the final verdict is out.

 

[bluestreak]

Random thougts on this topic:

Cold pavement is slippery / dangerous. Be careful in any Viper.

I don't know the exact compound of the PS2's on the 2008, but it is not likely an "R" or racing compound.

PS Cups are nasty / slippery in cold weather and take a long time to warm up. I tried these on the track and on the street. They are expensive and I didn't care for their performance. Kumhos and Toyos both worked better and lasted longer for equal or less $$$$.

Dan

I agree that they are nasty and slippery, but they are still faster on a road course than anything sub full slicks that Toyo of Khumo puts out, worth the extra money, that is a matter of personal opinion.

But the 08 tires have some compound relationship with the Sport Cups. From my understanding it is the UTG rating that determines if the tires are R compound or not.

 

[Paul Hawker]

Anybody else realize what a fantastic thread this is.

We are sitting around explaining to ourselves the "problem" that the new 08 makes so much HP and Torque that the huge stickey rear tires break loose with just full throttle. How many people would consider this their holy grail of a fantastic sports car engine.

Think that it was Sterling Moss that was quoted as saying that only if a car could leave solid black lines, from apex to the braking point, would the car have sufficient HP. Maybe we are there.

 

[Flyntgr]

Agreed. And I wonder if my Kumho Ecsta 700's would be good for daily DRY driving? The Michelins drive great, other than being hard to gain traction in cold weather. Would the Kumho's be better, or even be Safe?