My first 1/4 mile in the Viper

[andymo1972]

Went down to Pueblo on Fri night for some drag racing. My friend went the week before and got in 9 runs so I was hoping to get to play around with tire pressure, etc for launching since I've read so much about it on here. Well, my first run was at 11:45 pm and my 4th (and final) was at 12:10 so I had no time to get out and mess with anything. So I ran all 4 runs at 29 psi on my MXX3's. My best time was a 13.70 @ 110 mph with a 60' time of 2.4 (@4900 ft, ~70 degrees). The wall came up fast on my first run when I broke it loose on the 1-2 shift. If I can get my 60' time down, I hope to break into the 12's before summer is over. Either way, this car is fun (and challenging) to drive.

Andy
97 GTS - corsa exhaust, smooth tubes, s&b filters, titanium pistons, coleman rotors, 5pts

 

[Qualitywires.com]

with some pratice and some slicks your times should decrease way much!

 

[2charmed]

Andy,

My first runs in my 01 Z06 were in the mid 13's, with some
tweeking, Drag Radials, some bot ons and practice my times have
come down to the low to mid 12's.
Your GTS with practice and some minor tweeks can come down to the
low 12's. Keep at it, don't launch above idle, reduce the tire
pressure in the back and get good at speed shifting. (don't let
off the gas when shifting)
Do you have the MGW shift knob? The shorter throw should help
with quicker shifts.

Good luck,

2Charmed

 

[Roland L-Ocala FL]

Two years ago, I gave it my first shot at a very hot and wet drag strip at VOI-6 in St. Louis, and the best I got was a 13.77 at 108 mph, or right around there, so you are consistent with my time. Now, if it were today, I know I would get much better times, especially on a dry track , and lower humidity. There were some stock 94 RT/10's turning mid 12's there, so they just had more track time, improved launches, etc, it's more a matter of practice, practice, practice, and experimentation.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

According to the NHRA altitude scale, the Pueblo track is at 4900 feet. Your adjusted time is 13.01 and your trap speed 115 mph. Not bad for your first runs! The '97's seem to run very well, so expect your times to drop as much as a full second. Work on your launches and shifts to bring your times down. Have fun!

Chris

 

[andymo1972]

2charmed - No, I don't have the short shifter. I am probably going to get the MGW shifter and aftermarket shaft from Rich Detert soon.

Y2KGTS - Thanks for looking that up. Good to know where I'm at for sure, I was just guessing.

I figure if I can get .5 or so better on the 60'...which would be a 1.9 and seems very reasonable based on others here, I'll be going fast enough to break into the 12's, so a 12.99 is my goal for now, well that and keeping the Viper goin straight down the strip.

Andy

 

[Tomer]

How were you launching??

Tomer

 

[2charmed]

Andy,

Another tip, since you mentioned driving through water -
I always do a little burn out (no water) befor I stage just to
clean and warm up the tires. If you can get a line lock installed
and do the burn out in the water this will further reduce your times.

2charmed

 

[Jeff Torrey]

Andy- Yesterday was my first track day too. New England Dragway, my best was 13.17 in a gen 1 (my 92). I had a blast, love these cars.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

If I remember correctly (and I hope Tom of BTR or somebody else will chime in), every .10 in the 60' equals .20 in your overall ET. In other words, take that 2.4 down to 1.9 in the first sixty feet and you will knock a full second off over your overall ET. As far as the launch goes, I try at around 2500 and get a very slight "bog" without spinning. I know I can get it a little better, but our local track is like greased linoleum for the first 300 feet. One other note: Most will agree that you should AVOID the water and do only a very tiny "burnout" to clear the gravel from your approach. Any residual water in the treads just adds to your spinning on the launch. Street radials simply won't heat up like a drag tire and you are wasting rubber. But it does give the spectators some good photo ops!

Chris

 

[GTSACR2002]

Made my first trip down the quarter mile this weekend also.

My first pass was 12.797 at 111.07 MPH....I hit the rev limitter in 1st gear which slowed me down and freaked me out considerably.

Second pass was 12.520 at 113.66 MPH....babied it through the gears to avoid hitting rev limitter.

Third pass was 12.332 at 114.46 with a lowsey launch...street tires and lots of wheel spin.

These cars are incredible....I think they are easily capable of high 11's. Can't wait to tweek it and let it loooossse.

 

[andymo1972]

Tomer -

Not very well...hahahaha.

Run 1 - bout 3500 rpm, eased the clutch out, minimal wheel spin (prob had too much clutch based on my 2.39 60')

Run 2 - low rpm launch, 1500 or so, eased it out and mashed the gas and had a lot of spin - possibly due to the water overspay i think i had to drive thru to get to the line...lady overshot the burnout area with the hose and i had no choice but to go thru some water, 2.48 60'

Run 3 - 2500 RPM, eased it out, no wheel spin, 2.4 60'

Run 4 - I have no idea since the other guy was already staging when I drove back to the start area from my previous run and they waved me hurridly into the far lane, i eased up, and wasn't even staged and the lights started, which confused me (this can happen easily sometimes) so I took off and red lighted and got no time and wasn't looking at the tach when i left. In the tracks defense, it was the last run of the night and 10 min after they were supposed to close.

Andy

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

You'll all be running low 12s after a couple more runs. Stay outta the waterbox and lower the rears to 18-22psi.

 

[andymo1972]

I think low 12's at this altitude (4900') track is prob a bit of a stretch, but we'll see in time and more practice what I can do.

And just to clarify, I wasn't trying to go thru the waterbox, the track worker oversprayed and I had no way around the water. I moved to the inside lane after that b/c there is about 30' to go around in that lane.

I'm hoping to go back on Sept 7th for a test day and will hopefully get more runs in. I wasn't able to practice anything b/c i wasn't sure i was going to get in more than 1 run so each time i just experimented a little and pretty much figured out every way NOT to launch a Viper.