So do I...... well the ACR part anyway. Just picked up a Graphite with dual silver stripes.
Cant wait to get it home.
MB
My first track day ...I want more... advice appreciated
- Thread starter MBPERF
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So do I...... well the ACR part anyway. Just picked up a Graphite with dual silver stripes.
Cant wait to get it home.
MB
dans69ss
Enthusiast
Congrats! Where did you find the car?
Mopar Boy
Enthusiast
Congrats! Thats great!
You have this so bad its funny!
Be sure to let us all know what you think of the ACR vs the "old" car!
You have this so bad its funny!
Be sure to let us all know what you think of the ACR vs the "old" car!
Bigsalgt
Enthusiast
Wow, I'm impressed! Although, your previous Gen IV was more then capable. Using an ACR is comparable to an eye Doctor completing a Lasik procedure. It's a very advanced vehicle, with more then half the owners never experiencing 100% of it's potential. Hell, I'm not even close in my Gen III. I would have recommended the same as the others did, give it a go a few more times. Find the capabilities of the Viper first, know what your dealing with and advance slowly, not all at once. In any event, I'm sure your going to LOVE your new ACR, as many do! It's a great vehicle, enjoy it in good health.
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Lots of good tips above.
One tip not mentioned above is installing solid motor mounts in Gen IV engines. Don't do them. The electronic throttle bodies don't respond well to the increased vibration transmitted to them on the track and will fail prematurely.
Enjoy,
Dan
One tip not mentioned above is installing solid motor mounts in Gen IV engines. Don't do them. The electronic throttle bodies don't respond well to the increased vibration transmitted to them on the track and will fail prematurely.
Enjoy,
Dan
Congrats! Thats great!
You have this so bad its funny!
Be sure to let us all know what you think of the ACR vs the "old" car!
I will for sure, Im heading to Mosport on Wed.
MB
I know the coupe would have been all i ever needed, it was just sort of an excuse to buy a ACR. Thanks will do.
Dan , thanks for the tip. I'm installing a shifter and building a quick exhaust system on Friday. I had the mounts on my list.
You do a lot of track time dont you? did I see some track alignment suggestions you had posted somewhere?
MB
Bigsalgt
Enthusiast
Rizzo
Enthusiast
I thought I was a great driver until I took a car to the track. Then I did a race school and learned that in fact I was a terrible driver compared to someone that actually knew how to properly drive a car at the track. After a couple schools and some track time I got way better but it takes 100's and 100's of laps to truly figure out how to drive one of these cars in stock form to its true potential. You will have more fun than you can imagine in your stock Viper let alone an ACR. After doing some laps with Greg Phillips in Calgary in his ACR I realized real quick that I will never have the time to get really good at driving my car smooth and fast. but damn I have fun trying...haha. 
I thought I was a great driver until I took a car to the track. Then I did a race school and learned that in fact I was a terrible driver compared to someone that actually knew how to properly drive a car at the track. After a couple schools and some track time I got way better but it takes 100's and 100's of laps to truly figure out how to drive one of these cars in stock form to its true potential. You will have more fun than you can imagine in your stock Viper let alone an ACR. After doing some laps with Greg Phillips in Calgary in his ACR I realized real quick that I will never have the time to get really good at driving my car smooth and fast. but damn I have fun trying...haha.
Im hooked with track days so bad Im trying to get a day a week on the track until the tracks close up here.
Boxer12
Enthusiast
Some ppl may go a lifetime and never scratch the car's potential, but I think a certain driver who cleans up in the VRL has only been driving a Viper for a couple of years...congrats on your purchase, you won't be dissatisfied.
Picked it up last night I have it ripped it apart right putting some mufflers on it. Will get pics this weekend.
For the other ACR owners out there, tewo things Ive noticed different than my 08 coupe
1)The cars follows the imperfections in the road BIG TIME . If there was a cop behind me I would have been pulled over im sure. Is darting left to right like this normal for the ACR with factory suspension settings? I assume tires may play a large roll in this as well?
2) The ACR suspension seems soft ,it rides nicer than the 08 but has lots of reaction from bumps at speeds over 70 MPH. The 08 had a Eibach spring lowering kit and factory alignment and it had no issues here at all in fact it was more predictable on the road with little to no driver imput needed after a bump, the acr is all over the place.
Any thoughts on this or ideas on what to look for are much aprreciated. Thx
MB
For the other ACR owners out there, tewo things Ive noticed different than my 08 coupe
1)The cars follows the imperfections in the road BIG TIME . If there was a cop behind me I would have been pulled over im sure. Is darting left to right like this normal for the ACR with factory suspension settings? I assume tires may play a large roll in this as well?
2) The ACR suspension seems soft ,it rides nicer than the 08 but has lots of reaction from bumps at speeds over 70 MPH. The 08 had a Eibach spring lowering kit and factory alignment and it had no issues here at all in fact it was more predictable on the road with little to no driver imput needed after a bump, the acr is all over the place.
Any thoughts on this or ideas on what to look for are much aprreciated. Thx
MB
dans69ss
Enthusiast
The tires have a lot to do with it, especially when driving on the street. It took me a day or two before getting use to it.
dans69ss
Enthusiast
Drive it like you stole it!
bushido
Viper Owner
Have you hit 1000 miles yet?
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Dan , thanks for the tip. I'm installing a shifter and building a quick exhaust system on Friday. I had the mounts on my list.
You do a lot of track time dont you? did I see some track alignment suggestions you had posted somewhere?
MB[/quote]
You do a lot of track time dont you?
Every chance I get.
did I see some track alignment suggestions you had posted somewhere?
Yes. Start with the info in the ACR manual and see how the car feels to you. Another tip, don't go too low.
Dan
You do a lot of track time dont you? did I see some track alignment suggestions you had posted somewhere?
MB[/quote]
You do a lot of track time dont you?
Every chance I get.
did I see some track alignment suggestions you had posted somewhere?
Yes. Start with the info in the ACR manual and see how the car feels to you. Another tip, don't go too low.
Dan
1) Exactly Correct...With a STOCk, FACTORY ALIGNMENT, the stock Sport Cups grip and follow the ruts, and make you bob and weave like a drunk. A performance alignment eliminates a lot of this, but so does a 2nd set of wheels/PS2 tires.
2) The suspension is supposed to come from the factory on full soft. (There are a few anecdotes otherwise, rare but factual, whereby the settings are NOT uniform! ) A performance alignment, as you surmized by your questions to Dan, will "get you out of your ruts" and get you back "on track" Puns intended.
I love PS2s in ACR sizes on the street, and CUPS for the track/Auto-X
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When you get the car to the desired, lowered track height, have Archer Racing or some other well qualified race shop check the "dynamic toe", aka "bump steer".
Every stock Gen III or Gen IV Viper I've driven has had bump steer issues which can cause the car to wander a bit on the street. Add in the sticky PS Cups and you may have your hands full on some roads.
If you intend to drive the car on the street, a fresh set of PS2's in the OE C1 sizes will work very well. Call Jon B.
Dan
Every stock Gen III or Gen IV Viper I've driven has had bump steer issues which can cause the car to wander a bit on the street. Add in the sticky PS Cups and you may have your hands full on some roads.
If you intend to drive the car on the street, a fresh set of PS2's in the OE C1 sizes will work very well. Call Jon B.
Dan
Mopar Boy
Enthusiast
OK. Its Thursday. How did you like it? 
Guys, thanks for the info here re alignments and tires.I dont know how much road driving im going to do so time will tell if I do another wheel / tire combo or not.
All I can say is : THIS CAR IS AMAZING " I spent the entire day at Mosport doing laps and I'm in love. I really cant get enough. The ACR is totally different than my 08 coupe.
I notice how the car really holds the corner at a much faster speed, the tires Im sure have a lot to do with this. I could' nt get the same top speed on the back stretch as the 08 would do. I hit as high as 155MPH with it but could only get a max of 145MPH on the ACR. I imagine with some more break in miles the acr may free up some and get additional mph. I wonder if the down force is causing me to lose mph in this situation?? any thoughts?
The best lap in my 08 was a 1:35 , yesterday in my first session I did a 1:34 and by mid day I had a few guys telling me I was doing several 1:33's each session so Im heading in the right direction for sure.
I took a driving instructor out with me later in the day it was clear to see how " smooth" he was compared to my driving so I think this is one of the areas I need to focu on next ( among many others Im sure)
All in all Im very happy that I Purchased the ACR.
MB
OK. Its Thursday. How did you like it?
All I can say is : THIS CAR IS AMAZING " I spent the entire day at Mosport doing laps and I'm in love. I really cant get enough. The ACR is totally different than my 08 coupe.
I notice how the car really holds the corner at a much faster speed, the tires Im sure have a lot to do with this. I could' nt get the same top speed on the back stretch as the 08 would do. I hit as high as 155MPH with it but could only get a max of 145MPH on the ACR. I imagine with some more break in miles the acr may free up some and get additional mph. I wonder if the down force is causing me to lose mph in this situation?? any thoughts?
The best lap in my 08 was a 1:35 , yesterday in my first session I did a 1:34 and by mid day I had a few guys telling me I was doing several 1:33's each session so Im heading in the right direction for sure.
I took a driving instructor out with me later in the day it was clear to see how " smooth" he was compared to my driving so I think this is one of the areas I need to focu on next ( among many others Im sure)
All in all Im very happy that I Purchased the ACR.
MB
Mopar Boy
Enthusiast
Ahahaha. You are so hooked! I love it!
Glad to hear you are happy with your choice!
Glad to hear you are happy with your choice!
2000_Black_RT10
Enthusiast
.. and regarding solid mounts, the chassis will flex (torsional and racking), whomever suggested solid mounts is making a very poor recommendation.. you'll most likely encounter fatigue at the mount brackets or engine block ears and something will crack and fail over time, the triangulated structure of solid mounts connecting a rigid powertrain assembly to a flexible chassis is not good.
Sure it's a forum and people have opinions, and I really don't have time to debate.... but I've worked in the chassis engineering group at Chrysler in Michigan (and then Ford in Dearborn) and currently work at company that designs supercars and race cars (i.e. F1), for example my name is noted in this engine mount doc when I worked at Chrysler many years ago.. takes a few minutes to load........ but if you have the time, it's a brief lesson of engine mount functionality...
http://support.mscsoftware.com/cgi-bin/kb_files/DaimlerChrysler_Sui.pdf?name=ri%2F1-13%2F1-13B2-2703%2FDaimlerChrysler_Sui.pdf
Regards,
Mike
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Mike ... Im keeping the stock mounts. No worries here. You say "north of Toronto" where ? Im 2.5 hours north in Huntsville .
Yes buying a more suitable track car was the easy part, I have a set of headers and a Mopar controller coming so Ill have a little more power next time out.
Now I have to improve on the driving skills so my lap times may take a lot longer to improve.
MB
2000_Black_RT10
Enthusiast
I'll PM you.
Btw.... that was a generalized comment which I made, geared towards a street car chassis, we do all sorts of solid mount race stuff, but the chassis needs to be designed for these constraints, whereas the Viper is not.
Best regards,
Mike
Here are a couple pics of my day at the track with my ACR.
MB
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MB
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