VENOM V
Enthusiast
I took my Viper out on the track for the first time. I went to Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA for a Hooked on Driving track day. I tracked the Camaro there for a weekend, it's a track that I feel comfortable at and has almost no walls to hit. Perfect for the Viper's maiden voyage.
The car: My Viper GTS is 100% stock, with the exception of the Motul 600 brake fluid and 15W-50 oil to handle the 95 degree weather at Thunderhill. I also had an aggressive alignment done, -2.1 degrees front camber, -0.9 degrees rear. The stock alignment was pretty aggressive as well, -1.6 degrees front, -1.3 degrees rear camber.
I had 1,200 miles on the odometer, just broken in. I decided to run the Corsas. They were brand new with 170 miles on them by the time that I arrived to the track. No time to perform the recommended heat cycle, which is extremely impractical if you perform it as recommended. I drove the track with ESC in Sport Mode and the dampers in Race Mode. Never did I feel that the traction and stability control was intervening too much. Fantastic job on the tuning of ESC, absolutely no complaints! Never felt the need to back it off any further.
Learning the Viper's limits: Okay, let me just say that this thing is a freakin' monster at the track! I've tracked ZR1s at Spring Mountain and the Viper is a very different animal. On my warm up lap I nearly ran over the apex cone on a high speed corner, the turn in on the Viper is immediate! You turn the wheel, and the Viper goes exactly where you point it! Impressive. Once calibrating my brain to the Viper's superior turn in, I could drive the line with precision. After feeling out the Viper in the first session, I drove it hard the next. First off, the Viper is damned fast. I am bouncing off of the rev limiter in 4th at 142 MPH on the main stretch, that's nearly 20 MPH faster than my Camaro! The acceleration is so immediate that I have to drive the Viper very differently than the Camaro.
School of hard knocks: Between turns 6 and 8, I can go WOT with the Camaro, because with the right line turn 7 can be straightened out to the point that you don't have to lift until just before turn 8. Well, I guess I didn't have the perfect line because my car's ass end suddenly jumped out just after turn 7. After hearing a few horror stories about turn 8, I decided to bail and push two feet in. I slid off of the track into the infield at over 100 MPH, mowing the weeds sideways before the car miraculously straightened itself. I was able to drive onto the track again after turn 8 while still moving at a fast clip, I'll give credit to the ESC for that one. That was some scary ****. Okay, respect the Viper, it will bite you if you exceed it's limits. I got a few tears in the clear bra and probably a few small paint chips, but they are on the rocker under the side pipes, so they don't really show. Luckily the rest of the car is still pristine.
I shook it off, and over the next four sessions became more comfortable with the Viper. After feeling the car out, I was able to precisely place the car on the line, driving very close to it's limits and with comfort. I think that Randy Pobst exaggerated when he said the Viper dances around when pushed hard. The only time I find it dancing is when I am threshold braking hard before a corner, at the limits of the tires. This car handles exceptionally well.
As for the results, I believe that I was turning the fastest laps in the Advanced Group C. I was able to pass a number of very fast cars including a McClaren MP4-12C, a GT3, a couple of ZR1s, a Saleen S7, a 430, but the one that gave me the most satisfaction was catching this Ferrari 458 Challenge car on full slicks. This is not a street legal car, it is gutted, race prepped and slammed to the ground. Last time I tracked with him I had my Camaro, I had to get out of his way as fast as I could because he was so much faster than me. He seemed untouchable last track event. Not this time, I reeled him in corner by corner.
In my last session, I turned a number of 2:06 lap times, with a best of 2:05.4, and there are spots on the track that I am lifting where I think I could be faster. What an absolute rocket ship this Gen V is! Not bad for the Viper's maiden voyage. The production car record at this track is held by an '08 Viper ACR at 2:01.01. Here's my fastest lap. I'm still figuring out the timing software, so you have to subtract the times when I pass the start/finish line to get the lap time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVd2GqpyBrg&feature=youtu.be
-Todd
The car: My Viper GTS is 100% stock, with the exception of the Motul 600 brake fluid and 15W-50 oil to handle the 95 degree weather at Thunderhill. I also had an aggressive alignment done, -2.1 degrees front camber, -0.9 degrees rear. The stock alignment was pretty aggressive as well, -1.6 degrees front, -1.3 degrees rear camber.
I had 1,200 miles on the odometer, just broken in. I decided to run the Corsas. They were brand new with 170 miles on them by the time that I arrived to the track. No time to perform the recommended heat cycle, which is extremely impractical if you perform it as recommended. I drove the track with ESC in Sport Mode and the dampers in Race Mode. Never did I feel that the traction and stability control was intervening too much. Fantastic job on the tuning of ESC, absolutely no complaints! Never felt the need to back it off any further.
Learning the Viper's limits: Okay, let me just say that this thing is a freakin' monster at the track! I've tracked ZR1s at Spring Mountain and the Viper is a very different animal. On my warm up lap I nearly ran over the apex cone on a high speed corner, the turn in on the Viper is immediate! You turn the wheel, and the Viper goes exactly where you point it! Impressive. Once calibrating my brain to the Viper's superior turn in, I could drive the line with precision. After feeling out the Viper in the first session, I drove it hard the next. First off, the Viper is damned fast. I am bouncing off of the rev limiter in 4th at 142 MPH on the main stretch, that's nearly 20 MPH faster than my Camaro! The acceleration is so immediate that I have to drive the Viper very differently than the Camaro.
School of hard knocks: Between turns 6 and 8, I can go WOT with the Camaro, because with the right line turn 7 can be straightened out to the point that you don't have to lift until just before turn 8. Well, I guess I didn't have the perfect line because my car's ass end suddenly jumped out just after turn 7. After hearing a few horror stories about turn 8, I decided to bail and push two feet in. I slid off of the track into the infield at over 100 MPH, mowing the weeds sideways before the car miraculously straightened itself. I was able to drive onto the track again after turn 8 while still moving at a fast clip, I'll give credit to the ESC for that one. That was some scary ****. Okay, respect the Viper, it will bite you if you exceed it's limits. I got a few tears in the clear bra and probably a few small paint chips, but they are on the rocker under the side pipes, so they don't really show. Luckily the rest of the car is still pristine.
I shook it off, and over the next four sessions became more comfortable with the Viper. After feeling the car out, I was able to precisely place the car on the line, driving very close to it's limits and with comfort. I think that Randy Pobst exaggerated when he said the Viper dances around when pushed hard. The only time I find it dancing is when I am threshold braking hard before a corner, at the limits of the tires. This car handles exceptionally well.
As for the results, I believe that I was turning the fastest laps in the Advanced Group C. I was able to pass a number of very fast cars including a McClaren MP4-12C, a GT3, a couple of ZR1s, a Saleen S7, a 430, but the one that gave me the most satisfaction was catching this Ferrari 458 Challenge car on full slicks. This is not a street legal car, it is gutted, race prepped and slammed to the ground. Last time I tracked with him I had my Camaro, I had to get out of his way as fast as I could because he was so much faster than me. He seemed untouchable last track event. Not this time, I reeled him in corner by corner.
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In my last session, I turned a number of 2:06 lap times, with a best of 2:05.4, and there are spots on the track that I am lifting where I think I could be faster. What an absolute rocket ship this Gen V is! Not bad for the Viper's maiden voyage. The production car record at this track is held by an '08 Viper ACR at 2:01.01. Here's my fastest lap. I'm still figuring out the timing software, so you have to subtract the times when I pass the start/finish line to get the lap time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVd2GqpyBrg&feature=youtu.be
-Todd
Last edited:
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