My Gen V at Thunderhill Raceway

[ViperSmith]

Ill be happy to see more track reports as people start driving them more.

Then all the **** talkers about how under powered a 640HP car is can shut up.

As you have shown, the power is pretty accessible and the car can still kill you if it wants. ESC has saved my ass once on a back road.

 

[TrackAire]

Thanks George, I wish our schedules had lined up. It would've been fun to track together. What an experience.

It was about 95 I think, damned hot but not like the previous trip there in the Camaro, 108! In any event, I'm done with these Corsas once they're worn out, which won't be long from the looks of them. Moving on to stickier rubber, which ought to also improve the times a bit

Todd,

I have zero experience with Corsa's but I wonder if this tire would work better and last longer if it was shaved down? Since Pirelli is now the suppliers of the Viper tires, I think it is only fitting that some of their engineers/techs get on the forum and do a little question and answer chat session so Gen 5 owners can get the most out of their cars and tires.

Cheers,
George

 

[sun diego]

Good run, and thanks for making the new Viper look good to track guys!!

 

[rw99]

Awesome, Todd! I had that sinking feeling as I read through your off-track adventure but the ending was pure happiness. Glad you chose T-Hill for the maiden voyage.

Fantastic times, really. Congrats!


Rich

 

[VENOM V]

Excellent driving Venom V. Thx for the video. 1.50 g's on the factory alignment and Corsas is ridiculous. Hope the G meter is more accurate than the 0-60 meter a la the other thread. Catching and keeping up with that Ferrari Challenge car says a lot about the G5 Viper abilities. Did you get a chance to chew the fat with the Ferrari Challenge driver after?

Not this time. Last time, I approached him and talked with him after he blew past me when I was driving my Camaro. Nice guy, he's from Ferrari of San Diego, or at least that's his car says. That car is a beast. I would gain a little on him in the corners, then he would accelerate faster than the Viper in the straights. We were nearly matched, but the Viper was a wee bit faster

 

[VENOM V]

Thanks for all the pics and the Ferrari driver looks so Blue -- in more ways than one, ha!!!

Good times Bill, and thanks for the help along the way! Tell Mark his track alignment specs clearly kick ass! The turn-in on this Viper is amazing. What's weird is that when I measure the temp with an IR thermometer, the outer edge of the tire is about 20 degrees cooler than the inner edge. Yet the Corsa is barely worn on the inside and nearly shredded on the outer edge. Maybe the wheel pulls heat faster from the outer edge of the tire??? The front tire looks like it could use more negative camber, and I'm already at -2.1 degrees. Mark suggested I could go to -2.4 degrees F and -1.1 R if I track more often. I think I'll do that if and when I switch to Hoosier R6's.

Oh, and don't forget I'm hopefully first in line for when you guys can get me the carbon aero package. Really need it on this track.

 

[VENOM V]

Ill be happy to see more track reports as people start driving them more.

Then all the **** talkers about how under powered a 640HP car is can shut up.

As you have shown, the power is pretty accessible and the car can still kill you if it wants. ESC has saved my ass once on a back road.

I think you nailed it. The significance of this track day is that on my second time at Thunderhill and first time with the Viper on any track, the Gen V was able to best some pretty impressive cars. Some of those cars had better tires and were modded. I think I could shave a couple of seconds off per lap with cooler temps and some more seat time. Put Michelin Pilot Sport Cups on this and a professional driver behind the wheel, and I believe it would take the production car track record. It's that good, I've experienced it first-hand.

There are a lot of bench racers that forget what the true purpose of this car is. Listening to Ralph and the team, road courses are their target. It is a track dominating beast, that is the vision of the Gen V Viper. The Saleen S7 that I passed has 750 HP, weighs 2750 pounds and can go 248 MPH. The McClaren can do 10s in the quarter all day long. But the Viper is the king on road courses, which I believe is the best measure of all-around performance - acceleration, braking, and handling.

 

[VENOM V]

Todd,

I have zero experience with Corsa's but I wonder if this tire would work better and last longer if it was shaved down? Since Pirelli is now the suppliers of the Viper tires, I think it is only fitting that some of their engineers/techs get on the forum and do a little question and answer chat session so Gen 5 owners can get the most out of their cars and tires.

Cheers,
George

George, which tires do you run? It seems likely that Pirelli will have Trofeo R's in Gen V sizes. But if they cost over $3K per set like the Corsas, I'll pass. You can get MPSC's and Hoosier R6's for half of that, and I imagine both will outperform the Trofeo R's. The only drawback of the Michelins and the R6's is that the rears are 345 wide rather than the Gen V's 355's.

 

[VENOM V]

Awesome, Todd! I had that sinking feeling as I read through your off-track adventure but the ending was pure happiness. Glad you chose T-Hill for the maiden voyage.

Fantastic times, really. Congrats!


Rich

Believe me I had that same sinking feeling when I was sideways in the weeds, LOL! Can't wait until we can finally do that track day together that we've been talking about for months. See you Saturday.

 

[VENOM V]

Good run, and thanks for making the new Viper look good to track guys!!

Thanks brother! Gotta say, it's good to get back to talking about cars again with car guys.

 

[Bruce H.]

There are a lot of bench racers that forget what the true purpose of this car is. Listening to Ralph and the team, road courses are their target. It is a track dominating beast, that is the vision of the Gen V Viper. The Saleen S7 that I passed has 750 HP, weighs 2750 pounds and can go 248 MPH. The McClaren can do 10s in the quarter all day long. But the Viper is the king on road courses, which I believe is the best measure of all-around performance - acceleration, braking, and handling.

Is there any possibility that you were driving more aggressively than the others...or just more talented?

 

[TrackAire]

George, which tires do you run? It seems likely that Pirelli will have Trofeo R's in Gen V sizes. But if they cost over $3K per set like the Corsas, I'll pass. You can get MPSC's and Hoosier R6's for half of that, and I imagine both will outperform the Trofeo R's. The only drawback of the Michelins and the R6's is that the rears are 345 wide rather than the Gen V's 355's.

On the Viper I'm running R-6's. Personally I would take a tape measure and check the physical width of the 345's R-6's vs the 355 Corsas. I would not be surprised if they were so close that you could not tell a difference in feel or performance. Is the Gen 5 rear rim the same width as the Gen 4?....if it is I would have no issues running the 345 R-6 or the Michelin Sport Cups. Really, at this level of non competitive (except for our own knowledge of how fast we are driving) tracking I think consistency and predictability are more important than a couple of tenths here or there.

On my Mustang, I've been running the Nitto NT-01's and would definitely run them on the Viper if they had sizes to fit the rears. I've got 3 track days on them with two of those days in temps over 105 degrees in the afternoon. I'm amazed that they did not get greasy and are holding up very well on a pretty heavy car with 15 sessions on them. Before the Nitto NT-01's I was running their more street orientated NT-05 and they actually were very good on the track and wear like iron.

When is the next track day??

George

 

[SilveRT8]

Is there any possibility that you were driving more aggressively than the others...or just more talented?

Todd is probably just as agressive and talented as the other drivers in his group, the Gen5 takes care of the rest.
Beleive me, I'm an 'Intermediate' driver with only 10 track days experience so far. With my Gen 4, I was considered a good Intermediate, but when tracking the Gen 5 for the first time, I was moved to the advanced group and was running mid-pack there, without pushing the car yet, the new Viper made up for the upgrade and made me look like a better driver than I probably am. And it was the best fun I had in a car with my clothes on, Sex on wheels !

 

[VENOM V]

On the Viper I'm running R-6's. Personally I would take a tape measure and check the physical width of the 345's R-6's vs the 355 Corsas. I would not be surprised if they were so close that you could not tell a difference in feel or performance. Is the Gen 5 rear rim the same width as the Gen 4?....if it is I would have no issues running the 345 R-6 or the Michelin Sport Cups. Really, at this level of non competitive (except for our own knowledge of how fast we are driving) tracking I think consistency and predictability are more important than a couple of tenths here or there.

On my Mustang, I've been running the Nitto NT-01's and would definitely run them on the Viper if they had sizes to fit the rears. I've got 3 track days on them with two of those days in temps over 105 degrees in the afternoon. I'm amazed that they did not get greasy and are holding up very well on a pretty heavy car with 15 sessions on them. Before the Nitto NT-01's I was running their more street orientated NT-05 and they actually were very good on the track and wear like iron.

When is the next track day??

George

That's what I was thinking too- the widths of a 345 Vs. 355 should be close enough that I would think it's a non issue. The rear wheels are 13" wide, just like the Gen IV's. I really want to do the R6's, I just have to figure out how to get them to the track. I've heard nothing but good things about them on the Viper.

They just introduced NT-01's in Camaro ILE size. If I go to an R compound, that's what I'll likely use. So far I'm having a blast on the stock Goodyear F1 Supercar G2's. Do you drive to the track on the NT-01's?

Next track event for the Viper is Oct 9 - 11 at Spring Mountain. I'll be driving ZR1s on day 1, then likely C7 Corvettes in Ron Fellow's Level 2 school. Each evening after class, I will track the Viper. That will be an awesome A-B-C comparo. Before that, Sept 21-22 in the Camaro at Buttonwillow.

 

[VENOM V]

Todd is probably just as agressive and talented as the other drivers in his group, the Gen5 takes care of the rest.
Beleive me, I'm an 'Intermediate' driver with only 10 track days experience so far. With my Gen 4, I was considered a good Intermediate, but when tracking the Gen 5 for the first time, I was moved to the advanced group and was running mid-pack there, without pushing the car yet, the new Viper made up for the upgrade and made me look like a better driver than I probably am. And it was the best fun I had in a car with my clothes on, Sex on wheels !

I agree with Claude. If you watch the video carefully you can see a number of places where I could improve my line, and where I'm lifting where I could be full throttle. I'm still learning the track and the car, and yet it was that good. I have 6 track days now, including 2 in the Ron Fellows ZR1 School (which I highly recommend, as the ZR1 is as similar as you can get to a Viper at a driving school). In fairness, I think I'm driving harder than the Ferrari 458 Challenge as he is on full slicks and should be able to beat me at 2800 pounds and 570 HP. However, Viper deserves much of the credit. As Claude says, sex on wheels

 

[Boxer12]

Nice run, thanks for sharing! Corsas are 13.5"/27.4". Why is nobody running Hoosier 345/35/18 (13.2/26.8) or 355/650/18 (13.8/25.7) slicks? Do 18" wheels clear the brakes?

 

[VENOM V]

Nice run, thanks for sharing! Corsas are 13.5"/27.4". Why is nobody running Hoosier 345/35/18 (13.2/26.8) or 355/650/18 (13.8/25.7) slicks? Do 18" wheels clear the brakes?

Thanks! Yes they do fit. If I didn't already have my two sets of wheels I would probably do just that. Mark Jorgensen said 18's will fit the Gen V rear and recommended them.