Where did you get the information that Randy Pobst boiled the ZR1 brakes? When he tested the ZR1 and TA at laguna seca. He praised the ZR1 brakes, and said that the TA brakes could use more bite..
ZR1 at 8:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExgJxgNSWtk
TA at 4:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLa3l_UX77c
That ZR1 footage is obviously taken during the hot lap, or the ones leading up to it, and not after it. I'm not surprised MT didn't add that detail at the end as it wouldn't really help support their verdict.
This is what Mister Viper said in this thread about the brakes on each car...
http://forums.viperclub.org/threads...nd-track-use...-better-brakes-vs-more-comfort
"What MotorTrend didn't tell you, by the way, was that the ZR1 boiled it's brake fluid during their earlier comparison test, and suffered significant brake fade as well. Journalistic oversight, apparently. Seriously.
As you suggest, a driver's perception of how a braking system 'performs' depends tremendously on how we are using it. The StopTech rotor kit provides a great lightweight, high performance, and very affordable brake kit with outstanding stopping ability. Randy Pobst was very impressed with the stopping power of the StopTech package in the 2013 Track Pack. He found himself often braking too early. These brakes also performed very well in the Viper 24-hour Endurance Racing Test at Nelson Ledges last autumn, averaging over 100mph (1200+ laps) on a very rough track with no issues. For a typical street driver, or occasional Track Day driver, the StopTech rotor is your package.
But,
if you are truly an extreme user (and very few of us are), you will note moderate fade over a long haul on a road racing course with the StopTechs. The brakes NEVER, EVER go away, but they will fade. This means you can ALWAYS pull an ABS limit braking stop, but you will have to push a little harder on the pedal.
The new for 2014 TA uses a heavier rotor package evolved from the ACR-X development, and for very extreme users, it will reduce this fade. But it also weighs more, so the car is carrying more rotating and unsprung inertia. Due in part to the brakes, the TA weighs about 50 lbs more than a 2013 track pack SRT."
I don't have a lot of confidence in many auto magazines to start with, and I think we can all agree that MT has really "stirred the ***" when it comes to the Gen V, and that SRT gave them some good reasons to go down that path in the beginning. Video editting can be done to give a good impression of a car, or a much lesser one. I wanted the unfiltered assessment directly from Randy, and a track friend of mine that races with him got that feedback from him for me. He confirmed the ZR1 brakes going off, not that I was ever considering that car.
The TA video above includes Randy`s comments following his 1:33 lap, and they tie in nicely with the conversation here about what changes to the Viper made the difference in the TA`s performance compared to the production SRT and GTS he tested on the same day. You`ll see his gut tells him it`s in the dampers, but I`m sure he would agree that its the culmination of a number of factors, as do I. I don`t know if the other models also had the aero package and a track alignment, and if this is ^part of the reason he chose to only mention dampers.
But what I take issue with in this thread is the suggestion that only two of the many changes to the TA is responsible for the improvement in handling, and that the TA is simply an SRT marketing ploy. There is no data or evidence to support that one individual`s harsh view. I`m a big fan of aero, and have experienced first hand what improvements to aero make at high speeds on my own track cars, but they`re obviously not a factor in reviews of lower speed track testing. I`ve been surprised how low the spring rates are in the Gen V Vipers, and would fully expect that the 20% increase in the TA over SRT would yield an improvement in handling on all of the tracks I`ve driven, and that sway bar and damper valving changes would be a part of suspension changes on a more track focused model. I also have experienced the significant impact of each of those suspension changes first hand, and used them to tune the handing of my track cars, along with track alignments and corner balancing. While no one suspension set-up will be optimized for all tracks, and a soft set-up would favor wet track performance, I`m very confident that SRT`s choice of stiffer suspension for their track model was based on serious testing. So I do know that each of the changes to components made on the TA can make very noticable improvement to the handling characteristics of a track car, and it makes sense that they would on the Viper as well.
As an aside, I don`t know how much this applies to the TA`s suspension tuning and ride quality, but I`ve been amazed at how much spring rates can be increased when combined with improved damper valving without street ride quality being adversely affected. I`ve been surprised at the very positive feedback about ride quality from buyers of the TA, and rather relieved. Where I consciously chose improved track handling over ride quality with the TA, it seems like SRT`s suspension efforts have really paid off. Looking forward to experiencing that first hand!
Bruce
Bruce 
