The current and future state of Viper sales and technology

[Bruce H.]

http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/corvette-stingray/2014/comparison-test.html[/URL]

Reviewers so often get it wrong, but unfortunately many readers don't know both of these cars well enough to know how wrong Edmunds go it. The Stingray was pre-determined to be the winner of all journalists tests in 2013-14, regardless of what it was put up against, as was the GT-R a few years ago. A track buddy who bought a C7 would be the first to agree, as would many others that believed the C7 marketing hype. Unfortunate that many accept the opinions of the rags without question.

 

[Free2go]

Build it, and they will come.

 

[sunsalem]

Test and Tone night Challenger or Charger.....

OK, now THAT there is funny.

many accept the opinions of the rags without question.

True.

What bothered me wasn't really their opinions...it was the numbers.
Particularly the slalom, braking, skidpad, and how it was only 0.7 seconds off the Snake's Lap Time on skinnier tires.
Something needs to be done about this...

The TA is outstanding in performance, of that there is no doubt.
IMO, either dump the SRT or re-badge the TA as a SRT.
Performance has to improve against the competition...the Snake Must Rule.

 

[Bruce H.]

The numbers are only as good as the drivers, test car condition and its prep. You need look no further than the large disparity in braking distances between Viper tests to know this one is waay off. Reviewers likely wouldn't have even checked tire pressures at the time of testing, something an owner would do. An owner would also learn to drive the car. One car having green brake pads and /or tires vs worn can skew the results. Too many unknown variables lead to the widely varying results we see between tests. Take an experienced high performance driver with adequate time in both the C7 and Viper SRT and you'll see just how much superior the SRT is...every time. We've seen this multiple times now so let's file the Edmund's test where it belongs.

 

[sunsalem]

Reviewers likely wouldn't have even checked tire pressures at the time of testing. One car having green brake pads and /or tires vs worn can skew the results.

Shouldn't SRT check their test cars out whenever they drop one off for a review...just to be safe?

Too many unknown variables lead to the widely varying results we see between tests.

Good point.

Take an experienced high performance driver with adequate time in both the C7 and Viper SRT and you'll see just how much superior the SRT is...every time.

Is there a member on the forum who has both?
If so, it might be interesting to see what he has to say....

 

[Bruce H.]

Test cars are provided by an agency for testing, not directly from SRT. Yes they should be checked over but we know that hasn't always been done very well in the past. And how should it be provided? Something as simple as having one car supplied with new matching tires (slippery for the first 500 miles as release agents wear off and lots of tread skirm) set to manufacturer's specs (that change with temperature, and max fuel economy at the cost of grip) and stock alignment, and the other car with tires worn in, inflated and aligned for maximum grip makes for numbers that can't be compared. Knowing GM, you can be sure they had an army of techs on hand for car setup.

Look at almost any test and you will see the C7 falls way behind any of the Gen V's in track testing. Not all tests include both the G5 and C7 for direct comparison, but you can see the C7 falls behind other cars that the Gen V consistently outperforms as well.

Both were tested at Laguna Seca by the same professional driver, and where the old ZR1 was pretty close the C7 was way off the pace.

 

[sunsalem]

Test cars are provided by an agency for testing, not directly from SRT.

Why on Earth would SRT have such a system in place?
Sheesh.....I guess they don't think mag reviews affects sales.

Knowing GM, you can be sure they had an army of techs on hand for car setup.

Wouldn't YOU?

 

[Free2go]

Although the T/A turned out to be a winner, it should have never been created. SRT should have showed up to Laguna Seca with a well sorted out and prepped ACR.

 

[sunsalem]

Although the T/A turned out to be a winner, it should have never been created.

Agreed, but for different reasons.

The SRT should have had the performance of the T/A right out of the chute.

2nd year should have been the Roadster.

The 3rd year should have seen the introduction of the ACR.

The GTS should never have been a separate model with its 150K sticker shock.
Allow the SRT GTS options for those who wanted something more.

SRT should have showed up to Laguna Seca with a well sorted out and prepped ACR.

I think it would have been too high of a mountain to climb during year one.
Better to let customers thrash the SRT around and learn from their experiences before doing the engineering on the ACR.