Top Speed in Viper?

[JonB]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by xqzyil:
Do they handle well past 150? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

THE YEAR MATTERS!

"Some handle well past 150".................
But they dont all handle well, well-past 150!

A mis-adjusted hood can play havoc w/ Gen-1 cars...which are as aerodynamic as a brick anyway. In OE trim and OE alignment, even the Gen-II can feel a bit "light" if yio try manuevers (ie handling) at 150. Guys who run the PE-100 and Silver-State can tell ya best! We sell a lot of spring lowering kits, wings, splitters canards, and aero devices to those contemplating spending time well, well-past 150mph

 

[Got Venom]

I read a similar post a few weeks ago, and it made me wonder if I was some kind of wuss. So I got all siked up to go out early last saturday morning and see what I could get the car up to with a reasonable amount of safety involved. Well I went out on Hwy 280 north near woodside where it is nice and smooth and fast, but there were cars everywhere at 8:30 am on a saturday morning??? Then there was a CHP sting setup from Sand Hill road to about Edgewood road. 5 cars involved. Needless to say I did not go for it. Then around Foothill college a motorcycle wanted to play so I briefly got it up to 130. That was all I could muster. I guess there are just too **** many people in Silicon Valley to go out and be stupid and race on the freeways. So I called JonB up today and ordered 2 sets of teamtech 5 point harnesses, and I am going to install them myself, so I can go to Thunderhill and race where I should be racing. On the track, and not on the highways.

 

[IMSOSLO]

Jon B,

Can't believe you are dogging my GenI after all those upgrades I have bought from you.

Top speed for me is 165 but then my sunglasses start blowing off. Car feels great at speed though. Only did this once, I try to limit my speed events to that track.

Ken

 

[Afy]

Well lets just say that it will acclerate like a bat out of hell well past 150 mph..

 

[ViperGTS]

I go sometimes 180 mph on the autobahn, but it is sooooooooooooo faaaaaaaaaaaasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasaaaast

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MarkusReinhardt:
I go sometimes 180 mph on the autobahn, but it is sooooooooooooo faaaaaaaaaaaasaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasaaaast

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If there is anything I envy about Europe it's the Autobahn. Is there anywhere else in the world that has public roads like that?

 

[jimandela]

Dennis,
Great move putting in the harnesses!!!
i hit 140 mph before i put them in my car and now that they are in next spring i am sure i will do even better.

going at high speed with the top off is a blast but having the hardtop on is the way to go for high speed enjoyment...

I LOVE THIS CAR!!!

 

[TacDoc]

140 MPH with red lights and siren blaring. Interstates are just not surfaced well enough, car was bouncy over uneven surface.


Greg
96 RT
00 GTS

 

[AviP]

150mph in the Callahan tunnel in Boston. Safest place in retrospective because of the crash barriers.

155mph in Arizona backcountry. Not a vehicle in sight. Very bouncy ride.

-Avi

 

[Jim Hodel]

Just last week on a nice deserted stretch of highway, I ran our 99 GTS to just over 160 mph. The car was still accelerating quite well and did feel stable, but it was incredibly loud. There was tire noise, engine noise, and exhaust noise. I was around 4800 rpm, and believe the car could pull redline in 5th gear, which would be somewhere close to 190 mph.

BTW, I went out the next day in our Z06 and the acceleration of the Viper feels stronger at 160 then the Z06 feels at 120 mph.

Jim

 

[OrecaGTS-R/T]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JMcGuire:
I think those long straight roads through the empty Australian Outback don't have speed limits. Or gas stations. But imagine how much dust and rocks a 100MPH 90-wheeled 10-trailer "road train" kicks up in it's wake...


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The outback OZ has some race that i'm not verry familiar with but i believe it is called the Cannonball Run? Its some really long straight run where anyone can enter and you just go out there and blast your car. I remember reading in the paper a while back that a Viper RT/10 hit 165mph there i think. I'll have to go and check it out one day, its a lot closer to me than it is to you guys

 

[pj]

Somewhere around 160 - wife was kind hitting me in the arm, I turned and said, "Now is NOT a good time to be hitting me." She wasn't impressed (We were on our way back from a casino in Joilet on Interstate 80).

Got pulled over doing about 120... After giving me a hard time (good cop, bad cop routine); they let me go.

Been 140-150 many times.. And I must say, thats very fast - takes a little bit of room to slow down.

Now if you really want to be impressed - as Ron Sr./Jr.! lol

 

[PhilC]

Rich22,

I can't figure out what the heck you're talking about with regard to those video clips Matt Kovac uploaded. I downloaded them and was amazed at how slow they were going on the track and then later in the thread he discussed not ne able to go fast due to pace cars before and aft. I believe top speed was 80-100 mph. Which clips are you talking about and why would anyone waist a whole day to go to a track where you can't go more than 100 mph

 

[SteveBCloud9]

One of my best renters who is on his 20th+ rental got it up to 178, so he says. Said it was the smoothest ride he was ever on.... a lot left too.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

162 on a track--no top or back window. The car had more..I didn't --maybe a little more next time. 145 with the soft top on--no problems. 120-135 many times for short shots. I call it my 'exposure time' It amounts to only 15-20 seconds. There are no freeways where I live--road surface is a big factor.

Steve

 

[Y2K5SRT]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PhilC:
I believe top speed was 80-100 mph. Which clips are you talking about and why would anyone waist a whole day to go to a track where you can't go more than 100 mph
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why would you waste a weekend to take your Viper and look at a bunch of leaves? Why would go to an autocross where you never get to go over 70 mph? Why would you go to a drag strip where you never get to make a turn over 10 mph? Why would you buy a Viper and never take it out of the garage? I won't get too far off subject here, but everybody enjoys their cars in different ways. I worked my butt off to set up this Speedway drive for the Kansas City Club and I think just about everybody (22 Vipers) enjoyed it and thought it was well worth the trip - even those that came from four hours away. We spent a lot more time in the garage/pit area just talking about Vipers than actually driving them on the track. Beautiful day in the perfect setting. Even better than bench racing on this board.

Let's say that someone told you that they were going to let Vipers on Talladega Superspeedway, but only at a cruising speed behind a pace car. And only for two laps. You knew several of your Viper friends would show up, and that the track would provide a professional photographer for some cool shots. Oh, and it was free - unless you bought additional photos. I guess you COULD leave your Viper in the garage, but we in Kansas City have this thing about DRIVING them - well, except for Norman.

Sorry to get off on a rant here, but it was a lot of fun and a lot of work. Sorry you missed it.

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Back on subject here, I found a very smooth and safe section of pavement where I got to 172 mph. The car felt just a little light, but not darty or anything. Very smooth and amazingly quiet. It did not pop the windows at the top (GTS) as I have heard others have done (popped them out of the molding at very high speeds). What an AWESOME car!

Chris

 

[Andrew2KRT10]

162 on the N.Y.S. Thruway at about 7:30 am, top down, sunny day.

Wish I had more places with more opportunities to push it more.

Andrew

 

[Jim Peffers]

Wayne Skiles and I did 195mph in the Silver State (in "Bad Viper" - a modified '96 GTS); we cruised most of the straights at 170-180mph. The slowest we went was a little over 100mph at the mouth of the canyon - a bad, off-camber right turn). The car was very stable, the only really hairy moment was when we went airborne at ~180mph when we hit a frost heave in the road, all 4 wheels off the ground (was seen by a track worker); but it recovered nicely and we didn't even have to slow down. (happened so fast, we didn't even have time to think about it. Things are way different at these speeds - perceptions, reactions, etc.).
The fastest I have ever gone in my own Viper (on a public Highway) is ~155mph on an almost deserted, straight, flat 4-lane road on the way to "Double Venoms" shop where I tend to make a pest of myself on the weekends. Ed (Double Venom) has convinced me that this is probably NOT a good idea in that I will probably get caught one of these days even with a Valentine-1; so I have toned it down quite a lot and will save it for the track. But I will say that my Viper feels as good at 155 as it does at 75mph.

P.S. Forgot to mention: During the Silver State, all seams and gaps in the front end were covered with racing tape. Very Important!

 

[PhilC]

Chris:

Sorry if you were offended by my "waist of a day" comment. I'm sure all those who attended appreciated your hard work and clearly there was social benefits to the day but I would think it quite disappointing to have been restricted so heavily in the speed department especially if the event was marketed in the same manner as the post "ever wonder what it's like to drive your Viper on a NASCAR track".

As for keeping my car in the garage, I track my car quite often and would be happy to attend an event sometime with you should you put one together that actually allows the participants to drive their cars as they should be driven.

 

[bad viper]

Hey Jim our tech speed was 165. ( to get past 190 with 3.45 gears
in 6th the nitrous was pumping)I wouldn't exceed that would I?
Stabilty is relative but one thing I'll say at 180+ in my
old "bad viper " there was no doubt you might feel at risk.
In my new TT at 180 A/c on radio going I could carry
on a conversation with my navigator and he could hear me
( not like our ride Jim). Who knows maybe too relaxed
for that speed??

 

[Y2K5SRT]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PhilC:
I would think it quite disappointing to have been restricted so heavily in the speed department especially if the event was marketed in the same manner as the post "ever wonder what it's like to drive your Viper on a NASCAR track".

As for keeping my car in the garage, I track my car quite often and would be happy to attend an event sometime with you should you put one together that actually allows the participants to drive their cars as they should be driven.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Phil -

No sweat. I made sure that everybody knew EXACTLY what the deal was before they made the trip to the track. Indeed, I "padded it" and said we would probably be restricted to around 50 mph, vs. the 100 mph that a few hit on the back straight. Interestingly enough, the post "Ever wonder what it's like to drive your Viper on a NASCAR track" was written AFTER the event by a participant. This was clearly a guy that was excited and enjoyed himself, even at those mundane speeds. That was the idea. I never "marketed" it, as it was a free event just for fun.

The "garage" comment was certainly not directed at you, but the fact that every owner has a different view of why they own a Viper. We have a pretty diverse schedule of events in our VCA chapter. We actually get much better turn outs at the casual cruises than the race events. We have only three members that have tried the local drag strip, five that have autocrossed, and four or five that road race. Our schedule includes every opportunity to REALLY race your car. Our cruises often get as many as 20 cars. I have done it all and love every venue, be it car shows, drag racing, autocross, or road racing. I also enjoy the short cruise or the long trip in my Viper. I guess my point is that everybody enjoys their Vipers in different ways. I can think of worse things than spending a sunny afternoon with fellow owners at a NASCAR track - even at 50 mph.

Sorry to get off topic. I have had my car over 140 mph several times in the appropriate setting. Rides and drives GREAT!

Chris