Vette vs Viper Vid VIR viper days revisited

[timz06]

HI Pete, I know it is not racing, Ryan and I are just out having fun. We talk alot of smak, and then go out there and do our best. When we see one another in the rear view we try to stay ahead, and if the other catches up wave him by and try to keep up. I don't feel I am pushing it to the limit, I leave a little to spare. I would push more at a VIR or CMP than at RA with the walls. Ryan has me good at RA, but we had fun. I ran between a 1:43 and 1:44 my second day there. Hoping for better this time, but don't want to take too many chances on the track. I said ryan wasn't a novice driver, since from what I understood he had a lot of time at RA. I did my first de this year myself in Feb and have had a lot of fun since. I thought most viper guys were like myself and Ryan, trying hard but staying within the limits, maybe they are taking it easier than I thought. I do look forward to learning more, would like to race sometime, but will have to get a much cheaper car than even a '****** 'z06 .. Hope you can give me some tips at RA weekend after next.

Tim

 

[Fast Freddy]

the guy driving the blue viper needs to learn how to trail brake

 

[ryan 94RT]

When i get done openning my new business i will be back on the track...Until then all i can do is smack talk but i will bring it to the track unlike most people on thsi board. I hope to see all of you, even you FAST FREDDY. I should be back in the grove in 2004 if you feel the need come to road atlanta and show me your best trail braking move.... Then again i will be heading to AZ to see a friend in late 2004 ... tell ya what, you can bring it to my track and then i will bring it to your track..

see ya in the pits
flyin ryan( on hold for now)

 

[pdmracing]

BRING IT TO THE TRACK!!!!!! at the se zone rendevous that is! he tim are you doing the saturday track day? Come look us up in the infield, I need someone to drive my car, I took myself out of the running.
Pete

 

[timz06]

HI Pete, that's cool I will be driving on Sat as well. Are you driving your Viper on Sun or the neon?

I'll stop by on sat. PS. hope you don't mind that I have been sharing your road atlanta map with some of the guys.

Tim

 

[pdmracing]

No blam, We just got the transaxle from PVO today with the ltd slip, so I will have the neon. We are racing the next weekend @ VIR so we need to test. The Boost glitch we traced with the help of PVO engineers to a wiring harness issue. We have that fixed too so the car should be screaming. We were running @ VIR with an open diff & % lbs of boost instead of 15! I need to get down to the teen @ VIR to be in the hunt & I think the LTD slip will take a t least 3 or 4 seconds off the time. The boost was cutting out only on the back & fronst straight, but I got full boost on the low speed corners like turn 1 & the lower esses that I had to shift into 4th to stop the wheel spin! I have high hopes for road atlanta . If we use the basis thet most of the tracks I have run at, the front runners in class are running at or better than the ITS records. The ITS record @ RA is 1:41 so thats the goal. I heard there are a lot of speed world challange guys in the advance group this weekend so watch out, these guys are NUTS!

 

[Jim Hodel]

Hi Tim, I have a 99 GTS and an 01 Z06, although my main track car is a semi-modded Z28. I've done lot's of track days and finally entered a Solo I this year - I did OK, although not great.

It seems too me that you are obsessed with beating Vipers.... I guess I understand why since Vipers have become somewhat of a performance benchmark, however Z06's are also recognized as very fast track cars. In the right hands, they can certainly challange Vipers. My Z06 has less power then my Viper, but the handling is more intuitive and the brakes are better, although not up to the standards of a Porsche Turbo that's for sure. It is funny though that everyone seems to expect a Viper driver to be setting a track record just for showing up and driving...

You must realize that these DE days do not represent the most experienced and daring of drivers. I'll run my Z28 much harder then my Viper and have passed several Z06s on race tires running in the advanced groups at track days. I don't go posting videos on the Vette sites, because passing cars at a DE day proves very little in my opinion.

You need to step up the ladder to time trials or real racing in order know how you and your car really compare to other cars and drivers. Given the speed capability of a Z06 and your experience as a driver, I don't doubt you could be quite competitive.

Jim

 

[riverflyer]

Jim, excellent post!
Btw, what year z28 is best for a track car? Seems like they are cheap and make a good choice. I have been thinking about the same thing and considering options and would like to hear your feedback on thez28 compared to other plentiful choices like mustangs, miatas and older vettes. Thanks, John

 

[timz06]

Jim, IM NOT OBSESSED! J/K . The main reason I posted the video was for the people that went to vir to check it out and remember some good times, it was a great event.

I have to admit, when I first started doing DE's I tried really hard to turn faster laps than all types of cars, 911tt's vipers, m3's, and other z06's. It has worn off now.

Locally we have a few z06 guys and a couple viper guys and we talk up these events and then go and have some friendly competition, then talk more after it's over, it's all fun.

I would like to do some racing, maybe next year. I have a 95 z28 I was thinking about preparing for AI, but I am not sure if it would not be better to buy a car already prepped.

A friend is running his vette in scca t1, and it has cost him about $40k this year, much more than I have in my budget.

Tim

 

[pdmracing]

Hey jim, we have a small club here, We have a good natured rivalry with the zo6 clan, we had 12 cars from atlanta that went to VIR, I think 6 were Z06's! Small turnouts for american iron, the local Porsche club has over 1000 members locally!

 

[Jim Hodel]

That sounds good too me. Friendly competition is part of the fun. I really enjoyed my first Solo One - it's sort of in between a DE day and real racing as it's a competitive time trials event but still doesn't allow passing in the turns. I also ran one Viper Days and had a great time. There were some pretty fast Corvettes running around as well

Jim