Tom and Vipers
Enthusiast
It is important to learn how to control your Viper during a spin.
Spins are encountered frequently in dirt bikes and karts and I must say my limited dirt bike exposure has made my street bike abilities massively greater due to the casual nature spins are encountered on the dirt.
Living in PA, everyone I know plays on vacant parking lots when snow or ice covered - of course not in Vipers!
A full blown road course is not the best place to explore spin control.
For instance, everyone who has their Viper on a RR and is attempting to turn fast laps, in my opinion should know how to do a Bat Turn - perhaps the simplest spin maneuver. I know I can't. I have a friend who is so natural at this, he has on one occasion spun the car 180 so he would hit with his tail instead of his nose!
I know when I spun my Viper, although I attempted to catch it with reverse lock, it really was out of control and so all I could do was sit there like a dummy actually relaxing because I wasn't near any obstacles.
It was a slow speed corner transitioning uphill and while I did not use brake, I'm pretty sure I lifted. I suspect that may have been wrong. What might have been better would have been to use throttle to keep weight transfer on the rear, dig in, and drive it sprint car style.
On the other hand, applying throttle might get you going faster and loop the car far worse - this time maybe hitting something.
Did you ever see skid pad demonstrations where they take ordinary drivers and let them go around a turn too fast for conditions? Did you notice that the car naturally does a 180 and completes the spin by rolling backwards in a straight line?
Do you know why this occurs? Well, I don't and I would like to understand the principles.
I don't know what the venue would be for this but one would think that there is one.
It is one thing to understand what to do - it is another to look it in the face and do it - and yet another to have experience and skill at it.
The Bottom Line: If I am going to spin my $75k Viper, I want to know what I'm doing!
Any opninions?
Spins are encountered frequently in dirt bikes and karts and I must say my limited dirt bike exposure has made my street bike abilities massively greater due to the casual nature spins are encountered on the dirt.
Living in PA, everyone I know plays on vacant parking lots when snow or ice covered - of course not in Vipers!
A full blown road course is not the best place to explore spin control.
For instance, everyone who has their Viper on a RR and is attempting to turn fast laps, in my opinion should know how to do a Bat Turn - perhaps the simplest spin maneuver. I know I can't. I have a friend who is so natural at this, he has on one occasion spun the car 180 so he would hit with his tail instead of his nose!
I know when I spun my Viper, although I attempted to catch it with reverse lock, it really was out of control and so all I could do was sit there like a dummy actually relaxing because I wasn't near any obstacles.
It was a slow speed corner transitioning uphill and while I did not use brake, I'm pretty sure I lifted. I suspect that may have been wrong. What might have been better would have been to use throttle to keep weight transfer on the rear, dig in, and drive it sprint car style.
On the other hand, applying throttle might get you going faster and loop the car far worse - this time maybe hitting something.
Did you ever see skid pad demonstrations where they take ordinary drivers and let them go around a turn too fast for conditions? Did you notice that the car naturally does a 180 and completes the spin by rolling backwards in a straight line?
Do you know why this occurs? Well, I don't and I would like to understand the principles.
I don't know what the venue would be for this but one would think that there is one.
It is one thing to understand what to do - it is another to look it in the face and do it - and yet another to have experience and skill at it.
The Bottom Line: If I am going to spin my $75k Viper, I want to know what I'm doing!
Any opninions?
