Response to Chuck
Do you think having someone die in a limited production Viper every two weeks is good for the Marque you are wrong. Us people that can't handle a car like a viper, you say should go buy the other brand and leave you and your car alone. Just think if we all did that how long would dodge be selling vipers. How long do you think insurance companies will be able to insure vipers. Out of the 19000 sold in 16 years how many actually see serious track time. If dodge only sold that many they couldn't afford to keep the brand alive. Us bad viper drivers with a few dollars in our pockets keep the marque alive. Vettes have had controls for over ten years and people have no problem on the track. You probably complained about seat belts, and unleaded gas and abs brakes as well. I don't care how great a driver you think you are. When you are accellerating and one rear tire hits a crack in the road and your car changes direction suddenly heading for the guard rail or a tree it's almost impossible for most of us mortals to redirect the car straight like stability control can. I think anyone who rejects the idea of controls either never pushes the car to the limits or is just full of himself.
I agree wholeheartedly with Chuck and Black Mamba. What you stated in your first post was the clue to all of this. You stated you were driving at high excessive speed on a highway racing a Mustang I believe. Maybe you should get more seat time behind the car before you start driving it like that. These cars are not Corvettes nor Mustangs. They are all about using "driver skill" to put the rubber/power to the ground. Just because you can afford something doesn't mean you qualify to drive one of the best cars ever made. You are expecting the same subtleness as a Corvette and the majority of Viper drivers want the car to retain it's raw animal power. They want the driver to be the controlling factor and not a computer to make sure they don't do something stupid. You would be amazed at how many people were blaming their Z06 TCS when they lost control of their vehicle rather than their own lack of being able to handle the power. It sounds to me like you should have bought you another Corvette.
So let me answer a few of your questions that I highlighted above.
1.) I think you need to talk to more Viper owners because you will find that the majority do some kind of performance driving in their car. Our club held their monthly meeting at the track in fact.
2.) I think number 1 actually answers this question.
3.)Number three isn't a question but more of a statement and yet completely false. The reason most Corvettes with TCS don't have problems is because the vast majority of Corvettes don't go to the track. I am currently member of 3 Corvette Clubs and I can tell you the majority do not track their car but instead worry about which wax to use. In fact one of the clubs has stated that they don't want to be associated with racing. Big mistake in my book and which is why the average age in the club is about 55. On the other hand scroll through some of the posts and you will see that a vast majority of the people on this board track their car or have tracked them at an HPDE.
4.) Number 4 wasn't a question but more of a statement again in which you clearly stated accelerating, I know the car follows ruts but that is because of those big tires that will hug the track like a train on rails. When you drive a Corvette it is like driving a Cadillac and doesn't feel like a sports car. I have 2 Corvettes still and I can tell you that from personal knowledge and experience. I admit I am a woos when it comes to driving in bumper to bumper traffic. During these times I will drive one of the Corvettes but when I want to experience "
Real" driving it is the Viper.
5.) And now for number 5, this is where you are wrong in the worst way. In fact it is just the opposite. Pushing your car to the limit on the track will show you what the majority have been trying to say all along. Try to push your car to the limit with TCS on and it isn't going to happen at all.
If you want to truly experience what your Viper can do, take it to a track for an HPDE and learn the cars capabilities. Don't blame the car for your lack of abilities. In fact, once you learn what your car is capable of you will be going to the track all the time because there is simply nothing like it. Shoot, all it took for me was one time to the track and I became hooked. What you have to realize is that this car isn't like all of the other high HP cars. It is like a race car that you can drive on the street. The limiting factor isn't the car it's the driver.
HPDE are the best investment of yourself
