racetech
Enthusiast
The Viper never ceases to amaze me. Back on Sept. 9-11, the local Gateway Viper Club participated in the "Monster Mopar Weekend" held at Gateway International Raceway just east of St. Louis (thanks Dave!). I had previously put my bone stock '00 RT/10 (original Pilots) on road courses, but had never run it down the quarter mile. I was a little nervous about what it might do. I decided...anything faster than 13 seconds and I'd be thrilled.
I made four passes in, to say the least, less than ideal conditions. The outside temperature neared 100°F, the track was blistering hot, and I was expecting to soon see slow-cooked chunks of meat fall from my bones inside the car. The corrected altitude was 3300 ft. The engine coolant temp was over 210°.
I was being very deliberate on the 2-3 shift. Do any of you miss that one now & then? I do, but not today. I really didn't want to see what happens if you drop it back into first gear at 5500 rpm's.
Anyway, my fourth and final pass was my best, 12.359 seconds @ 115.62 mph. That was with a very slow 1.984 60 ft. time (smelled a little fried clutch on that one). It made me wonder what it would have run at something closer to sea level conditions and on a track that wasn't as greasy as a Jack-in-the-Box taco.
I am 52 years old and grew up in the 60's "muscle car" era. The cars we revered back then like GTO's and Z-28's were lucky to even run something in the low 14's and high 13's in stock trim. The true legends like Hemi Cudas ran something like mid 13's, with the 440 6-Packs a tad quicker. Can you even imagine how the jaws would have dropped if you could have shown up in a Viper, then click off a low 12 or high 11? And with independent rear suspension, the car is certainly not your ideal quarter mile runner.
I can put the Viper on a road course and run down some true race cars, as I did in the Phil Wicks driving school (ran down a full-race tube chassis SCCA firebird with a SBC racing engine, see photos below). I can click on the AC and put it on the highway, drop it into 5th or 6th gear and get 20+ mpg. Then I can fill it up again with unleaded at the gas pump and pass the toughest federal emission standards. Or, I can cruise into the local fast food drive-in and stop their business with the jaw-dropping looks of the car.
How'd they do that? I must be dreaming...
Bob
I made four passes in, to say the least, less than ideal conditions. The outside temperature neared 100°F, the track was blistering hot, and I was expecting to soon see slow-cooked chunks of meat fall from my bones inside the car. The corrected altitude was 3300 ft. The engine coolant temp was over 210°.
I was being very deliberate on the 2-3 shift. Do any of you miss that one now & then? I do, but not today. I really didn't want to see what happens if you drop it back into first gear at 5500 rpm's.
Anyway, my fourth and final pass was my best, 12.359 seconds @ 115.62 mph. That was with a very slow 1.984 60 ft. time (smelled a little fried clutch on that one). It made me wonder what it would have run at something closer to sea level conditions and on a track that wasn't as greasy as a Jack-in-the-Box taco.
I am 52 years old and grew up in the 60's "muscle car" era. The cars we revered back then like GTO's and Z-28's were lucky to even run something in the low 14's and high 13's in stock trim. The true legends like Hemi Cudas ran something like mid 13's, with the 440 6-Packs a tad quicker. Can you even imagine how the jaws would have dropped if you could have shown up in a Viper, then click off a low 12 or high 11? And with independent rear suspension, the car is certainly not your ideal quarter mile runner.
I can put the Viper on a road course and run down some true race cars, as I did in the Phil Wicks driving school (ran down a full-race tube chassis SCCA firebird with a SBC racing engine, see photos below). I can click on the AC and put it on the highway, drop it into 5th or 6th gear and get 20+ mpg. Then I can fill it up again with unleaded at the gas pump and pass the toughest federal emission standards. Or, I can cruise into the local fast food drive-in and stop their business with the jaw-dropping looks of the car.
How'd they do that? I must be dreaming...
Bob
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