Conclusions:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Be thankful for PVO and the people with the vision and high standards to bring these great products to the market
<LI>SRT-4: is the best new pocket rocket bang for the $ - by far
<LI>SRT-10: is a Fast, well finished, world class performance machine I could drive every day just fine
<LI>The ZP tires grip
<LI>Comp Coupe: Purpose built race car, (not something you would want to drive on the street-really) that offers more performance for much $ than is spent making a GTS into a dedicated track car
[/list]
I get a call from Tony Estes Friday am. He tells me the press/mags are driving the SRT-10 Vipers and SRT-4s at Firebird and asks if I want to come out and watch. The decision was never to get down there, it was do I lose an hour+ of fun to drive home to get the cameras to share pics...Well I Drive home, get my helmet (always be prepared just in case), the cameras and DV, fire up my GTS and head to Firebird.
Get to Firebird and there are the Vipers, STR-4s and two Comp Coupes. This is going to be great. The PVO team is having detailed discussions with the press.
First the SRT-4. This is going to be a hit. At only $20k It outperforms the new $30K+ Mach 1 in cornering, braking, and acceleration. No poseur with non functional body add ons here. Even the hood scoop feeds air to cool the turbo, etc. http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/roadtests/012scc_dodge/
But onto the Vipers...
After watching the action for a bit Tony took me out for a track session. As a passenger you are able to take in different information than when you are driving. Speed, cornering, and braking always seem wild when in the Viper's right seat and this is no exception. Since the temps were the big subject in the magazine reports on the pre-production cars it was one of the first things I wanted to observe. Even on the road course operating temps were steady and good. Footwell temps were fine, and the top was up with the AC off. Total fun ride.
Back in the pits and John Fernandez looks over and nods toward the new Black Viper. Fantastic. Only two cars are running on the track at a time. Make seat mirror, and pedal adjustments, buckle up and turn the key. Engine doesn't turn over, though. Hmmm..Clutch is in all the way and accessories are on. That's right, there is a "Start" button. The first thing new owners will have to remember.
Car is idling, clutch out... no NGR. Take a couple of mild laps to get a feel for the track and car then speed it up some. Some of the turns have very wide areas of asphalt so you have a lot of room to get out of trouble if you need. Engine sound is great at anytime be it WOT, cruise, or decel. The car goes right where pointed. I notice it has less push than our GTS. Midway through a turn I feed more go pedal and the back starts to slide. Minor correction and the car is right back on line. Next lap lift off the gas to get the back end to rotate. It does and then comes right back with some correction. Come into a turn a bit fast and trail brake late and hard...the abs has a very quick but small pulse in the brake pedal and the car is through the corner just fine. Car stayed straight without weave on initial hard braking. The brakes are fantastic in feel and function.
The Michelin ZP Pilot tires are pretty quiet except when at the limit or sliding and they grip like glue. My questions/concerns on the ZP (runflat) were put aside.
Shift gates are well aligned and solid. Shifter seems to know which gear you want to go into next.
Nor for a couple of serious laps to put it all together and the resonse is completely impressive. The enviable Viper smile continues.
Pull into the pits and the car temp is fine. Footwell temp is fine. Open the door and put my hand on the side sill. Leave it there for a while. Warm but No Burn. The "fix" that draws heat from the sill is effective.
BWTM - If you have gotten this far there is an extra surprise. The Comp Coupe experience....Red #3 with the Tilton multi disc clutch and two seats. Randy Bleicher, racer/instructor will take me out for some hot laps. Climb in and buckle up. Got a tiny Sony DSC-P9 digital camera that's smaller than some cell phones for Christmas. Bring it with since it can also record in small mpg. Quality is not as good as the DV camcorder, but is easier to retrieve for uploading. I also took some inside the car DV hot laps that came out great but they are far too big to upload.
Red Comp Coupe ride movie
This car is the E-Ticket Plus. Snap on the steering wheel and go through the correct start up sequence and the race Viper fires. Take some video on the warm up laps then put them down and enjoy the ride. The car explodes with acceleration down the straignt. It revs up so quick it's hard to believe there are 3.07 rear gears. Glance over at the lcd console display and it confirms we are at triple digit speeds. The left turn is strong and the car sticks to the track. The car snakes through the turns so quick it's hard to believe. Randy pushes it in one turn and the car begins to slide but he brings it right back in. I'm glad I got the belts tight. There is no description that is adequate for this ride except to say those who ordered one will be very pleased and those who did not will wish they had. Skip, VRL should require the cars to have a passenger seat..
....
Black Comp Coupe movie 1
Black Comp Coupe movie2
Comp Coupe part-- some will know what it is:
Tony Estes, John Fernandez, Matt B., & Eric P.
Ready to drive
Many thanks to Tony, John, the PVO team for such a memorable time.
<FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Marv S on 01-21-2003 at 06:51 AM</font>
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Be thankful for PVO and the people with the vision and high standards to bring these great products to the market
<LI>SRT-4: is the best new pocket rocket bang for the $ - by far
<LI>SRT-10: is a Fast, well finished, world class performance machine I could drive every day just fine
<LI>The ZP tires grip
<LI>Comp Coupe: Purpose built race car, (not something you would want to drive on the street-really) that offers more performance for much $ than is spent making a GTS into a dedicated track car
[/list]
I get a call from Tony Estes Friday am. He tells me the press/mags are driving the SRT-10 Vipers and SRT-4s at Firebird and asks if I want to come out and watch. The decision was never to get down there, it was do I lose an hour+ of fun to drive home to get the cameras to share pics...Well I Drive home, get my helmet (always be prepared just in case), the cameras and DV, fire up my GTS and head to Firebird.
Get to Firebird and there are the Vipers, STR-4s and two Comp Coupes. This is going to be great. The PVO team is having detailed discussions with the press.
First the SRT-4. This is going to be a hit. At only $20k It outperforms the new $30K+ Mach 1 in cornering, braking, and acceleration. No poseur with non functional body add ons here. Even the hood scoop feeds air to cool the turbo, etc. http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/roadtests/012scc_dodge/
But onto the Vipers...
After watching the action for a bit Tony took me out for a track session. As a passenger you are able to take in different information than when you are driving. Speed, cornering, and braking always seem wild when in the Viper's right seat and this is no exception. Since the temps were the big subject in the magazine reports on the pre-production cars it was one of the first things I wanted to observe. Even on the road course operating temps were steady and good. Footwell temps were fine, and the top was up with the AC off. Total fun ride.
Back in the pits and John Fernandez looks over and nods toward the new Black Viper. Fantastic. Only two cars are running on the track at a time. Make seat mirror, and pedal adjustments, buckle up and turn the key. Engine doesn't turn over, though. Hmmm..Clutch is in all the way and accessories are on. That's right, there is a "Start" button. The first thing new owners will have to remember.
Car is idling, clutch out... no NGR. Take a couple of mild laps to get a feel for the track and car then speed it up some. Some of the turns have very wide areas of asphalt so you have a lot of room to get out of trouble if you need. Engine sound is great at anytime be it WOT, cruise, or decel. The car goes right where pointed. I notice it has less push than our GTS. Midway through a turn I feed more go pedal and the back starts to slide. Minor correction and the car is right back on line. Next lap lift off the gas to get the back end to rotate. It does and then comes right back with some correction. Come into a turn a bit fast and trail brake late and hard...the abs has a very quick but small pulse in the brake pedal and the car is through the corner just fine. Car stayed straight without weave on initial hard braking. The brakes are fantastic in feel and function.
The Michelin ZP Pilot tires are pretty quiet except when at the limit or sliding and they grip like glue. My questions/concerns on the ZP (runflat) were put aside.
Shift gates are well aligned and solid. Shifter seems to know which gear you want to go into next.
Nor for a couple of serious laps to put it all together and the resonse is completely impressive. The enviable Viper smile continues.
Pull into the pits and the car temp is fine. Footwell temp is fine. Open the door and put my hand on the side sill. Leave it there for a while. Warm but No Burn. The "fix" that draws heat from the sill is effective.
BWTM - If you have gotten this far there is an extra surprise. The Comp Coupe experience....Red #3 with the Tilton multi disc clutch and two seats. Randy Bleicher, racer/instructor will take me out for some hot laps. Climb in and buckle up. Got a tiny Sony DSC-P9 digital camera that's smaller than some cell phones for Christmas. Bring it with since it can also record in small mpg. Quality is not as good as the DV camcorder, but is easier to retrieve for uploading. I also took some inside the car DV hot laps that came out great but they are far too big to upload.
Red Comp Coupe ride movie
This car is the E-Ticket Plus. Snap on the steering wheel and go through the correct start up sequence and the race Viper fires. Take some video on the warm up laps then put them down and enjoy the ride. The car explodes with acceleration down the straignt. It revs up so quick it's hard to believe there are 3.07 rear gears. Glance over at the lcd console display and it confirms we are at triple digit speeds. The left turn is strong and the car sticks to the track. The car snakes through the turns so quick it's hard to believe. Randy pushes it in one turn and the car begins to slide but he brings it right back in. I'm glad I got the belts tight. There is no description that is adequate for this ride except to say those who ordered one will be very pleased and those who did not will wish they had. Skip, VRL should require the cars to have a passenger seat..
Black Comp Coupe movie 1
Black Comp Coupe movie2
Comp Coupe part-- some will know what it is:
Tony Estes, John Fernandez, Matt B., & Eric P.
Ready to drive
Many thanks to Tony, John, the PVO team for such a memorable time.
<FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Marv S on 01-21-2003 at 06:51 AM</font>
