Advises for land speed racers to hit 200mph (if you dare ...)
Land speed racing is associated with Bonneville, the only and unique place on earth without speed limit.
However in Montreal we were very lucky on the week-end of May 9thm 2010 (Mother`s day week-end ...) to participate in a land speed race at the Mirabel "International" airport. It took 3 years for organizers to negotiate and obtain all the paper work required for this race. In addition weather factor forced the organizer to cancel the race several times. Finally on Mothers' day week-end weather, authorities, flights` schedule and insurance all concurred to have the land speed race take place. (Except our wifes ... they were the easies to deal with. It only took me 15min to swallow the Mothers` day brunch on Sunday).
In this type of race there is no place for "practice" all runs count. There is no second chance. There is no time even to modify a single bolt on the car. This is the run of your life at 300 km/h !
We had a lot of pleasure to participate in this race. All drivers that hit 300km/h (190mph) were very proud of themselves.
Unfortunately there is no documentation on the preparation for this type of race. I will try to give you a couple of advises with just 4 runs behind me and my 2006 Coupe. If you ever have the chance to participate in this type of race you will understand how difficult it is to get the last couple of mph out of your Viper ....
The track:
Tarmac 110/290 8800ft (3.60km) in concrete.
Joins were absolutely smooth due to the recent rebuild.
The size of the tarmac was increased by 1km in 2009 and the surface was perfect!
Morning setup: Face wind 25mph, 45F
Track length: 3.6 km (2.24mi)
Acceleration: 2.2 km (1.37mi)
Slow down: 1.4 km (0.87mi)
Afternoon setup: Back wind 25mph 50F
Track length: 3.6 km (2.24mi)
Acceleration: 2.4 km (1.49mi)
Slow down: 1.2 km (0.75mi) (it was a little short with the tail wind)
Airport Security:
Every body had a visitor’s badge.
We had to have 2 escorts per 4 car.
At a given time, only 4 racers were allowed in the secured zone of the airport.
We had 2 escorts at the start and 2 escorts at arrival point.
My Viper:
2006 Stock Coupe
Top speed 188mph with 3.07 gear (302km/h)
Getting from 180mph to 190mph was tough .... and I had a lot of time to think about my life and my tires ...
Estimated average acceleration.
0-160mph: 1.0km(0.62mi)
160-180mph: 0.6km(0.37mi)
180-190mph: 0.8km(0.50mi)
The high speed stability was outstanding.
Preparation:
- Removed side mirrors. On Gen3 Vipers it is easy with the service access on the door front.
- Removed wiper blades
- Next time will remove passenger seat
- Nex time I will seal what ever I can with tape (Except hood venting and front bumper).
- Used 5w30 oil
- Only 1 quarter of fuel should be in tank (Unfortunately I had the tank 100% full)
- Used 94 oct fuel
- Installed free air PCV system
- A 3.33 gear is a must to hit 200mph (I had the 3.07 stock gear). A 3.28 gear would be better for the stock engine.
- Used synchromesh gear oil (5w30 or 75w85)
- Inflated tires to 32psi
- Don`t use slick tires. The best is to get as narrow tires are possible for front to reduce tire drag. However test the high speed stability with new tire setup.
- Do a couple of 1/4 mile runs before the race (this is for drivers practice).
Driving advice:
Try to run the first 1/4mi as fast as you can. Each yard after 130mph counts a lot.
In 4th gear the Viper has a lot of torque. Accelerate until the max rev 6200rpm (about 165mph)
In 5th gear the torque is virtually zero. It takes forever to reach 190mph ... This is where you think about getting a 3.33 gear for the rear and all the abuse done to your tires.
Try to avoid the birds ... when a small black point becomes huge you will be death scared ! Don't make a sudden move.
It is better to take a bird into the windshield than rollover at 190mph.
Top Results:
Ford GT X-1 kit 700hp : 338 km/h (210mph)
Porsche GT : 317 km/h (197mph)
Ford GT stock : 313 km/h (194mph)
Corvette Z06 : 303 km/h (188mph)
Viper Coupe : 302 km/h (188mph)
Nissan GTR 2008 : 297 km/h (185mph)
Ferrari 430 conv : 294 km/h (183mph)
Skyline 1991 : 290 km/h (180mph) <= !!!
Bentely GT conv : 285 km/h (177mph)
Audi R8 : 275 km/h (171mph)
Challenger SRT8 : 272 km/h (169mph)
These preparation advises apply for a concrete runway, with limited space for acceleration and braking.
In Bonneville the track is very different so other preparation rules will apply.
Land speed racing is associated with Bonneville, the only and unique place on earth without speed limit.
However in Montreal we were very lucky on the week-end of May 9thm 2010 (Mother`s day week-end ...) to participate in a land speed race at the Mirabel "International" airport. It took 3 years for organizers to negotiate and obtain all the paper work required for this race. In addition weather factor forced the organizer to cancel the race several times. Finally on Mothers' day week-end weather, authorities, flights` schedule and insurance all concurred to have the land speed race take place. (Except our wifes ... they were the easies to deal with. It only took me 15min to swallow the Mothers` day brunch on Sunday).
In this type of race there is no place for "practice" all runs count. There is no second chance. There is no time even to modify a single bolt on the car. This is the run of your life at 300 km/h !
We had a lot of pleasure to participate in this race. All drivers that hit 300km/h (190mph) were very proud of themselves.
Unfortunately there is no documentation on the preparation for this type of race. I will try to give you a couple of advises with just 4 runs behind me and my 2006 Coupe. If you ever have the chance to participate in this type of race you will understand how difficult it is to get the last couple of mph out of your Viper ....
The track:
Tarmac 110/290 8800ft (3.60km) in concrete.
Joins were absolutely smooth due to the recent rebuild.
The size of the tarmac was increased by 1km in 2009 and the surface was perfect!
Morning setup: Face wind 25mph, 45F
Track length: 3.6 km (2.24mi)
Acceleration: 2.2 km (1.37mi)
Slow down: 1.4 km (0.87mi)
Afternoon setup: Back wind 25mph 50F
Track length: 3.6 km (2.24mi)
Acceleration: 2.4 km (1.49mi)
Slow down: 1.2 km (0.75mi) (it was a little short with the tail wind)
Airport Security:
Every body had a visitor’s badge.
We had to have 2 escorts per 4 car.
At a given time, only 4 racers were allowed in the secured zone of the airport.
We had 2 escorts at the start and 2 escorts at arrival point.
My Viper:
2006 Stock Coupe
Top speed 188mph with 3.07 gear (302km/h)
Getting from 180mph to 190mph was tough .... and I had a lot of time to think about my life and my tires ...
Estimated average acceleration.
0-160mph: 1.0km(0.62mi)
160-180mph: 0.6km(0.37mi)
180-190mph: 0.8km(0.50mi)
The high speed stability was outstanding.
Preparation:
- Removed side mirrors. On Gen3 Vipers it is easy with the service access on the door front.
- Removed wiper blades
- Next time will remove passenger seat
- Nex time I will seal what ever I can with tape (Except hood venting and front bumper).
- Used 5w30 oil
- Only 1 quarter of fuel should be in tank (Unfortunately I had the tank 100% full)
- Used 94 oct fuel
- Installed free air PCV system
- A 3.33 gear is a must to hit 200mph (I had the 3.07 stock gear). A 3.28 gear would be better for the stock engine.
- Used synchromesh gear oil (5w30 or 75w85)
- Inflated tires to 32psi
- Don`t use slick tires. The best is to get as narrow tires are possible for front to reduce tire drag. However test the high speed stability with new tire setup.
- Do a couple of 1/4 mile runs before the race (this is for drivers practice).
Driving advice:
Try to run the first 1/4mi as fast as you can. Each yard after 130mph counts a lot.
In 4th gear the Viper has a lot of torque. Accelerate until the max rev 6200rpm (about 165mph)
In 5th gear the torque is virtually zero. It takes forever to reach 190mph ... This is where you think about getting a 3.33 gear for the rear and all the abuse done to your tires.
Try to avoid the birds ... when a small black point becomes huge you will be death scared ! Don't make a sudden move.
It is better to take a bird into the windshield than rollover at 190mph.
Top Results:
Ford GT X-1 kit 700hp : 338 km/h (210mph)
Porsche GT : 317 km/h (197mph)
Ford GT stock : 313 km/h (194mph)
Corvette Z06 : 303 km/h (188mph)
Viper Coupe : 302 km/h (188mph)
Nissan GTR 2008 : 297 km/h (185mph)
Ferrari 430 conv : 294 km/h (183mph)
Skyline 1991 : 290 km/h (180mph) <= !!!
Bentely GT conv : 285 km/h (177mph)
Audi R8 : 275 km/h (171mph)
Challenger SRT8 : 272 km/h (169mph)
These preparation advises apply for a concrete runway, with limited space for acceleration and braking.
In Bonneville the track is very different so other preparation rules will apply.
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