Baseline 1/4 results on my '06 coupe

[Nine Ball]

You must be registered for see images

Went to Houston Raceway Park this past Friday night while the SRT10 is still 100% stock, down to the air filters and tires. 3,810 miles on it. Weather was in the upper 60F temps, mild humidity.

Best run was:
12.34 @ 118.3, lame 2.09 60' time

I had to basically semi-bog it off the line to avoid spinning and wheelhop, and shift it early on the 1-2 to avoid more violent wheelhop. This thing needs some better tires, run flats ****. Track prep wasn't too great, mostly street tire cars like me. Unlike the LSX engines, you cannot hot-lap this car effectively. The aluminum intake just holds the heat and the trap speed would drop about 1 mph per pass. I got there early and did four passes in a row (no waiting) and it went:

118
117
116
114 (stayed in 3rd)

Gearing is pretty awful for drag racing with the 3.07 gears, and I had the choice of tapping the rev limiter in 3rd near the finish line, or shifting to 4th about 100 ft from the line. It makes a noticeable decrease in acceleration going into 4th since it isn't in the optimum powerband yet.

raceweight was 3,610 lbs. I weigh 192 lbs. The exact same weight as a stock 98-02 Camaro/Firebird. It is really a shame that Dodge didn't make these cars at least 200 lbs lighter. It is physically smaller and has two less seats than a Camaro, it should also weight much less.

I didn't go expecting an 11 on the run flats, but I would on drag radials. Anyways, this just serves as a baseline for me, as I'll begin to modify the car now. Leaning towards Paxton and exhaust.

Tony

 

[dave6666]

Yeah but would the Camaro weigh the same with a V10 in it???

So what's your first mod now going to be?

 

[Nine Ball]

V10 is only 2 more cylinders, with an all-aluminum engine. We aren't talking more than 40 lbs tops there.

C6 Z06 is only 3100 lbs, a good 300 lbs lighter. I think they should have made the SRT10 coupes much lighter than 3400 lbs.

 

[ROCKET62]

I thought that I read somewhere that the Viper engine weighs around 650 lbs. Not exact - but 2 less cylinders would save 130lbs taking into account the added length of the crank, cam, intake, exhaust, block, etc, etc.

I think part of the issue with the weight of the Viper comes from the fact that it was originally designed as a convertible. Most cars that start out as coupes weigh significantly less than their converible counterparts - which is not so with the Viper.

V10 is only 2 more cylinders, with an all-aluminum engine. We aren't talking more than 40 lbs tops there.

C6 Z06 is only 3100 lbs, a good 300 lbs lighter. I think they should have made the SRT10 coupes much lighter than 3400 lbs.

 

[MikeR]

Not bad. What people often forget about is track prep, outside temps, elevation etc.
At VOI9, the best most were getting on BONE STOCK SRT's was 12.8-12.9's. This was in the Hot Las Vegas Weather. But Ive seen guys run 11.9's ona good day, good track, prep etc. Still I bet you could shave .1-.2 with a better 60ft. Anyways, nice, now see what you do next time out and then once you start modding.

 

[Red Snake]

Gearing is pretty awful for drag racing with the 3.07 gears, and I had the choice of tapping the rev limiter in 3rd near the finish line, or shifting to 4th about 100 ft from the line. It makes a noticeable decrease in acceleration going into 4th since it isn't in the optimum powerband yet.

Tony

Wouldn't your times be better if you shifted sooner in every gear and got well into 4th gear before the traps? I know your mph would certainly get better. I'm just asking, as I am new to the Viper.

Is everyone else hitting the traps in 3rd gear?

 

[Nine Ball]

Shifting sooner in every gear would slow you down. I was shifting at 6K rpm, just before the rev limiter stepped in. Keep in mind that if you shift sooner, your rpm also starts out much lower in the next gear. You are trying to stay in the optimium RPM powerband in each gear, which is between 5K-6K for a stock Viper.

The reason it doesn't use much of 4th is due mostly in part to the rear gear ratio. This car is geared for the highway, not the drag strip. In order to fully utilize the current rear gear, the car would need much more power to actually use all of 4th gear. That would probably mean a I would need at least a mid-9 second car to actually use a 3.07 gear at the drag strip.

 

[MikeR]

Wouldn't your times be better if you shifted sooner in every gear and got well into 4th gear before the traps? I know your mph would certainly get better. I'm just asking, as I am new to the Viper.

Is everyone else hitting the traps in 3rd gear?

Every time Ive run, probably 20-30 runs so far in my Viper, Ive shifted 4th as I was going thru the finish or 50+ ft from finish, the few times I carried 3rd, I banged rev limiter, but had my best run, though the mph was one of my lowest.
I ran a 11.7 @ 124 mph, shifted into 4th with a 1.88 60 ft
I ran a 11.6 @ 120 mph, hit limiter in 3rd going across finish with a 1.81 60 ft.

It also depends on your 60 ft, ther were times were I definately had to shift 4th, and a few were I got a real good 60 ft and tried to hold 3rd. I think its a toss up with stock gears and basic bolt ons.

 

[CitySnake]

Shifting sooner in every gear would slow you down. I was shifting at 6K rpm, just before the rev limiter stepped in. Keep in mind that if you shift sooner, your rpm also starts out much lower in the next gear. You are trying to stay in the optimium RPM powerband in each gear, which is between 5K-6K for a stock Viper.

The reason it doesn't use much of 4th is due mostly in part to the rear gear ratio. This car is geared for the highway, not the drag strip. In order to fully utilize the current rear gear, the car would need much more power to actually use all of 4th gear. That would probably mean a I would need at least a mid-9 second car to actually use a 3.07 gear at the drag strip.

If I recall correctly, peak RPM is at or near 5,200 RPM.

 

[ROCKET62]

Thanks for the post. What tire pressure were you running in the rears? Seems many have had good luck around 25 psi.

 

[Nine Ball]

I followed those suggestions, also had 25 psi in the rear tires.

 

[09 Venom]

You can improve the 60' times to @1.8xx and you will have your 11.8-11.9 sec ET. This CAN be done with the run flats. You have to drop the pressure to 25psi. I know this next part is difficult but temps in the 55-65 degree range is ideal for draggin. If it is too cool the track prep MUST be perfect to hook up. It all comes down to the first 60' You also need a good dry burnout to warm up the tires. Wet if you run with DR's.

 

[Nine Ball]

Thanks for the tips, I'm far from a drag racing rookie though. I've logged well over 2,000 passes in the last few years with various vehicles that are much quicker than this car. Your points are definitely correct, the 60' is the most important part. I tried several launches that night, and the tires were the limiting factor for this car. Track prep was below average, you didn't even hear/feel the tires stick when rolling up to the line. Too bad nobody makes a 19" drag radial in stock sizes yet

 

[Hamrhead]

Is everyone else hitting the traps in 3rd gear?

Yep.

Stock I ran 11.90 @ 122 in 3rd gear. 1.96 60'. ~70 degrees that day and kinda humid.

 

[MuscleJunkie]

What are the Stock Z06's running - just for comparison purposes - real world results?

 

[MikeR]

What are the Stock Z06's running - just for comparison purposes - real world results?

There are guys that have pulled low 11's bone stock down to the tires and one guy who broke 10's with drag radials on bone stock car. The Z06 is lighter and has better gearing.

But everytime Ive been to track, Ive seen stock Z06's running low 12's and one guy finally ran a 11.9. These were just average joe guys out for fun. So that says nothing of what car is capable of.

 

[Schulmann]

Very good result on stock tires.

I never managed to get below 12.5/115 and I have straight pipes !!
And I always had to shift into 4th gear ...

What modifications do you have on your Viper ?

 

[Nine Ball]

There was a stock C6Z at the track that night, it went 12.2X @ 121 mph. I've seen them go 11.8s in cold weather here.

 

[MuscleJunkie]

So, the stock 06 - 08 Z06 is basically quicker than the 03 - 06 stock Viper?

 

[ANIL8-U]

Mine ran 11.49 @ 126 stock. 2006 Z06

 

[ANIL8-U]

There was a stock C6Z at the track that night, it went 12.2X @ 121 mph. I've seen them go 11.8s in cold weather here.

you should let sw make a pass for you!

 

[Nine Ball]

So, the stock 06 - 08 Z06 is basically quicker than the 03 - 06 stock Viper?

That would be correct, given equal driver skill. The Z06's have consistently set higher trap speeds than the Vipers have, mostly because they are 300 lbs lighter and geared better for the 1/4.