Bruce H.
Enthusiast
It amazes me how much lap time can be shed with so little extra seat time in this car. I’ve been dropping about 4 seconds a lap each day at the track with little effort…just more familiarity coupled with a decent skill level. Yesterday’s lap time of 1:34 is quite significant for a bone stock high performance production car… and another day or two could see it drop out of that class and into race-prepped territory. A previous thread included a video with a local hot shoe blowing past in his ACR-X, which I was told runs in the 1:27 range on slicks, as does a full-on 630 hp, 2800 lb, full CF bodied Corvette race car that was on track yesterday. While my daily improvements will dwindle as I approach the limits of the car and my skill level, I see close to a 1:30 lap being possible … on stock tires!
Here’s a quick video showing the 1:34 lap from the last session, after a day that had rained until noon and took most of the afternoon to dry up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBFv2whWxuE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBFv2whWxuE
There were many laps in the 1:35’s and 6’s as well, and the top speed I saw on the back straight for the day was 150 mph. Note: The GPS generated speed displayed on the video is off in places for some reason, ie dropping as the car is obviously accelerating on the front straight, so if it looks off it probably is. The only indication I have of approaching the Corsa tire’s limits of adhesion is through T3 where you can hear the tires starting to sing. That leaves 9 other corners for me to improve on to shave time. Not sure I see slicks in my future, but they’d have to be worth at least a couple of seconds on this track…and deep into the Holy Grail of lap times for a car I do the grocery shopping and go out for dinner with the wife in.
I had previously commented on the rear of the car feeling a bit nervous, and having a bit of a wiggle at the end of the straights when easing off the gas before going to brake. I’m glad to report that the use of the damper’s Race Mode has eliminated that, and the car feels quite stable under all conditions now. I had previously only tried Race Mode for a couple of laps, initially preferring the compliance of the Street Mode, but after spending some time with it I can say with certainty that Race Mode is where it’s at on a smooth and dry track like this…period.
I also had patchy brake pad deposits on the front rotors, which may have happened after quickly leaving the previous track day after the last session. A Viper tech explained that if the brakes hadn’t cooled enough that the pad material may have transferred unevenly then. I sanded the deposits off as well as I could, and I notice after yesterday’s track day that I seem to have a fairly uniform coating of pad deposit around the entire rotor now. The brakes felt smooth driving home last night, and I’ll report back if they feel any differently after sitting overnight.
Last time out I ran stock pressures which rose to ~37 psi on track, but this time I lower them to 30 psi hot as per Pirelli’s recommendation. They felt very good, and this should provide more even wear as the center of the tire predictably appeared to be wearing faster at the higher pressures.
I set the ESC to Rain Mode for the wet morning, and Track Mode (when I remembered) after things dried up. Too bad the car won’t retain the selected ESC mode when restarted, but safety regulations would never permit that. I guess I need to put a sticky note on the dash. The good news is that I was unable to detect any intervention from Stability and TC systems…and didn’t get into a slide where TC turned off as in Track Mode could be essential to regain control.
The on-board diagnostics measured peak G forces of 1.50g both left and right, 1.42g under braking, and .72g accelerating. None of the corners at Mosport are banked, but some pretty heavy g’s would be available on one that does.
I still haven’t been able to physically master “heel and toe” when down shifting, nor spent much time trying, but I do successfully rev match where necessary. Any poorly matched downshift will upset the rear a little in the wet, but it’s not a noticeable problem in the dry. I’ll look forward to acquiring the right technique one day. Electronic rev-matching? No thanks, I’m good, but I do enjoy a good chuckle just thinking about the thought of it in a car like this
I was recently asked by another TA owner who doesn’t track his whether there’s anything I’ve discovered that I would change about the car. There have been so many things on other track day cars I have/had that needed to be addressed, many of which I modified with after-market solutions, adjustments and tuning, but at this point I can’t think of a single aspect I would change. If I didn’t physically fit in it comfortably I’d feel differently, but at 5’10 and 215 lbs I fit with leg and headroom to spare with helmet on. I could make a wish list of several things, like more room around the pedals and better outward visibility, but those aspects come as part of this V10’s exotic layout, nature and beautiful shape…and I wouldn’t trade away any of that for anything I could put on a wish list. A car that is perfected for everyone’s needs is never going to be exotic or rare, and I enjoy that when not tearing around the track with my hair on fire and a grin from ear to ear!
Those that aren’t looking to buy a Viper, or don’t have the opportunity or driving acumen to exploit the car’s ability, like most automotive journalists I suspect, could simply never understand or appreciate this car. I hope my on-going track threads, and those from others, provide you with some useful and interesting insight.
Off to Virginia International for track days with Chin Motorsports on June 25th and 26th. I haven’t been there since 2006, but I know it pretty well and the TA should be a stand-out there. My review might even come out before Car and Driver finally gets around to releasing their Lightning Lap comparo!
With thanks to Ralph and his SRT team for such an incredible, unapologetic, uncompromising and engaging driver’s car.
Bruce
2014 Black TA 23/33 new track toy http://s49.photobucket.com/user/GT28...ary/Viper TA, 1994 Supra TT long-term track toy, 1993 MR2 T longer-term track toy, 2010 XKR track toy sacrificed for TA
Here’s a quick video showing the 1:34 lap from the last session, after a day that had rained until noon and took most of the afternoon to dry up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBFv2whWxuE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBFv2whWxuE
There were many laps in the 1:35’s and 6’s as well, and the top speed I saw on the back straight for the day was 150 mph. Note: The GPS generated speed displayed on the video is off in places for some reason, ie dropping as the car is obviously accelerating on the front straight, so if it looks off it probably is. The only indication I have of approaching the Corsa tire’s limits of adhesion is through T3 where you can hear the tires starting to sing. That leaves 9 other corners for me to improve on to shave time. Not sure I see slicks in my future, but they’d have to be worth at least a couple of seconds on this track…and deep into the Holy Grail of lap times for a car I do the grocery shopping and go out for dinner with the wife in.
I had previously commented on the rear of the car feeling a bit nervous, and having a bit of a wiggle at the end of the straights when easing off the gas before going to brake. I’m glad to report that the use of the damper’s Race Mode has eliminated that, and the car feels quite stable under all conditions now. I had previously only tried Race Mode for a couple of laps, initially preferring the compliance of the Street Mode, but after spending some time with it I can say with certainty that Race Mode is where it’s at on a smooth and dry track like this…period.
I also had patchy brake pad deposits on the front rotors, which may have happened after quickly leaving the previous track day after the last session. A Viper tech explained that if the brakes hadn’t cooled enough that the pad material may have transferred unevenly then. I sanded the deposits off as well as I could, and I notice after yesterday’s track day that I seem to have a fairly uniform coating of pad deposit around the entire rotor now. The brakes felt smooth driving home last night, and I’ll report back if they feel any differently after sitting overnight.
Last time out I ran stock pressures which rose to ~37 psi on track, but this time I lower them to 30 psi hot as per Pirelli’s recommendation. They felt very good, and this should provide more even wear as the center of the tire predictably appeared to be wearing faster at the higher pressures.
I set the ESC to Rain Mode for the wet morning, and Track Mode (when I remembered) after things dried up. Too bad the car won’t retain the selected ESC mode when restarted, but safety regulations would never permit that. I guess I need to put a sticky note on the dash. The good news is that I was unable to detect any intervention from Stability and TC systems…and didn’t get into a slide where TC turned off as in Track Mode could be essential to regain control.
The on-board diagnostics measured peak G forces of 1.50g both left and right, 1.42g under braking, and .72g accelerating. None of the corners at Mosport are banked, but some pretty heavy g’s would be available on one that does.
I still haven’t been able to physically master “heel and toe” when down shifting, nor spent much time trying, but I do successfully rev match where necessary. Any poorly matched downshift will upset the rear a little in the wet, but it’s not a noticeable problem in the dry. I’ll look forward to acquiring the right technique one day. Electronic rev-matching? No thanks, I’m good, but I do enjoy a good chuckle just thinking about the thought of it in a car like this
I was recently asked by another TA owner who doesn’t track his whether there’s anything I’ve discovered that I would change about the car. There have been so many things on other track day cars I have/had that needed to be addressed, many of which I modified with after-market solutions, adjustments and tuning, but at this point I can’t think of a single aspect I would change. If I didn’t physically fit in it comfortably I’d feel differently, but at 5’10 and 215 lbs I fit with leg and headroom to spare with helmet on. I could make a wish list of several things, like more room around the pedals and better outward visibility, but those aspects come as part of this V10’s exotic layout, nature and beautiful shape…and I wouldn’t trade away any of that for anything I could put on a wish list. A car that is perfected for everyone’s needs is never going to be exotic or rare, and I enjoy that when not tearing around the track with my hair on fire and a grin from ear to ear!
Those that aren’t looking to buy a Viper, or don’t have the opportunity or driving acumen to exploit the car’s ability, like most automotive journalists I suspect, could simply never understand or appreciate this car. I hope my on-going track threads, and those from others, provide you with some useful and interesting insight.
Off to Virginia International for track days with Chin Motorsports on June 25th and 26th. I haven’t been there since 2006, but I know it pretty well and the TA should be a stand-out there. My review might even come out before Car and Driver finally gets around to releasing their Lightning Lap comparo!
With thanks to Ralph and his SRT team for such an incredible, unapologetic, uncompromising and engaging driver’s car.
Bruce
2014 Black TA 23/33 new track toy http://s49.photobucket.com/user/GT28...ary/Viper TA, 1994 Supra TT long-term track toy, 1993 MR2 T longer-term track toy, 2010 XKR track toy sacrificed for TA
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