How do you drive a viper?
Do Vipers have "nannies"? I dont know anything about them but I've heard there is no ABS, Traction Control, or dynamic control.
Assumed thats why so many are written off.
Assumed thats why so many are written off.
I don't see many, if any, Vipers out here on our Cali tracks. I do, however, see a ****-ton of C5 and C6 corvettes. They outnumber the 911s even, and you have to ride them to get them to let off the gas to make a safe pass.
I think they mistake a car faster than them for a lap time for a fast straight-line car. I've received many point-bys on the straights with no throttle lift as they pull away, then two turns later I'm back on their butt. At our last Laguna event on 11/1, I noticed their in-turn speed wasn't so horrible, though the Z was faster, but I made up the most distance in the braking zones. I see their brake lights illuminate before the "4" brake marker, while I'm on the gas to the 2 or 3 marker. Those brakes are huge, so is it poor pad selection or unwillingness to dive deep into the brake zone? Without driving one, I'll never know.
I think they mistake a car faster than them for a lap time for a fast straight-line car. I've received many point-bys on the straights with no throttle lift as they pull away, then two turns later I'm back on their butt. At our last Laguna event on 11/1, I noticed their in-turn speed wasn't so horrible, though the Z was faster, but I made up the most distance in the braking zones. I see their brake lights illuminate before the "4" brake marker, while I'm on the gas to the 2 or 3 marker. Those brakes are huge, so is it poor pad selection or unwillingness to dive deep into the brake zone? Without driving one, I'll never know.
I did own a Viper and did track it quite a bit so I do have first hand knowledge of them. If you drive them smooth they are not that bad. They have so much mechanical grip that you really have to do something silly to spin them out. They like most cars have a lot of understeer built in. They are pretty stable too at speed so I would think most incidents would come under acceleration since they do not have TC. I didn't like the fact that they felt heavy and very tight inside, and very hot also due to the exhaust routing. I see now that they are owned by Fiat they want to improve the steering feel which can be a little vague on center and of course they will have the mandated TC for 2012.
Last edited by roger22; Nov 21, 2010 at 07:20 AM.
Vette is the way to go for outright performance, but the viper is a little more flashy I think, and appeals to the mopar crowd of course.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
350Z_Al
Exterior & Interior
133
Oct 29, 2020 07:44 PM





