TeddyFreddy

To me the most important piece of information from this http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/..._10/index.html article is the tires. It looks like nobody noticed, but the 2008 Viper has got R-compound tires indeed:

"The single biggest change is a swap from Michelin Pilot Sport ZP run flats to new custom Pilot Sport PS2 (and a tire-inflation kit) with a four-groove tread pattern and a compound like that of the super-sticky Pilot Sport Cup tires."

The Pilot Sport Cup tires have a thread-wear index of 80. That is super-soft, almost racing tires. As a comparison the Z06 tires have 220 thread-wear.

Edmunds mentioned as well, but I thought it is their mistake because PS2 are not R-compund. Now MT says that they are "custom PS2" tires.

This tires info tells me that something is wrong with this 2008 Viper. Lots more power plus racing tires for just 0.1 sec in the quarter (by Edmunds, Car and Driver, Motor Trend) and 0.5 sec on the road race at Grattan Raceway Park (by Car and Driver) compared with the Z06??

steve40th

Look at the factory Ferrari 599GTB, as it has very very soft Pirellis too.
140 front 60 rear treadwear. Yes, very expensive car, but it means business.
http://www.ferrarifiorano.com/tires.htm

LehmanZ06

R's don't help in the quater, and 0-60......drag radials help.

R's help on the track

TeddyFreddy

That's why I mentioned Grattan Raceway, where Z06 still holds the record against the Viper, 2 tests, same day and drivers:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1801274

NoOne

I wonder where the MT guys get their drivers

Don't ask me how but GM themselves turns in better times than both those cars in 04 Z06's.

Chrysler, GM, and Ford all do their development work at Grattan. Viper is done at quite a few more tracks but Grattan holds the majority of the work.

Those are still pretty impressive times, most of our race tire shod C5's only turn 1:27's.

TeddyFreddy

This is the 3rd report (previous from Edmunds, Motor Trend) that the new Viper has tires with the same compound as the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup, by "Road and Track":

"Labeled as Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s, they are actually made specifically for the Viper with Michelin's more aggressive "R" compound from the Pilot Sport Cup tire"
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=5891

The good thing is that we should be able to buy them and they should fit on OEM wheels of C6 Z06.

heavychevy

I wish you would get over this already. The Sport Cups havent helped the Viper do much of anything during testing and for many reasons.

#1 They take a LONG time to heat up, #1 complaint from racers who use them, I have used some for 2 sessions and still not gotten them broken in. And even after they get broken in, still take a long time to get hot, so if they werent hot lapping for 15-20 minutes they didnt get them hot enough to do any better than a PS2

#2 They DO NOT help in drag racing, the viper is legit, just look at the difference in 0-140 where the viper is pulling away handily.

#3 This is a hybrid tire so it has a MAJORITY of PS2 compound mixed with MPSC compound and will not be nearly as good as a pure MPSC.


The viper is faster and you can try and find all the loose info you can, hwile leaving out the details, but it still wont change the facts.

AU N EGL

Why should we care?

heavychevy

Just correcting misinformation.

L98Terror

Really I can run 1.7s with my Nitto 555 RII 1.9 with streets, 1.6s with DR

My Z runs 1.6 with MT DR, 1.8s with NT 01s and 2.2s with streets

Aardwolf

AU N EGL

Since you want to correct facts, have you been to a Viper Days Event in your Porsche TT? You will walk all over the Vipers, let alone most C5Zs do.

heavychevy

There are LOTS of people who can launch better than you on streets. 1.8's are common on lots of cars with streets on, I have seen an S55 go 1.91 on PS2's, R-comps will get you in the same ballpark on the avg with a good launch.

heavychevy

Dont get me wrong dude, I'm a vette guy before a Viper guy, I have a 427 TT in my C5, I just dont like people running around telling half-truths (especially ones that dont track like most of us do)

The viper has great potential but seems to attract bad drivers, I think the 08 viper will be a great car and as I always maintain, when you got to a track with Porsche, Corvette (C5 or C6), Viper etc and have 400 + hp, its a drivers race.

I almost got a Viper to drive but I didnt have the confidence in my experience level to pilot a non TC car, and I was looking at GTS's with no ABS either, I certainly didnt want that, and with the viper track rep I didnt want to take that chance, so I got a TT, which takes a little work but is a dutiful track car with much potential.


As for wiping up some viper guys, I got into it with some dude named chuck on Viper Club about the Viper should have TC (hence the bad rep, and 600 hp is no joke) and he questioned my driving ability, so I'll be down to sebring, his home track (he appears to have a GTS comp coupe of some sort) soon to shut his trap.

I'm a non biased track person, I just like to keep things real and keep it in perspective, some people just dont like that, hence I get into it with all types of guys.

Edit: And I'm also sick of TeddyFreddy instigating races that he wont step a foot near, extreme magraceritis that guy has.

63Corvette

You guys know I have had a competition license for 40 years, and I greatly respect the cars and talents of my competitors, most of whom are better drivers than I am. We NEVER have "smackdowns" and trash talking in real wheel to wheel racing. If we did, we would have to run NASCAR

TeddyFreddy

You are clueless, totally.
Read all my posts, I never "instigated races".

Dolph wrote a global challenge first, here:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...0&postcount=73

Then he challenged me directly. I refused for obvious reasons. Then I tried to get him somebody if he so insisted.

Forums are for people to talk and have a good time, to learn from each other and share not to get sick or call each other out for "races".
If you don't like my posts just add me to your "ignore list", the forum has that feature.

Rob Willis

I know one thing, I love the green!! Seriously.

http://www.windingroadonline.com/win...ertxt&ov=0032Y

heavychevy

Point being, your spreadin partial information, posting everywhere that the Viper has "Racing Tires", a guy challenges YOU to back up your claim that the Viper is legitimately faster on a road course, and you run for cover. Then you talk about track records at Grattan and take no consideration that the Viper was ahead of the Z06 on the same day. Leave the road racing discussions to people who actually do it. If the best you can do is race out of a magazine, you have no business talking to real road racers and for two reasons.

#1 They know that between the two (evenly matched cars), the best driver always wins. So your magazine times go out the window.

#2 There are far too many variables for even these magazines to get right, with either un-named pro drivers driving or even worse, magazine editors.

AU N EGL

Yes I think you hit the big one right there.

outnumbered

Gotta to love that hood.