JDRacing

Thanks again. Did some other searches too on this, and see what you're talking about. I guess the only outstanding question is whether the Sport Cups are worth 1.9 seconds around Laguna over the PS2 run flats. In any event, with that wing on the ACR, it will be tough to compete with the rear downforce.

tjZ06

Haha. I love Top Gear and always get a kick out of the "Buggy Spring" comments. But hey, if it works...

-TJ

Onerareviper

Definitely works.... Any news on the C7 keeping the "Buggy Springs"? Just curious...

RDOVETTE

I had a chance to drive a friend's 2009 ACR. The car had after market headers, brake pads and slicks.

Probably drove his car around 75%, due to over-whelming fear and responsiblity. The car was new to my friend and very foreign to myself!

However, I was impressed with the cars brakes and cornering ability. He has a 6-point harness so I felt more stable in the seat compared to my car.

I felt like my shifter and gearing ratio was superior/preferable to our track setting of the day.

Do I have a favorite- yes, my car; far more civilized on the public roads but I love them both.

A truly unique experience, which I will not soon forget.

CarDude

Well...I have both (08 ACR 10 ZR1) and I track both. If I had to give one up...it would be the ZR1. The ACR, just like in the videos you see online (ACR vs ZR1 Ring) is a far more compose car on the track. When I drive the poop out of the ZR1, my steering adjustments are crazy...but when driving on the street, my steering adjustments are more erratic in the Viper if I were running the Pilot Sport Cups (I switched to Hoosiers at the track and PS2 off). The Viper just gets more attention...plain and simple. I love them both and I am very interested to see how the ZR1 is going to do on race rubber. If I can bang off a quick lap before it heat soaks then it will be very fast...but it willlll heat soak. Basically if you are driving to the 10/10ths then it is just gonna happen without some mods. Heck, I was at an event in Colorado where my ACR even overheated (the air temp was in the upper 90s...track temps had to be 130). Try driving at that temp with the heater on....sweet Jesus it was hot.

So the ACR gets the nod by my experienced vote. And to address all the warranty hoopala......that means if you change the setting on the shocks the Shock warranty is void...just like if you change the wing position, the wing warranty is void (so if it flies off your pocketbook has an opening). My ACR still has it's warranty, and I track it a lot to say the least. I have 7,500 miles on my ACR and it has went in for a warranty window adjustment. I have changed the brake pads and several tires...

And for the record the 2010 ACR would actually spank the ZR1 at the ring, as the 5th and 6th gear was changed to a top speed like ratio similar to the ZR1. In the videos you see the ACR is boucing off the rev limiter becuase it was not advantageous to shift as the car would bog in the highway ratioed 5th and 6th gear in the 08-09. Sorry.

impactblue

lots of great information and i dont know if anyone mentioned this yet but...
dont you need to trailer an ACR to the track? and a ZR1 you can actually drive?
acr+trailer or zr1 solo...

Onerareviper

No. The ACR is street legal and sold at your local Dodge dealer. The only stipulation is using the track extension that bolts to the center of the front splitter (in a couple minutes). This part is in the truck when you purchase a Viper ACR. 'Technically' this is not legal to use on the street, although many do. Other than that one small part, everything is absolutely 100% street legal on the ACR. Period. Period. Period....

Refer to section 2.3 and look at the track extension picture. This is the 'big deal' part jvp likes to bring up. This is the only part that is not street legal in the truest sense. It is a small part held on with 8 bolts, and is stored in the trunk when not is use. You can decide whether this is a big deal or not....

http://www.kansascityvca.com/ACR_Owners_Manual.pdf


Now, the ACR-X is track use only. Along with the Competition Coupe that is no longer sold. Here is some information on the ACR-X:

http://jalopnik.com/5423357/dodge-vi...turn+key-racer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPazo...ayer_embedded#



Hopefully this will clear up any confusion.

Leonie

Still, the best track car - for your buck (!!) - would be your 2008 LS3, with "some" money spent in mods?

- a 429 stroker with about 600 hp at the flywheel, or even less, with a cam giving good grunt out of corners instead of the last 10 hp at 6500 rpms

- if that still doesn´t fulfill your needs, lower compression and a centri (procharger or similar) gives you linear increase in power over the N/A configuration, for controlled acceleration out of corners while still havin enough "go" in the right revband for the long straights

- a good cooling system, so your hp won´t suffer after the third lap

- Z06 fenders front and rear for your needs of putting serious rubber under it

- matching Z06 frontend, screen completely opened up (see point 3)

- fog lights thrown out for brake cooling ducts

- Stoptech, Porsche GT3 or similar brakes, 11" and 13" x 18" wheels for 285/30 and 335/30 Toyo R888 or similar, if you plan to drive it on the street 60% of the time

- Grand Sport (Z06 ?) diff cooler

- 3.91 final drive or 0.82 / 0.68 5th and 6th or both, depending on the track layout

and so on and so on...

And the best thing, some seriously large amount of bucks saved for things like tires, brake rotors and pads, and - perhaps even more important - the missing fear of ruining a "Collectors Car" in case of a mishap!!!

Just some thoughts.... Best, Bernd

Edit: of course I forgot the Callaway coilovers, don´t know about their actual standing in the U.S. market, but they have a dependance in Germany, and C6 drivers tracking their C6´s at the Nuerburgring swear on them!

Not only regarding the product itself, but also the customer support on adjusting the setup etc...

PRE-Z06

Been a while since I've run into you at the track, but good to see you have such a tough decision to make...gonna skip right over the z06?

BruZe06

For track use, the ACR wins hands down, assuming both cars will be used with no or minimal modifications. The ACR has shocks that are adjustable for compression and rebound and spring perches for ride height, the engine is normally aspirated and won't heat soak as easily as the ZR1. I own an ACR and finds it to be very forgiving at the limit. Car already comes with mounting bolts behind the seat for shoulder harnesses. The V10 is less stressed than the blown V8 in the ZR1. ACR also has adjustable front spoiler and rear wing so you can dial in the downforce for each track. ACR has very good two piece Stop Tech brakes which will be much cheaper to maintain than the ZR1's carbon ceramic Brembos. Last but not least, if you buy the ZR1, you will be passed by ACR's on the track. With all that said, I still want to get a ZR1 but will only drive it on the street. Did the OP ask for track use? Here you go....

vette ruminator

I was at the Autobahn CC in Joliet IL on Monday for a full track event. I know the track well and I have upgraded brakes and Pilot Sport Cup tires. A set of 2 ACRs walked by me like I was standing still. I drive an 08 Z06 not a ZR1 but those cars were wicked fast. Musta been good drivers, too...

laron

some people just arent getting it..A street legal ACR (not the ACR-x) is many seconds faster around any track than the ZR1..The ZR1 goes to the track and has it's hands full with the GTR's..

The ACR goes to the track and has it's hands full with breaking it's own records..

The ACR-x will likely run in the 6's at the ring. It is the holy grail of track cars under 200K

Texas_Venom

Interesting to hear that some people say you cant drive the Viper daily. I know a 79 year old woman in Atlanta that has had 3 Vipers, put well over 100,000 miles on each one, and did it all while wearing HEELS! The front splitter is not an issue anymore that the splitter n the ZR-1.

One thing to remember about the "ring" record is the ACR owner was a private owner who flew his car over to run it at the track. GM took their ZR1 over and had a month to set it up and prepare it for their run at the record. had Dodge done the same the record might be a little better than it currently is. The ACR is a great track car... and can be driven daily if your not over weight and can get in and out of it. The ZR1 is a better all around daily driver. Ideally I would like to have both. But with this economy thats not going to happen... plus I refuse to support Government Motors at this time.

gilly6993

I'm not gonna get in to a back and forth with this but the only thing "illegal" are the upper canards, not the whole splitter....

SnakeBitten

I love both cars but I just dont understand the myopia on those that think the ZR1 could remotely handle an ACR on any track. The Ring is a 13 mile track and the ACR won by 4 secs despite giving up lots of time to the ZR1 in the straights due to the Vipers horrible 5th and 6th gear economy gearing. To be still 4 secs better than a car developed on the Ring that had countless runs and R&D on that track speaks volumes to anyone non biased. And it did it in a half a day testing with a driver that was a first time street Viper driver. Come on guys give the ACR its respect cause it will certainly take it by force on a track stock to stock vs the ZR1 just as the ZR1 would eat an ACR up on a highway pull.

Also lets look stateside at the VIR fast laps. Again on this much much shorter track than the Ring the ACR was about 4 seconds faster then the ZR1 again. A 2:48 to a 2:52 iirc. Check out the C&D Lightening Lap charts and you will see. There is NO comparison between the two for track driving. Viper ACR hands down. Just as there is NO comparison between the two as far as street/daily driving/comfort. ZR1 hands waaay down. Its not a knock on either car as they both had different missions. Two great cars that are the best at what they were designed to do.

jvp

But why only 4 seconds? Let's compare the two...

Viper

• Driven by a pro driver
• Specifically configured to run on that track (splitter/wing/suspension)
• 80-series tires

ZR1

• Driven by a (very good) development engineer
• Stock suspension with no adjustments made
• 220-series run-flat tires

And it ONLY beat the ZR1 by 4 seconds on a 13 mile track? It should have killed the ZR1.

Let's be a little careful with slinging the word "myopia" around, eh?

jas

FLATOUTVIPER

Get over it Dude ACR is faster around the road course. At Texas World Speedway there are at least 4 of them from the Houston area that drive a minimum of 60 miles to get to the track, beat the crap out of them and then drive them home.

ZR1 is an incredible machine as well, I don't come on here acting like the ACR is going to beat the ZR1 in the Mile.

jvp

OK, so you don't have an answer to my question. Next?

jas

JDRacing

Tires, tires, tires. I sound like a broken record.

We don't know which car is faster around the 'Ring, Laguna Seca, or VIR with the the same tires, and the same driver on the same day. Only that the ACR (pre-2010 gearing) was 4.x seconds faster, 0.8 seconds faster and 3.2 seconds faster, respectively, with track tires than the ZR1 was with run flats of the same brand, with different drivers on different days. And that the 2010 ACR was just under 2 seconds faster at Laguna with the same tire advantage, different drivers, different days.

Everything else is just speculation.

SnakeBitten

My gawd the excuses. I see you wont stop till all ignore the shortcomings of the Viper on its run so you can have your symbolic victory

For every excuse you bring up the Viper actually has its share but yet it still won by 4 secs so it doesnt need to use excuses. That tells you how nasty a track package it is to be able to do that to a car of the ridiculous calibur like the ZR1. You refuse to acknowledge that the beating would have been much more had the ACR had a week or a few more days and runs. The concus of MT and SRT is that its a 7:1x car as it was setup for the test if they had more time. Lets recap again.

1. 25mph head wind that stopped it from being able to hit 160+

2. Horrendous gearing for 5th and 6th gear as well as horrible rear end gearing. Gearing so tall that a 600hp/570tq motor cant pull it with authority Think about that. Having to stay in a lower gear and constantly bang against the rev limiter because the next gear up is useless especially against the wind coupled with that 1000lbs of downforce is NOT the fastest way around a track.

3. Suspension that repeatedly bottomed out and rubbed doesnt help

BTW the ACR has coils as stock suspension so using the ZR1 stock suspension is not an excuse like you think as it was calibrated FOR the Ring The ZR1 has those trick shocks, CC brakes, LC, TC etc no fair

You want to harp on fixing the ZR1's supposed shortcomings because you fail to realize it WASNT designed to go up against a car like the ACR hence it didnt come with 80 tw tires, downforce, coilovers etc. Let it go man.

If the old hobbled ACR beat the ZR1 by 4 secs what do you think the 2010 ACR that addressed the gearing issues will do to the ZR1? Thats the difference between a track/street oriented car vs an all around street/track king like the ZR1. Apples to oranges.

One more time. VIR 4.2 mile track. Much shorter than the Ring and the Viper ACR beat the ZR1 by 4 secs. That was without a long straight like the Ring and a headwind of 25mph, and the track suited the wacky gearing Dodge saddled the Viper with better than the Ring. Can you imagine the time the ZR1 made up on the ACR's time on that Ring back straightaway alone with the Viper limited to around 159mph If it beat the ZR1 in only 4.2 miles by 4 secs a lap dont you see it would have been worse for the ZR1 on the Ring had the Vipers gearing etc suited that track? Its because the Viper wasnt made with this type of track in mind, head wind etc that the gap is "only" 4 seconds. The track exposed the ACR's weaknesses and was the reason for the seemingly "close" times imho.