svtkeith

Exactly!! well said I have one on order but am seriously thinking of canceling not because I can't afford it but my ZR1 is actually faster so why would I want to go backwards.

svtkeith

770hp sure got my attention In a 3300lbs Viper oh yeah!!

ChucksZ06

We must be about the same age. I bought a used 64 goat when I got out of school...my first car. It had 4.33s and tripower. Never had a car since that you could power shift like that Muncie 4speed. I think it would run 14 sec at about 105. Lifter pumped at 5500. Ha. With those low gears I passed a lot of guys in street races in 4th. Cars have sure come along way since then. My c7 is same as yours with the alum wheels and a manual. I am in same boat with the z. Kind of glad I waited. I always build my own engines, etc. I think this time I will have Vengeance pick up the car from a forum dealer, and do the mods for me. Then I can fly in and drive it home. Those guys do such a good job tuning.

sunsalem

I was trying to refer more to the Marketing end of it.
We have already been dazzled by the 707hp Hellcat....an 800hp engine would be another stunner and headline grabber for Dodge.

NineBall

I took the weekend off from beating-up on C7 Z06's

My wife and I had a great time at the Viper Owners Assoc sponsored "Bucket List" race day at Circuit of The Americas.

This was my first time to race on COTA, and WOW what a track! The entire surface of this track is flawless, I don't even think I saw a repair patch anywhere. Plenty of run-off room, which made me more confident to push the car hard, without fear of meeting a wall. It took me a couple sessions just to learn each turn, and with 20 of them, it is certainly a challenge. Many of the turns are blind, due to elevation changes. Many of them are also decreasing radius, which can lead to 4-wheel drifts if you go in too hot. I've had enough seat time in the '13 SRT and now this '14 TA, that I feel very comfortable with how the car communicates. I only went 2 wheels off one time, on a hot hairpin turn 20, but nothing major. This track is simply beautiful, a work of art that we get to race on. Easily the fastest track I've been on, in terms of average speed. Surprisingly technical in areas, considering it was designed for much faster Formula 1 cars.

Now about the car. Our white 2014 TA never skipped a beat, all day. I literally just had to fill it up 3 times with gas, and adjust tire pressure. The car performed flawlessly for nine 20-minute sessions, as my wife and I split duties in the car, in two different run classes. I was in the advanced (white) group, she was in the beginner (blue) group. The car never got any cool down, as my group ran right after hers did. We literally changed out drivers in the pit lane, with the car still running. After my session, it got to park for 40 minutes while other groups ran. An even greater testament, I actually went my fastest laps in the last 2 laps of each session, as I got the tires hot enough. I was out there on the factory wheels, with Michelin Pilot Sport Cups, and found them to work best at 32psi hot. At COTA, the stock TA hits 150-151 mph on the back straight, which ends with a hairpin turn. The brakes were flawless, I never felt even a hint of fade. My 2013 SRT w/ Track Pack brakes would fade a bit, on a much slower MSR Houston track. That car was still manageable, but the TA brakes are excellent. I did experience the rearend side-to-side waggle when getting hard on the brakes in this car, as some others have noted. Ben Keating said this means the front end needs more brake, which he corrected on his own white TA, with the 6-piston setup that Tomball Dodge sells. If I get more serious about racing, I may try a more aggressive pad first, as that waggle only really happened after the two high speed straights. It was evident, but manageable, didn't scare me. I tried half a session on Street Mode shock setting, and it felt sort of like my '13 SRT did. Still pretty good in that mode. But, the Track Mode was excellent, the car feels very tight and flat in this mode. I always run with all the electro-nannies in full on, as they serve as good reminders when I'm doing dumb things. They are very non-intrusive if you are laying down good lines and driving the car well. They certainly will help you avoid spinning out, should you get too brave with the throttle. Those of you tracking previous generations will probably love the Gen V nannies, as they still allow you to drive as hard as you want.

Regarding tires, I've now tracked on the Pirelli Corsa, Michelin Pilot Super Sport, and now the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup. I would rank the Corsa and Sport Cup about equal. The steering response seemed a bit better on the Corsa, to me. It just felt more crisp. After 3 hard laps, the Sport Cups start to feel greasy and I'd have understeer in some corners, which wasn't there on previous laps. I also didn't have much traction in 2nd gear on the Sport Cups, and felt the Corsas did a little better there. Both of those tires are great street-legal race tires. The Michelin Super Sports are pretty far behind both, and are sort of spooky most of the time. I don't think I'll ever track the Super Sports again. I think at this point, it is time for me to put on the Hoosier R6/R7 tires, as I think I'm at the limits of my tires now. I would also like to try the Toyo R888's, to see how they compare with the Sport Cup and Corsa.

Anyways, here are some pics, and a video of one of my 2:35 laps.



Full Gallery: http://s466.photobucket.com/user/yno...A%20Dec%202014

2:35 lap. This was pretty fast, for being an amateur racer with zero experience on this track. A pro in a similar Viper TA (his had bigger brakes, 50 more hp) was going 2:32 in my same group, and he has won an ALMS class at this track.


Whew!
Tony

Hirohawa

Nice driving. COTA looks and sounds like an incredible track. That is really impressive 9 sessions. Dodge built a very stout platform. A similar story a husband and wife duo did a similar swap on their C6 ZR1 running in two different skill groups at one of the Corvette Challenge days I participated in. I never heard them complain about the car getting slower or losing power all day. Looking forward to see how the new C7 Z06 does after a full day of HPDE.

LSs1Power

Don't bother with the R888. I have tried them back to back against the Corsa and there is just no comparison. The major problem i had with the 888 is high speed stability above 160mph "actually scary and dangerous" and that they don't come strong early on. You need few heat cycles in them before they give you the best performance and then fall off pretty quick even with plenty of tire left. I actually tried another shaved set of R888 and still wasn't satisfied with them. If you want a tire that lasts long and give you 80% of the Corsa performance try the PZero Corsa. If you don't care about changing tires, stick with the Corsa or Trofeo and they as they are the best all around tire, high speed stability and cornering. The Sports Cup come in just after both of them.

I have went through so many tires on my race cars and also C6 Z06. I rank them as follows based on performance, Corsa, R6, Trofeo, Sports Cup, PZero Corsa, NT01, R888 and then Super Sports.

If i want to rank them based on longevity with some compromise in performance, PZero Corsa, Trofeo, NT01, Corsa, Sports Cup, R888, R6 and last Super Sports even though it will last the longest among them but too compromised in performance to consider.

heavychevy

I've seen some duos hot lapping ZR1'S as well. They are stout. Speaking of stout, was he the pro running 2:32's?

MPSC from my experience require a different driving style. They are tuned for max cornering speed and light throttle inputs on exit. I always wondered how they would handle on a viper which really excels in power down on exit. I don't think its the best fit, unless it's the acr.

Crabbers

Right.

So again, I am confused as to why everyone said it would walk the ZR1. I'm not talking about GM, I'm talking about this forum. New tires have quite a lot to do with grip (not everything, but a lot). They haven't released any track times at all, but again, why would it walk away when they're pretty much the same?

Like I originally said, I see the new Z06 taking steps forward over the ZR1 not in being a better car, but in being the same car for less cost (and admittedly a better interior )

NineBall

I didn't realize there were two different Corsa tires, I was on the factory TA tires, so Pzero Corsa. I Haven't run real race tires on any of my cars yet. Thanks for the info though, looks like Hoosiers are next.

VNAMVET

Looks like you are out on a Sunday drive. So smooth in transitions.
Wish we had a nice track like that here in Fl.

vtknight

Great runs!

My car is set up exclusively for straight line competitons so I'm sure the tire comparo for road course is a whole different ball game. That said - the straight line instability that the one gentleman found above 160 MPH (I'm guessing driving straight) with his R888's surprises me as I have personally been over 210 MPH on mine without any issues.

They are noisy and lousy in the rain - and the tread wear is only 100 - but it seems for most higher powered cars - it is the tire of choice specifically for straight line stability. Maybe the road course affect (deformation of the tires from the turns/heat) destroys the tread pattern and therefore the straight line stability - again I am not a road courser so I am unsure.

This is a good topic - and I would be interested to hear people's personal experiences with their tires of choice.

heavychevy

You have to understand people get over excited about cars and without much information or knowledge of performance, they shoot numbers out in bold declarations.

Look at the lap times predicted for Laguna, then wait for the real test result. Some of the blind posting is utterly unrealistic.

NineBall

I'm thinking that maybe his car didn't like those tires, as I agree with you. All those 1400+ hp Underground Racing Lambos and the fastest GT-Rs all run the R888's in a straight line. Many cresting 200 no problem. They have to be more stable than the Mickey Thompson drag radials that I run on my blue Viper, for that stuff. Been 190 on the Mickeys, 1/2-mile.

Tony

vtknight

Thanks Tony and I agree.

I still can't wrap my head around being 190 on Mickeys lol!

I have been 184 on R888's in the half on my previous package and now went up to an Alpha 16 where I should hit about 210-215 MPH - so I'm told it will be drag radials for me as well...I don't mind admitting it's getting pretty intense at these power levels...

racerns

Looks like a great track and alot of fun. I hope to make it out there some day. I am interesed in your assement of the Cups vs PZero Corsa of them being close to equal. When the gen 5 and TA came out, alot of the Viper guys were claiming how the Cups were still so much faster than the PZ Corsa and that was the only reason the ZR1 was still faster (reg Gen 5) or close (TA). There were claims that the Cups would make the TA seconds faster at Laguna Seca. I always thought this was strange since the tested skid pad numbers between the 2 cars were almost identical.

You may be interested in this post from QUIKAG on his stock ZR1 on Michelin slicks at COTA

CosmosMpower

I think I saw your car there at COTA this weekend, beautiful! Was yours the one with the custom TX plate? I was on track in the white V8 M3 coupe with the big *** wing on the back.

My best lap was 2:30.1 not bad for only 412 hp.

JoesC5

My first Muncie was in 1964(the first year of production) in my new 64 Malibu SS hardtop with the 327, posi and F40 suspension.
I never missed a shift and I could powershift all day long.

My second Muncie was in my new 65 impala with the 396 etc. Same results as with the Malibu: I never missed a shift.

Both were with the stock GM shifter. Later, with a Hurst, it was even better.

I've also had other cars with a Muncie over the years.

Even today, I have a Muncie(with a Hurst) in my garage(in my 56 Corvette).

There is no way I can shift my C6 Z06's Tremec TR6060 as fast I can(could)my Muncie 4 speeds and never miss a shift.

Crabbers

Lack of objectivity

GMuffley

Lucky man. Your wife will track your car and my wife refuses to drive our C6Z.