CentralCoaster

I don't see enough of either at the track to get any sort of idea.

How do these cars compare at the track, drag, and on a road course? I know they don't compare in price.

Have you driven both? Would the LT4 be a better matchup?





(And please for goddsake, spare us the armchair racing and magazine timeslips, unless you have some sort of heads up comparison article with any shred of value.)

bogus

there were some head to head articles back then.

a friend works at a dodge dealership and has driven vipers from each generation (the first 2 gens look nearly identical, but are very different).

his basic take? The early viper is fast, but twitchy. he added that they are very hot inside. He liked my Vette better as a daily driver, but feels the Viper would whip it on the track.

I am only sharing his comments... I have never driven one...

scooter18155

a guy i know at work gets to drive his nieghbors cars to work once in a while. his nieghbor has a 1st gen viper and a c5 and i was told the viper seemed faster then the c5 to him. he hasnt taken it to the track that i know of but judging by how it drives he said the viper seems faster. wish i was lucky to have a nieghbor that nice i must live in the wrong neighborhood. but his nieghbor is a doctor and lets him drive the cars in exchange for my friend keeping an eye on and taking care of his house during the winter when he goes to fl.

Repzard

sorry

Aurora40

FWIW I raced one a little on a closed course with professional drivers. Not from a dig, rather from a roll. I had no problem getting in front of him, though I wasn't tearing away. Was a '99 I believe he said. The RT-10, not GTS, and according to the driver it was stock.

I imagine in acceleration, it would eat a stock LT1's lunch.

Aardwolf

If you get me some R-compounds I'll move up in class and run against some.

teufelhund

Track weapon.... It would take a C5 Z06 or C6 Z06 to be able to run with even a Gen 1 viper on a road coarse...... I've driven a viper and a C5 Z and I'm sorry but the viper wins. It's tire size alone dwarfs that of a corvette. And a road coarse is all about traction, center of gravity and ridged handling and that's what the viper does best.

As a car to own and drive- If it's a daily driver there is no question the vette is better.

It's like compairing Jack with Jim Bean either way you look at it you're going to be drunk soon so which do you like more............

scorp508

Early RT-10s are a high 12's car with a great driver.

eschoendorff

I was working a corner at a Vette vs. Viper track event a couple years back. It may have been the drivers, but the Vettes beat up on them Vipers pretty bad. Granted, a lot of these Vettes were C5Zs or modified (slightly ) C4s, but still, those Vette drivers are a hungry bunch. The Viper drivers seemed to be afraid to drive the cars (just my observation). That, and those vipers sound weird.

Carpenter

Last year I was cruising though moderate freeway traffic when I saw a viper come screaming up behind me.....he passes me with a grin and he's GONE.

What's a C4 owning, law abiding middle aged city dweller to do? Chase him, of course!

I did for a while (3-4 miles), totally keeping up on his (ugly) bumper...but eventually I lost my nerve (common decency prevailed) so I backed down......

The viper driver had NO regard of any other driver on the road and swerved through dozens and dozens of commuters acting like they were pylons. Break lights going on CONTINUALLY in his path. I can't DO that, so I let him carry on....fully expecting to come across either HIM or his victims to be scattered up ahead.

I don't pay much attention to dodge cars so I have no idea what year/model of viper it was. All I know is that while HE carried on disrupting other drivers....I put on an Eagles CD and set the cruise. While my heartbeat returned to normal.

Sorry CC. Guess this story doesn't answer ANY of your post. Just that it's the ONLY time I've ever been near a viper.

Dodge Crap I say.

CentralCoaster

This is a technical/performance forum. Please troll someone else's thread with your Corvette/Cobalt superiority complex.

Thank you for your cooperation.

CentralCoaster

I wouldn't doubt that, I think anything twitchy and loud will feel faster. I know there's a bunch of guys running very low 13s in their LT1 on here, and LT4s in the 12s, so the Viper has a slight edge there.

I imagine it's got more potential than a LT1 vette on a road course, but is harder to get that potential out of it, or just that not very many people are racing them on a regular basis? I notice at the events I've been to, whether it's drag, auto-X, HPDE, the guys running the Vipers and new Z06s or Ferraris, etc aren't pushing it as hard and are getting whipped by the regulars in the C4s, M3s, RX7s, etc.


How much does a Viper weigh, wet? Most people seem to think they're some sort of exotic car with supercar performance, and completely out of the Vette's league. I suspect that mindset is grossly exaggerated because of price, appearance, and rarity.

CentralCoaster

I guess then my next question is how much power is it gonna take to keep up with a well driven one in a 3100 lb '85 Corvette, and am I wasting my time on these plans for a high flowing TPI.

VtVette

I was talking with our bookkeeper the other day. He owned a dodge dealership back in the early 90s and thus bought a early Viper when they first came out. He was also a factory driver in the SCCA ProRally series for Volkswagen. His opinion was the viper was a blast to drive but way too difficult to drive at the limit. When it breaks loose it really brakes loose. And "the limit" can be difficult to determine. Maybe it was the tires back then and tire technology has come a long way but his opinion was It's a pretty crude machine, all things considered. PM me with any specific questions you would like me to ask him and I will get you some answers.

Aardwolf

I wish I could tell you first hand. I will check around at the tracks here and maybe come up with some info. I'd be happy to track around with one but finding one that wants to play..

Next season would be better to, not much time this season.

VtVette

As you know it comes down to the driver but I would think you're going to need some high revving HP to keep up with a Viper. At the minimum a LT1 intake swap (most cost effective) or a mini ram conversion. I would think a TPI would have a hell of a time keeping up with a early Viper but than again it does all come down to the driver. Viper is a much more difficult car to drive at the limit than the Vette.

mrc24x

NASA was running a "Vette Viper Challenge" Class that I was building my car to run in but it is no longer around. From what I could tell the built C4 race cars were just as good as the early Vipers. Each car does it's own thing better than the other just like the new Viper vs. Z06. Pick your poison it still comes down to the driver (and prep of the car.) Your '85 properly setup can surprise a lot of people. Besides it's nice being the underdog!

Repzard

Sorry

Repzard

Sorry ..No facts

CentralCoaster

You're contributing nothing and then duplicating it. I don't want to argue with you, I just want you to leave this thread if you have nothing to say.