Considering getting a Dodge Viper to take on track days...anyone
have experience how these handle on the track..?
It's between a '95 R/T or 2001 ACR ....also wondering about
overall reliability and maintenance costs of the Viper..?
...if anyone has some info to share..thanks alot..
I run with a guy at nearly every NASA event who has a 1998 Viper Venom 650R and it's a sick track car. His screen name on the NASA forum is Drumrboy. You may want to contact him. He's a really nice guy. Here's a vid of his car:
Location: City of Angels Socialist Republic of Kah-Li-Fohnia
Unless and until you become highly skilled driving that Viper (lots of seat time required), the C5s and C6s with equally skilled drivers will lap you. The Viper is a rocket and is definitely the faster car, but it is tough to drive and master, and intimidating until you do so. They are reliable, however.
Scott, seems to me that your Corvette is able to pull away at will from this Viper.
Yeah, but I think tires had a lot to do with that on that day. His Hoosiers had a lot of heat cycles on them and my Nitto's weren't nearly as old. His car has gobs of power and will blow my doors off on a long straight, but I think his weight disadvantage allows me to be quicker overall.
Here's another video of us running together. Watch how fast he is on the backstretch. I can't imagine how raw that car must feel.
Tires and brakes are expensive for either a Vette or a Viper, but they don't break the bank.
That is a wide budget, if you are considering the RT/10 or an ACR. I'm not sure if the early ACR's are worth the extra $; the wings on the new ones put out 10X the downforce.
Keep in mind, in Perkins video he ran flawless laps. I'm curious about the black flag, since the viper was just warming up. It is alot easier to oversteer w/ that much HP. Later laps would probably be more interesting.
I picked up a Viper at the end of last year while waiting for my American Iron racer to be finished. I only had the chance to drive it at one event. It turns very well, and is very eager accelerating out of the turns. The interior is alot smaller than the Vette's especially with the cage.
I may be open to selling it once I'm sure the Firebird is reliable. Running two race cars will really get expensive.
=TTRotary;1568811527]Unless and until you become highly skilled driving that Viper (lots of seat time required), the C5s and C6s with equally skilled drivers will lap you. The Viper is a rocket and is definitely the faster car, but it is tough to drive and master, and intimidating until you do so. They are reliable, however.
Yeah..no kidding..looks like he locked up (no ABS till 2001)..panicked w/ no counter steering untill his tires
are already on the dirt..and off he goes sideways over the cliff....still learning maybe someone else
has a better analysis of this Viper crash..
Yeah..no kidding..looks like he locked up (no ABS till 2001)..panicked w/ no counter steering untill his tires
are already on the dirt..and off he goes sideways over the cliff....still learning maybe someone else
has a better analysis of this Viper crash..
It wasn't the cars fault. It looked like he got intimidated and had a little bad luck.. Also looks like turned a little late and got caught up in the gravel. You are pretty much ****ed in any car once you hit gravel.
I have read some reviews about Vipers on the track. While they are fast in the right hands, they are fairly demanding to drive.
There are a lot of better choices out there if you just want a track day car. You should look into C or D class sports racers. They can kill a Viper easily and are a lot less expensive to own and operate.
Corvette Store
Dodge Vipers..???..track or not..
Dodge's Mighty Viper is a very powerful, raw, unforgiving ride. 
In the right hands, it's extremely fast and from what I've seen, when kept nearly stock, very reliable.
I can't imagine how raw that car must feel.
