2006 High Speed **FEEL** thoughts/comments

[MuscleJunkie]

Recently had a short opportunity on private land/road/track to do a couple fast runs in my 2006 Viper. I was curious of other options of the feel of the car on high speed runs.

I only did a couple of short blasts on level pavement up to 150mph and man....did it get up there fast. But I do notice that it seems to be comparably violent to what I remember in my 01 Z06. I am not complaining and I attribute this to either I am still getting used to the car or I have forgotten what it is like to drive at that speed since I last went to VIR in my Z06 or I am loosing my nerve as I get older (had some images of the car flipping in the air and my guts being strewn across the road flash into my mind during these blasts.) It was just a bit borderline scary.

Now, keep in mind I had my Z06 up to it's max of 176 mph for what could be considered extended periods several times years ago (again on private road/land/track) and for some reason I just do not remember feeling as it was so violent.

Just curious of other's feelings about this.

[plumcrazy]

the more ya do it, the easier it gets.....

[CO-NOS-Viper]

You just need to go faster, it will smooth out for you

[Bobpantax]

What do you mean by "violent"? Is it shaking? Is the front lifting? What are the specific symptoms? What tires are you running? How many pounds of pressure? Stock suspension? Please provide more details. I have driven a stock '06 at Homestead on the 2.2 mile road course and I did not notice any problem. In fact it was exceptionally stable.

[adamlotus]

i have had my 06 at close to 160 on run flats and it was very stable/had my 08 close to 180 and very stable/are you running runflats?oh yaw i was on a private track

[MuscleJunkie]

By violent I guess I mean that it was just so aggressive feeling getting up to that point. I guess with all that, I probably wasn't paying too much attention to just how stable it really was. Thinking back, I think it was pretty stable. I am running everything 100% stock (car was bought new in Oct last year) I think tires are about 32 to 34psi? Is that right?

To explain further, when I went from my 2000 Corvette Coupe to my 2001 Z06, I felt that the Z06 was much more aggressive feeling than the '00. Well this car is just leaps beyond that and it was much more of a jump in that feeling too.

Just curious - with this setup, what can I expect the maximum top end to be and just how long would it take to get there on level surface? It seems that I reach 150 from a stop in what seemed like no time at all. I am curious how the vehicle will perform from that point up to maximum top end. I know in my 01 Z06 it would reach about 155 to 160 pretty quickly and from 160 to 176 it would take a bit.

[Bobpantax]

From what you are saying I can only guess but what you are experiencing may be the difference in the torque curve. The Viper is a torque monster and it takes awhile to get used to it. The experince is also heightened by the sound of the side exhausts. Top end should be as advertised. Just be careful with the gas pedal. Smooth and easy wins the race. The Viper does not like abrupt gas pedal input of any kind and a stock Viper can, under certain conditions, break the rear end loose from second to third and even from third to fourth if the tires are cold and the road surface is not dry and clean. I think 32 lbs sounds about right but others may disagree. Ther are prior posts and probably threads on the subject explaining what air pressure to use for what purpose.

[agentf1]

I own both a Z06 and GTS and think something must be wrong as there is not that big of a difference between the two at speed IMHO.

Is the tire balance right on?

Any way you can do the same run in a friends Z06 for comparison.

Could be as simple as different road conditions or could be an issue that needs to be addresses with the Viper.

[Bobpantax]

Originally Posted by agentf1

I own both a Z06 and GTS and think something must be wrong as there is not that big of a difference between the two at speed IMHO.

Is the tire balance right on?

Any way you can do the same run in a friends Z06 for comparison.

Could be as simple as different road conditions or could be an issue that needs to be addresses with the Viper.

He has a Gen III. More power and run craps. He also has not noticed any vibration so I doubt that it is a tire balance issue.

[Hamrhead]

Originally Posted by adamlotus

i have had my 06 at close to 160

Me too. Took it to redline in 4th gear Twice. Car feels rock solid! Much smoother on PS2's though.

I've since put 3.55's in to slow me down. Now 4th gear only gets me to about 135-140.

[ROCKET62]

Had my Street Serpent which does have a bit of a front splitter up to 150 (on a closed private track of course) and it was smooth as BUTTER. I do have the run flats, but I also have Motons which make this thing handle like its on rails. Slowed down to 130 and I could have taken a sip of diet coke. All this going TOPLESS of course.

[ROCKET62]

Ooops double post. Just call me post whore.

[Viper X]

Hard to be helpful with just feelings (no offense).

I've cruised my 04 at 165+ mph (Silver State) for many miles and it was exceedingly smooth and predictable at speed.

Tires (type, pressure) and alignment can cause issues if they are not right.

Throttle, steering and brake inputs need to be smooth at speed.

These cars are much more aggressive feeling than Vettes, so maybe that's all you felt. They pull very hard up high compared to most other cars.

Sounds like you just need to get out and drive it some more.

Dan

[Badazzv8]

I drove an '07 Z06 right after I drove my Paxton Viper. The Viper just feels more aggressive and faster. But the Z06 was just as fast, just felt tame. I think that's what you're trying to explain.

It's definately b/c of the torque differences in the cars, as stated earlier. The "feel" part of driving is simply the torque. Torque makes the car feel faster even though it may not be.

[DavidSB]

Like Viper X, I’ve driven my car for quite a few miles but at speeds approaching 165 MPH in numerous Silver State events. 165 MPH is the Silver State’s imposed “Tech Speed” limit based on my safety equipment but also happens to be my personal comfort limit. I think what you may be experiencing is the combination of factors that give a Viper its very visceral feel: exhaust noise, stiff suspension, stiff tires, very direct steering feedback – and as other have pointed out – so much torque that at these speeds the throttle remains very responsive with accompanying noise and acceleration changes: lots of sensory inputs. With the exception of one event when I was running too much negative camber (the car was darting all over the road above 120 ), it has always been very stable and has much more speed potential than I care to explore.
I add 4-5 psi for high speed driving events and suggest you check out TireRack’s “Air Pressure/Load Adjustment for High Speed Driving” web page at:

Tire Tech Information - Air Pressure/Load Adjustment for High Speed Driving