ACR comes in 2nd in Ultimate Track Test

[06blueviper]

Link to article...
RoadandTrack.com -- Comparison Tests - The Ultimate Track Test! (9/2008)

[sween]

thanks for the link

[Warfang]

What's "Streets of Willow" and "Auto Club Speedway"? ACR is the only car to be tops in 2 categories.

[Y2K5SRT]

The Speedway is a 2-mile oval - where I would think the ACR would still own.

From the article regarding the ACR on this track, 'An oval isn't a place where you want to do a lot of shifting, so it was at a disadvantage. I would definitely like to go all-out in this thing with the right gear ratios,' Yasukawa said."

So the driver blamed it on the gearing, saying that it just wasn't that fast on the straights - apparently because he didn't like shifting...

Thanks for the link!

[PhoenixGTS]

Here is a link to my earlier post about a similar named but not nearly as comprehensive Car and Driver article to tie the threads together:

Aug C&D: ACR vs. Z06 vs. GT2 vs. GT-R = ???

Thanks for putting a link to the article in your post.

[rocman]

Originally Posted by Warfang

What's "Streets of Willow" and "Auto Club Speedway"? ACR is the only car to be tops in 2 categories.

Streets of Willow is a smaller, more technical track. It's geared more for Evo's & STi's.

[cheryl mccally]

This is just another demonstration of bias against the ACR and Vipers. Any car that outright wins two out of four events and was 2nd and 4th in the other two should be declared the winner. I've driven my '08 ACR at the track a bunch in the last two months and I've ridden on the track in most of the others including the Lambo. The ACR is the track/race car of the bunch no doubt about it.

[RTTTTed]

"The winner here? The Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR (39.89 sec.), "clearly the race car of the group...it felt like nothing else here in so many ways," said Gary.

The results are clear. You want to go to the track? Buy a Viper ACR and destroy the competition for roughly $100,000.

the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 took home the crown, despite the fact the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR won more events."

Another won more track events, but lost magazine article. The Lambo won because it sounds better?

Instead of having a Ferrari, A shelby GT500, A Saleen, or other comparable cars they used a 240hp Lotus and an evo? You'd have thought they would have used comparable cars, wouldn't you?

I agree that an SL and an SLR would have been better choices than a BMW M3.

They gave points for cupholders maybe?

The title, the points winner and a few of the comments were contrary to each other.

I rate this article as "Dumb", again.

Ted

[jm24ond6]

Wow, this was a pretty good article. I just pull the information I care about from them. Since I'll never be circle track racing my ACR, the final tally doesn't bother me. Pretty impressed with the new Gallardo. I haven't ridden or driven one yet, but it was pretty well rounded. These are going to be the good old days of performance cars, I love it. I just can't believe so many cars had better times at the autocross event over the Lotus.

[SrtBrad]

Here is my short video of the 08 ACR amongst other vipers at Willow Springs CA:



Here is the dyno of the same 08 ACR at DC Performance Dyno Day:



I really fell in love with the 08 ACR.

[cheryl mccally]

I really fell in love with the '08 ACR too! Belanger headers and exhaust fix the better sound problem. The Lambo and GT2 don't hold a candle to the ACR. Both of them sound good too if you like sewing machines.

[Viper X]

Cool article.

Having driven CA Speedway, now called Auto Club Speedway, I can tell you that the Viper transmission / diff is not well geared for the oval.

The car's redline / max rpms limit the use of 4th gear much of the time on this track which tops at about 160 mph. When you shift to 5th gear, you end up kinda low in the rpm range. If I had a wish for an improvement of the new ACR it would be to lower the 5th gear ratio in the trans, as many road racers do in their Vipers on fast tracks. I have some trouble at Willow Springs in my modded GTS as I end up in 5th gear for turn 8 and in the front straight. The car doesn't pull that well at the bottom of 5th gear with the stock gear ratio.

If not a 5th gear change, SRT could lower the rear gear ratio to 3.33 but that may mess with the EPA ratings.

In any case, this is one neat thing that SRT could do with this car (lower 5th gear) without much cost of impact.

Dan

[Y2K5SRT]

A friend and I were chatting about this article and had a few observations:

1. At the oval, Road &Track only measured a 1.16 g average in the ACR, but the Porsche GT2 averaged a 1.29g in the same turn (click here to see link)
2. Yet the ACR holds the current record for skid pad grip as measured by, you guessed it, Road & Track. And those skidpad g's are measured at relatively low speeds where down force is a minor factor. At high speeds on a track, the ACR's incredible downforce increases the grip capability and the lateral g's increase accordingly.
   
3. Last month Car and Driver drove the ACR and measured an average of 1.30 g at Buttonwillow (Segment 3 - no banking); C&D also drove the GT2 but only averaged a 1.11 g on the same turn (see magazine graphic below).
4. The ACR has been measured up to 1.50 sustained g's on high speed turns (no banking). This claim was made in the initial ACR press release.
5. The G-Load of an oval is higher due to the banking. That's why many of the cars R&T measured exceeded their normal skid pad numbers by a big margin.

So when you are strictly looking at the data, R&T wasn't anywhere near the limit of the ACR at the oval. The car could have easily been driven much faster than it was. And destroyed the GT2 in the process. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself:

[RTTTTed]

Good points, I believe you. After the Viper took highest G force on a measured skid pad and the R8 managed a whopping .98 I watched Top Gear and when he read the G force guage (in the dash) it read 1.2Gs. So a .9 car comes with a 1.2G force guage. Guess that's why the hype said under 3 sec to 60 and the car actually makes 4.6 according to another MAGAZINE test on the real car, not the Prototype.

Ted

[Warfang]

I'd say it's time Dodge plays dirty like the other guys... release the 675hp monster ACR look-alike they had on display last year to the mags and call it a stock ACR.

...then again, it'll get dinged for no cup holders