I was invited to a private track rental today (thanks S.W.) and brought both of my cars. I also brought along the truck and trailer, just in case I busted either car. Luckily, both cars would survive this day of beating. Weather was nice, temps in the 60-62F range for the most part. Track conditions were fair, but my traction issues are mostly related to the radial tires on both cars. There were only 5 cars running, so I got more seat time than I've had in years. I probably made at least 10 passes in each vehicle.

Here is some info about the cars I brought:

2006 Viper SRT-10 coupe - 9,600 miles
Stock engine, stock exhaust manifolds with cats
Custom catback
Stock tuning with Split Second piggyback module
Paxton Supercharger with original pulley - 10 psi
Eibach lowering springs, OEM shocks
20" Nitto Invo street tires on the back
675 rwhp and 3,750 lbs raceweight

2009 Corvette Z06 - 1,150 miles
100% stock, as-delivered from the dealership.
19" stock Goodyear run-flat tires on the back
est 440 rwhp and 3,350 lbs raceweight

Both cars are completely different as far as the driving experience goes. The Viper is more brutal, and it has a stiffer clutch with a higher engagement point. Shifter in the Viper has slightly more travel, it takes a little more effort than the Z06. Steering at high speeds seem more stable in the Viper, as the steering feedback is stiffer. Shift points are only 6,000 in this car, which is the factory redline. You cross the finish line about midway through 4th gear, just before it starts to pull very hard. It could use a 3.55 gear for drag racing, instead of the factory 3.08 gearing. This Paxton needs rpm to see real boost, which doesn't really become evident until midway through 3rd gear. It really takes off and you can feel the acceleration jump around 4500 rpm thru 6000. With the 20-inch wheel combo I have on the car, traction is a huge challenge to maintain. I made a couple passes where the traction would disappear going into 3rd gear. Best results came from holding the rpm at ~2300 rpm off the line and slipping the clutch out and rolling into the throttle enough to avoid wheel hop. Once those wheels begin hopping, there is no recovery from it and you must abort the pass. If you manage to get the car off the line smoothly, a short-shift at 5,000 rpm into 2nd keeps the tires from wheel hopping in 2nd gear. No powershifts, or guaranteed wheelhop results. Basically, baby the car until mid-2nd gear and then just keep it straight while the tires haze a bit. Hold on for 3rd and 4th, you can powershift those two.

Best passes for the Viper:
1/4 mile 11.22 @ 135.2 mph (2.15 60')
1/8 mile 7.56 @ 105.1 mph (2.07 60')

The 2009 Z06 was a much easier car to drive, whether that was due to it having less power or maybe just better tires. The first few passes, I eased into the throttle coming off the line, in order to avoid dreaded wheel hop. The car never unloaded or had any wheel hop, so I get a little more aggressive coming off the line. The TR6060 transmission feels very precise, but it needs to be warmed up a bit before it shifts notch-free. I've found it useful to always do the 1-2-1 shift just before entering the staging beams, this gets rid of the 1-2 notchy feel during the run about to happen. Suspension on the Z06 feels softer than the Viper, you can definitely feel the weight transfer off the line, which makes it easier to gauge your throttle vs traction. I was able to shift the car at redline (7000 rpm) on the 1-2 without much fuss from the tires. Just a simple chirp and they gripped well. The 3rd and 4th gears were easy to powershift. These cars really feel impressive in 3rd-4th for a stock car, you can tell they are moving pretty good. They aren't geared very well at all for drag racing however, you can either tap the rev limiter in 3rd at the finish line, or shift into 4th as you enter the trap. I saw a little better mph staying in 3rd, but better ET going into 4th. These cars would rock with a 3.73 gear to utilize 4th.

Best passes for the Z06
1/4 mile = 11.55 @ 124.9 mph (2.07 60 ft)
1/8 mile = 7.60 @ 97.5 mph (1.94 60 ft)

Other cars that were running today included a new orange 2009 ACR Viper that had ported heads, cam, and exhaust, putting down 650 rwhp. It was also traction limited, those Michelin tires seemed to spin pretty badly. With a couple lifts due to traction, it eventually went 11.7 @ 129 mph. The black Toyota Supra belongs to S.W. and he was trying to get the car into the 7-second zone for the first time. The car has gone 8.04 @ 185 mph previously, so they removed some raceweight and installed an electric fan for today's track rental. Unfortunately, the car could never hook very well today, so no new records were achieved. That car looks very violent going down the track, it is still a 6-speed manual! Nice driving S.W., bet it is a monster to keep pointed in the right direction. The black Ford GT didn't make any passes, but I couldn't resist taking some photos of it.

Thanks again for the invite! Nice photos Dennis, I think you've found your new hobby.

Tony























More pics...

 

 

nice times! good numbers for the z06!

 

nice numbers love that Z if you get rid of ur stock wheels put me in line to buy em!!! that viper ACR was ugly!!!

 

Nice pictures! Looked like alot of fun!

 

Nice times Tony. Thanks for posting.

 

Nice times on the cars! Amazing how there is a 200 hp difference in the cars and the Viper only bested the Z by .2!!!

 

ET is more dependent on traction. The Z06 had full traction, the Viper had horrible traction.

Viper is 400 lbs heavier and ran 10 mph faster. That is a huge difference.

 

Great write-up and pics Tony! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you guys had a great time at Sealy.

 

As previously stated, great pics and thanks for posting T !

Sure looked like a lot of fun. I bet its a lot easier dialing your car in when you only have a total of 5 cars running and you can hot lap vs my experiences of 3 runs in 3 hours. Talk about forgetting everything that happened on the previous run. I really need to get to a private session so I can get the practice I need.

 

Oops didn't see that

 

looked like a blast-nice pics

 

Great write up! Excellent times also! Nothing like a track rental to get all the practice runs you can handle.

 

Thanks for the post!

 

That looked and sounded like alot of fun with some fast cars.

 

viper looks bad ***!!!!!!!

 

WOW great times in the Z Really sharp!

 

Nice results considering the tires and conditions Tony, that's a solid mid 10 second trap speed on your Viper with a potential high 10 on the Z06.

And damn that Ford GT looks so badass in black.

 

cool cars

 

Nice write up. That looked like a fun day at the track and you pretty much had the place to yourselves. I need to get an 09 z06.