Kick the Tires and Light the Fires

[Atari_Prime]

I have a question regarding acceleration. The title seemed to fit the bill.

I have never spun out while launching or accelerating a car. That stated, I have never had something as powerful as the Viper before. And given that Vipers are notoriously fickle beasts, I would prefer to not start now. If you look around the internet there are many videos of show-offs or drag races that end badly for the Viper. It all makes me start to wonder if I'm missing something or are there really that many bad drivers out there with too little experience and too much power on their hands.

So, my question is: Have you ever spun out your Viper while drag racing, launching, or similar?

Stories are welcome.

[AZTVR]

are there really that many bad drivers out there with too little experience and too much power on their hands.

Yes, I really think so. How many even know how to operate a clutch? Of those that do, how many have driven a car with more torque than a Civic or a WRX? I don't see the problem being "old guys"; but, that is just a prejudiced view. ;)

[Fatboy 18]

If I launch my car hard it always seem to go slightly to the Right, I'm aware of it now so make sure to keep the left arm bias on the steering wheel. On a Gen II Viper the drive shaft is not central to the car, this may have something to do with it, also the limited Slip Diff?

No biggie, just something to be aware of. :)

[gage]

Really it comes down to false sense of security, and "showing off" by doing a turning burnout in front of spectators is risky because you are intentionally overloading the capabilities of the tires to put on a show.

If you are driving the car normally, you will find that with everything sorted (good suspension and tires mainly) that the car is one of the most confident and dare I say safe cars on the road. I almost got into a collision this summer when a motorcyclist camped out in my blind spot. I over corrected and was close to ditching the car, but I believe the capability of the car kept me and my passenger from suffering much more than a scary moment. In a lesser car I think I'd have completely lost control and either spun out off the road or worse.

Everyone has to start somewhere with power and I'd just commit to learning how to control the car, and get some track or autox time. Most of it IMO is just respecting the machine.

[Bugman Jeff]

I've spun out plenty, but always on purpose. Knowing how ready to kill you the car is, and working at night, on a few rainy nights when the parking lot was empty I spent some time practicing sliding on the wet pavement so I know how the car feels when it's about to slide. The basic "problem" with the Viper is that it's so short and there is very little wiggle room between "slight drift" and "backwards in the ditch." In my '95 Impala for example, I can kick the rear out several feet and still have complete control. In the Viper, you can only slide it a few inches before it wants to come around. Except for the occasional burnout on straight, flat roads, I've done my absolute best to not break the tires loose while driving.

[Fatboy 18]

Stay well away from any surface water! They break loose real easy ;)

[C.J]

Old tires will make for a very exciting time when driving the Viper. They will break loose very easily and then who knows where you'll end up.

[Rocket]

Cold tires / cold roads and freeway on ramps are big areas of caution. The one piece of advice I always share is the front wheels must be pointed straight when getting on go pedal hard. That and trying to show off by dumping the clutch and expecting to hold on when it starts to get sideways are also a recipe for disaster. And one last factor to doing less burn outs ...... $1000 for a set of rear tires.

[LifeIsGood]

Have you ever spun out your Viper while drag racing, launching, or similar?

Yes. It's very easy to do on old rubber.

[plumcrazy]

2nd trip down the trak, car decided to turn hard right on me, it wasnt fun. didnt hit anything luckily.

the second you think you know how to drive a viper it will bite you

[Sybil TF]

Have you ever spun out your Viper while drag racing, launching, or similar?

No. Never...:cool:

[Vprbite]

spun the tires? Nope. Im surprised anyone ever has. ; )



Of course we have. I once spun the tires at 30 mph while accelerating fast for a bunch of kids on a school bus who were cheering me on. Not bad and I didn't lose control. But they will get loose on you. I think the torque is so instant in these cars it's easy to spin them and throttle out of it. But if you start to get them loose, don't jammin the breaks. Make sure you put both the brakes and the clutch to the floor if you're going to do that. But still, find an empty parking lot at night to practice that stuff. Showing off on the street is responsible for a lot of wrecks. So is downshifting hard and not rev matching. That can get you in trouble, especially in the rain. Also, it is monsterouly uncool to spin your tires in front of someone and whip pieces of rubber and rocks at them. So bear that in mind.

[MH60M]

Or....get with your local club and do some autocross! Have fun, Compete, and learn your car!

[dave6666]

I have traction issues at 80 mph. Higher hp cars have traction issues well over 100. It depends greatly on the surface, which can vary greatly itself.

The car is only as stupid as the driver.

The worse thing you can do is show off on a road you aren't familiar with the traction there. See the sentence above.

[drewsss]

Yes. It's very easy to do on old rubber.

This.

[Atari_Prime]

Interesting comments so far.

To clarify on a earlier comment regarding Vipers, with 500 lbs. of torque, yes, these cars should spin all day, but spin out is a different animal.

The comments about old tires suddenly remind me of my first sports car, a 1984 Corvette. At the time I thought it was the king of the world and that I had the fastest car in that world. I guess it was a really small world. When I first got the car it had old bald tires, Goodyear Gatorbacks if I recall. I would go to launch the car, the engine would rev, it would make a monsterous noise, and then the tail would begin to slide all over the place, to the left, to the right, and eventually it would take off in a straight line. After a few months I got some new tires, Goodyear Eagle GS-Cs, and when I would stomp on it, gone was the spinning and the sliding to be replaced with a proper launch, minus a certain fun factor.

It seems like most Gen IIs you might buy come with old rubber regardless of the amount of tread, mine is no exception. Not that there are a lot of options, what tire do you guys recommend, the new Michelins?

[gage]

If stock I think you can't do better than Michelins (either PS2 or PSS). If you're running alot of extra power I think you'll want a stickier compound though. My car is mostly stock save for minor bolt ons like smooth tubes and the tires only lose grip if I really want them to.

[Camfab]

If stock I think you can't do better than Michelins (either PS2 or PSS). If you're running alot of extra power I think you'll want a stickier compound though. My car is mostly stock save for minor bolt ons like smooth tubes and the tires only lose grip if I really want them to.

Actually Michelin never made the Super Sports in 18's assuming of course that's what you have. Additionally Michelin no longer makes any tire for the 18" Gen II's. The only true street tire available is the BFG Rival.. I think the R888 are the only track/street that's available for a Gen II with 18's. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm actually really surprised no one is panicking that street tires may no longer be built for Gen II's. For the Time being Hoosier and BFG still make track tires.

[Fatboy 18]

Actually Michelin never made the Super Sports in 18's assuming of course that's what you have. Additionally Michelin no longer makes any tire for the 18" Gen II's. The only true street tire available is the BFG Rival.. I think the R888 are the only track/street that's available for a Gen II with 18's. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm actually really surprised no one is panicking that street tires may no longer be built for Gen II's. For the Time being Hoosier and BFG still make track tires.

I have R888s on my car, They run ok in the wet then all of a sudden, WHAM you are floating on water! AWESOME in the Dry, but be very, very respectful in the wet!

[Camfab]

I rechecked the tire rack website and even though the tires don't show up when I select my car or the OEM ties sizes, the Pirelli Pzero is in fact still available in the OEM sizes. I pulled up the Pzero on it's own and there they are, so at least they are still available.

[Camfab]

So to answer your question.....

So, my question is: Have you ever spun out your Viper while drag racing, launching, or similar?

Yes, basically what Plumcrazy and Dave6666 stated.

[Camfab]

Fatboy, is it true the 888 are noisy?

[gage]

Actually Michelin never made the Super Sports in 18's assuming of course that's what you have.

Shoot I still run the factory 17" wheels on my 97, so I'm stuck with basically PS2's period until I change wheels.