Angleiron
05-18-2017, 06:23 AM
Just got back after spending 3 days at Boundarant tracking the GT TA 2.0's that they have (they will all will be gone in 2 weeks). Until you put your Viper on a track, and exploit the capabilities of these cars you will never know just how much the Viper truly is a street legal race car. People say these cars will "bite you", and that may be true until you understand the dynamics and capabilities that these cars have...and then it is like Holy Shit!
The instructors praised the Viper up and down, and when I asked about reliability I was told only 1 shock ever had to be replaced...and that was it as far as problems. The car I drove had 12,000 and something miles but you can bet they were hard and hot miles, and it never missed a beat. What you can do with these cars once you understand/learn how to drive them is insane. The first 2 days I was admittedly just taking it easy with the car...not because I was afraid...I wanted to learn how to drive first (notice I didn't mention the Viper as learning to drive goes for any car). You have to learn about weight transfer, braking, trail braking, over/under steer, developing the vision, and all of the cool stuff that goes along with it.
I had a great instructor, but on the last day he waived me into the pits and asked me what my problem was because I wasn't pushing myself and exploiting the full capabilities of the car? He got in the drivers seat, put me in the passenger seat...and he demonstrated what the car could do and he wanted me to push it. He then had me switch seats with him, and it was my turn. Like I said before...I was there to learn and to apply the concepts with the car without doing something stupid...but he told me it was time to have fun and push it. And push it I did!
I hit every line at the same speeds he did, and after a few laps of doing that he just looked at me smiling and asked why wasn't I doing this all along? That car at speed is like it is on rails, and it does everything you want it to as long as you know what you want it to do. The brakes are incredible, and this car was built for the track. If the 2.0's I was running was this much fun I can only imagine the fun of driving an ACR at speed. The car was predictable once you understand the car dynamics...and yes you can get bit but it is not because of the car...it is because you did something wrong and the car just reacted to your mistake.
I was initially skeptical of doing the Viper 3-day course...but man am I glad I did. It is a shame that these cars will no longer be there as to get behind the wheel in one on a track and drive these cars the way they should be driven was so much fun. If you never have the opportunity to push a Viper on a track you will never know what these cars are capable of. Since this was my first time, and it happened to be a Viper I have no other comparisons as far as other cars...but when every instructor says that they are going to miss the Viper that has to tell you something.
The instructors praised the Viper up and down, and when I asked about reliability I was told only 1 shock ever had to be replaced...and that was it as far as problems. The car I drove had 12,000 and something miles but you can bet they were hard and hot miles, and it never missed a beat. What you can do with these cars once you understand/learn how to drive them is insane. The first 2 days I was admittedly just taking it easy with the car...not because I was afraid...I wanted to learn how to drive first (notice I didn't mention the Viper as learning to drive goes for any car). You have to learn about weight transfer, braking, trail braking, over/under steer, developing the vision, and all of the cool stuff that goes along with it.
I had a great instructor, but on the last day he waived me into the pits and asked me what my problem was because I wasn't pushing myself and exploiting the full capabilities of the car? He got in the drivers seat, put me in the passenger seat...and he demonstrated what the car could do and he wanted me to push it. He then had me switch seats with him, and it was my turn. Like I said before...I was there to learn and to apply the concepts with the car without doing something stupid...but he told me it was time to have fun and push it. And push it I did!
I hit every line at the same speeds he did, and after a few laps of doing that he just looked at me smiling and asked why wasn't I doing this all along? That car at speed is like it is on rails, and it does everything you want it to as long as you know what you want it to do. The brakes are incredible, and this car was built for the track. If the 2.0's I was running was this much fun I can only imagine the fun of driving an ACR at speed. The car was predictable once you understand the car dynamics...and yes you can get bit but it is not because of the car...it is because you did something wrong and the car just reacted to your mistake.
I was initially skeptical of doing the Viper 3-day course...but man am I glad I did. It is a shame that these cars will no longer be there as to get behind the wheel in one on a track and drive these cars the way they should be driven was so much fun. If you never have the opportunity to push a Viper on a track you will never know what these cars are capable of. Since this was my first time, and it happened to be a Viper I have no other comparisons as far as other cars...but when every instructor says that they are going to miss the Viper that has to tell you something.