1st autocross ever,

[MI Viper]

And I did it in the snake! DMC71 meet me there, but he brought one of his other rides. It was fun to say the least, BUT, man did I have a heck of a time trying to keep my rear tires hooked-up. Had (4) runs, spun out in 2 of them. here's couple of pics from Mr. "Donut".....

I'll be trying it again this weekend, with a local porsche club...

[ACRucrazy]

AutoX is a blast. I've done it several times, just not in the Viper. It really brings out the weakness of your car in a fun and safe manner.

[MoparBoyy]

the Viper isn't really made to autocross, it shines on a road course. I would spin mine too if i tried. But congrats! good to see people use the car for what it was made for.. RACING!

[Late Apex]

Agree with the above for the most part and driving a front wheel drive if possible really has its advantages in auto cross. I remember years ago having the best elapsed time of the day with the Corvette club on a wet track, and I was in a 4 cyl. front wheel drive. Talk about power over steer in those Vettes that day and unfortunately someone was hurt pretty bad slamming into a truck just off the track. It is a LOT cheaper though than the cost associated with road racing.

[ACRucrazy]

Yea I had a lot of fun AutoXing in my Neon ACR back in the day. Weight redux, quaife, bushings, huge sway bars, good power, no ac, no power steering was a work out though.
7 year old video of that car. FWD can be a blast in the AutoX


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mwYKz_yXCY&list=UUpYvJT5Dej7NAamzuqD3fsw

[mjorgensen]

the Viper isn't really made to autocross, it shines on a road course. I would spin mine too if i tried. But congrats! good to see people use the car for what it was made for.. RACING!


I would disagree with that first part ;-)

3727
3728

You just have to be smoother then anyone else can be, then on the track there is nothing to it because everything happens so SLOW! LOL

[Mopar Boy]

First time ever driving the car in the rain was at VOI12. And I decided to do the autox.

Yes, I did a donut, took a few cones, etc. As I was told after, drive like there is an egg under your foot. Smooth and gentle.

[FLATOUT]

I've autocrossed mine a few times and had a blast doing it. One glaring mistake I made was leaving it in 2 gear with the 3.07's the car was just a dog that low in second, but still had a great time!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDuBkLUMb44&feature=player_detailpage

[Loud]

Love AutoX. It will get to be more fun as you get some more runs. I use my left leg to brake and usually only tap on the brake. I find that to be more efficient. Like others said, smooth driving is key.

[mjorgensen]

My 2nd gear works fine :-)

You should try to make it to a ProSolo like this;


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxg4CJCgynM&list=UUCnCD7oTbSkAruEF3-SJEmw

[Bill Pemberton]

Have to agree with Mark, the car is actually quite good at an Autocross , but newcomers often have a tendency for incorrect gear selection. There have been folks who placed well at the National Championships in Vipers ( believe a young lady actually took her class one year ), but the issue comes down to being smooth and of course having the right tires. Not sure what tires MI Viper is running, but feel free to call Mark or I at 1-800-889-1893 for any tips. Mark is a legend in the Autocross World ( he was a contract driver for a noted Tire manufacturer ), and though he has hung up his hat for awhile, he still sets up tons of cars for autocrossing and road course events. Either one of us would be happy to chat with you , as you will have alot of fun in the Snake and the biggest plus to get better is just seat time.

[FLATOUT]

You running 3.55's, 3.73's or 3.07's like me? ;)

I think 3.55's or 3.73's and second gear in an autox viper would be a blast.



My 2nd gear works fine :-)

You should try to make it to a ProSolo like this;


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxg4CJCgynM&list=UUCnCD7oTbSkAruEF3-SJEmw

[mjorgensen]

You running 3.55's, 3.73's or 3.07's like me? ;)

I think 3.55's or 3.73's and second gear in an autox viper would be a blast.

I have run all of those at some point, this video it was 720hp and 3.73's :-) very fun combo, but smooth was a must. Later that year and the next I ran the 3.07 and it was still fast, it was easier to drive, although I loved the "strung out" feeling the 3.73's gave better.

[TitleMine]

Make sure you have clearbra or painter's tape too. You smack a cone at 40MPH, kiss your finish goodbye.

[MI Viper]

I would disagree with that first part ;-)

3727
3728

You just have to be smoother then anyone else can be, then on the track there is nothing to it because everything happens so SLOW! LOL

MJ,
Yeah they keep preaching; a nice steady pace, but I was driving like a light switch, on, off, on, etc... It still was a good time!
MI V.

[FrgMstr]

the Viper isn't really made to autocross, it shines on a road course. I would spin mine too if i tried. But congrats! good to see people use the car for what it was made for.. RACING!

I would have to disagree also.

My first AutoX I went to was put on by the local Bimmer club. Long story short, none of the M cars beat my time. They gave me a ton of crap about the car and not being able to keep the back end under it during the classroom portion in the morning. At the end of the day they would come up and ask my time then walk away with their heads down. The only person to beat the Viper time that day was an instructor in a 4wd Evo. Bimmer club had great instructors, just need to get them better cars. ;)

[SlateEd]

AutoX is a blast with the Viper, although the tighter the course the more you wish for something with AWD. The SRT Track Experience course at Englishtown NJ certainly lends itself well to the SRT Jeep.

If any of you happen to be near Lime Rock in July the NY/CT club will be hosting our second annual AutoX at Lime Rock's infield course.. it's like a road course in miniature - maybe the most fun I've ever had with the Viper... I believe it will be 7/26 this year.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dgJF0cjkec

[FLATOUT]

Make sure you have clearbra or painter's tape too. You smack a cone at 40MPH, kiss your finish goodbye.

Adds character ;) Or get good with a machine. And yes you can use a rotary or DA on a clear bra to remove cone scuffs (found that out last year lol)

[Bill Pemberton]

Need to get some of you guys to consider coming to Motorsports Park Hastings , June 13-15th for the Viper Rendezvous ..............we do a full course autocross that often only runs about 15-18 seconds slower than a full lap around the track without cones. There is no concern for Viper owners to worry about being in a low gear, but if you hit a cone at 90mph it might take a bit more than a rotary polisher to get off the cone rash ,ha,ha.

www.racemph.com for registration and info.

[MoparBoyy]

Guess I'm spoiled living smack dab between two of the greatest road courses in America. Before that I used to live in IL where i was only an hour and a half from Road America.

[Bill Pemberton]

Always love when folks feel sorry for us in Nebraska assuming we have no place to play ---------------
1. National Site for SCCA Solo Competition , Lincoln ,Nebraska ( 1 hour and 15 minutes from home)
2. Mid America Motorplex in Glenwood , Iowa ( 45 minutes from home)
3. Motorsports Park Hastings, ( 3 hours from home pulling a trailer)
4. Heartland Park Topeka ( 3.5 hours from home pulling a trailer )

Agree , not as name worthy as Sebring or Daytona, but really nice to have tracks and courses so close to play on. Autocrossing is a wonderful teaching tool to begin playing with the Viper, especially if you want to work up to driving on road courses. The discipline is very much done in minature, and it teaches you very well to look ahead. Running through the cones and concentrating on the correct line, once on a road course you are amazed at the time you have to focus on hitting your apexes, etc.

So great fun for the Viper either way, and I firmly believe they truly compliment each other to make one a better driver.

[Back In Black]

Need to get some of you guys to consider coming to Motorsports Park Hastings , June 13-15th for the Viper Rendezvous ..............we do a full course autocross that often only runs about 15-18 seconds slower than a full lap around the track without cones. There is no concern for Viper owners to worry about being in a low gear, but if you hit a cone at 90mph it might take a bit more than a rotary polisher to get off the cone rash ,ha,ha.

www.racemph.com for registration and info.

It's called Vipercross!



http://youtu.be/MgZfNbhUhm0

[Late Apex]

NOT the way to do it !!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB-KBaevPqM#t=52

[FLATOUT]

NOT the way to do it !!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB-KBaevPqM#t=52

Wow that sucks, not a fan of doing autox in parking lots with light poles either.

[Bill Pemberton]

Ha , Keith, yes we do think of the Autocross at Hastings as Vipercross ---- good name thought up by Ryan Furstenau whose Financial Service Company sponsors the event along with Woodhouse Viper. He had never done an autocross prior and when I mentioned the speeds we do at the track , he said then he really started by doing a Vipercross --and the name stuck. Thanks for posting the Video.

Note; Keith Anderson had the fastest time in Hastings last year with his super modded Viper , running Hoosier slicks. Mentioned as he beat all the Comp Coupe and ACR-Xs that showed up last year.

[FrgMstr]

One of the very few driving events that NTX VCA had was an "AutoX" last year. Got there and the course was total crap in a narrow part of the parking lot. Ran a few times, having fun. Then watched the club leader put a sweet ACR up over the curb with a lot of speed and nearly through a fence. I was done after that. If you are going to AutoX make sure there is a lot of runoff.

This picture shows somewhat of how tight it was.

http://kylebennett.com/files/hfpics/NTX-VCA-AUTOX.jpg

[Bill Pemberton]

Wow..............can tell by your picture that the course would not even pass the safety standards of an SCCA or NASA sanctioned event. Looks like they might want to get some local Sports Car or NASA members to help set up a course in the future , to make sure they can avoid issues like the one that occurred. You should have the course a minimum of 75 ft. away from barriers/trees/buildings/etc.

[FLATOUT]

Agree that looks terrible. I run at an event on an old abandon airfield. Wide open with no worries.


Wow..............can tell by your picture that the course would not even pass the safety standards of an SCCA or NASA sanctioned event. Looks like they might want to get some local Sports Car or NASA members to help set up a course in the future , to make sure they can avoid issues like the one that occurred. You should have the course a minimum of 75 ft. away from barriers/trees/buildings/etc.

[FrgMstr]

Sadly it was set up by a company that runs these types of events. We were told at the last minute they had to move it for some reason.

[MI Viper]

Round and round I go....