The Joker isn t a very good deal

[38D]

I’m pretty sure I could make it home on racing slicks in a thunderstorm.

Having been caught in a downpours during races on true slicks, trust me that it ain’t that easy. If there is standing water, slicks are diabolical. The worst for me was a race at the Glen circa 2008. I was in the lead when it started to rain, so I stayed out. The last lap, there was standing water in the front straight. I took the checker going maybe 30mph. I lifted immediately and thought I was going to crash in T1.

[SilverACR]

I wouldn’t run my R7s in the rain let alone slicks... my car is wonky with pzeros dry and the temps lower than 50...

[cubeman]

The R888's in the down pour that fell to the east of the CAAP closing was quite...interesting

[USAFPILOT]

The point is slow down, or stop and wait.

[Mark1107]

Gotta love social media....21ED4FB0-B974-4B7B-813B-390E976592FA.jpg

[Matt Dillon]

The point is slow down, or stop and wait.

Uhhh, Yeah! SMDH

[sadil]

I can say that after driving the viper in the rain over two dozen times this year, the only thing that has ever led to a complete spin out and potential crash was my own stupidity.

[ViperGeorge]

I can say that after driving the viper in the rain over two dozen times this year, the only thing that has ever led to a complete spin out and potential crash was my own stupidity.

Interesting. I drove my 15 TA 2.0 in major downpours on the One Lap of America with the Pirelli PZeros and it scared the crap out of me. The Michelins on the Gen 4 were far better.

[BJG32]

Guys...It had 1300 hp...much more challenging in rain than your 645hp comparisons. Yes, he made a mistake, but he's not the first or the last guy to wreck a viper.

[Arizona Vipers]

I’m pretty sure I could make it home on racing slicks in a thunderstorm.

I've tracked the Viper on A7's in rain, it wasn't pretty. In the damp it's fine, but if there is standing water you will constantly lose control (which is fine on a race track if you can correct it). I ran a 3.08 at chuckwalla in the pouring rain, when I normally run 1.50 flat to put it in perspective how slow you need to be going. You wouldn't be able to be on the freeway that's for sure.

[Matt Dillon]

Guys...It had 1300 hp...much more challenging in rain than your 645hp comparisons. Yes, he made a mistake, but he's not the first or the last guy to wreck a viper.

LOL, Yeah & like he DIDN'T KNOW THAT! HELL, I Don't drive my 645hp in the RAIN so WHY would ANYBODY drive a 1300hp vehicle in the RAIN? SMDH

[ACRSNK]

LOL, Yeah & like he DIDN'T KNOW THAT! HELL, I Don't drive my 645hp in the RAIN so WHY would ANYBODY drive a 1300hp vehicle in the RAIN? SMDH

My guess is he didn’t set out for a nice cruise in the rain. Probably got caught in a downpour. It happens.

[Next Phase]

Some of you need to read and comprehend what is written before commenting.

[BJG32]

Yep....2100 miles with track time. He had new tires waiting at the shop. The storm was a surprise that day. Nothing was forcasted and it snuck up fast.

For the expert meteorologist/drivers commenting. Catch up with the rest of the class.

[USAFPILOT]

LOL, Yeah & like he DIDN'T KNOW THAT! HELL, I Don't drive my 645hp in the RAIN so WHY would ANYBODY drive a 1300hp vehicle in the RAIN? SMDH

Tires hydroplane due to speed not power, and you dont have to use all the 1300HP just because the engine is running. He crashed because he was not driving smart, period.

[Cheme1985]

Actually tires hydroplane because of both speed AND power. Lower traction situations (like in the wet/damp) will lead to a quicker loss of tire traction at lower throttle inputs. This is only exacerbated by wider contact patches and compounds/sipe patterns closer to race spec. I can only imagine it's even more difficult with 1300 hp under your foot.

[Cheme1985]

Not to mention the fact that all these Monday morning quarterbacks talking about a forgone conclusion of him driving like an idiot when they weren’t there. Was he actually driving like an idiot? Maybe. Maybe somebody also swerved into his lane and he tried to avoid them. SMDH.

[Jack B]

Actually tires hydroplane because of both speed AND power. Lower traction situations (like in the wet/damp) will lead to a quicker loss of tire traction at lower throttle inputs. This is only exacerbated by wider contact patches and compounds/sipe patterns closer to race spec. I can only imagine it's even more difficult with 1300 hp under your foot.

Another opinion, a car with wide smooth tires that is powered by 1 hp motor and traveling 50 mph hits standing water, that car will hydroplane as easily as a car with 1300 hp, in affect, power has nothing to do with hyroplaning.

[Cheme1985]

Any loss of traction due to acceleration, turning, or braking (usually absent ABS) in near hydroplaning conditions almost always leads to actual hydroplaning.

As soon as the tires break loose with a thin layer of water on the road you’re hydroplaning after that. It’s obviously easier to break the tires loss in rainy conditions with much higher HP vehicles. 5% throttle on a 1300 HP car is much different than on a 1 HP car. And if we’re driving down the road we have to push the gas. No way around it.

The bottom line is you don’t have to be driving like a jackass to hydroplane and lose it.

[Jack B]

Any loss of traction due to acceleration, turning, or braking (usually absent ABS) in near hydroplaning conditions almost always leads to actual hydroplaning.

As soon as the tires break loose with a thin layer of water on the road you’re hydroplaning after that. It’s obviously easier to break the tires loss in rainy conditions with much higher HP vehicles. 5% throttle on a 1300 HP car is much different than on a 1 HP car. And if we’re driving down the road we have to push the gas. No way around it.

The bottom line is you don’t have to be driving like a jackass to hydroplane and lose it.

You are missing the point, in a pure hydroplane, the car is partially floating, hp is meaningless. Can hp create issues when driving in the rain, yes, that is a different discussion.

[USAFPILOT]

You don’t have to be driving like a jackass, just over driving conditions. That’s “not smart” driving. He could have been totally legal and even normal with what he was doing, but was still quite obviously beyond his and the cars limits for those conditions. You’ve got to have some situational awareness, and do some risk management during your drive or prior to it. You’ve gotta know your vehicles capability in anticipated and unanticipated conditions, it’s maintenance status and how those shit tires affect it prior to getting behind the wheel. Then once behind the wheel you’ve got to stick with your plan, if it was a good one to start. I’m not saying he was driving like a total tool out there, just that he wasn’t smart and is now living with the consequences. Like I tell my kids, “if you play stupid games, you’ll win stupid prizes.” My recommendation is to NOT take a car you can’t count on the the rain onto public streets at all, even if you think it won’t rain. Then if you realize you did just that and the rain is coming down, effing slow down to a crawl and pull the F over before this happens to you. It could be worse, you could likely hurt or Kill someone else.

[Jack B]

You don’t have to be driving like a jackass, just over driving conditions. That’s “not smart” driving. He could have been totally legal and even normal with what he was doing, but was still quite obviously beyond his and the cars limits for those conditions. You’ve got to have some situational awareness, and do some risk management during your drive or prior to it. You’ve gotta know your vehicles capability in anticipated and unanticipated conditions, it’s maintenance status and how those shit tires affect it prior to getting behind the wheel. Then once behind the wheel you’ve got to stick with your plan, if it was a good one to start. I’m not saying he was driving like a total tool out there, just that he wasn’t smart and is now living with the consequences. Like I tell my kids, “if you play stupid games, you’ll win stupid prizes.” My recommendation is to NOT take a car you can’t count on the the rain onto public streets at all, even if you think it won’t rain. Then if you realize you did just that and the rain is coming down, effing slow down to a crawl and pull the F over before this happens to you. It could be worse, you could likely hurt or Kill someone else.

All that aside, I picked up my car at Woodhouse and drove approx 800 mile in a blinding rain storm. The storm headed east, as I drovee east. That is when I found out that new Corsa"s were an excellent rain tire. If you looked at them you would not think so. I now have the Toyo's and I am a bit more hesitant to drive in the rain. They are OK to a point, however, if there is standing water they become an issue.

No one wants to run in the rain, however, in Ohio near the lake it is very hard to forecast, I am sure we are not alone with that problem. My second passion is boating, there were two separated storms (that stand out in my experience) on Lake Erie that that caused 10's of millions of dollars in boat damage, both of those storms were not forecasted.

[Cheme1985]

I’m not missing the point. I’m an engineer and well aware of the physics behind hydroplaning. I’m pointing out conditions that can lead to hydroplaning aside from simply driving at X speed and hitting standing water.

[sadil]

Man all of are pretty bored to be arguing about this lol. Let’s just step back and say none of us were in the car and know what happened. Glad the driver made it out and yes this ACR is wayyyy over priced and a shitty proposition for a rebuild lol. Can we put our brains to something else? This forum is getting slow! Somebody post some cool shit they have done lately. I might finally get around to removing my rear cat and muffler this winter to run semi-straight pipe! Yay! Also have some ideas on a mic setup to record the viper exhaust note properly!

[Matt Dillon]

There was frame damage. He was driving home and got stuck in a storm. About 50 mph into a wall. 1300hp + bald kumhos+ rain = yikes

WOW, this just makes me CRINGE! WOW, 1300hp & something like this happens is just Horrible! I Mean IF you have All that HP & you have BALD Tires WHY Not just pull off the side of the road? I Guess I can understand getting caught in a storm (maybe) but to have a car like that, I think i'd got off of the first exit or pulled over! JMO! I Guess it's Always easier to be an Arm Chair QB, just hate this happened to one of our Vipers, just glad the Owner wasn't Hurt!