NorCal Vipers tear up Laguna Seca!

[VENOM V]

A bunch of NorCal Vipers and a few from SoCal hit the track last weekend to unleash at a rare unlimited-dB event at historic Laguna Seca. These days are few and far between, with the uber-liberal Monterey politicians and residents limiting sound at this famous track. On a typical 90 dB day, Vipers have to bog and lift as they pass the sound booth near turn 5 or they get the dreaded "Meatball" flag. Not this weekend, WOT throttle baby! Friday and Saturday were unlimited dB, whereas Saturday had a 105 dB limit. Loyde's long tube header equipped Gen IV ACR just past the gauntlet at 104.5 dB!

I am now racing a Mustang in SCCA, so my plan was to bring the race car on Friday, then play in the Viper Saturday and Sunday. Well the Mustang was in the shop so I had to track the Viper all three days. I was not disappointed in that revised plan! The Mustang is fun but no match for the Viper.

Coach jumps in a Viper for the first time
I hired Thomas Merrill, a professional race car driver and coach to help me improve my lap times there. I have less experience at Laguna Seca than any other track in the area, and if you want to win you've got to master every nook and cranny of a track. Although he was slated to help me master the Mustang, I decided to keep Thomas to coach me in the Viper. Good move!

An effective method of learning is to equip the car with a data acquisition system and have the coach lay down a "baseline" lap, then we can compare my laps to his and know where and how I need to improve. So Thomas hopped into the Viper for the first session. In one session, Thomas was able to click off a 1:36.0 despite this being his first time in a Viper. Thomas was blown away at the Viper's handling. Here's a direct quote from Thomas: "It was my first time in a Viper and I was very surprised with it’s stability on corner entry and it’s forward bite on corner exit. In the past I had heard rumors of Vipers being a bit unruly, particularly on corner exit, but this was not my experience!"

My turn
Next session, I jumped in the Viper. Due to that sound limit, I have rarely tracked here so I took it easy in my first session. I ran a best of 1:40.0.

Thomas and I overlaid his lap data with mine, and it was immediately obvious that I needed to focus on reducing my braking and increasing rolling speed through many of the corners. That was good for a 1:38.5 lap, happy to break into the high 1:30s!

Thomas again gave me new areas to work on, and I went out on the track. In only my second lap, I pulled off a 1:37.6, followed by a 1:37.7. However, I could feel noticeable hard-pedal brake fade. I had to back it off because the stock brake pads weren't up to the hard braking that you need to slow the beast at the turn-2 hairpin after the high speed straight. I had ordered TA rotors and pads prior to the event, but they were on back order. I knew I was pushing my luck with the stock pads, running Hoosier R6s.

Brake FUBAR

When I came off the track, I could see that my front pads were down to nearly nothing. To my shock, one of my front pads had overheated and completely disintegrated. Worse, I initially couldn't get the pad out, it was stuck. Come to find out that the backing plate had melted and had deep impressions from the pistons. The brakes were shot, and I was done after only 1 day of a 3-day event.

Not disappointed!

We ran the first day on old R6s that had been beat on at Sonoma. In the trailer were a brand new set of significantly grippier Hoosier R7s. Just the switch from old R6s to new R7s are worth at least a second, and Thomas had given me some good advice on how to improve. I can only speculate how much I would've improved my lap times. However, I am not disappointed! Clicking off a 1:37.6 in my third session exceeded my expectations.

Hanging with the California track rats

Saturday and Sunday, I had a blast watching the other Vipers mix it up. Pretty much everyone was running their personal bests, including Loyde, Chris, Rich, Gary, Mike, Andy, Darius and others. Gary brought his Charger Hellcat as well as his Viper and was turning wicked fast laps considering he was on his original street tires. Darius turned a blistering 1:36.5. I'll let the other guys chime in and tell you how the weekend went. Loyde and Angie threw a party Friday night at their place, and my lady May joined us along with 22 others at Tarpy's Roadhouse for dinner Saturday. Tarpy's is a staple for track rats, we had dinner there a couple years ago with the ALMS Viper drivers. Kuno Wittmer happened to sit with May and me, we talked with him for over an hour solid!

Ok enough talk, pictures are worth a thousand words. I purchased a bunch of on-track photos but the photographer accidentally gave me someone else's pics, however I snapped a few with my iPhone...

Viper ready to roll by solomontodd, on Flickr

Mike's badass ACR by solomontodd, on Flickr

Comp Coupe, oh my! by solomontodd, on Flickr

Hellcat Gary! by solomontodd, on Flickr

Gary chased by Andy by solomontodd, on Flickr

Love me some Black TA w/Orange Stripes by solomontodd, on Flickr

1:37.6 lap! by solomontodd, on Flickr

[lochnessmonster]

Wow, I'm so jealous!!! That looks like a blast. So, based on your experience, are stock pads not up to the challenge, or is it just a matter of having enough wear left on them?

[VENOM V]

FUBARed pads by solomontodd, on Flickr

Wasted pad on left, new on right by solomontodd, on Flickr

Brake pad plate melted by solomontodd, on Flickr

Piston destroyed by solomontodd, on Flickr

[lochnessmonster]

Wow, it looks like your pistons took a beating as well?

[VENOM V]

Wow, I'm so jealous!!! That looks like a blast. So, based on your experience, are stock pads not up to the challenge, or is it just a matter of having enough wear left on them?

We had so much fun that it convinced me to order a 2016 ACR!

The stock Track Pack brakes are quite good, even with the stock pads. But Laguna is really hard on brakes, and when running Hoosiers at the speeds we were driving, the stock pads weren't sufficient despite being brand new that morning. I had previously run here no problem, but I am more experienced and faster now.

The Viper is currently at a race shop having ducting plates fabbed so that I can run cooling ducts. I will also run TA rotors for their greater thermal mass and increased pad area (they arrived just after the event, LOL), along with track pads. They should be just fine with those mods. That Comp Coupe in the picture above runs the same brakes that I do.

Wow, it looks like your pistons took a beating as well?

Yep, caliper is being rebuilt too, LOL. It's a good thing that I backed off when I felt fade, I was a few laps away from a disaster.

[VENOM V]

Now that I'm also racing an SCCA Mustang, I bought this trailer and a Ram to pull it with. Really makes tracking convenient! Room for all of your tools, spare slicks, no more begging for someone else to haul my slicks to the track.

Viper with Ram and Trailer by solomontodd, on Flickr

Viper in trailer by solomontodd, on Flickr

Locked and loaded by solomontodd, on Flickr

Trailer interior by solomontodd, on Flickr

[lochnessmonster]

Wow, good to know about the pads etc. You're right, it is a good thing you backed off when you did.....major major damage was coming your way for sure. That set-up looks awesome. Now "jealous" doesn't even cut it. The wife, kids, and I attended a Moto GP race at Laguna a few years ago. Camped out at the bottom of the hill. Loved it. What an awesome area to run your toy!!!

Edit - PS your car looks absolutely stunning in that pic next to the trailer. That is a keeper for sure!!!!!

[ViperSmith]

Now you'll need a two car trailer

[swexlin]

Nice truck as well. I miss my 04 1/2 Cummins dually. Don't miss parking it or the fuel bill however!

[VENOM V]

Wow, good to know about the pads etc. You're right, it is a good thing you backed off when you did.....major major damage was coming your way for sure. That set-up looks awesome. Now "jealous" doesn't even cut it. The wife, kids, and I attended a Moto GP race at Laguna a few years ago. Camped out at the bottom of the hill. Loved it. What an awesome area to run your toy!!!

Edit - PS your car looks absolutely stunning in that pic next to the trailer. That is a keeper for sure!!!!!

Camped out at the bottom of the corkscrew? One of my favorite spots to watch the on-track drama! So many good places to view the track. This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite tracks. So beautiful, and cool temperatures. The high that weekend was around 75 F, meanwhile it was about 110 F at Thunderhill and Buttonwillow Raceways. Laguna Seca can be treacherous compared to other tracks around here. The Mustang is in the body shop getting the frame straightened after a racing incident in turn 6. We run almost half of our races here, so it was time to really learn the track. I'm still learning but enjoying the path.

[VENOM V]

Now you'll need a two car trailer

LOL. Halle Berry will be reserved for wine country and bed and breakfasts. The ACR will soon take over track duty! Hopefully I'll have it in time for Viper Tracks 2016.

[VENOM V]

Nice truck as well. I miss my 04 1/2 Cummins dually. Don't miss parking it or the fuel bill however!

I went with the 1/2 ton Hemi with all the towing upgrades, it's a little smaller than a dually but yes it drinks gas. I can't really afford any of this, so the truck is now my daily driver. I will probably move into the trailer to make my ACR payments, haha

[lochnessmonster]

We did climb the hill to the corkscrew, and also watched from the vantage point at turn 1, but I'm talking about the camping area down at the entrance to the facility. As I recall, when you drive past the vantage point overlooking turn 1-2 (with that on your left) just past that you hang a right at a "T" intersection and drive for about 3/4 of a mile down the road and the camping was on the right.

[flyingskibiker]

Awesome! Glad you caught the brake issues "in time". I kinda knew you would be placing an order for an ACR sooner or later... Good to see the temps weren't too bad. We roasted in Sonoma!

[ViperSmith]

I went with the 1/2 ton Hemi with all the towing upgrades, it's a little smaller than a dually but yes it drinks gas. I can't really afford any of this, so the truck is now my daily driver. I will probably move into the trailer to make my ACR payments, haha

Some benefits to not being married, eh

[allans]

V5, It didn't take long for you to go ALL IN. Congratulations! Best, Allan

[TrackAire]

Congrats on the new trailer Todd, it came out fantastic. The black truck and trailer combo looks sinister.

Just when you don't want to spend any more money, I'll email you some ideas for a couple easy and cheap upgrades for inside the trailer now that I can see the interior. Remember, it's only money, LOL.

We'll be cheering you on during your race on the 26th!!

Cheers,
George

[Darius]

I would have loved to have seen that comp coupe, never seen one in person before. Your really toasted those brakes. I did the same thing to my stock c6 z06 brakes, drove from thunder hill to Chico to get new pads only to have the motor blow up coming out of turn one on my 1st lap! My brakes felt spongy and didn't have any real initial bite either and I had new pads that I bought from a member here. I think I need to re bleed them and get some carbotech's like Chris has because his brakes felt great. After seeing the inside of your trailer I have to buy a new one now. I can't put a new ACR in my old beat up trailer. It's 10yrs old and has taken a beating!

[Bruce H.]

Excellent read, Todd, and glad you caught the brake pads when you did. You probably never even thought to check them since they were new. I made the same mistake at Road Atlanta once and was metal on metal at day's end in the Supra TT. I hope your rotors are okay as they would have taken a lot of excessive heat with so little pad.

I hope the TA brakes will work well for you, although I suspect you might also exceed their limits on R7's.

Great looking rig!

Good luck, and keep everything shiny side up!

Bruce

[Rapidrezults]

Wow, those brakes are toast! I thought I had it bad with cracked and glazed stock TA pads, yours take the prize for sure!

We NorCal folks are very fortunate to have Laguna Seca within relative short distance from us. An open sound day at Laguna is one of the best track experiences one can have in a Viper IMO. For me, it's like the Super Bowl of HPDE events. What makes it so exciting is this is the track that legends are made on (TA strikes back ), and will be even more important especially now that the Ring may not be available for future testing. Thanks to RP and Motor Trend, it has now become the standard that we all look to when comparing cars and track performance. We really do need to get some of the hardcore track guys from other parts of the country out for an open sound day here! Prizes and trophies for he who can get as close to 1.33 as possible...

We can all sit and scratch our heads on how a 1.33 on street tires is even remotely possible because once you drive it, you will see it truly is an exceptional feat. RP makes it look easy in his videos, but there is so much to squeeze out of every inch of this track! Most of the street tire Vipers were running 141-143 with the Hoosier Vipers running 136-138. I will definitely be getting R7s for the next open sound day - that is if I don't have my ACR/Khumos by then.

All in all had a great time with no major 'incidents' in the Viper camp. Unfortunately a GT3 in my group stuffed it into the wall at the corkscrew.

My reality check came on day 2 when I got a little too excited chasing Andy right after track entry on COLD tires!

This video should serve as a reminder to be patient in letting your tires warm up! This was the first time the car had ever stepped out this far on me at speed.

[MBG2.0]

Nice write up.

As far as the TA pads...don't.

[VENOM V]

Guys, I received the pics from the trackside photographer. Here are a few...

Turn 6 by solomontodd, on Flickr

Corkscrew w Vette and open wheel by solomontodd, on Flickr

Side shot by solomontodd, on Flickr

Turn 4 by solomontodd, on Flickr

Chasing Vette by solomontodd, on Flickr

Corkscrew hugging the curbing by solomontodd, on Flickr

[VENOM V]

Awesome! Glad you caught the brake issues "in time". I kinda knew you would be placing an order for an ACR sooner or later... Good to see the temps weren't too bad. We roasted in Sonoma!

Hey Chris, yes that was a close call. Glad you were at the NASCAR race, that was the first I've missed at Sears Point in probably a decade. But this unlimited dB weekend was too tempting.

- - - Updated - - -

V5, It didn't take long for you to go ALL IN. Congratulations! Best, Allan

You know it. So addicting, I'm hooked Allan

[VENOM V]

Congrats on the new trailer Todd, it came out fantastic. The black truck and trailer combo looks sinister.

Just when you don't want to spend any more money, I'll email you some ideas for a couple easy and cheap upgrades for inside the trailer now that I can see the interior. Remember, it's only money, LOL.

We'll be cheering you on during your race on the 26th!!

Cheers,
George

Hey George, thanks man. Very happy with the trailer. I saw trailer at the SCCA race with a bed that mounts to the ceiling and lowers down when you want it. Ever seen one like that? I've got a couple of jack mounts on order from Pitpal, and am trying to figure out where to mount my fuel can rack. No room inside, maybe on the front of the trailer?

You're coming to the 7/25-7/26 Laguna Seca race? Man that would be great to hang out.

[TrackAire]

Wow, those brakes are toast! I thought I had it bad with cracked and glazed stock TA pads, yours take the prize for sure!

We NorCal folks are very fortunate to have Laguna Seca within relative short distance from us. An open sound day at Laguna is one of the best track experiences one can have in a Viper IMO. For me, it's like the Super Bowl of HPDE events. What makes it so exciting is this is the track that legends are made on (TA strikes back ), and will be even more important especially now that the Ring may not be available for future testing. Thanks to RP and Motor Trend, it has now become the standard that we all look to when comparing cars and track performance. We really do need to get some of the hardcore track guys from other parts of the country out for an open sound day here! Prizes and trophies for he who can get as close to 1.33 as possible...

We can all sit and scratch our heads on how a 1.33 on street tires is even remotely possible because once you drive it, you will see it truly is an exceptional feat. RP makes it look easy in his videos, but there is so much to squeeze out of every inch of this track! Most of the street tire Vipers were running 141-143 with the Hoosier Vipers running 136-138. I will definitely be getting R7s for the next open sound day - that is if I don't have my ACR/Khumos by then.

All in all had a great time with no major 'incidents' in the Viper camp. Unfortunately a GT3 in my group stuffed it into the wall at the corkscrew.

My reality check came on day 2 when I got a little too excited chasing Andy right after track entry on COLD tires!

This video should serve as a reminder to be patient in letting your tires warm up! This was the first time the car had ever stepped out this far on me at speed.

Nice save!!

Chris, that was some fast handwork. Are you sure you didn't hit fluid on the track?....the Viper ahead of you kick out its rear in the same spot (at least from what I can tell on the video).