Joined a Viper group for a rental of Maryland International Raceway today (Nov 15). Great bunch of guys driving some seriously fast cars. mine was the only Vette there.
Watched Forum member Jamie Furman do some superb driving. Instead of his Z06, he was guest driver putting new best times on several Vipers whose owners had thrown him the keys. One pass Jamie made in a stock Gen-2 Viper on drag radials was 11.3X. That's two tenths faster than mine. Those Vipers are fast...especially with the right driver.
Anyway, I made 25 passes in 6 hours. Here are 15 runs in sequence (see below for the other 10). Density altitude throughout the day was 400-500'. Air temp was high 50s-low 60s. Humidity was 50-60%
11.568 @ 117.94 on a 1.684 60' 11.651 @ 118.44 on a 1.728 60'
11.755 @ 117.80
11.707 @ 119.46 11.640 @ 118.16 on a 1.693 60'
11.715 @ 117.73
11.700 @ 118.04
11.778 @ 119.45
11.748 @ 119.38
11.726 @ 117.53
11.719 @ 117.49
11.742 @ 116.97
11.762 @ 116.87
11.766 @ 117.05
11.786 @ 116.99
There also were three runs where the timing equipment did not capture an ET (an operator error in the tower); plus three dedicated runs to test a vendor's equipment (hardware was added just for those three runs and then removed; details are private); and four botched runs. I had never made 25 passes in one day and found it impossible to remain "in the zone" for every pass. So three runs had one missed shift and one run had a blown launch, due to inadequately heated DRs. On these four runs I coasted ...giving my clutch a rest. Not every run goes as planned.
In summary, a 16-car track rental makes for an intense and altogether delightful day. My thanks to Jamie for the arrangements. He hangs with a fun and fast group.
Originally posted by JBsZ06 ...Any wear and tear on the car b/c of it?
these cars are simply amazing..especially how well they are built to take so many passes in one day..
What did the viper guys think of your corvettes (and your) performance?
Thanks, guy for the kind words.
JBsZ06, The Viper guys couldn't have been nicer and complimented the stoutness of the Z06 and it's consistency throughout the day.
My car held up well through 25 passes. I changed the fluid in the clutch reservoir four time during the day to preempt clutch pedal woes, and in return my clutch behaved pretty well. I managed to get the clutch out fast enough on each pass that I never smelled "eau de clutch." I did notice that my trap speeds progressively declined as the engine became realtively heat-soaked but the ETs remained in a very narrow band.
I might have done more low ETs if I had the discipline to park the car and let it really cool down. But that constant open lane got the better of me.
The Z06 is an amazingly reliable car. And my BFGs now have about 110 passes.
Ranger..thats what really coined the term sports car owner I bet..the fact that no matter what kind of brand loyalty you have ..you can admire what the other guy owns..Really good sportsmanship.
They must have dropped dead when they saw your times though!
For the few events I've been to sponsored by other makes and models of cars.. its one of the things I've always walked away with that continues to amaze me..
I have found porsche guys..BMW guys just like the viper guys...all just enjoy eachothers cars for what they are..very cool..yet you got to tell us..didn't they fall over and drop dead on your et's and trap speeds... I know everytime I read one of your posts I do...
Glad to hear you had such an awesome day..
And of course congratulations on your amazing performance..
Besides being one of the nicest guys..your also one of the quickest most consistant I've ever seen..
Originally posted by JBsZ06 ...you got to tell us..didn't they fall over and drop dead on your et's and trap speeds... Glad to hear you had such an awesome day....
Thanks for sharing the day.
Appreciate your genreous words, JBsZ06.
Most of the participants had nice things to say about my Z06 and its consistency. AND I am happy to report that no one asked to make a pass in my car.
The participating Vipers that ran faster than mine had more mods. Except...Jamie Furman seemed to be able to get 3-4 tenths more out of the cars than their owners. And he did an 11.3x pass in a bone stock gen-2 on drag radials.
Originally posted by 12 Second Momma ...It just amazes me these cars just keep going and going. I think the most we have done in a day has been 18....
Thanks, Momma. I'd previously made 12 good passes in a day. But today I learned that its not possible--at least for me--to retain tight focus for 25 passes.
But this does confirm for me that these cars are very reliable under stressful use. But I doubt my cutch pedal would have held up without all the fresh fluid I added during the day.
Originally posted by rbartick ...Were you powershifting, if so which gears?
Thanks, rbartick.
On most of the passes, I powershifted the 3-4. None of the others. Track conditions would not reward powershifts to 1-2 or 2-3, so I eased the throttle on those shifts.
Ranger, sounds like you had a ball...........
Congrats on the great driving, and keeping the '02 together.......
Especially the tranny............you must never bang a gear........missing one, is one thing, grinding @ high spped, and hard slamming is another..........
As you have said, practice, practice, practice........
I wish we could rent the Hallsville track for a day...............
I cannot imagine a day where you basically could run at will............BIG smile
11.568 @ 117.94 on a 1.684 60' 11.651 @ 118.44 on a 1.728 60' 11.640 @ 118.16 on a 1.693 60'
very impressive with just bfg drag radials and a halltech trick cold air intake and powerstack filter . your low and consistent times prove that the key to faster et's and consistency is more driver seat time and patience not just every after market bolt on and power adder is going to get you quicker et's without applying driver knowledge first.
Originally posted by ZO6LS6 Ranger, sounds like you had a ball...........
Especially the tranny............you must never bang a gear........missing one, is one thing, grinding @ high spped, and hard slamming is another..........
As you have said, practice, practice, practice........
I wish we could rent the Hallsville track for a day...............
I cannot imagine a day where you basically could run at will............BIG smile
Thanks, everyone.
Z06LS6, My tranny is doing fine. But then again I only powershift sometimes not all the time. And practice, practice, practice...one more time...practice, practice, practice...one more time....
jnation, Many thanks. Not sure I could every get used to an aftermarket shifter...I still run the stocker after trying friends' cars with the Ripper and the Kirban.
If you ever want to get a real feel for what your car can do, the guy to contact is Forum member Jamie Furman. That guy is amazing...jumping from car to car and beating their owners' times.
JOHNNY P., I completely agree that the driver component is the most important and receives less attention than it should and far less than mods. Same was true in the Viper group. Two drivers there were able to consistently get better times in anyone's car than the owner. Too little attention was being paid to WHY those drivers were going faster. Oh, well. Basic techniques and practice, practice, practice....
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Awesome simply awesome!
You got us beat
I know everytime I read one of your posts I do... 
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