Article Comments - 2008 Dodge Viper vs. 2007 Chevrolet Corvette

13 messages, Last post on Jun 28, 2008 at 12:35 PM

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What is this discussion about? Dodge Viper, Chevrolet Corvette, Car Comparisons, Coupe

Comparison Test: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe vs. 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - We set out to find the quickest, fastest and best-handling American supercar, which is why we've weighted the scoring a little differently. This time, performance makes up a full 50 percent of the points total. Fifty Percent. Cupholders and trunk space fall into the "who cares" category. (more)

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#4 of 13 Re: Article Comments - 2008 Dodge Viper vs. 2007 Chevrolet Corvette [gbjerke] by dc325ix Oct 10, 2007 (6:35 pm)
Replying to: gbjerke (Oct 10, 2007 6:53 am) Good point about recovery going over a bump - I used to have a viper gts about 5 years ago and yes I race scca and have been thru skip barber schooling as well - but I will never forget how skittish the viper was when you hit even a small bump in the road, it was nerve racking. But, honestly pound for pound and sheer balls to the wall I'd still take the viper over the vette anyday, just not as a daily driver, but as a third car - now if only I can convince the wife
#5 of 13 Re: Article Comments - 2008 Dodge Viper vs. 2007 Chevrolet Corvette [gbjerk [snakester] by gbjerke Oct 11, 2007 (4:03 pm)
Replying to: snakester (Oct 10, 2007 1:00 pm) Never heard of the 12" rollout and doubt Car and Driver or Motor Trend use this. They often comment about their "best times" being achieved by dumping the cluth at 2500 or 3000 or 3500 RPM. Agreed that one is certainly not looking for bumps but they are there. Road America is a good example. A very smooth track but just at the apex of turn 1 there is this "bump" and it can be disturbing. This comes after the longest straight (14 to 1) so speeds coming in are right at 140-150 heading into 1. It's a fast corner, probably a 75-80 degree right hander but there have been a lot of comments as to how much this affects some cars. To me, once I turn in I am on the gas and while I feel the bump, it has never been unsettling to me as the tail plants well. Also, totally agree it's the driver and not the car. Have seen way to many huge HP/Torque iron getting dusted by great drivers with 1/2 the HP of the big stuff. Lots to learn out there. Replies to this message: snakester (Oct 11, 2007 4:45 pm)
#6 of 13 Re: Article Comments - 2008 Dodge Viper vs. 2007 Chevrolet Corvette [gbjerk by snakester Oct 11, 2007 (4:45 pm)
Replying to: gbjerke (Oct 11, 2007 4:03 pm) The 1 foot rollout is a standard acceleration measurement. The NHRA drag racing rules stipulate it in their standards, and most every major magazine uses it to compare the acceleration of cars. Look up aftermarket performance meters, or to any of the automobile magazines when they discuss their testing methods. I was surprised that Edmunds DIDN'T do a 12" rollout in their testing, but they don't. So their numbers are more accurate compared to what the actual 0-60MPH time that a real person would get on the street, but the numbers are 0.2-0.3 seconds slower than other magazines and drag strip tests. Here is a quote from Edmunds talking about their testing of the STS-V: "Zero to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, sort of It sure sounds good, though, delivering a harmonic blend of blower whine and V8 rumble, which only intensifies as the tach needle climbs. Torquey, too. With a great big wall of the stuff right off idle. If it weren't for the hard-core fuel cutoff at 6,700 rpm, it feels like the big V8 would just keep pulling. Cadillac claims the STS-V accelerates from zero to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds. And it does, sort of. The first time we tested the STS-V, we recorded a best run of 5.1 seconds. So we called the guys at GM to tell them their car doesn't accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds. Figuring there must be something wrong with the car, General Motors sent a powertrain engineer from Detroit to check it out. The car was fine. But he did notice we didn't use any roll-out in our acceleration tests, which GM and many car magazines do. Roll-out essentially gives the car 12 inches of movement before you start the clocks. You know, a head start. So we humored the guy, recalculated our radar gun and made a few more runs. Sure enough, with 12 inches of roll-out, the car's best 0-60-mph run was 4.9 seconds. Too bad we don't test with roll-out. Our 0-60-mph test starts at zero mph. So our official 0-60-mph time for the STS-V is 5.1 seconds." I know that all of the other magazines use the 1 foot rollout, and others sometimes average the speed to show a better acceleration time when using GPS measurement. And some mags do a LOT of track and car preparation to get superior times, from power-shifting, to lowering the air pressure in the tires to icing the intake, etc.. So it's not always apple-to-apples in testing, and the best approach is to just compare the differences between cars performance measurements when tests are done under the best conditions for accuracy (same time, same track, same driver).
#7 of 13 Current Viper Owner by dvsutton Oct 11, 2007 (7:48 pm)
As a current Viper owner (04 SRT 10) I can assure you that there is nothing in the world like driving a car that has over 500hp. I find it funny that the first thing the reviewer looks for is cupholders and other creature comforts. Listen, I didn't buy it for cupholders, Gas mileage, GPS, Navigation, or any other daily driver convienences. I bought it to drive, in a word, FAST. Throwing down and embarrassing some punk in a fart can muffler,Wal-Mart winged, slammed NissanSubaHonda is all I need for miles of Smiles.
#8 of 13 Re: Article Comments - 2008 Dodge Viper vs. 2007 Chevrolet Corvette-dyno ? by md99viper Dec 14, 2007 (2:04 pm)
In the interests of accuracy, our region of the Viper Club sponsors an annual dyno day for many of our owners. HP and TQ numbers vary so much. I would like to know why the tests rely on 'published' numbers - instead of doing their own tests. Trust - but Verify !!! Let's see the REAL numbers. RWHP.. and RWTQ. 2000 GTS owner.
#9 of 13 Re: Article Comments - 2008 Dodge Viper vs. 2007 Chevrolet Corvette [KarenS] by natali Jan 01, 2008 (6:00 pm)
Replying to: KarenS (Oct 09, 2007 9:36 am) I own a 2002 Dodge Viper and I feel the Viper sometimes never gets the credit it deserves and this article does it justice. It is a super mean car that is not real friendly but will get your adrenaline flowing. One thing that I noticed which actually can be considered flattery is the door to front end profile of the 2003 and up Vipers (changed the body style in 2003) was basically copied by the 'Vette. At a quick glance, there are many similarities in appearance. Agreed - the Viper is pricey but well worth it!!! Red Viper in Dallas
#10 of 13 Viper vs. Z06 by wkimball May 02, 2008 (2:02 pm)
The results of this comparison would be quite different if both cars were on equivalent tires. The latest Viper's Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires are special PS2s made with race-compound rubber. Replies to this message: snakester (May 02, 2008 2:52 pm) wkimball (May 03, 2008 6:28 am)
#11 of 13 Re: Viper vs. Z06 [wkimball] by snakester May 02, 2008 (2:52 pm)
Replying to: wkimball (May 02, 2008 2:02 pm) That is true only for the ACR Viper, which does have Sport Cup tires. But even though the Viper's tires are especially designed and manufactured for the Viper, this has been the case for MANY years. It's true that the Z06 has a slight disadvantage of running run-flat tires, but the Viper's PS2 tires do not make severe compromises in tread life or wet weather capability to attain better grip as many racing R-compound tires do. The ZR-1 will also wear PS2 tires, which should again even things up. Replies to this message: wkimball (May 03, 2008 6:28 am)
#12 of 13 Re: Viper vs. Z06 [snakester] by wkimball May 03, 2008 (6:28 am)
Replying to: snakester (May 02, 2008 2:52 pm) I am referring to the PS2s that come on the standard 600-hp Viper. These tires are made with the same rubber that is used for the Cup tires. See the Road&Track test in a recent issue.
#13 of 13 by quade420 Jun 28, 2008 (12:35 pm)
These are the slowest times I've seen for the new Z06 and I was about to call shenanigans until I read the post about the 12" rollout. Kind of surprising that it takes a full 2 tenths off the 0-60 time but it makes sense. Great test. and I agree with MD99viper. all magazines who run tests like these should have a dyno set up. after all, it's the hp the car puts to the ground that matters, not what it makes at the crank...