Why on Earth a VIPER?

[driftersil80]

Yo, i got a question. How do you promounce japanese names. Is it Akinori Utsumi or Utsumi Akinori. Or is it Katsuhiro Ueo or Ueo Katsuhiro. I get confused w/ all tha first and last name stuff.

[TRusst]

I still say it is the Japanese pushing it in this direction...not the Americans. We don't have that much of a control over drifting yet. The D1 is still very much run by the Japanese and they are deciding where it is headed. And like I have mentioned before. Tsuchiya says that it is headed more in a direction of more dangerous, crazy drifts. I'm sure the crazy turnouts of the D1 events at Irwindale have had something to do with this idea. But I still think it was already headed in this direction. And the Japanese are also a go big and go home kind of culture. I'm sure we're all familiar with the Kamikaze pilots. And I'm sure we have all seen those Wangan battles on Option Video. They enjoy this as much as anyone else. I think it is just the natural progression of the D1...but not necesarily drifting as a whole. Just as F1 has very little in common with the guy who is doing open track days, autocross, or canyon carving.

[TRusst]

Also like F1 or any other form of motorsport, we are going to see a variety of tracks. Some will be more techincal, some will be more of a bravery test. The whole point of a championship, is to test these guys on a variety of different courses. Just like rally. The guy who wins the WRC Championship is the guy who can perfrom on all surfaces, and on more wide open roads as well as tighter more techincal roads. The D1 will have variety as well.

[ToplessFC3Sman]

I think I see what Nissanguy was talking about, not to say I disagree with the other posts on here, but look what happened to stock-car racing. It used to be you'd be able to watch the race on TV, and then go out to the dealership and buy a car that was essentially the same machine. But in the spirit of competativeness, and the desire to overpower everyone else, the cars themselves grew farther and farther away from what you could go out and buy, and altho the technology involved is amazing, stock-car racing is IMHO the most boring of motorsports (with the possible exception of swamp-buggy-ing). It no longer has the realistic quality it used to, that you could actually own a car very similiar to the one you see circling the track on TV.

I think the viper will do this, because to compete with the sheer power and acceleration of the viper, cars like the S-chassis, FC and FD's, and the treuno's will have to seriously change their mechanicals, and become less and less like the cars we all love and drive. Not to say that we all can afford to go out and buy an S15, but it is possible.

I agree with Ghost too, that America likes things big, and that the viper was a more natural progression than the development of a whole new car, and will doubtless attract different types of people to drifting than an almost all japanese line-up would. the viper is the epitome of big... the car itself is huge, it has 10 cylinders displacing 8 liters, 500 hp and 525 lbs of torque, even the size of the tires on the beast are huge. Going by whats already been said, the viper is the best car in the daimler-chrystler garages.

To use the crossfire to drift would probably work pretty well physically (i know the Merc SLK230 drifts well in GT3 anyway), but its badged as a chrystler, which has the wrong type of buyer demographic for drifting. It would be like seeing a buick or oldsmobile drifter. The crossfire is a pretty sweet car, but marketing decisions will probably keep it from ever becoming a drift-mobile, or at least a factory sponsored one anyway.

A car as big as the viper, if it gets the support dodge is hoping for, will be a shove away from smaller, twisty tracks towards big ovals. Thats the opposite direction Id like to see drifting to go, but if its what the market demands, then its whats gonna happen.

[TRusst]

I swear nobody reads my posts.

[TRusst]

Some one will have to convert these numbers.

S15 stock

Length=4445mm
Width=1695mm
Height=1285mm

Wheelbase=2525mm

Front track=1470mm
Rear track=1460mm

Weight=1240kilos

Viper Competion Coupe

Lenght=184.1in
Width=77.9in
Height=46.3in

Wheelbase=99in

Front track=57.8in
Rear track=60.9in

Weight=2995lbs or 1360kilos (only metric measurement I could find

520HP

Having seen one of these cars up close, they are not nearly as large as they seem in photographs. I'm sure with the lax regulations in drift competion (as opposed to production based sport car competions which it was originally designed for) that they could manage to shed even more weight. And like I said earlier, most of the turbocharged D1 cars are knocking on the door of 500HP and weigh less than the Viper CC. Eventhough the Viper will be competing will be competing in the Formula D instead of D1. It may force the other competitiors to step up to near D1 levels of power and setup. So it will be more costly...so many companies are so crazy about drifting, that they should be able to find sposnership.

As, for the regular drifter like you and me. Who cares...To me drifting is more about fun than it is a competition. There will continue to be grass roots events for us. We don't have to copy, and have every single part that the pros do. Regular road racers, and drag racers have been making do on moderate budgets for years. You don't have to have a full Kei Office suspension, 18in Advans and a SR20DET to have fun drifting. Let the pros, have the pros parts and just sit back and enjoy the show.

[TRusst]

modest budgets, not moderate budgets.

[Ghost of Duluth]

Actually that is the exact opposite of what Drifting is about. Drifting is not about gobs of power and torque. So in effect the S13's,FC's and FDs can effectively compete with the Viper. This isn't F1 or GTC or any of that, this is Drifting. The Viper also isn't the super speed machine that people make it out to be. I've beaten a Viper light to light before in my FD. It's all bout the Driver.

[Feint]

Originally posted by driftersil80
Yo, i got a question. How do you promounce japanese names. Is it Akinori Utsumi or Utsumi Akinori. Or is it Katsuhiro Ueo or Ueo Katsuhiro. I get confused w/ all tha first and last name stuff.

In Japan you call them by their lastname unless your friends with them.

I'm thinking the Viper might break the bank,but Mopar has a pretty big bank account,so who knows.We know the Viper is going to crash sometime,they all do,it's just when.The repair bill on that thing....that's a lot of cash.

[TRusst]

Drifting isn't about gobs of horsepower. But the turbocharged Japanese D1 cars make gobs of horsepower.

[strider]

No one will admit that the reason they hate the viper is because it is american. I doubt the people on this forum really hate this car because it has a lot of power or it is very expensive. I dont see anyone here complaining about apex's 490 hp FD. Its a shame that everything has to be "JDM" in order for u guys to appreciate it. Ill bet that many people that post here boo'ed ryse millen during this years d1gp because he drove a pontiac. If tsuchiya was drifing an $80,000+ NSX no one here would mind.

[Chas]

Your dead wrong. The reason i hate the viper is because it is a FACTORY sponsership. Thats the reason, go look at my other posts, I was cheering on tarzan, then that thing crashed. Ha, vipers shouldnt drift.

Same reason i booed the gto, because it cant even win when its got a full factory sponsership.

[Feint]

Originally posted by strider
No one will admit that the reason they hate the viper is because it is american. I doubt the people on this forum really hate this car because it has a lot of power or it is very expensive. I dont see anyone here complaining about apex's 490 hp FD. Its a shame that everything has to be "JDM" in order for u guys to appreciate it. Ill bet that many people that post here boo'ed ryse millen during this years d1gp because he drove a pontiac. If tsuchiya was drifing an $80,000+ NSX no one here would mind.

You can't compare a Viper to an NSX like that.The NSX is an MR,anyone that can drift an MR deserves respect.Also,the NSX only has 280ps(maybe it's 300ps on the latest Type-R),less than half the displacement,almost half the cylinders,weighs less,is overpriced,and a wannabe Ferrari that's just not a Ferrari no matter how hard Honda trys.The Viper on the other hand is that ugly stepchild,doesn't look great,big,powerful,has lots of torque,FR,like previously mentioned,it's a muscle car.The NSX is about elegance,the Viper is about brute force.

Now to your last question.If Tsuchiya drove a Viper would anyone mind,nope.What if Tsuchiya *Censored**Censored**Censored*-dragged a Vitz,would anyone complain,maybe a few.Why would it be different for an NSX?

[strider]

Originally posted by Chas
Your dead wrong. The reason i hate the viper is because it is a FACTORY sponsership. Thats the reason, go look at my other posts, I was cheering on tarzan, then that thing crashed. Ha, vipers shouldnt drift.

Same reason i booed the gto, because it cant even win when its got a full factory sponsership.

And why is factory sponsorship bad?

[nissanguy_24]

Originally posted by strider
No one will admit that the reason they hate the viper is because it is american. I doubt the people on this forum really hate this car because it has a lot of power or it is very expensive. I dont see anyone here complaining about apex's 490 hp FD. Its a shame that everything has to be "JDM" in order for u guys to appreciate it. Ill bet that many people that post here boo'ed ryse millen during this years d1gp because he drove a pontiac. If tsuchiya was drifing an $80,000+ NSX no one here would mind.

I didnt finish reading the rest of the post yet when i came across this. First of all Tsuchiya doesnt drive a NSX in the d1 in fact no one does. Second of all, you dont know me. why dont you go back and read some of my past post and ask some of the other guys who have read my post how i feel about american cars drifting.

I think you will find you are sadly mistaking to pass that kind of judgement on me.