How does GASM compare to Viper and Shockwave?

Wondering how The Great American Scream Machine @ SFGADV compares to it's counterparts at Magic Mountain(Viper) and SF Great America(Shockwave).

they are almost all the same, except viper is the tallest one, but dont sit in the back of any of em, too rough.

I'm pretty sure Viper is the best of the bunch.

A friend of mine goes to Great America and when i tell her about my rides on Gasm she tells me she has the same experiences on Shockwave so,i guess Viper must be the better of the three.

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~*Rickyswmn*~

I have ridden all three, and there is not much difference. The most tolerable out of the bunch was Viper. The roughest was Shockwave mostly due to the transition into the mid-course brakes. OUCH!!!! Many people seem to enjoy these rides. But, after being spoiled by many (Swiss) multi-loopers that have built more recently, I have a hard time getting super thrilled by them. (Three vertical loops in a row just seems boring after a while. I'm glad newer multi-loopers have similar inversions seperated by different types of elements.)

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- Peabody

I never rode any of them but Vortex @ PKI was really rough.

Viper is the best in my opinion. It's a little different, and not as rough. Plus it looks the best, with more than just concrete and asphalt under it.

When the Shockwave opened, the trim/block brake wasn't used one bit. Anyone remember this? I think it was only for part of the season. It was literally funny how fast the ride was. The corkscrews swayed so much when the train left em. They installed all the hardware and walkways for a trim after the first loop, but never put the actual brake in. Unlike GASM, which has the brake installed. Shocker is better than GASM (in my opinion). GASM just looked and felt pretty junky. (Like other coasters at SFNJ, sorry).

All these coasters (I'm gonna get blasted for it, but...) are TOO FAST in the loops. It's so fast and jerky, and the train "buffets" between the loops. If they were designed a little better, and the loops spaced out a little more, they would all be better. Of course they are 1980's Arrow coasters, so all the elements are standard cookie cutter pieces.

Another thing I forgot. A few years after they opened, the first 3 loops (on all 3 coasters) had to have extra diagonal track ties welded in place. The loops are so fast, fractures were a problem. These track ties are easy to see :)

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Ow! My lap bar IS down all the way. *** This post was edited by coasterbill73 on 6/29/2001. ***

coaster bill 73 . Junkie.. I don't understand. Yeah maybe RT. GASM is like all other made by Arrow. SFNJ has a great selection of wonderful rides. I think you are misleading people about on SF park over another. Coasters are quality at any of these parks. Some coasters are a lot older rides than U might be used to...

Viper is the most tame of the 3. I have only ridden 2 of the 3, I personally like Shockwave the best.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

GASM take 3 paracetamols
Shockwave take 2
Viper take 1

That's the difference :-)

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Yes I am related to Anne Robinson! Goodbye!

Actually I think Shockwave's least painful ride is in the back seat. Think about it. The first few trains slam into those brakes with an unmatched intensity. The brakes slow it down however and by the time the rear hits the brakes, it's not going fast at all.

I liked Viper a little more than Shockwave.

The G.A.S.M dosent bother me at all its rough but its not a head banger as it use to be back in like 95 or 96 before they had the trims after the first loop you would just fly trou that turn and then go into the 2nd pair of loops and you could hear your ears buzzingt it was fun but bad on the ears if they only had more padding on the harnest it wouldent have been that bad.becuase the ones it had and still dose have are so thin they just hurt!

I'm not sure, but I think that Viper doesn't have as many trims as the others.