Tell me about your Dodge Viper experiences...
 

I just finished building and selling a Factory Five "Cobra" roadster that was fun to build and drive, but not something I would keep in my garage a long time. Now I have started to grow some interest in the Dodge Vipers. Tell me your experiences, can it be a 20 mile a day "daily driver" to complement the '86 Carrera that currently sees ~7000 miles per year?

Thanks,
Dan

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between 6 and the corkscrew at laguna. prolly get a smokin deal on it...

No first hand driving experience.

Was a passenger in one at an AX event. Violent, loud, powerful... goofy smile on my face the whole time.Seemed like it was on a bed of marbles, didn't hook up at all and overpowered the course badly.

Very tight fit for me at 6'1" with a helmet. Couldn't get in with the helmet on, and had to scrunch down in seat with the helmet pressed against the roof.

I've never driven or ridden in a Viper, but from everything I can gather, they're a beast that has been barely tamed enough for the street.

For the same or similar outlay... new or used... I would be looking at late model 'Vettes... I would think they'd provide much more refinement and daily driveability with comparable performance.

My closest experience was almost rear-ending one in turn nine at Pacific Raceways with my lowly ITS-class 944. I was suprised how quickly I caught up to him in the twisties. But as the NW guys know, turn nine leads onto the main straight. Just a few seconds after being frustrated that he made me lift at the most critical point, he was gone. Long gone.

Bottom line, ferocious acceleration, but a pig in the turns.

Fiat viper! Fiat viper!

This information is now ten years old so take it for what it is worth(nothing, except I did actually drive one on a track). I instructed at a Viper event several years ago and my student asked me to drive his a few laps one session. The event was at Putnam Park. This was my first event at this track. I was driving my lowly 911SC.

The Viper had a nice balance to it and was easy to rotate with just a little extra throttle. It did have a fairly heavy feel to it. On the front straight in my SC with worn tires if I went pretty wide close to the wall to get a good front straight run I could hit 125mph if I waited until really late to brake for turn 1. In my student's car I went slower through the entry to the straight and stayed well away from the wall. I never went full throttle and I let off the throttle waaaaaay early a little after half the straight because I was already at 125mph. I also hit the brakes way early. They were decent brakes but I was not pushing them or the rest of the car. There was lots of torque in every gear. I really enjoyed it but still prefer a 911. Iwouldn't mind having both given I had the extra cash and garage space.

Later in the event I rode with an advanced student in his ACR version. Wow. That was a fun ride. I could not find a single place around the track where I thought he could go faster so he was driving the track at least as well as I knew how to drive it. His laptimes were around the 1:17-1:18 time if if I remember right. My SC was closer to 1:25. I was on some old BFG R1's and had corded them by the end of the weekend. Lots of fun and I'd like one of those ACR things if I had the cash to blow and already had several 911 variants in the garage.

Now for the other side, several cars were having trouble overheating in grid or after several hard laps. So they would drive hard and then let it cool off a few laps and then drive hard some more. Maybe they just needed more oil cooling like the 911's.

There was a throttle problem in that each side of the engine had its own linkage and they would lose synchronization if the throttle pedal was ever pushed to the floor. There may have been a design fix for this later but one fellow took his car to the dealer twice and spent $1000+ each time before he finally got a diagnosis.

There were plenty of stories of dealer maintainence costs. Start at $1000 and round up to the next thousand for almost anything. Lots of stories of going in to the dealer and ending up with a $4000-5000 bill for a tune up, oil change, and brake job or some such.....not a lot of details left in my brain on this part except for the deep impression of the overall expense.

I was told by a viper owner that I respect. That If I buy one get a 2000-2001 if i remember right.due to forge pistons.

He also told me that if you plan on tracking it. To take it to a shop that knows vipers due to a rear bushing issue that changes toe in under braking to out during acceleration.

As a personal opinion, I've yet to hear one that sounded good to me. I like engine sound, but the sound of the viper leaves me flat.

A good buddy of mine had one until he flipped it into a ditch. I drove in it once, the idea was that I was gonna drive it; no way hose. I could "barely" fit into the passenger seat yet alone behind the wheel.

Way worse than my NSX experience, I was literally crammed into it. Knees up over the dash, pressed right into it, head into the headliner and line of site above both windshield and side glass. Oh boy, that was embarrassing for my buddy.

We ripped down some twisty back roads though and it was very powerful, handled nicely from what I could tell. Suppose to be very fast with those 10 ponies pumping? I like my TT way better though fwiw, imo.

If your going to consider one make sure you get one that has a real roof and windows. the early ones were a joke. Basically get a GTS. I worked for Chysler for WAY too many years and have driven hundreds of them. There actually are a very drivable car with GOBS of power.

Just think of the 930's as Raptors :)
That SOB V10 out torques us going into the mountains :(

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I messed with one on the causeway once with my 70 S. It was like he reached over and took my key out of the ignition.

I wonder what the Yellowbird vs Viper thing would go? I suspect Yellowbird would take him, but I don't know that it would be a massacre.

I was a passenger once. Footwell nearly melted the rubber off my shoes. V10's produce a lot of heat.

My next door neighbor has one and uses it as a DD when it's nice. He owns a Tae Kwon Do school about 5 miles from home, so it's not a serious commute. I don't think he gets it out of first gear going to work; the drive is on a 50 mph county highway.

I don't see any reason it can't be a 20 mile a day DD. Just like with an old air cooled Porsche, you understand it's limitations going in and don't complain when you want it to be something it's not.

I've got to ride in them a couple times, twice on the track, once on twisty windies on the streets.


On the street drive.....honest.....we got up to 55 mph, THEN he shifts out of first........gobs of torque and they're geared real low.

On the track, very nose heavy and they push hard in the corners........but the torque, the mind numbing throat melting torque is insane..........a viper ooozes raw horsepower, a vette might as well be owned by a dentist.

I own a V10 dodge truck, and love it. I call it my 4x4 viper.

For an honest opinion, head over to Viperalley.com and check out the forums there.

he doesn't also have a light blue Mercedes 190c Heckflosse does he? if so, that's my old Merc

My ex wife really wanted to buy one a while back, so she and I test drove a few used ones. They remind me of modern-day muscle cars i.e., tons of acceleration, but big, heavy, and under-par brakes and handling. Viper owners like to claim it's just a raw beast of a race car, but that's just the thin veil hiding the low technology and for that matter low quality that went into building it. Plus I can't stand the way they're geared. To me they seem... cheap.

I think they drive like a supercharged 928 with big sticky tires. They have good balance and handle well, but they will go sideways if you try to put all the power down and the wheels aren't pointed straight.

I drove one on the autocross and it was a hoot, and way more than I could handle. I had an instructor drive me around a few times, and it was brutally fast. I did not find the brakes or handling to be sub anything. I could see myself owning one, and I would know how to use it on the street, but I wouldn't take one to work unless I was planning on the scenic route on the way home.

Do your homework if you are getting one, and get a later model with a good service history.

I would venture to say that the Viper is one of the worst commuting cars out there. I drove an older one and a few of the problems are: As the other poster started, you are sitting immediately to the left of a huge V10 and transmission. Sitting in traffic on a warm day would be ridiculous. The seating also is like putting your lower half in a tunnel. The ride is very rough, along with the whole car. It has about as much refinement as a caveman. I could see it on nice hour or so joy rides.