Teach me about Vipers
 

Has anyone on here owned a Viper, or currently have one?

How would it compare to a 930? I realize it is a Dodge, and fit and finish is lacking......:D

Reliability?

DIY? Parts and technical support availability?

What is considered high mileage?

I drove an older one that a friend was looking to buy and I was not impressed. It was like a kit car.

Hopefully they've gotten better with the later models.

My old boss had one. Ungodly fun in a straight line but handle like a greased pig on a linoleum floor. Grossly overpowered for the terrible handling they have. The only lateral stability you'll get is from the tires.

He lent his to a friend who promptly gave it a bit too much juice in a right turn. You guessed it, slid right into a light pole. They are very, very squirly in anything but "point and shoot" applications, but they do look wicked and are neck-snappingly fast when you hit the "go" pedal.

Craft/quality of construction is marginal. It reminded me of being in a MiG-25. All engine, stoopid fast but crude and no maneuverability. Not especially comfortable either.

Are they really that bad in the handling department?? Is it that any throttle will overpower the tires in a turn and slide the rear out?

Weren't all the old high horsepower muscle cars on bias-ply tires like this?

Sounds very similar to the orignal AC Cobras.

Are they really that dangerous, or has a myth developed? Much like the 930's reputation for swapping ends.

I don't have any first hand experience, but I've read that the second gen is supposed to be hugely improved in the handling dept.

My good buddy from back in the high school days has one. His has 25k miles and he was showing me where door panels were falling apart, seat bolsters were deformed, etc. But after that he just smiles and says "But it has 500 hp!"

Wow....is the build quality that bad??

I drove a first gen one a few years ago. Fit/finish seemed OK, but I do remember how crappy the ergonomics were. Surprisingly uncomfortable.

Made a great noise though.

I drove one the first generation Vipers. Really a compromised quality in the ergonomics. The engine is pushing in on your feet and you have to maneuver around the bulge. The heat is obvious also pouring into the interior. About as subtle a ride as a WWII jeep. Hey, its fast though!:eek:

I have a client-friend who owns one. VERY expensive to repair!

Personally I never liked the body design myself....much rather have a vintage muscle car like this....

http://americanclassicars.com/wp-con...Barracuda.jpeg

:cool:

A hoot in a straight line, quirky handling, But the two things I hated after a drive were the lack of headroom and DANG IT, hot sidepipes.

The last time I was out at a track event during the lunchbreak I asked the corner workers which club crashed the most cars. VIPERS! came out of 7 corner workers mouths at the same time. All solo wrecks.

Asked what club was second. they said BMW! and that they would crash into others! too musch red mist.

I was looking at buying a Viper coupe and did talk with a friend that tracks one. He told me that if you do buy one and plan on tracking it that the rear end of the car needs work to prevent a toe in/toe out change from happining under breaking and to expect to pay $8k for that work.

I would avoid the 1st gen as they had alot of problems from being a new model like most cars do. They were very sparse in the interior and creature comforts area. They were also extreamly hot inside. The 2nd and 3rd gen would be the two I would look at .. more so the 2nd for me personally. The body lines have gotten much better. They pitched the roof up for helmets if you ever want to track or auto cross it. The 1st gen sucked for that. Vipers are GT cars. I have a 65 cobra with IRS and ~600 HP and it handles night and day better then a viper. The viper has much better aero's then the cobra ... the pit fall of all open cockpit cars. The cobra has the aero lines of a elephant with its ears out, lol. Depends on what you want to do with the car. I have alot of buddies with them and they love them. Good luck.

2nd gen GTS is what I've been looking at.

There seem to be two camps - people that LOVE them, and people that DESPISE them. Not a lot of in-between. A lot of harsh rhetoric from people who have probably never even sat in one before.

Do they really handle that poorly?? Specs show 1.0 g skidpad

GTS ... awesome car. Still has the looks of the early ones but better. I think there is alot of bashing by guys who have heard form another guy from another guys opinion. The car handles well but if you go into a corner and mash the throttle there is only one way to go and its usually ends badly. Its alot easier to blame the car or tool then to blame the driver or mechanic. My buddy was letting friends ... me included drive his newly acquired Viper when he stopped in town 2 years ago. He let a 18 or 19 year old co worker drive the car around the block and up the road. Long story short he totaled it. Lots of guys die every year in cars they can handle or know how to drive ... not the cars vault.

A tip I got from a mechanic when I was looking at a Viper for a friend: If you are looking at buying a Viper, make sure you inspect it on a lift for any frame damage. They are very easy to wreck so many do and then they either aren't fixed correctly or they were damaged in a way that just cannot be repaired correctly. If there's any frame damage, even that's been fixed, it will likely handle even worse than it did when new.

Don't want to hijack your thread... but Baz has a good point.

If you are in the market for a American big block bruiser... how about one of the new muscle cars? Ala Camero/Challenger/Mustang? Probably just as fast around a track and much better ergonomics.

Always pick up a new GT500 Super Snake. Probably be twice what the used Viper would cost and about the same HP if not a little more. Its a numbered Shelby car which now after this death and the proposed last model year of the Super Snake a car that can only go up in price. An original Shelby Cobra cost ~4K in 1965 and sell now for 1-2 million a pop. Whats a original Shelby Super Snake cost 40 some odd years later ... ??? Good food for thought if you don't want to buy the Viper.

I "challenged" one in my 70 S once. It was like he reached over and took my key out of the ignition.

It is a mid-engine car I believe. That does not automatically mean good handling, but I have to think it helps.

They are very competitive track cars if set-up properly and driven well. They give the fastest 911s a good run. When Jack and Tyson won the OTC touring overall a few years ago, the toughest competition they had was from a couple of Vipers, IIRC.

That said, I'd rather walk than own one. There is a lot more to a car than lap times on a piece of paper. The overall ownership experience has to suck balls, and that's not even including being seen in it. YMMV.

It is front engined. At least front-mid engined like a Corvette.

I wouldn't call it a mid engine. Ive heard dodge call it called a mid front engine but that's def a stretch. May its just semantics ... :rolleyes:.

BTW love the "its like he reached over and took the keys outta my ignition", LMAO.:D

+2 on the ACR for the track. Thats bad ass car. I saw them clean up during the B-more GP last year in the American Lemas series races.

Well, I have driven a few, a buddy bought one when they 1st came out, handed me the keys and sent me out the door, man, what a fun car... A few months later, I was back in town, he tossed me the keys again, but he had Hennessy work their magic and boy, was it every more fun and OMG Fast..

As to hard to drive, well, so is a early 911S, so are early 930s, the key is to respect & Learn to drive the car because it does take some time to get use too. That was my 1st experiences with Vipers, over the years I have had more and driven a few hard, never fails to bring a smile to my face, but then again, I like a car that makes you work, and doesn't do everything for you. The one bad thing about early Vibers (other than what has already been brought up) is how hot the side pipes would get, burning the plastic over them..

As to competitive track cars, guess you guys don't remember Viper Team ORECA, plus GM had to stuff a 427 in the Vette (when it only came in their Trucks, wasn't even an option for the Vettes) to keep up with the Vipers..

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There have not been any Vipers racing in ALMS for many years. ORECA as posted above was the last I can remember.

Correct ... I miss spoke. My bad. :( I just looked through my pics from the race. It was the Corvettes. I heard a rumor they might start running Vipers again this year or 2013 .. who knows.

I had a 97 GTS, I tracked it twice and drove it from dallas to houston a couple times, the I got id of it. I actually did not mind it so bad on the long drives, I didnt think it was to bad on the track either (just a matter of knowing how to steer with your right foot). what I did not like about the car, it did not have the feel of a "drivers car" poor seating position, poor wheel position, poor pedal position, and hard to see out of. the gear box was to tall. parts were hard to find, and no one knew how to work on them, mine always had a hissing sound (vacuum leak) but could never figure it out.
its better then a vette (had 2 of those) but is that saying much?

Sold my 930 tonight....so the hunt is on for something new.

By no means am I set on a Viper.....I'm all over the map. Corvette does not appeal....far too common.

Congrats on selling your 930, I saw it for sale in the classifieds.

I love the Viper..it is raw, it is brawny, it is eye catching, it is a true pure sports car...no electronic nannies like ESP blah blah...Chrysler made the world pay attention with this car...and a known fact that Mercedes was interested in the late '90s merger because of this car.

Get one...like you said Corvettes are too popular by comparison.
Yasin

Could always buy a cobra ...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1340677016.jpg

I love the Cobras, but they have to be one of the most impractical cars ever built!

Can you even get a roof for them?

Not far off:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HL8Vd48vHc...BGts-r%2B2.jpg

Sure .. dont have one. Will get a Lemans top eventually.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1340680160.jpg

Or you can go Daytona Coupe ....


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1340680201.jpg

I have never driven one. I do remember them at the track a few years back when I was doing DEs. They were the fastest cars on mixed marque events. Of course you don't know how much those guys spent before it went that well.

My main issue with it would be how huge the car is. I think a nice vette would be a better buy in the same "class".

G

A buddy of mine has one. I have driven it a few times. The thing is crazy fast but not very comfortable. It draws attention wherever you take it thats for sure. You see a Vette at every stop light. you dont see many Vipers.
He had head gasket problems with his. I hope this is not very common because they are a PITA to work on

What's difficult about working on them? Everything looks pretty exposed when the hood's open.

So...not DIY friendly?

One of my best friends has a 2008 SRT-10 coupe. When the tires are cold, it's a real handful but once warmed up, it grips pretty darn well. You just need to keep the 600+ft.lbs of torque available in the back of your mind when you decide to floor the loud pedal anywhere... at any time. No tire can handle that sort of twist, regardless of how gummy it might be so just don't treat the throttle as an on-off switch. No electric nannies on board the Viper to save your butt.

The interior is fine in my opinion. No better or worse than my '75 911's is. It's got what you want to go fast and little else. If you really need leather-trimmed air vents in your sports car, stick to modern Porsches.

No reliability issues to report. Surprisingly good gas mileage if you're taking it easy... the car is just loafing off idle in 6th at highway speeds. The low-rpm drone is annoying though. The car does not have a very sweet exhaust note.

Styling-wise, it's a 10. Sexy and tough. Love it.

If the car pulls your heart-strings, buy it. These aren't logical purchases anyway.

SmileWavy

An ever-present hissing sound - from a Viper? That's ironic!

angela :D