Drove my first Viper Today!

[SUN RA KAT]

A gentleman from out of state wanted me to check out a '96 Viper GTS, blue with white stripes, for him before he decided whether to buy it or not. I gathered up all the info I could find on what to look for when checking out a used Viper and a few phone calls were made and around noon today I drove The Mighty Dodge to the dealership that had the Viper. I parked in their parking lot and walked into the showroom where the Viper was parked.

The owner of the dealership told the people who worked for him, "Give the man everything he wants." Soon I was laying on the floor looking at all the things to look at when buying a used Viper. Then I checked out the engine's fluid levels and condition of the fluids. Then I sat in it.

When you are 6'5" tall getting in a Viper is an experience. I got in and actually had head room - probably the Viper has the adjustable seat lowering kit in it since my other experience of sitting in a Viper gave me 1/2" of headroom less than the top of my head. I adjusted the gas, brake, & clutch pedal to give me full amount of legroom and everything was just as if Dodge designed the Viper with me in mind. Pedals were at the perfect distance for me, steering wheel was at the perfect distance, shift lever was at the perfect distance and the center console was at the perfect height for an arm rest. And also the EPA mandated skip shift feature had been gotten rid of by the previous owner (Yea!).

The dealership owner started the Viper and backed it out of the showroom and told me to drive it for as long as I wanted to and it had a half full tank of gas!

I've never owned a manual shift car and the last time I drove a manual shift vehicle was about 4 years ago. I sure didn't want to embarrass myself...and I didn't. The Viper is extremely easy to drive and I didn't embarrass myself the whole time I drove it. I drove it easy at first to get used to how it feels to drive a 450 HP Viper.

By the time I had gotten to a park, I had gotten the hang of it pretty good. I stopped wrote down a full page of notes from my inspection at the dealership at my inspection of the Viper at the park.

A gentleman came to the park and was getting his one horsepower vehicle ready - it was a horse drawn carriage! He came over to see what 450 horses looked like. He was kind enough to take a video of me getting in the Viper and starting it and driving around the huge parking lot and getting out of the Viper. I look actually gracefull getting in the Viper even though I didn't feel gracefull getting into it (or out of it). I accidently did a little fishtail as I accellerated away from him in the parking lot even though I was taking it very easy...wait 'til I tell you about 1st gear in a Viper.

Then I took the Viper for a long test drive...

1st gear is very, very scary! The Viper can do 0-60 MPH in under 4 seconds. And that's with a manual gear change to 2nd gear!
I was rocketing at 3/4 throttle in first and floored it around 40 MPH and the rear wheels really broke loose and layed some serious rubber. The tires on a Viper are over a foot wide!
Full thottle in 1st gear is f*cking unbelievable! 3/4 throttle in first gear feels like an almost 1 G accelleration! My gosh, I never believed anything could be so fast!

2nd gear is very scary, but more like something I felt before in my 1970 & 1971 Duster 340s that could do the 1/4 mile around 13.8 seconds at 103 MPH. I think the Viper in 2nd gear at full throttle is faster, though. (The Viper does the 1/4 mile in around 11.9 seconds at 120 MPH.)

3rd gear is fast, more like The Mighty Dodge. 4th gear is still fast. 5th gear is slow. And 6th gear is real hard to get accelleration, but 2000 RPMs is 100 MPH. Maximum speed is found in 5th gear - 185 to 192 MPH! (No, I didn't do any high speed runs. The fastest I got up to was 85-90 MPH. I drove it pretty much the same as I drive The Mighty Dodge, except the accelleration of the Viper is just a little bit more intense. (Make that Out-Of-This-World more intense.) RPMs in the higher gears are pretty low at legal speeds - the Viper in the higher gears (3,4,5, &6) needs to get up to 3000 RPMs in order to start to show its stuff. It's easy to get up to 3000 RPMs in 3rd, but the even higher gears are more for a real usable overdrive or way over the speedlimit use only. 6th gear even is real smooth at 30 MPH, but the RPM is so low that the Viper accellerates like a snail even with a lot of gas.

I forced myself to return to the dealership and called the gentleman from out of state and gave him my full report and he told the owner of the dealership he was buying the Viper and would set up the details on Monday...

I will post some photos from my videotape here for your viewing enjoyment.

[SUN RA KAT]

Introducing the Viper
http://pstr-m03.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/001/6F/E2/07/96/wKYxwp+s72YpzJ4lgd8teTH8HZHQsPC30180.jpg
Getting in the Viper
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/008/48/0A/E2/F4/0ZChf2asjXLferB+HEcr+hWIDepRf00u0180.jpg
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00C/3D/FD/DD/7B/YhtPcHprnGXlvueS+ks9-24KuBepTgzl0180.jpg
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/008/23/E0/A9/48/qT0wNMAHTcN3mUvX5dD3pOg4naFreatp0180.jpg
http://pstr-m02.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00F/3A/B0/F3/37/AbqzzH0+FILZKSJVdnVDBG8pkNzg66E50180.jpg
http://pstr-m05.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00A/03/50/80/17/+gyzaZisSOF3OXOb3o9Ekcx9CSCCoLpu0180.jpg

[SUN RA KAT]

Starting the Viper
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00E/53/9E/FF/0F/cDil2+jUi12tXE2uAtfGGL8nblGhpKea0180.jpg
http://pstr-m03.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/006/1E/42/26/63/6i-VH8ccSz-hg9T3q8olks6gYxOIi3jN0180.jpg
Away I go slowly
http://pstr-m05.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00B/31/CB/4A/23/B0RDEh5cdfKp1zL2cvbqYDOQfGGs8E4-0180.jpg
http://pstr-m03.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/002/1A/86/21/38/hT3sRF0YgKG6hNvmpdsaQw1gSP8GCRC50180.jpg
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/001/1F/E0/CE/BD/66VW6-UuR51xebibAEp5KDrQmcNKx++O0180.jpg
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/003/15/86/1F/86/gI+qjmGgiWskVt9KPqwLumcsSoMAKd390180.jpg

[SUN RA KAT]

Coming back
http://pstr-m02.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00D/6C/98/AF/1F/sM0AgBqb1QiM8b0dc1Prfw7VYR+FpBE30180.jpg
http://pstr-m01.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/009/23/B0/21/3D/MUW5Hf2-FE0tkYpGGFH8zAkw02X7nLoh0180.jpg
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00D/5D/BE/57/EC/94ZBASAoOkW8KzkOUj8juSnmBgNtKB1i0180.jpg
http://pstr-m02.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/004/53/3F/48/C0/tKFPXqJGRNCcuVsHveYCrdurX3BROl4n0180.jpg
http://pstr-m03.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/003/44/89/3D/A6/uJ5AfaS6RBpwBRiV8x5cGf54OPQpnqYA0180.jpg
http://pstr-m02.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/007/55/82/1C/47/t0Xz+CoymhKZUsceq4kyWE3loTjfXSG+0180.jpg
http://pstr-m03.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00C/30/63/8C/42/BmXKLtyvBb-0PEBrFDOBduJ6XRzgdc5l0180.jpg

[SUN RA KAT]

Getting ready to climb out
http://pstr-m05.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00C/6F/39/44/28/2jX04k+2wHxkh-avyn6sNhj0ZkBGPnCN0180.jpg
http://pstr-m03.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00F/1F/4A/5C/3F/eOa80Im8bqD4UAwdeKK-AmRaOD2nbdSW0180.jpg
Climbing out
http://pstr-m03.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/001/13/00/23/7B/vxloNaLhD2l2DUCWtdmWDLPoQvA+Sdrm0180.jpg
http://pstr-m05.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/003/39/5A/48/2D/61hPkJW1bhcfkI+R3a5tU1YQm+5Q0CIF0180.jpg
http://pstr-m01.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/008/2E/6A/57/1F/Lgf18UZkMLfOIs9rhomD6d8wNr+Iqv790180.jpg
I am out
http://pstr-m05.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00C/02/B0/E6/E3/Doswh0VMmkMYK6cs+apS9wrtkIpKgAt80180.jpg
I'm 6'5" tall & it looked a whole lot more gracefull getting into and out of the Viper on video tape than it felt like to me while I was doing it. I was smiling a whole lot more than what it looked like on videotape. Who says the camera never lies?

[SUN RA KAT]

Jeremy, meet your new Viper
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/00A/2B/F7/A3/A1/gRi+7WfrwfO7qQi4d0DpeVOeL5dyRSxc0180.jpg
http://pstr-m05.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/006/08/EB/8C/8A/UcsgH5JUlHCOLhtztZytyVSz-LHRRNL20180.jpg
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/008/27/50/FC/55/oF0NuT-3rsmy6kOhUmgbHExbp2SL7X6L0180.jpg
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/006/2D/7F/2C/EE/z5cyRnJ5Fnn2UPxR9tZVeSK5GvmByOVi0180.jpg
And, of course, the view everyone will see more of
http://pstr-m04.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/003/49/89/78/DE/q6nkJKQYUOleGBHD+r1PnY+qQRqH3-5N0180.jpg

[RAM MAN]

And if Jeremy doesnt want it - I bet it wouldn't take much to twist SunRa's arm take it

Or MINE for that matter LOL

congrats on your new ride !

thanks for the pics SR

[kirkyg]

lol sunra you lucky sob =)

[six pack]

Sun Ra, I don't know how you think it's easy to get out that cockpit.
I'm 6'3 and have a hell of a time. But like you say, maybe it looks more gracefull than it seems like while you are actually doing it.

BTW, You can e-mail us the big smoky burnout pics, that way Jeremy won't have too see them. :D

[SUN RA KAT]

I found 3 things wrong with the Viper had sent major warning signals to me. I found a few other things wrong as well, but expected on a 6 year old car with 17,000+ miles on it.

Mechanically and body-wise it seemed to be in very good condition to my inspection.

I told Jeremy my full report and my concerns and he didn't think my concerns were that major, even though I did. The price he was gettting for seemed too good to be true - $42,000. I didn't know the price until after I completed my report to him on my inspection. And you know what they say about "Too good to be true"...

The things that sent me major warning signals were:

1. Extremely dirty oil and the oil was over 2 quarts low. That is why I didn't run it over 5,000 RPM except for the one time I ran it to 5,600 RPM to check for any weird noises.

2. Brake fluid looked dirty and low to me - but I'm not an expert on Vipers, I just compared it to other brake fluid I've seen on everyday cars.

3. Very large, expensive aftermarket stereo set for extreme bass.
I doubt many people buying a Viper would prefer a stereo over the engine sounds. The extreme bass indicated to me someone who listened to extremely loud hip-hop music. People who listen to loud hip-hop music usually drive what they can afford. Putting 2 + 2 together, I thought the car previously belonged to a drug dealer since the dealer was located in a crack/heroin part of town. Sorry to stereotype, but it seemed all too obvious...

Jeremy flew up to Dayton, looked at the car and found a lot of things wrong with it that I didn't catch plus some things that worked great when I was driving it, but didn't when he drove it. He declined to purchase the Viper and was mad he wasted air fare and a day in Dayton which is very understandable.

I moved to the suburbs 26 years ago so I wouldn't waste any more days in Dayton... but at least I didn't waste air fare...

Good Luck, Jeremy, in finding your blue & white striped GTS. Sorry it didn't work out for you.

--------------------
Ken

[SUN RA KAT]

One thing I should mention is that Jeremy is an expert at buying used cars and fixing them up for resale at a profit.

http://www.extremeautosports.com/

It's very difficult to do long distance inspecting and buying, especially when the inspector has had no experience with the make of car in question. But, there were a few things that he found wrong that were not wrong with it when I drove it 2 days before he did. I suspect someone took it out for a very brutal ride and abused the heck out of it between when I drove it and Jeremy drove it.

[DODGEguy3]

hahahahahaha, i cant help but notice when you said "Away I go slowly"..... humm.... SLOWLY???? YOU ARE BURNIN OUT!!! LOL! look at all the dust and smoke comming out because you are "slowly" going, lolol!

[SUN RA KAT]

You will run out of balls or road before your Viper runs out of power!

You can not imagine how powerfull a Viper really is - I've had some pretty fast cars and the Viper is a lot more faster than I even imagined!

I was taking it very easy and the 13" wide rear tires still broke loose as the photo testifies.

The Viper accellerates so fast even at part throttle that it is hard to reach forward to give it more gas!

[DODGEguy3]

if you think that viper was powerful, you sould read up some stuff of the new srt-10, i saw a vette dude at the vette forum tell his experience of a trest muel, he said he asked the dodge tester to race his z06, and he specifically talked on fow freaken fast the new viper was and how it killed him! i just dont like the looks as much, but in real life the srt-10 viper looks much better than the pictures you see on the net

[SUN RA KAT]

I read that thread at the Corvette forum , too.

I'm not going to be racing my Viper, but I will be putting the Sean Roe Supercharger System on it (www.roeracing.com) as my Stage Two probably next spring.

The Viper SRT-10 is almost "too perfect". In order to be "too perfect" the exterior design was changed too much compared to the original Vipers. It is a beautiful car, but it is not an instant classic like the original 1992-2002 Vipers. I'm buying mine as an investment in the future. The extremely low total number of Classic Gen I and Gen II Vipers produced - around 14,000 coupled with the fact that very few were produced with ABS (2001 & 2002 model years) and Viper Race Yellow was only offered in 2001 & 2002 will make my car very valuable in the future. I bought mine in Viper Race Yellow instead of the Arrest-Me Red with White Stripes Final Edition because I like the Race Yellow better than the Red and White. Yellow is the color of happiness (Happy, Happy! Joy, Joy!) and it is also the color of caution to remind me when I drive it to be very, very carefull.

The Viper SRT-10 won't be available to the general public until fall of 2003 as a 2004 model - the 2003 model year sold out months ago to people who were issued certificates to buy from Chrysler. To get a certificate, you must have bought a new Viper already.

The price of the SRT-10 is strongly rumored to be $84,000 - up $8,000 over the 2002 Vipers - and too expensive for me. The Viper I'm getting is barely affordable. The difference in performance between the current Gen II Vipers and the SRT-10 will not be noticable to your "everyday" Viper owner - it will be noticable to those Viper owners who race their Vipers, though.

My Viper will be as fast as a stock Viper SRT-10 when I pick it up in two weeks. It will be a lot faster when I add the Sean Roe Supercharger System on it.

[DODGEguy3]

wow you shure do know a lot about vipers. cant waite for all the mods and pics

[SUN RA KAT]

I'm a big fan of doing it right the first time.

I use a search engine like Google (www.google.com) and find sites with info on say, Vipers. One of my favorites is the Viper Club of America site (www.viperclub.org) for info and Dodge-Vipers.com (www.dodge-vipers.com) for photgraphs.

Then I use the site's search engines to find topics and gather as much information as I can. Some of the info you'll find is BS, some of it is exaggerated, some of it is just plain wrong, but most of it will be Right On. The more info you find, the more easily you'll be able to seperate the Right On info from the rest.

Then register at the site and start asking questions that weren't answered for you previously. Now you know more than you know.

[DODGEguy3]

wow your really into the music type, a radio host? to cool! im a dj (www.DJViper.vze.com)

[DODGEguy3]

ya i know wht you mean, i especially get mad when website post wrong info, i dont know why, it just gets me mad, then i try to email them and they do nothing, i hate collecting info from second party sites, just from official sites, then from what i learn i love to post on my site.

[riotac]

SUN RA KAT: Great thread! I loved reading it and the pics tell the whole story! I am 6'3 and change, and it is a little awkward to get into the snake. Once you have done it a couple of times, you find a routine, and it becomes silk.

You ain't kiddin about 1st, or 2nd for that matter. If you get on it with cold tires, that sucka will spin and bite you. It hasn't happened to me, although once I came close.

Glad you enjoyed it. If you ever get up my way (35 miles SW of Cleveland), bring the Mighty Dodge, and let's cruise!

BTW, I am the dude that bought that Purple, no blue, no green, awww whatever...Viper that you ran a thread on. DODGEguy3 introduced me to this forum.

[riotac]

SRK: I just saw your post, to busy typing my last reply. Bring the Viper, let's turn some heads!

Mods you should consider as primary:

1) K&N filters, I am changing my S&B for K&N

2) Roe Racing smooth tubes

3) a 3" cat-back exhaust (get a Corsa). The sound is to DIE for. The stock exhaust is wimpy.

Just my .02

[DODGEguy3]

wow you live near each other, riotac and sun ra kat?

[riotac]

Yeah, so to speak. Centerville is by Cinci, I am by Cleveland. Probably approx. 3 hrs by car or I could get to him yesterday in the snake!

[SUN RA KAT]

The week of July 15th I should be in the air heading west, young man, to Omaha, Nebraska to pick up my Viper from Woodhouse. I'm going to be stopping in Peroria, Illinois for my 1st oil change and then on to Dayton, Ohio & Centerville. It's about 760 miles and I'll have to put on a few more miles to complete the break in period. Fortunately, I'm scared to death of the Viper, so it should be easy for me to take it easy while I do the correct break in.

I should be able to meet you in Cleveland (about 300 miles away) in about 2 hours (includes a new tank of gas & potty break). not I'm ready to run 197 MPH just yet. I'll try to hold it to 175 MPH so it will take exactly 2 hours to get to Cleveland...

We should start making plans on going to Viper Days next Spring at Mid Ohio Race Course. I know I need some instruction on driving a Viper - it's been a long time since I've driven an extremely powerfull car.

[DODGEguy3]

hay guys this is so cool, and im so glad you meat, i dont know why, i have that "this is so awsom" feeling that you meat... haha

[riotac]

S R K: I am all over that. I can meet you half-way in Columbus. I have friends in both the Dayton and Columbus areas. The only problem is one snake will have to sit outside. If we meet in Columbus, I will get my buddy to open a neighbors garage. OK? Mid-Ohio next spring is cool. I am just worried about that reverse turn. I have raced, and that turn will be a bitch with a Viper:) I do not want to damage this paint.

BTW one of my clients has been begging me to participate in Mid-Ohio. He has an RT-10. I just sold him spare smoothies and filters. The three of us can run. Game?

[SUN RA KAT]

Sounds like a plan to me. I will be one of the slowest Vipers there because the driver is afraid to go real fast except on the straightaways.

Depending on what happens July 5th at 6 PM our time at the Blair YMCA Raffle - I have a psychic premonition on this - I may be up your way this Fall to have the Sean Roe Superecharger System installed on my Viper. Bill Pemberton knows a Viper expert that's in the North Akron or Canton area that could install my supercharger.

[riotac]

Dude, I am with you. I told my buddy that I was not going to run this topped out. No problem. One can run at their desired pace.

Now, let's get back to the Roe charger...let me know.

[DODGEguy3]

oh if you ever do meet, TAKE PICS OF THE SNAKES NEXT TO EACH OTHER! and also take pics of both of you near it and stuff. take comparrision pics, like both of them side by side, i would like to see both the cars near each other :D

[okie]

You lucky duck:D

[SUN RA KAT]

"You lucky duck"

You are so right!

I had to wait 54 years, though, to be this lucky!

That's one of the reasons to stay young, no matter how old you are.