The kid I work with just said I should buy a Porche instead and then called me a redneck for wanting a Viper.


Stuck up people... let me tell ya!



So should I really expect an extra 2k in spending solely on tires every 10k miles?

[Edited on March 2, 2009 at 10:14 AM. Reason : a]

3/2/2009 10:13:18 AM

yup.

3/2/2009 10:49:09 AM

^^ Yes, your tires will wear out about every 10k, assuming you don't drive it that hard.

Check the tire sizes on a Viper or P-car, then goto Tirerack to check the pricing

Also keep in mind you will be buying summer tires, and you may need winter tires every now and then if its your DD. There is no all-season when it comes to performance cars.

[Edited on March 2, 2009 at 12:41 PM. Reason : .]

3/2/2009 12:39:07 PM

Any of you guys ever been to an autocross at Laurinburg or Sanford airports? All those tracks off into the grassy ditches are from the Viper Club autocrosses. No joke, i've been to em. Can't stay on the freaking runway. lol

But i suppose that is like putting a rabid rottweiler in a playpen.

3/2/2009 1:23:30 PM

Quote :

"i hate hate hate that color interior."

3/2/2009 1:27:30 PM

I actually like the "saddle" color interiors on most cars. Looks comfy like some shit you'd have in your house.

3/2/2009 1:32:06 PM

Quote :

"So should I really expect an extra 2k in spending solely on tires every 10k miles? "

You might escape for $1500, depending on what tires you go with. I'm sure you could spend $2000, and yeah, 10k miles is about what I'd expect...unless you powerslide the thing around or smoke the tires...then it'll be even less.

3/2/2009 6:36:21 PM

Actually, I found that a set of Michelin Pilot Sports PS2s for the Viper is only around $1500 from http://www.tirerack.com before taxes or shipping fees. I wonder if a shop would charge extra for mounting such wide tires? I know a lot charge extra for low profile tires too.

3/2/2009 7:08:53 PM

screw all the haters, get the viper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ98DRQQvuA

3/2/2009 8:55:17 PM

Quote :

"I actually like the "saddle" color interiors on most cars. Looks comfy like some shit you'd have in your house."

guess we have different tastes in the color of interior furnishings I also cant stand sitting on leather so maybe im biased with that too heh

[Edited on March 2, 2009 at 9:09 PM. Reason : ]

3/2/2009 9:09:06 PM

I really like that color as well. I can see how most would not.

3/2/2009 9:59:25 PM

i would buy one if i had the disposable income

3/2/2009 11:54:33 PM

When it comes down to it, who really uses all the capabilities of their car? Even amongst people that do track events, I see VERY few people that can or do extract 8/10ths of the performance of a given car, IF that.

Beside that point, I think the Viper is rather exceptional at something, getting attention and looking cool. I'd venture to say that it's even better at that than it's performance for the money. If pimping is the owner's purpose, I think the Viper does that probably better than any other car for $35k. Sure it costs a lot to keep up, but owning a Viper is not saying you have $35k, rather that you have that money to spend on buying/maintaining an impractical and optional accessory.

3/3/2009 12:37:21 AM

Quote :

"When it comes down to it, who really uses all the capabilities of their car? Even amongst people that do track events, I see VERY few people that can or do extract 8/10ths of the performance of a given car, IF that. "

The difference is, most "super" cars are safe everyday drivers on the street. I can only think of a handful of production vehicles that less forgiving on the street than the Viper. Feel free to read up on consumer reviews for the entire history of the car.

Synopsis: handles like a dream on dry, clean pavement. risky as shit to drive in the wet. and it's downright dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced driver.

It has no ABS and it has no traction control system. On the track, those may be pluses. On the road, they may be fine for a driver experience with older vehicles, or with extensive track experience. For the rest of us, ABS is a life-saving feature. Especially on a V-10 rocket.

3/3/2009 1:17:06 AM

I'm conflicted, so I agree a Viper CAN be dangerous if you're at all aggressive. A gun can be dangerous too, but it's not going to kill you on it's own.

With full thread depth, driven like a grandmother, under the speed limit and easy on the throttle, it ought to be fine. You do make a good point though, I won't argue it, it's a crap car in every way other than looks and performance potential. I actually don't like driving them either. Not my cup of tea, but I'm glad cars like this exist(ed).

Personal side note, I actually prefer (a well developed) ABS system for track use also. Traction/stability control systems are now getting useable as well. Before mid 2000s, they were largely all worthless for high perf. driving.

3/3/2009 1:32:12 AM

^Totally agree about the ABS/TCS systems. Too bad the ABS on the Lotus sucks balls on the track. It's so late to engage, you end up getting the "ice glide" when/if you do hit it. And I've had TCS turned off from day1 because it has a very high tendency to induce snap-oversteer when you break the rear tires loose in a corner.

But that's on a super light, low HP car. Admittedly I've never driven a Viper, but if it's anything remotely similar to the experiences I've had in Busch cars, BIG front engine + crazy power + no ABS + no TCS is a crazy handful under "spirited" driving conditions.

3/3/2009 8:37:27 PM

Quote :

"screw all the haters, get the viper. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ98DRQQvuA"

check the license plate, and the exit numbers on the highway, this shit was filmed on 540 on the new stretch b/t 40 and 55

3/11/2009 2:12:06 AM

^damn....you're quick man

3/11/2009 3:38:54 AM

and I wonder who was driving the vette

3/11/2009 8:27:00 AM

Thread update:

New house will probably be taking priority over Viper... Stupid grownup decisions that you have to make when you are in the real world... ruining all the fun New house should be sweet though..

Maybe in another 2 years I can revisit having the toy of my dreams.

3/11/2009 11:37:01 AM

maybe you should change your status

3/12/2009 11:27:04 AM

lol, to "house ftw"

3/12/2009 11:29:30 AM

fair enough... But I got some news today that may again make this thread relevant.

Proceed to give me more info car dudes... especially if you see a good deal

3/12/2009 3:18:50 PM

Quote :

" check the license plate, and the exit numbers on the highway, this shit was filmed on 540 on the new stretch b/t 40 and 55"

sorry, you must be mistaken. that was clearly filmed on a mexican "superhighway" with full support and consent from the federales. no traffic laws were harmed in the process.

Quote :

"and I wonder who was driving the vette"

mickey mouse.

[Edited on March 13, 2009 at 2:19 PM. Reason : .]

3/13/2009 2:17:04 PM

bump

10/4/2010 1:36:12 PM

^ Thank you sir.


Update:

Picking this beautiful lady up this weekend:



97 GTS

Extremely Excited....

10/4/2010 1:39:21 PM

awesome man, looks great.

10/4/2010 1:41:08 PM

^^fuuuuuuuuuuuuck yeah man. Well done!

10/4/2010 2:01:18 PM

Timeless beauty. Corvettes may be better cars, but when they're 10 years old they're just hunks of common redneck fiberglass.

10/4/2010 2:06:20 PM

Well done, looks great! Keep the tires up, try not to drive in the rain.

Also recommend an auto-x or 5, +some track events.

10/4/2010 2:12:58 PM

Thanks guys! It has been a long search with a lot of BS, but this one seemed to find me on it's own. The exact year and paint I've always wanted.


It will only be driven on the weekends and never in the rain.

Still need help with:

Looking for a performance driving school in the area, thoughts?

LICENSE PLATE IDEAS!
List so far (pending availability):

L8ER!
SSSEE YA
MYBOYBLU
V10 GTS
NICE ASP

[Edited on October 4, 2010 at 2:17 PM. Reason : plates]

10/4/2010 2:16:15 PM

cmpns8r

10/4/2010 2:36:30 PM

^ tempting

Quote :

"Plate is available with selected message CMPNS8R. The Plate text is subject to DMV approval."

10/4/2010 2:40:16 PM

[Edited on October 4, 2010 at 2:49 PM. Reason : This is fun]

10/4/2010 2:45:02 PM

SPIIIIIN

10/4/2010 2:46:17 PM

SCKPOISN

10/4/2010 3:22:21 PM

INCHWORM

10/4/2010 3:38:25 PM

H8ERADE?

10/4/2010 4:21:49 PM

SMLPNS

10/4/2010 4:46:30 PM

Quote :

"Plate is available with selected message CLWNSHOE. The Plate text is subject to DMV approval."

In jest, of course.

[Edited on October 4, 2010 at 4:53 PM. Reason : l]

10/4/2010 4:49:18 PM

Clownshoe wins!

10/4/2010 6:02:15 PM

dodgemsj

10/4/2010 7:11:28 PM

I like "SUP RPD?"

10/4/2010 8:15:47 PM

You know, I'm thinking, job well done. I mean a friend of mine bought a 996 twin turbo (x50, 20k miles, etc) for a lot more than what the average 97 Viper goes for, and I assure you he doesn't get half the attention. For your purposes, the car's a win.

SUP RPD is not the wisest choice, unless you will be obeying all laws at all times, hard to do especially w/a car like that.

[Edited on October 4, 2010 at 8:25 PM. Reason : .]

10/4/2010 8:24:35 PM

sorry had to do it. ive always liked those cars but they are like supras as far as puting power to the street

10/4/2010 10:23:36 PM

hahahahahahaha


fucking CLWNSHOE wins!

10/5/2010 9:10:47 AM

Not sure if you guys want me to keep posting updates or not... but I love it so far




License plate will be "L8ER!" once my 30 day tags run out (delaying paying the damn highway use tax for as long as possible)

I will be at the MADD car show off of Lake Wheeler the weekend of the 23rd and I am very interested in joining the Cars and Coffee meetup at the beginning of each month. Stop by if you see me out there


BTW, the ride back from Asheville was insane... I meant to go slow and easy - I really did. But I was riding next to a friend with a M3 Roadster and before you even realize it you are hitting 110 without even trying.

Time to take it easy around Raleigh though until I get used to it. I have an Explorer for my daily driver, the Viper for the weekends.

10/13/2010 4:44:06 PM

Only advice, get it to a HPDE as soon as you can. That car is scary as fuck when you get past the limit, and the limit in that car approaches FAST.

Work that out soon, because otherwise it's going to be a very short time before you discover snap oversteer into a guard rail or ditch.

10/13/2010 9:08:35 PM

Quote :

"I meant to go slow and easy - I really did. But I was riding next to a friend with a M3 Roadster and before you even realize it you are hitting 110 without even trying."

soon to be for sale: 97 dodge viper. salvage title.

as others have said, you are going to have to really, really resist the temptation to push this car past your skill level. this thing will spit you out in a heartbeat. it isn't even like you can learn to drive with this as a track day only car, it is such a basket case.

10/13/2010 9:52:56 PM

Dude, you were supposed to be posing. You're dreading paying a few hundred dollar tax, and getting it up past 100mph "racing" your buddy, this may not end well...

10/14/2010 2:16:12 AM