japhethwar

Well like most guy's i've always loved the look of the viper. It's just one of those cars that everybody instantly recognizes and you just can help but stare at it. I'm a professional auto tech at a private shop so I get the privelege of driving most everything made as part of my job. Today a customer brought in a 06 srt-10 viper for us to check out. It was making some strange noises and our local dodge dealer had told him the tranny was in need of a rebuild. The car has only 14,000 miles so I was of course hightly suspect of this diagnosis. Anyway with the owners permission I took the car out for a drive and proceded to have my thoughts of Viper superiority dashed. What a pile of shit.
It shook and rattled like an old man when I started it. As I pulled out of the shop I was honestly in shock about how poorly the car ran and drove. It seemed as though the throttle was connected with a worn out linkage as small throttle inputs did nothing. You had to really push the pedal to get any response. It would then surge forward with little warning. I can see why they have there reputation as killers, it would be very easy for it to get away from you.
This being my first viper drive, I decided to not pass judgement to quickly. As I proceeded with the drive I couldn't help but notice that everybody I passed was staring at me. This car definately gets the attention. It just has that bad ass look that few cars ever achieve. Other than that though it was a huge dissappointment. The clutch was horrendous, worse than the old cable clutches of the SN95 mustangs. The shifter was massive as well, compared to the S it was like rowing a boat. The tranny shifted like most tremecs, notchy and grudgingly. The interior was honestly, some of the poorest quality plastics i've ever seen. The brakes were fairly good. I was not pushing the car, but the pedal feel was excellent. Very confidence inspiring. Overall the car felt like a dumptruck, with good brakes, and with lots of power.
This car is in pristine condition, and the owner is nearly 70 so I seriously doubt its ever been driven in anger, but you couldn't tell it from the drive. I've been in 200k+ Toyota's and Honda's that were tighter.
In summary, I still love vipers. They are truly an icon car. Will I ever trade my turbo S for one? Not a chance in hell. Oh and the differential was the problem. I pulled the plug on the diffy, and several handfulls of metal bits poored out with the oil. He said he heard a noise on the highway, and it just randomly went. Here's a few pics of it sleeping in my shop next to my baby. Its nice to know that even people with money appreciate local private shops as well. Our local dodge dealer, like most all dealers, is a joke. Obviously he new this as well. Score one for me.

JoeyBalls

I still LOVE it!. Yea the interior is shit, and it rattles, but it's got so much TORQUE and the sound of that thing WOT is orgasmic I went for a ride in my buddies a long time ago, was when the newer body style just came out, the car fealt HUGE1, but man it moved and got attention

Working_Class_S

Cars don't break down like they used to, so it is nice knowing there are honest shops like yours that can troubleshoot a problem. I take my car to a small shop for anything I can't do myself. Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising. As for the Viper, I'm not surprised. Dodge can't seem to make a decent car without help.

Grady

The owner of the company I work for had one a while. One morning he walked in and asked me if I wanted to drive it, and I instantly bolted out of the door. The first thing I noticed was you needed no throttle to back up or start in 1st. 1st gear through 4th gear felt like the same gear in terms of wot acceleration and left me trembling after a quick trip around the block.

japhethwar

It is quite a beast, and I love it as well. I had these visions of it being sort of like our car, only with a lot more power. I guess I imagined it being smooth and refined. Its really the complete opposite. Its brutal, loud, and you get the feeling that it will kill you. We had a 05 vette in today with some diffy problems as well. I rode with my brother in the vette a little while later, and honestly the vette is a far superior car. For looks alone the viper is god, everywhere else the vette simply destroyed it. If I had to chose between the two, i'd by the corvette. If money was no object, i'd just get both. Still wouldn't trade either for my S though.

s2kpdx01

Vipers have had abs since 01 (at least maybe before)...so....

Also, the 08's have a dual plate clutches and different transmissions and shift much easier and nicer. My 08 is quieter then my s2000 ever was, but it's not a convertible so who knows about that.

My car has more miles then that and track miles and has none of the issues you have with this car. I would try another one this one sounds like a piece of crap.

If you were close to CA you could drive mine. The 06 is slow compared to mine.

The throttle sounds odd too. Mine is drive by wire...not sure about the 06. The 08s are pretty well sorted on that front. It's easily to modulate on track and street.

Carbon Blue

I love vipers, my next door neighbor has one and I cant stop drooling whenever I hear him downshift into the neighborhood, the burbling it makes entering the driveway is to die for.

japhethwar

Your right about the abs, I was thinking about the older cars. I don't really know how this car has been treated, the owner was older and he stated he only drove it occasionally. I seriously doubt he beat on it. Who know's though. The parts guy at dodge was not shocked though, he said that rear diff failure is fairly common. They actually had all the rebuild parts in stock. But diff failure is common in most all american cars and trucks, so thats nothing new. I'm not viper bashing, I just thought I would share my impressions of the car from a mechanics point of view. I was just kind of let down. When I get behind the wheel of a 80k plus sports car I expect a level of refinement. With this car it just wasn't there. It felt like most all chrysler products feel, cheap. I'm no vette lover by any stretch, but it was a far superior car in most all aspects. It does have good qualities though. The parts are inexpensive, and its super easy to work on. Unlike the vette, which is a nightmare to work on. I didn't expect it to be a 911, just a little more than it was. Still tops the charts for badassness though.

s2kpdx01

The diffs are different in 08+ too. It wouldn't surprise me if they chew threw diffs..a lot of torque. The diff is cheap and easy to repair though. you can always go with a after market one too if it's really an issue.

The viper has no refinement...that's for sure. But, it normally drives pretty well. The chassis is very stiff and so is the suspension so rattles and things aren't a big surprise. Also, tough to compare a car that costs 40-100k less then the porsche it competes directly with (performance wise). The vette is a better comparison, but the seats in the vette really kill it for me.

I didn't feel like you are bashing vipers, but I would recommend...if you care to try and get your hands on another one 08+ if possible and give it a drive. The refinement isn't better, but it shouldn't have the issues you named on a car with only 14k miles, imo. Also, 06 vipers ride like shit because of the run flats. If he still has the original tires on it...that would explain some of the harshness and noise. My car on nitto invos is actually pretty quiet and comfortable on a smoothish freeway. But, again I have adjustable suspension (on full soft right now), that could have a lot to do with it. The real tires make a huge difference in the car.

BBV S2K

Only way I would trade my S2K for a Viper, is to sell the viper and make a nice profit... then get another S2K