anyone own a viper?
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Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Foster City, CA
anyone own a viper?
I have been to the viper forum, but was curious if anyone here has or still owns a viper?
I just love the looks of that car. They have a used 2000 with 8k miles on it over at a local dealership. I am going to go check it out here soon. I was just wondering what people though of them?
I am looking at a 2001 in a year or so. I would like it with ABS. I understand that threshold braking is the fastest way to stop, but if a kid runs out in front of me the last thing on my mind with be proper threshold braking!!
I would probably only drive it about 5k miles a year..unlike the S2000 which i drive about 18k a year. From what I have read the engine and drive train seem practly indestructable. It looks like interior wise they have issues and fit and finish is typical dodge handy work.....which is to say it is bad!!
The car is just so bad ass. I could totally see the gen 2 vipers becoming collectors items as one of the last cars not developed in a windtunnel or by a computer. It is a very raw car and I think it would be a great ride. any comments?
Thanks.
I just love the looks of that car. They have a used 2000 with 8k miles on it over at a local dealership. I am going to go check it out here soon. I was just wondering what people though of them?
I am looking at a 2001 in a year or so. I would like it with ABS. I understand that threshold braking is the fastest way to stop, but if a kid runs out in front of me the last thing on my mind with be proper threshold braking!!
I would probably only drive it about 5k miles a year..unlike the S2000 which i drive about 18k a year. From what I have read the engine and drive train seem practly indestructable. It looks like interior wise they have issues and fit and finish is typical dodge handy work.....which is to say it is bad!!
The car is just so bad ass. I could totally see the gen 2 vipers becoming collectors items as one of the last cars not developed in a windtunnel or by a computer. It is a very raw car and I think it would be a great ride. any comments?
Thanks.
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Joined: Oct 2001
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From: Del Mar/San Diego
having been in one "if you have the means I highly recommed it". They are fun, the ABS is a big concern and when I was looking for one it was the determining factor. As for used remeber I would suggest getting one from a private party the reason being you can meet the owner, a lot of these cars have been babied and a lot just flogged so your taking a risk at the dealership. Remember that dodge I believe offered a very nice warentte with the car yet I am unsure if it is transferable.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Foster City, CA
Originally posted by StormBringer
having been in one "if you have the means I highly recommed it". They are fun, the ABS is a big concern and when I was looking for one it was the determining factor. As for used remeber I would suggest getting one from a private party the reason being you can meet the owner, a lot of these cars have been babied and a lot just flogged so your taking a risk at the dealership. Remember that dodge I believe offered a very nice warentte with the car yet I am unsure if it is transferable.
having been in one "if you have the means I highly recommed it". They are fun, the ABS is a big concern and when I was looking for one it was the determining factor. As for used remeber I would suggest getting one from a private party the reason being you can meet the owner, a lot of these cars have been babied and a lot just flogged so your taking a risk at the dealership. Remember that dodge I believe offered a very nice warentte with the car yet I am unsure if it is transferable.
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 37,305
Likes: 18
Sorry, didn't see this thread till now.
Yes, I owned a brand new '94 RT/10 for 3 years. It was one helluva car, probably THE most outrageous automobile that a "mere mortal" like me could ever own (as opposed to the rich and famous). It has one of the highest "gawk" factors of any car on the road short of a Diablo with a wing. Park a Viper next to a Porsche Turbo and you'll get a few Porsche guys slobbering all over the Porsche but almost everyone from the age of 6 to 96 will circle the Viper. They may not all know what it is but they still see that it is something really cool. When you tell people that you once owned a Porsche. Their eyes kinda glass over and the conversation drifts onto something else. When you tell people you once owned a Viper, they give you that look: "No SH!T!"
The forward g forces on this thing is eyeball squeezing. Lateral g's is also very staggering considering the size of the car. You don't need rpm's in this thing, just floor the "go" pedal in almost any gear at any speed and watch the world pass by. Mechanically, this car for me, was flawless. In fact, the current (2nd) owner still has this car and drives it from time to time without mechanical issues. (It's a promotional car for a car alarm company.)
Although the S2000 can do very well against a Viper on a small closed circuit like an auto-X due to the Viper's larger dimensions, on a high speed sweeper, the Viper is GOD. I could go through these waay faster and with a higher feeling of security and "rock solidness" than the S. I don't know. Maybe it was because the heavier, bigger car gives a feeling of more "safety".
So what's the down side?
You cannot just park this thing just anywhere. Wherever you park it, there will be a small group of people around it when you come back. If there are no people, there will be finger prints all over it.
Cops watch you as you drive by.
You always worry about getting it damaged because repair won't be cheap and for me, the insurance deductible was high. You also worry about off-warranty repairs. The parts and labour for this car is quite "remarkable".
My car as well as other early model cars had a known hood defect which ultimately required a complete repaint or replacement.
Mods aren't cheap either.
You'd always be on the "juice" so the gas mileage is in the toilet.
I had to park the thing for 6 months of the year due to winter. (If only I could buy snow tires wide enough.
)
It's not real useful as a daily driver as the storage room was even worse than an S2000.
You think tires for an S2000 is pricey?
It took nearly 10 qts. of synthetic oil.
Low ground clearance. I hit the nose on almost every driveway I drove onto.
Why'd I sell it?
The warranty was up - a very scary proposition to own a car like this and be total responsible for it financially if something goes wrong (like the hood).
I needed a 4 seasons car. I got fed up with having an "alternate" car sitting in front of my house all the time.
Amazing as it may sound, I wanted a car that was a bit more fuel effient but still remained very powerful and sporty. I have that car now.
The Viper was and is a giant, larger than life sports car that a person "commanded" and orchestrated down the road. The S2000 is a car that a person gets in and "wears".
As for the issue of ABS. Mine had no ABS. True, it takes a bit of practice to stop the Viper in a panic but it is well known that a non-ABS car can stop in much shorter distances in certain conditions (loose surfaces for example) and in the hands of an expert, the non-ABS car can stop much shorter in most circumstances. For every day use, ABS is the way to go. Also get one with A/C. I think the later ones also came with cruise. No matter what people may say about these options for a sports car, they are nice to have and will make the car more desireable when it's time for resale.
I really miss this car so if you have the chance to own one, grab it. It's a car that everyone should own at least once in a lifetime. Even after you sell it, the memories and the talk will last you for the rest of your life.
Yes, I owned a brand new '94 RT/10 for 3 years. It was one helluva car, probably THE most outrageous automobile that a "mere mortal" like me could ever own (as opposed to the rich and famous). It has one of the highest "gawk" factors of any car on the road short of a Diablo with a wing. Park a Viper next to a Porsche Turbo and you'll get a few Porsche guys slobbering all over the Porsche but almost everyone from the age of 6 to 96 will circle the Viper. They may not all know what it is but they still see that it is something really cool. When you tell people that you once owned a Porsche. Their eyes kinda glass over and the conversation drifts onto something else. When you tell people you once owned a Viper, they give you that look: "No SH!T!"
The forward g forces on this thing is eyeball squeezing. Lateral g's is also very staggering considering the size of the car. You don't need rpm's in this thing, just floor the "go" pedal in almost any gear at any speed and watch the world pass by. Mechanically, this car for me, was flawless. In fact, the current (2nd) owner still has this car and drives it from time to time without mechanical issues. (It's a promotional car for a car alarm company.)
Although the S2000 can do very well against a Viper on a small closed circuit like an auto-X due to the Viper's larger dimensions, on a high speed sweeper, the Viper is GOD. I could go through these waay faster and with a higher feeling of security and "rock solidness" than the S. I don't know. Maybe it was because the heavier, bigger car gives a feeling of more "safety".
So what's the down side?
You cannot just park this thing just anywhere. Wherever you park it, there will be a small group of people around it when you come back. If there are no people, there will be finger prints all over it.
Cops watch you as you drive by.
You always worry about getting it damaged because repair won't be cheap and for me, the insurance deductible was high. You also worry about off-warranty repairs. The parts and labour for this car is quite "remarkable".
My car as well as other early model cars had a known hood defect which ultimately required a complete repaint or replacement.
Mods aren't cheap either.
You'd always be on the "juice" so the gas mileage is in the toilet.
I had to park the thing for 6 months of the year due to winter. (If only I could buy snow tires wide enough.
)It's not real useful as a daily driver as the storage room was even worse than an S2000.
You think tires for an S2000 is pricey?
It took nearly 10 qts. of synthetic oil.
Low ground clearance. I hit the nose on almost every driveway I drove onto.
Why'd I sell it?
The warranty was up - a very scary proposition to own a car like this and be total responsible for it financially if something goes wrong (like the hood).
I needed a 4 seasons car. I got fed up with having an "alternate" car sitting in front of my house all the time.
Amazing as it may sound, I wanted a car that was a bit more fuel effient but still remained very powerful and sporty. I have that car now.
The Viper was and is a giant, larger than life sports car that a person "commanded" and orchestrated down the road. The S2000 is a car that a person gets in and "wears".
As for the issue of ABS. Mine had no ABS. True, it takes a bit of practice to stop the Viper in a panic but it is well known that a non-ABS car can stop in much shorter distances in certain conditions (loose surfaces for example) and in the hands of an expert, the non-ABS car can stop much shorter in most circumstances. For every day use, ABS is the way to go. Also get one with A/C. I think the later ones also came with cruise. No matter what people may say about these options for a sports car, they are nice to have and will make the car more desireable when it's time for resale.
I really miss this car so if you have the chance to own one, grab it. It's a car that everyone should own at least once in a lifetime. Even after you sell it, the memories and the talk will last you for the rest of your life.
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 45,738
Likes: 8,264
From: Mish-she-gan
xviper, nice report (wiping the tears from my eyes). I'd often wonder what it would be like to step, dare I say, down. I toured their plant in the past year and was very impressed. I find the new body much more pleasing to my tastes and I loved to stick one in my garage. Who knows. . . if the damn stock market has finally bottomed out, maybe there's hope.
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Joined: Mar 2001
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More on the ABS thing:
Maximum braking is using the brakes to the point of "incipient skid". This is the definition provided by the Professional Drivers Course (which I just had my "refresher" yesterday). Once the wheel locks up and the tire skids along the ground, the maximum braking force has past. Just before the point where the tires skid is when the maximum braking force has not been reached. Therefore, the best braking is achieve in that "zone" right in the middle of these two.
ABS is designed to prevent the tire from skidding by a complex computer program that senses and compares the vehicle's speed, the differential speeds of each wheel, rate of change in wheel rotation and a whole bunch of other factors. When it decides that a wheel or wheels are about to lock up, ABS "pistons" will reduce fluid pressure to let the wheel rotate again, alternating with applying more pressure to increase braking force, etc. This can be done several times a second, much faster than a human can do it. The problem with ABS in the real world are many fold. Computers can be fooled or confused so that the maximal braking performance is NOT achieved. Many ABS systems intervene far too early, reducing the braking performance in situations like loose surfaces, ice, snow and the like. An experienced, professional driver like a race car driver can usually out perform an ABS sytem in terms of stopping faster in all types of road surfaces. But most of us are not one of these types of driver's so an ABS system is of tremendous benefit to us. If in a panic, the average driver simply rams that brake pedal to floor and keeps it there until the car is stopped. The additional benefit of ABS is that you can maximize your stopping force while at the same time be able to steer. You cannot steer while locked front wheels.
So to re-focus on your original statement, "ABS only comes on when you lock a tire." With ABS, you should never actually lock a tire. ABS prevents this. In some circumstances, though, the tires need to locked to improve braking distances. I cite ice and snow as a prime example where a locked tire will plow and build up a layer of material in front of the tire and this actually helps to reduce the distance required to bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
Maximum braking is using the brakes to the point of "incipient skid". This is the definition provided by the Professional Drivers Course (which I just had my "refresher" yesterday). Once the wheel locks up and the tire skids along the ground, the maximum braking force has past. Just before the point where the tires skid is when the maximum braking force has not been reached. Therefore, the best braking is achieve in that "zone" right in the middle of these two.
ABS is designed to prevent the tire from skidding by a complex computer program that senses and compares the vehicle's speed, the differential speeds of each wheel, rate of change in wheel rotation and a whole bunch of other factors. When it decides that a wheel or wheels are about to lock up, ABS "pistons" will reduce fluid pressure to let the wheel rotate again, alternating with applying more pressure to increase braking force, etc. This can be done several times a second, much faster than a human can do it. The problem with ABS in the real world are many fold. Computers can be fooled or confused so that the maximal braking performance is NOT achieved. Many ABS systems intervene far too early, reducing the braking performance in situations like loose surfaces, ice, snow and the like. An experienced, professional driver like a race car driver can usually out perform an ABS sytem in terms of stopping faster in all types of road surfaces. But most of us are not one of these types of driver's so an ABS system is of tremendous benefit to us. If in a panic, the average driver simply rams that brake pedal to floor and keeps it there until the car is stopped. The additional benefit of ABS is that you can maximize your stopping force while at the same time be able to steer. You cannot steer while locked front wheels.
So to re-focus on your original statement, "ABS only comes on when you lock a tire." With ABS, you should never actually lock a tire. ABS prevents this. In some circumstances, though, the tires need to locked to improve braking distances. I cite ice and snow as a prime example where a locked tire will plow and build up a layer of material in front of the tire and this actually helps to reduce the distance required to bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,615
Likes: 1
From: North Richland Hills, TX
Should we start a Viper vs. NSX thread??? j/k, please don't do this! 
The only thing I might be able to add of value is to check ins. rates first...I'd guess they're pretty high. IIRC, the hood is around $10K to replace!!!
The only thing I might be able to add of value is to check ins. rates first...I'd guess they're pretty high. IIRC, the hood is around $10K to replace!!!