Boy. Some some people are so fickle.

FLL-B/W-GTS

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Excellent explanation to of the trans... Shifting a six speed manual is very cool and fun.I did it for 14 years with my 3 Vipers. Just saying it,should be a option so people that want it can have it.SRT is very capable in making it happen if they wish. This will save the Viper in years to come,esp with a convertible option. Big company CEOs change all the time and thus things change..
 
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Bobpantax

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1. Interesting detail I just noticed tonight. Look at the inside of the passenger door. Now look just forward of the window button. There is a small area about the size of what used to be where an ashtray might have been located. Look inside it. There is a rubber insert with a map of the Nurburgring on it. I do not know whether this is exclusive to the TA or not. If it is, I wonder if that means at some future date the TA is going to visit the Ring.


2. Engine gauges. I have no idea how accurate they are but I set the center display on them the other day to see what I could produce in third gear. I got to 600/575 or so. I could only quickly glance because I was accelerating very fast and it definitely would not have been safe to keep watching. I continued to accelearte after glancing. I was not at peak power RPM when I did glance. It would be nice if this gauge, like the performace gauges, could be set so that it preserved the highest HP and torque reached. Does anyone know how accurate this gauge is?
 

05Commemorative

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There's certainly a tremendous amount of thought that goes into it when driven aggressively on track, or your favorite challenging twisting road. Experience and skill allows one to perform much of it subconsciously, but it is completely engaging, and often at high risk if not done well. The driver keeps track of the current gear in order to select the next gear he'll select, shifts are planned based on reading the road ahead, upshift rpm points are done by ear, next gear selected based on knowing the current gear, timing the upshift so as not to unbalance the car during cornering/cresting/low grip, co-ordinating the clutch/throttle/lever into the correct gear and doing it smoothly to maintain car control when approaching the limits of adhesion, downshifting planned and executed often while under hard braking, done by ear, driver providing the timing and amount of throttle blip to maintain rear tire grip and car control, or loss of rear grip done purposely to pivot the rear of the car in a very tight corner, corner exit gear planned prior to entering the corner to prevent mid-corner shifting and ensure maximum exit speed and control. You have to do all of that correctly in rapid-fire succession on a race track, while passing cars, analysing the road ahead, monitoring other traffic in your mirrors, picking brake points and so on, and do it dozens of times within maybe 90 seconds around a 2.5 mile track at speeds up to 150 mph! You definitely have to put some thought into it on a race track or favorite twisty road driven aggressively, although things are a lot more relaxed when cruising around town. You need to get out on the track with yours...and post those videos!!!

A track friend with a GT-R with DCT finds his quickest lap times are in full auto mode and he doesn't have to do anything related to shifting that I mentioned above. That makes it a lot less engaging.

Bruce
Bruce, this is a good post and describes the experience very well.

But I think to emphasize the point others have on paddle shifters, I would just ask this? If a manual Viper is so engaging on the track, then wouldn't a AC Shelby Cobra being even more engaging? No ABS, shorter wheel base, not as easy to shift, much more twitchy at speed and breaking, etc?

I ask because I have driven both and will tell you the Viper is a much more "enjoyable" experience. Do I want to go back to brakes without ABS? No. Did not having it add difficulty, absolutely, but I don't want to go back. My overall point is yes, agree a manual adds complexity to the equation and I personally enjoy it, but I would not say it adds enjoyment for everyone. Particularly if you goal is to go faster and be better at a track, most realize that is about braking, turning, the correct line, throttle modulation, etc. Shifting heightens that for sure, just not sure required to have a great time.
 
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Bobpantax

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Hi guys. Can we keep the thread on subject? The subject above would make a great thread by itself. Does anyone know the accuracy of the engine gauge regarding HP/Torque?
 

FLL-B/W-GTS

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Engaging No,like the GTRs,the DCT Trans in the Turbo Porsches do the work perfect like really very few humans could do every time...Embrace the technology and win or be left behind rowing gears...
 
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Bobpantax

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Thanks Bruce.

Update on installation of Team Tech six point 6004 SRTTA harness.

1. I ordered mine with orange stitching and black pull tabs. The workmanship is excellent. See photo above of the harness with orange stitching and orange pull tabs installed in a friends Viper.

2. There are two slots already created between the upper part of the seat and the bottom of the seat for the crotch straps to go through. I put them through first ( make sure you preposition them correctly so that the correct side of the strap ends facing up on the seat ); then put each end over each end of the bar; and then attached the bar. If you do not have a magnetized ratchet head - which I do not - use a bolt/nut/screw retriever - which I do have - and preposition the nut on the bolt after you put the washer in. Then just use a socket with the base socket wrench without an extention assuming your sockets are about two inches long. If they are short ones, use a short extension because if it is too long, you will not get enough leverage because of the tightness of the space to easily remove the stock nuts.

3. The bar attaches flat side down with the v facing rearward like this >.

4. Next I put the eye bolts in for the shoulder straps. When you remove and replace the plastic cover/panel, the rubber grommet that the lower part of it clips into can fall off down behind the bulkhead panel so be careful and gentle. I used locking washers that were available from TeamTech with the eye bolts.

5. The next part took a little while to figure out since there were no instructions on how to do it. In order to get the shoulder straps through the holes in the top of the seat it is necessary to fold the metal clip down so that you make the end as narrow as possible and twist the end 90 degrees so that it is parallel to the strap. You have to carefully experiment with this a bit. Once you have it folded the correct way, it goes through the hole without much of a problem. Make sure that you put the driver's right strap through the driver's right hole.

6. I then adjusted the four point set up to see how it feels. Since this harness is doubly adjustable and has Team Tech's most advanced adjusting tech, it was easy to do.

7. I have not located the inboard and outboard lap belt eye bolt holes yet so that will come later. I want to install the eye bolts without removing carpet. So far I tried the "feel around method" and I probed using a large pin. The inboard one should be roughly 7 inches from the rear bulkhead ( a liittle less from the top of the carpeting) and 3.75 from the floor ( a little less from the top of the carpeting.) The outboard one is supposed to be a bit farther back.

Once I do find them, I want to cut a small X in the carpeting to install the Eye bolt. That way if I choose to remove them later I can glue the carpet back together cleanly. If any of you have installed eye bolts for the lap belts in a TA, please post a photo clearly showing the exact location of these bolt holes. It would be much appreciated.



 
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Bobpantax

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Here is a photo of the shoulder and crotch components installed in my car.

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bluesrt

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Does the ta have more of a roomy comfort feel to the interior?
 
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Bobpantax

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I would say that the feel of being in a high performance cockpit is about the same as I experinced with my Gen III with the caveat that the interior is much nicer and the seat better.
 

supersnake

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1. Interesting detail I just noticed tonight. Look at the inside of the passenger door. Now look just forward of the window button. There is a small area about the size of what used to be where an ashtray might have been located. Look inside it. There is a rubber insert with a map of the Nurburgring on it. I do not know whether this is exclusive to the TA or not. If it is, I wonder if that means at some future date the TA is going to visit the Ring.

Bob, I noticed this on a 2013 GTS I seen at the dealership, I think it is on all of them
 

bluesrt

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One srt pic I saw in the ta in rear of consol bt the storage net it has a orange colored laguna track outline in it? Does the production have it?
 
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Bobpantax

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It does not have it there. Only in the location I noted in post 152 above.

One srt pic I saw in the ta in rear of consol bt the storage net it has a orange colored laguna track outline in it? Does the production have it?
 
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Bobpantax

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Here is a photo taken today from a good angle and distance.
It was taken through a window with a cell phone camera so
it is not as crisp but I think that it conveys the character
of the car.
 

Bruce H.

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Thanks for the harness install notes. What is it that the sub bar actually attaches to in point 2? Car looks great! Mine will be built in approx. 4 weeks. I'm going to ask the plant manager if there's some way to identify those holes during assembly. Even a bolt head under the carpet would allow you to locate it.

Bruce
 
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Bobpantax

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It attaches to the same bolts that hold the seat runners in. You remove the OEM nuts ( which have a built in washer that does not fit inside the sub bar holes - you will see what I mean when you see the sub bar) and then install the sub bar using the nuts and washers provided. I think I may have found the outboard location for the lap belt but I am not sure. There is a flush bolt in it already that would have to be removed first. It has a hexhead on it and it is in very tight.

That is a good idea you had for getting the factory to mark the placement for you.
 
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Bobpantax

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Update. The good news is that the hex head bolt mentioned above is the right location. The bad news is that it is torqued so tight that I cannot budge it with my Allen wrench even with an Allen wrench holder to give me more leverage.

If you look at the driver's side corner behind the driver's seat where the side carpet meets the bulkhead carpet, you can gently pull back a few inches of the side carpet where it overlaps. You will then be able to see it and feel it. The carpet you are pulling back a bit is not glued in so don't worry about that. It goes right back in to place as well as the sound insulation attached to it.

I am going to bring the car in to a high end body shop to let them deal with it.
 
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Bobpantax

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Just got back from the body shop.


1. There are low profile hex bolts filling the lap belt eye bolt holes on the inboard and outboard sides. Because there is some sound/heat insulation under and attached to the rug, the low profile bolts sink into it and that is why I could not feel them by a finger probe. They were coated with locktite and torqued very tight. The body shop mechanic used what appeared to be about a twelve inch ratchet handle with a hex head ratchet had to use some muscle to free it up. It was not easy. Thwe factory might want to look into a better solution for plugging these holes. In fact it would have been pretty cool if, at least in the TA, they had just had heat resistant plastic plugs or something similar that went through the carpet and insulation into the bolt holes where the top of the plug said LB ( for lap belt).

2. The procedure for locating the lap belt bolt holes is simple. First gently pop out the rug that is behind the driver's seat on the side a few inches. Peel it back a bit. You will see the hex nut insid the bolt hole. Next, the lower panel on the rear bulkhead behind the driver's seat pulls out completely. Remove it an place it outse the car. Then you can gently pull out the carpet behind the driver's seat on the left on transmission tunnel wall. Pull this, like the right side, from the top down. You can pull it out enough until you see the inboard hex head nut which is almost exactly above and to the left of te end of the inboard seat runner. Remove both nuts as shown in paragraph 1 above.

3. Once you have the location of the hex head nuts exposed, then you can mark the location on the carpet and cut a small X through the carpet and the insulation.

4. With the hex head nuts removed, put the inboard side carpetback n place; then the lower bulkhead carpet panel;and, finally the driver's side carpet.

5. Insall each eye bolt at the respective X's you have cut over the bolt holes.

6. Have a beverage of your choice.

7. The lap belts clip on to the eye bolts.
 
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Bobpantax

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Here is what I learned edited and put together into one set of instructions:

1. The workmanship of the harness is excellent.

2. Remove the two most rearward bolts at the end of the seat rails. Use a socket with the base socket wrench without an extension assuming your sockets are about two inches long. If they are short ones, use a short extension because if it is too long, you will not get enough leverage because of the tightness of the space to easily remove the stock nuts.

3. There are two slots already created between the upper part of the seat and the bottom of the seat for the crotch belts to go through. Put them through first ( make sure you preposition them correctly so that the correct side of the belt ends facing up on the seat ); then put each belt end over each end of the bar; and then attach the bar to the two rearward seat track bolts referred to above. The bar attaches flat side down with the v facing rearward like this >.

4. Place the supplied washers over the bolts. If you do not have a magnetized ratchet head, use a bolt/nut/screw retriever and preposition the nut on the bolt after you put the washer in. Then tighten with ratchet.

5. Next I put the eye bolts in for the shoulder belts. When you remove and replace the plastic cover/panel, the rubber grommet that the lower part of it clips into can fall off down behind the bulkhead panel so be careful and gentle. Locking washers that are available from TeamTech with the eye bolts can be used.

6. In order to get the shoulder belts through the holes in the top of the seat it is necessary to fold the metal clip down so that you make the end as narrow as possible and twist the end 90 degrees so that it is parallel to the strap. You have to carefully experiment with this a bit. Once you have it folded the correct way, it goes through the hole without much of a problem. Make sure that you put the driver's right strap through the driver's right hole.

7. OPTIONAL. Adjust the four point set up to see how it feels. Since this harness is doubly adjustable and has Team Tech's most advanced adjusting tech, it is easy to do.

8. There are low profile hex bolts filling the lap belt eye bolt holes on the inboard and outboard sides. Because there is some sound/heat insulation under and attached to the rug covering, the low profile bolts sink into it and it cannot be felt by finger probe. They are coated with locktite and torqued very tight. Use about a twelve inch ratchet handle with a hex head ratchet to free it up. It will not free up easily. It takes some muscle.

COMMENT:The factory might want to look into a better solution for plugging these holes. In fact it would have been pretty cool if, at least in the TA, they had just had heat resistant plastic plugs or something similar that went through the carpet and insulation into the bolt holes where the top of the plug said LB ( for lap belt).

9. The procedure for locating the lap belt bolt holes is simple. First gently pop out the rug that is behind the driver's seat on the side a few inches. Peel it back a bit. You will see the hex nut inside the bolt hole. Next, the lower panel on the rear bulkhead behind the driver's seat pulls out completely. Remove it and place it outside the car. Then you can gently pull out the carpet behind the driver's seat on the left on the transmission tunnel wall. Pull this, like the right side, from the top down. You can pull it out enough until you see the inboard hex head nut which is almost exactly above and to the left of the end of the inboard seat runner. Remove both nuts as described in paragraph 8 above.

10. Once you have the location of the hex head nuts exposed, then you can mark the location on the carpet and cut a small X through the carpet and the insulation.

11. With the hex head nuts removed, put the inboard side carpet back in place; then reinstall the lower bulkhead carpet panel;and, finally put back the driver's side carpet.

12. Install each eye bolt at the respective X's you have cut over the bolt holes. The lap belts clip on to the eye bolts.

13. Adjust all straps to your liking.

14. Have a beverage to congratulate yourself.
 
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Bobpantax

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Update:

So I entered my TA in the 26th Florida Mopar Nationals Car Show held at University Dodge in Davie Florida on 3/9. It is an event to raise money for the Darrell Gwynn Foundation - a very worthy cause. See link: Spinal Cord Injury Support And Prevention - Darrell Gwynn Foundation

There were some incredible muscle and drag cars there from the 60s and 70s and many newer cars. There was a significant Viper presence including Wayne Garner, our SFL VCA President ( a great guy).

Many, if not most, people had never seen a TA. There were many favorable comments and no negative ones. I spent about 20 minutes with a current new Porsche 911 owner, who is very motivated to get a Gen V, explaining what the TA is all about. He lives near me and I expect to see a new Gen V driving around soon.

Bottom line. I won a gold plaque. BTW, the Judge joked that they had a new rule that the Judge has to drive the car before judging it. The car really is far, far better looking in person than it shows on the net and it is good looking on the net.

I posted it before but it is worth repeating. Ralph and his design team hit a home run with this car. Its design is pure automotive art.
 

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Well that is impressive...congrats! Did you tuck the harness out of sight or leave it exposed for the judging? Do you have a photo showing the completed install with the lap belt portion?
 
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Bobpantax

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I only had the shoulder and crotch belts connected and just straightened them out on the seat back and bottom. With the matching orange stitching. it is quite striking and quite a few people commenetd on that. No photo of all six points connected.
 
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Bobpantax

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1700 miles and it gets better and better. My wife likes this one much better than my prior Gen II or Gen III. This morning on the way to my office a car went by me in the opposite direction and a young man in the passenger seat actually opened his window; stuck his upper body out of the window; turned around and took some photos with his phone as I went by. Crazy stuff.

The most frequent question still is "what year is that?". When I tell them, they always say:" I did not know they made the Viper anymore."
 

KB Viper

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The most frequent question still is "what year is that?". When I tell them, they always say:" I did not know they made the Viper anymore."

This is exactly why they shouldn't be pulling out of races and should ramp up marketing. They spent all this time and money building a beautiful kick ass car and they don't market the hell out of it.
 

bushido

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This is exactly why they shouldn't be pulling out of races and should ramp up marketing. They spent all this time and money building a beautiful kick ass car and they don't market the hell out of it.

It sounds simple,but FIAT owns Chrysler,and they want THEIR Halo cars ( Ferrari) to have a better chance on winning..
 

kdaviper

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This is exactly why they shouldn't be pulling out of races and should ramp up marketing. They spent all this time and money building a beautiful kick ass car and they don't market the hell out of it.

It sounds simple,but FIAT owns Chrysler,and they want THEIR Halo cars ( Ferrari) to have a better chance on winning..
Do you seriously think that racing in LeMans will expose a significant number of people to the Gen V? LeMans may be the biggest GT race in the world, but not very many people are into the series (relatively). I would rather SRT focus their efforts in the ALMS series, where they have a better chance of competing and winning races. Think about the costs to even bring the cars to Europe for the race: Air freight for 2 cars, room and board for everybody involved in the event, storage and transportation once everything is in europe, the cost of actually racing, and then you have to bring everything home.
I think if SRT wants to advertise, they should use the money that would have gone towards this event. Sponser the NCAA this month, everybody's gonna be watching basketball (at least here in Indiana).
 

bushido

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Do you seriously think that racing in LeMans will expose a significant number of people to the Gen V? LeMans may be the biggest GT race in the world, but not very many people are into the series (relatively). I would rather SRT focus their efforts in the ALMS series, where they have a better chance of competing and winning races. Think about the costs to even bring the cars to Europe for the race: Air freight for 2 cars, room and board for everybody involved in the event, storage and transportation once everything is in europe, the cost of actually racing, and then you have to bring everything home.
I think if SRT wants to advertise, they should use the money that would have gone towards this event. Sponser the NCAA this month, everybody's gonna be watching basketball (at least here in Indiana).
This has nothing to do with exposing the Gen V or SRT brands. It has everything to do with FIAT making the decisions since they own Chrysler,and SRT. The Lemans race is a very prestigious one. One that is very important for the Ferrari Marque, and FIAT .. Ferrari's reputation in Europe is #1 for them, Formula 1 etc..

People here keep forgetting that SRT, Chrysler is owned by FIAT. SRT, Ralph cannot make decisions without checking in with FIAT, Sergio Marchionne. Unlike GM where they can freely design,build,and race what they want ..
 
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Bobpantax

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Guys. Please stick to the subject of the thread. There is another thread currently up that includes the subject. This thread is devoted to owner/driver observations about the TA. Thanks in advance.
 
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Bobpantax

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A couple pics from last month of my TA. Both were taken by professional photogs.
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