My dreams of owning a Viper... Crushed today with a 20 min test-drive!

Cobra4B

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Have the Z all detailed so my dad and I went for a spin. We wound up over at Foriegn Cars Italia. It's Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, etc. dealer in the middle of freakn' Greensbro NC. I think they're here b/c of it's central location in the east coast, who knows, but they have some killer cars (had an Enzo this summer!).

I walk around and there's two vipers. One is a silver '97 GTS and the other is a '01 RT/10. I inquire about the red one and seeing as I roll up in the vette they take me seriously (I'm 22). Salesman was cool and was asking me question all about the Z, and even about the viper. I've drooled over those since I was little so I know all the stats and info etc (way more than the salesman, but he was very cool). We go for a test drive and here's my observations.

1. First I was shocked w/ how cheap and ugly the interior is! Makes the vette look like a Bently. The layout and dash design was butt compared to the vette (which has gerat ergonomics and looks IMO).

2. If you're over 6 foot you can't own one of these (I'm 6'4" and the vette is great for me) I was hitting my head on the roof, and while the seat went back plenty far for me, my left knee kept hitting the dash when I'd engage the clutch. To make matters worse there's no dead pedal or room at all to the left of the clutch. This means that you have to hold your foot up in the air the whole time!

3. The view from the cockpit isn't that great. You can't see much of the road, whereas in a c5 you have a very low hood line and great visibility.

4. The shifter feels like crap, I almost stuck it in first on a 2-3 shift, but so does the stock one in the vette so nothing against the viper there.

5. Probably the most disapointing thing of all was the sound. There was NONE! I figured a 488 c.i. v10 would make some noise, but not only did it sound bad, it was so quiet.

6. Driving the car was hard b/c I just plain didn't fit in it, but it is pretty fast. But, nowhere near as fast as I had expected. I guess I had built it up in my head over the years and just didn't realize how fast a Z was! Granted I didn't get it up over 100 and I hear that's where it'll walk away from a Z06. The car has amazing torque, but w/ no sound it's not that much fun. Also, the clutch is mechanical and much harder to push in that in a vette.

All in all it's a cool looking car, but seeing them side by side I really prefer the looks of my Z. It's much sleeker. I've always wanted a Viper, but man that car was dissapointing! I guess if you could make special brackets to lower the seats or chop my feet of then it might be better. If you're under 6' tall don't let this deter you, go drive one! But make sure you drive a Z06 too it you haven't :cheers:
 

BADVENOM

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Listen kid, if your like your Z that fine, but if you think the viper isn't fast then you don't know jack, second if your comparing your vettes amenities to a viper than your looking for the wrong car. A viper is a throw back to the muscle machines.. And third their is no comparison in looks of a gen 1 or 2 viper to vette. Your vette is is just one in 20,000 instead of one in 250...Have fun with your vette and go back to your vette forum as you obviuosly didn't research the viper vs vette deal. Almost everyone here has owned a vette and their nice cars but a viper is in another league...Don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out..LOL
 
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Cobra4B

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I've done plenty of research on both cars. I wanted a viper for a long time. Looks is subjective, so you have your opinion and I have mine. I know I'm ******* on the hornets nest, but just sharing my observations today. If I had fit in one I'd have considered the trade.
 

BADVENOM

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By the way they do make seat lowering kits to allow more room for taller people, plenty of us have done it and we fit just fine, thank you very much..
 

BADVENOM

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the seat kits vary depending on whether you want to lower 1" or 2" although the 2" kit will remove the option of sliding the seat back and forth..and I am 6' 2"

Adam
 
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Cobra4B

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Oh BTW I never said the viper wasn't fast... not as fast as I had expected. It'd be a dang good race between the two. I gues the stock 3.15 rear end and the extra weight makes a difference. Like I said over 100 I'm sure things would get interesting.
 

joe117

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1. Agree, but it's adequate.

2. There are plenty of tall guys with Vipers. There are lower seat mods.

3. Agree

4. Shifter isn't a problem

5. Easy to fix. It can sound like WW2 if you like, but it will never sound like a V8

6. It's not a heck of a lot faster than a 405 ZO6. It is faster but they are both very fast cars that don't often get opened up on the street.
On a track of any kind, you would see the difference.

The ZO6 profile is so common that it's something you are used to seeing. Change is sometimes hard to deal with.

The kind of attention and respect that your Viper will get is also something that takes a little getting used to. Of course, if you are already a rock star, that will not be too hard.
 
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Cobra4B

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Since when is 12.90 a 13 second car. I trapped at 114 w/ just an intake, if you dragraced alot (I don't know maybe yo do) you'd know that w/ some drag-radials thats good for a high 11 pass. I choose not to powershift or slip the clutch out of the hole. You've got me on the oil... that does ****, but it's getting fixed!
 

kgrif

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6'4" and I fit. Drove vettes for years. Last one was a Z06 and I had it dolled out. SELDOM GOT A GLANCE FROM ANYONE! Now lets comapre the Viper. Not as bad as all the things you said, but I agree you need to drive one a couple of months to get the hang of it, but when you do. WOW! And I have become a movie star, everywhere, and I mean everywhere I go I get attention, staring, questions etc.. and yes after driving both let me tell you the Z is no comparison. I had both for several months and when I would get into the Z after the viper it felt whimpy! So each to their own but if I were you I would stick with the vette. Nice tame car.
 

Craig 201 MPH

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Since when is 12.90 a 13 second car. I trapped at 114 w/ just an intake, if you dragraced alot (I don't know maybe yo do) you'd know that w/ some drag-radials thats good for a high 11 pass. I choose not to powershift or slip the clutch out of the hole. You've got me on the oil... that does ****, but it's getting fixed!

You didn't run a 12.90 you ran a 12.91 :laugh:

I'm just giving you some $hit The Z06 is a great car but I think you drive a tired, beat GTS. They didn't make silver availiable on Vipers until 1998. It it has been repainted I wonder how long ago it was smacked into something.
 

kgrif

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I pulled a 12.9 at 112 in my Z. I haven't been to the track in the Viper because I know I do not know enough yet about opening it up. I did run several Vipers at the track in my Z in :2tu: the quarter miles and I got toasted everytime. 490 torque at 3500 PRMs is had to pull against!
 

Bill Pemberton Woodhouse

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A couple of items which are literally the same , makes me wonder what you think of your Z06 gearbox ( Both vehicles have a T-56 ). Keep in mind we have plenty of Viper owners that are tall ( our tallest is 6'8" ) , and it can be made very comfortable with a seat lowering kit. We get a 2-1 ratio of Vette to Viper trade-ins and virtually all comment on how much more comfortable/supportive the Snake seats are than the Vettes. All said, the cars are subjective, and you are viewing a hand built car that rarely sees over 1800 produced per year, to a car that is fast and attractive, but has 36,000 siblings born every year. Exclusivity has it's rewards, and a Viper is not for everyone, but sometimes our dreams cloud reality, and maybe the next time you view a Viper, it will have a set of headers/Corsa catback and a sound to wake the dead. A V10 has it's own sound, and just like a muffled Harley, the noise can be kept to a minimum. Put some pipes on that Harley/Viper, and the neighborhood will think that an earthquake was occuring. A Viper is remarkbly smooth, and I don't doubt you didn't think it was much faster. Had you experienced the dance of a thousand fingers, we would have known that your thought process would be different. I commend you for not attempting this on a test drive, as many folks have commented on the first time they did a major hammer with the V10, that they were glad no one was around. Hope this doesn't torque you off, but that is what this Serpent is all about. Have a pleasant Holiday weekend.
 

BigCarrot

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I'm almost 6'4" and I fit. It's a little tight, but it works. The Vette is more comfy, but I don't drive my Viper for comfort. I've had a couple of each, and I can honestly say I like the Viper a lot more.
 

Snake Bitten

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Perhaps you should go test drive the new Cobra, I hear they are very nice...



PS: The Viper has 3.07 gears, not 3.15's, and your Z has 3.42's...and no torque...
 

Dave's Big Brakes

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Don't forget about the adjustable pedals, they do move forward quite a bit 4" I think. Also we have a few in our club 6.4 and over, with dropped seat it works fine. Again I had a C5 like everyone else :cool: , the biggest diff besides power&torq is, the attention you get, it blows your mind ;) . The Viper is the old 427 Cobra plus some, and we do have A/C, Disc,ABS, :D Just my .02
 

SNKEBIT

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Perhaps you should go test drive the new Cobra, I hear they are very nice...



PS: The Viper has 3.07 gears, not 3.15's, and your Z has 3.42's...and no torque...


ROCK ON Snake Bitten!!!!!!!!! :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:
 

Casey

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6'6" here and with a seat lowering kit, I fit great! Did you know that you can adjust the pedals? Makes a big difference as well.
If you think the C5 is better looking than the Viper, well that's your opinion, and you're in luck because you can see them at every corner!! :p
I had a C5, a little more room, yes. But the interior was not any better than the Viper's! And the leather just plained Sucked! I sold the C5 a year after getting my first Viper, because it just wasn't fun to drive anymore, so it just sat in the garage.
12.9 on slicks/skinnies isn't too good! :eek:

OK, maybe you need to get into another Viper as a passenger with someone here that can show you what a Viper is all about. Everyone deserves a 2nd chance! :2tu:
 

PhilC

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I'm 6' 4 1/2". I lowered the seat only 1 inch so that I still had full mobility of the seat. I fit fine. The pedals are adjustable, perhaps they were set all the way at the top which would definately be a problem for us tall guys. If fit and finish is the top priority to you, dont go with the Viper, if performance is, then the Viper is the car to get.


"if you dragraced alot (I don't know maybe yo do) you'd know that w/ some drag-radials thats good for a high 11 pass."

You dont actually think you're going to drop a full second off your times by throwing on a set of drag radials do you?
 

RedGTS

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Where can I get me some of those drag radials good for a full second in the 1/4? The general rule of thumb is .5 second less for slicks, so they must be REALLY sticky. I'm guessing they're on the shelf somewhere with those 3.15 gears.
 

Jeff Torrey

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Thats your first impression. But your compairing a 20 minute test drive to a car you have spent some serious seat time in. It takes some time...but I'm, not trying to change your mind. Got back and tell all your Corvette buddies that Vipers s*ck. P.S. You'll never see a Viper guy post a 12.91 in their signature :D , be the laughing stock of the board.
 

BIGBADCJ

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man you got the a$$ z06. only 385hp....ill take the belt of my viper and run you on crank only. bet ill still skull drag you.
 
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Cobra4B

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Well I've driven 427 kit cobras and those are amazing. The one I drove was a FFR kid w/ a ford 460 BB in it. It was the quickest street car I've ever been in.

I actually looked at '03 cobras, but those don't handle and they're 3700 lbs, and the ergonomics **** for reaching the shifter.

I'm not really trying to bring the viper down, I love the car and was very dissapointed that it just doesn't fit me well (in stock form apparently) I'd love to give it a go w/ the seat lowering kit and some headers w/ the rear muffler delete.

BTW I drove the red '01 not the silver one. I was guessing at the year so it probably was a '98.

What teh ance of a thousand fingers? You mean spinning it around like so many first time driver buyers do b/c they aren't used to torque w/ no TC?

As for the gear box if you re-read my post I address this. Both **** in stock form!

3.07 gears got it!

Actually I rand a 12.9 in reverse... it was so fast going forward that I needed to give everyone else a chance. Seriously, I had balding F1's on a poorly prepped track. I couldn't get my 60-ft below 2.2 and I was hopping all the way into third. Need to upgrade the '01 Z shocks to the '04's or some QA-1's

It seems like all you guys are playing the hey I get noticed more card so my car is better... I'd go crazy worrying about someone keying or messing w/ my car! Crap I worry enough w/ the vette and I drive it every day.
 

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