New Owner

[Muzz B Yellow]

Had my 05 yellow delivered yesterday! On my first drive I had a real eye opener,on the local highway its pretty rutted from the big rigs and much to my vipers un liking it pulled me almost off the road on more then one occasion, is this normal? Just need to know for future reference. Was a great day for the maiden voyage 70 degrees and wonderful blue sky.. but today it snowed? Can't wait to test her out on some of our straight flat roads that cross the valleys between the Bitterroot and Rocky mountains

 

[SylvanSRT]

Welcome to the wonderful world or torque! Get used to it and break it in right before you really get on the juice, then drive it like you stole it.

 

[TOPGON]

Darned if I can find it there is a very good thread that provides several of the nuances of driving a Viper some really valuable do's and dont's as well as other related useful information. Possibly someone reading this reply may know where it is? I searched back to page 14 and gave up.

 

[SNKBITN]

Muzz, welcome to the wonderful world of bump steer and wiidddee tires! I just recently got my SRT10 and even though it has been mentioned many times over on the forum here, it was still surprising to see how this car will track every rut, bump, or uneven surface in any roadway! I have to drive in the left lane of the highway that I drive home on every night when I drive the viper because the ruts in the right lane make the car pull almost uncontrollably.

 

[redsrt03]

Enjoy your car, but beware. It has a dozen ways to kill you
and it never stops trying. It will get sideways when you least expect it (like 90 MPH when going from 2nd to 3rd with hard throttle), wheel hop and fishtail when you nail it from a dead stop (twice I've almost taken out parked cars on both sides of the street where I live.). And that's just the "upside-the-face" stuff. It also patiently waits and destroys your hearing over time, drains your bank accounts ($1k for a headlight), and dehydrates you every chance it gets. But it is so much fun! (until it breaks down, and after dealing with dodge (the warranty) you suffer a stroke from the fact that an 85K car that rides like a go-cart has the reliability of a Yugo). But it is still an awesome machine.

 

[Sellshomesdrivesviper]

"Saying faciously"
Wow, I can't wait until my beast is delivered.

 

[Muzz B Yellow]

Enjoy your car, but beware. It has a dozen ways to kill you
and it never stops trying. It will get sideways when you least expect it (like 90 MPH when going from 2nd to 3rd with hard throttle), wheel hop and fishtail when you nail it from a dead stop (twice I've almost taken out parked cars on both sides of the street where I live.). And that's just the "upside-the-face" stuff. It also patiently waits and destroys your hearing over time, drains your bank accounts ($1k for a headlight), and dehydrates you every chance it gets. But it is so much fun! (until it breaks down, and after dealing with dodge (the warranty) you suffer a stroke from the fact that an 85K car that rides like a go-cart has the reliability of a Yugo). But it is still an awesome machine.

Funny stuff! I can already feel my bank account dwindling. The warranty issues should be interesting. I had a 2003 Dodge one ton dually that was at the dealer more than I liked. Oh well haven't found the perfect machine yet.

 

[TomSlick]

I'd get rid of the run-flats and buy me some kind of spare.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Congratulations and welcome aboard! Be sure to get some miles on Highway 89 - there is some new pavement (no ruts) where you can see for many miles. Dang near hit a golden eagle on that highway. HUGE!

Interesting side note on the runflats too: The 300C SRT-8 does not have a spare and doesn't use runflats. It has an air compressor and some industrial strength fix-a-flat of some sort. Pretty wild!

We will be passing through your neck of the woods in July and always love that part of the country. Talk about some great photo ops. Again, welcome and congrats.

 

[redsrt03]

Muzz b Yellow,

I like way serious bout most of the ways the snake tries to get you. The dehydration can be cured by plenty of fluids, but the rest of the stuff is gospel. So take your time learning the car, enjoy the hell out of it, and NEVER, NEVER, nail it when the front wheels aren't perfectly straight, or you will be off the road so fast you won't believe it. Those big tires will stometimes hook up extremely well on warm pavement, but they can get loose extremely fast, and when they hook up again you will launch
in whatever direction you happen to be facing.

Still, it is an awesome ride and totally fun.


Enjoy.

 

[Muzz B Yellow]

Muzz b Yellow,

I like way serious bout most of the ways the snake tries to get you. The dehydration can be cured by plenty of fluids, but the rest of the stuff is gospel. So take your time learning the car, enjoy the hell out of it, and NEVER, NEVER, nail it when the front wheels aren't perfectly straight, or you will be off the road so fast you won't believe it. Those big tires will stometimes hook up extremely well on warm pavement, but they can get loose extremely fast, and when they hook up again you will launch
in whatever direction you happen to be facing.

Still, it is an awesome ride and totally fun.


Enjoy.

I knew your where serious just loved the way you put it. Have 250 miles on her now and am getting to know that this car is all about power! Gotta love it.

 

[Muzz B Yellow]

Congratulations and welcome aboard! Be sure to get some miles on Highway 89 - there is some new pavement (no ruts) where you can see for many miles. Dang near hit a golden eagle on that highway. HUGE!

Interesting side note on the runflats too: The 300C SRT-8 does not have a spare and doesn't use runflats. It has an air compressor and some industrial strength fix-a-flat of some sort. Pretty wild!

We will be passing through your neck of the woods in July and always love that part of the country. Talk about some great photo ops. Again, welcome and congrats.

The 89 is a great road to travel from West Yellowstone to Bozeman. I live off the 93 which is wonderful but is already seeming shorter to travel in the Viper. When your up here look us up!

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

CONGRATULATIONS! And welcome to the Viperholics of America. Your Viper is a Great CAR.

Tire Tracking highway groves and be reduced a little with increased tire pressure 32-35PSI. I still have run flats on my 03 and keep the tires at 32psi. Have been told by friends that switching to non-run flats also reduces tendency to track.

At our(Viper Club) last Skip Barber School we had an opportunity to run our cars on their autocross to compare our cars handling with the new School Vipers. I put 35psi and the car handled great with run flats.

The Viper's outstanding performance(massive torque) has been know to allow Pilots to get themselves into serious trouble. The massive torque will allow the Pilot to cause the rear tires to lose grip resulting in oversteer a big spin. As earlier stated earlier make sure wheels are straight before adding throttle, avoid adding speed in turns, if you have to shift gears in a turn make sure to be smooth.

The Viper's brakes are among the best in the World stopping the Viper in just over 100 feet from 60MPH. It also takes good tires to produce these numbers. But if the car is not pointed straight Big Braking can allow the rear to get light and lose grip(oversteer or spin) or the front grip will be exceeded and the car will not follow steering input(understeer).

The Viper allows for outstanding performance but with anything it takes experience to begin to master the Snake's performance. I encourage all owners to take a few Skip Barber driving schools to maximize the ownership experience and improve driving safety. VCA members get great discounts from Skip Barber.

 

[Muzz B Yellow]

I'll add air pressure before this afternoons run... how about adding speed slowly out off the turn?

 

[Y2K10 SRT#39]

Welcome to the Western Zone!!!!

PBR

#10 of 50

 

[redsrt03]

I'll add air pressure before this afternoons run... how about adding speed slowly out off the turn?
-----------------------------------------------

Sure. You got to drive it. Just be carefull about getting
on it hard (especially on cold pavement with cold tires) when in a turn.

Also, under heavy throttle, be careful about hitting 2nd when you are trying to go from 3rd to 4th. That can ruin your day as well.

All that said. Don't be afraid of the car, just respect it and learn its characteristics over time. Also a driving school is definitely a good thing.

 

[Muzz B Yellow]

Well took the tires to 35 PSI and the car appears to handle better... or maybe its my driving 500 miles in 5 days!