New to Viperland

[01 RT SNAKE]

Hello All,

I've transitioned from Chevy to Dodge. I picked up a yellow 2001 RT/10 w/14,000 miles a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't be happier. I bought the car from Luxury Pre-owned in Scottsdale, AZ and it was a two owner car. The original window sticker says it was built for Don Bennett. I did a search looking for the name and found a Don Bennett in Texas but he owned a silver GTS. This Viper was shipped to Woodhouse Chrysler/Plymouth in Blair, Nebraska and Carfax showed it was titled in Oklahoma or Nebraska (I can't remember). The original owner drove it 11,000 miles and the second owner purchased it in '04 I believe and put a little over 2000 miles on it.

The dealership told me that the Arizona owner owns like 13 cars and traded it in on a new Z06. The salesman said it was very well taken care of but I'm a car nut and could tell right away that the car did not get special attention.

I've replaced most of the fluids. The oil was black and it had a Carquest filter on it. I put 10 qts of Mobil 1 10w30 and a Mobil 1 filter on it. I replaced the brake fluid, clutch fluid, power steering fluid and cleaned the K&N air filters (which were filthy). I've polished the heck out of the car with my Porter Cable and Menzerna reference shine kit. This car will now get the special attention it deserves.

Any Phoenix area guys willing to take a look at the car for me and tell me what upgrades it has? I know it has an aftermarket exhaust but I couldn't tell you which one. It has smooth tubes and K&N's, an aftermarket stereo and I think that's it.

I got the car at such a good price I couldn't pass it up.

Mike

 

[cagleman]

So what'd ya pay for it? Great color, by the way.
and

 

[NHL2133]

And the NE at the end of "Blair, NE" stands for Nebraska. Bill Pemberton works there (and sold the Viper you now drive) and he is one of the greatest assets to the Viper community.
Welcome to the club!

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Oops. New England, Nebraska...close enough!

Here's a pic of me and the new ride.

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I picked it up for $40K.

And thanks Josh for the warm welcome!

Mike

 

[NHL2133]

Oops. New England, Nebraska...close enough!

Here's a pic of me and the new ride.

You must be registered for see images

I picked it up for $40K.

Yep, they are practically neighbors! LOL.

Great looking car!

 

[Batboy]

Congrats and welcome! Looking at your registration date you have been waiting for this day for some time. Hope it was everything you've been waiting for.

 

[RedOne]

Welcome... Nice looking car, great deal...

 

[99 R/T 10]

You stole that car at $40K, nice

 

[Viper Wizard]

Congrats and Welcome Mike!

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Nice looking car! Yellow cars have more torque (which is why I have yellow wheels), but red is faster You can't beat the top off feeling of an RT/10

 

[Asp Man]

Nice looking car, great price (esp. for the summer)
One thing, 10qts. sounds like a bit too much oil, help me out here R/T guys, but my GTS will not hold that much.

 

[SidewinderGTS]

Congrats,your going to love it.

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

Great viper and great colour.......

 

[cagleman]

One thing, 10qts. sounds like a bit too much oil, help me out here R/T guys, but my GTS will not hold that much.

Yep...Mine holds about 10.5 qts.

 

[syldogRT/10]

Hey congrats on your new car. I have a 94 RT w 4K and I love it. 10+ quarts INCLUDES the filter!

 

[BDZ1984]

wow did you steal that car at 40k.....

 

[2001 Sapphire Blue]

Welcome! 40K is a steal!! Mine only holds 8.5 qts.....sup with that?

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Thanks for all the replies. I also changed the fuel filter a couple days ago. What a pain. I used the board to figure out how to get the thing off. Once I knew, it came off in 30 seconds. Just had to muscle it a bit. All I have left to do is change the tranny fluid, diff fluid and coolant.

The car was listed much higher by the dealership but I know the GM. He let it go at basically wholesale cost. The dealership handles mostly new Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and other high end cars. They really don't care to have a 5 year old car there. Since it was taken in on a trade, I'm sure they still made money off it.

Mike

 

[KepRght]

10 QT pan here. deeper oil pan then stock, now with baffles added.

welcome to the club, you wont find nicer guys anywhere

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Congratulations!

Welcome to Viper Mania and Viperholics of America.

Most important modification is a Software Up-Grade to our Grey Tissue. The massive torque will result in a oversteer condition that happens with ZERO to very little warning. Add power when the snake pointed(body and wheels) straight. Braking, same technique as power, get most of the work done in a straight line. Mastering the Snake's performance takes time. I suggest taking a few Skip Barber(VCA members get discounts) driving programs.

 

[PatentLaw]

Welcome....even got the fuel filter! (could have been delayed but you were proactive). Congrats on the purchase.

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Fred,

Thanks for the advice. We have the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving here in Phoenix. I heard it's a good course.

I mostly drag race. I also have a 2000 SS Camaro that I take out to our local track. I've been drag racing for 17 years now. I would like to learn the art of road course racing, however, I will stick to the 1/4 for now.

What is the secret to launching these cars correctly? What rpm are most of you coming off the line on street tires?

As soon as it cools off here I'm taking the Viper to Speedworld to find out what this thing is running.

Mike

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Bondurant has a good reputation. Something to consider. We had the SCCA put on an autocross driving school for our region. Some of the instructors were national champions(driving corvettes). When they first tried the Viper the were spinning like the rest of us. My point is a Driving school is great but one with Vipers is of more value.

Launch - practice, practice, But I would start around 2000-2500 RPM. Tire pressure for street tires, a guess would be 20 PSI or less. I am no drag racing expert. Have made a few runs but not enough to figure out the best RPM/PSI

On a road course a stock Viper is fantastic, when the fluid is changed to Motul or other high temp fluid and the rotors are cooled with cooling ducts or deflectors.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Congratulations on the new purchase. That is one sweet looking car and you stole it for that price! Enjoy it.

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

I agree that you stole that RT/10. Well done and enjoy!

 

[GT40DOC]

My 97GTS only holds 8.5qts. Maybe they changed the oil pan again. As I understand, a Gen 1 takes 10.5qts. along with a 96GTS. Then they changed the pan and it only holds 8.5qts. Am I wrong on this??

 

[Marv S]

Congrats on the Viper and welcome

The Az Viper Region has some members that are fairly active at speedworld and firebird. some of the AZ activity is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AZ_ViperClub/

If you can, get signed up for www.voi9.com in vegas.

Eddie Martin of Bill Luke Dodge, 602-242-4600, is a good resource to check over your car, look up sevice history, etc. He and the dealership have been very involved and supportive of the club and the Viper program for many years.

I may know who the owner in AZ was. you can e-mail me his name if you want.

the club here also has several Viper road racers that offer up a lot of info on everything from mods to tracks.

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Marv, I will email you. I have some questions.

I changed my plugs today, what a breeze. Much easier then the LS1. Took me less than an hour. The hardest plug was #9 because it's behind the wire loom and the wiring harness it right there, too.

Next, I'm going to tackle the tranny fluid. I've done a lot of searching on the board and there seems to be a split between the Mopar oil, Amsoil and Motul. I think I'm going to order the Amsoil or Motul. After that it's coolant and differential fluid and everything has been replaced! I'm so happy this car is not a PIA to work on. Pretty straight forward.

Mike

 

[Marv S]

In 2000 the pan increased by more than a quart over the 1996-1999 gen 2 car's pan (but still didn't hold as much as a gen 1) and got a better windage tray.

So the 2000-2002 have the larger gen 2 pans, better gasket, and better windage tray.

(the 2000 windage will work with the 1996-1999 gen 2 oil pan)

If you are on track use you might want to install a baffle kit like the one from partsrack regardless of which pan you have.

My 97GTS only holds 8.5qts. Maybe they changed the oil pan again. As I understand, a Gen 1 takes 10.5qts. along with a 96GTS. Then they changed the pan and it only holds 8.5qts. Am I wrong on this??

 

[01 RT SNAKE]

Oh, and the Viper manual that came with the car says 9.5 quarts w/o the filter and 10 qts with the filter change. I put 9.5 in, started the car and it was still down. I put the .5 qt in and it's perfect. I can't see why some people are only getting 8.5???

I did lean the car to the passenger side for about 45 minutes to make sure it was all out. The oil was so crappy looking I didn't want any of it left in there! I then poured two qts of oil through the oil filler with the drain plug still out to get whatever was left in there out. I know I'm crazy but at least I have peace of mind.

Mike
2001 yellow RT/10
2000 Camaro SS