2002 GTS ACR VS 2005 SRT-10

Ok, pops and me swapped Vipers this weekend, and I have had a chance to really put the 05 SRT-10 through its paces. I hate to say this.. but its a better car .......... grrrrrrrrrr... mechanically ;-) not estetically though..

Although, I get a lot more attention with my ACR, I have never gotten some random girl to pull up next to me and tell me that "your car gets my [cat] wet" lol.. I almost died.. oh, and of course, CAT is an alternate for the word she really used. (she told me 3 times, at different stop lights, apparently she thought viper owners are hard of hearing)

Ok, moving on.. Here is my take:

1. Brakes, omg.. I have an ACR with ABS.. srt-10 blows it away..
2. Handing... I HAVE AN ACR... GRRR.. and this thing out handles my car (this one really ****** me off)
3. Seats... ACR/GTS seats are better for cruizing in, as the srt-10s are too tight, and i am a small guy.. 5'7 160 lbs so i know its not cuz im fat
4. Differential, ***** on the SRT-10, it does one wheel wonders in turns.. I LOVE how my car gets side ways when you put full on power.
5. Aggressive Launches, SRT 10 seems to transfere a lot more of the wheel hop to the shifter then the ACR. Didnt like the feeling of the shifter shaking in my hand.
6. 6 disk plaer sure is nice in the srt-10
7. FAR LESS HEAT in the center arm rest in the srt-10 VERY nice !!
8. A/C in SRT-10 BLOWS MINE AWAY. (Course ACR's are constantly circulating their oil cooler, so this might ba just ACRs, but I have a feeling not).
9. Interior in the SRT-10 makes mine feel dated.
10. Mine still gets the looks, even my dad called me and said "Kids flock to this thing like flys on $hit".. I responded with.. "yes, I know.. yawn.."
11. Did I mention the BRAKES in the SRT-10 blow mine away? How about handling? It out handles my ACR... grrrrrrrrrrrr.. an 02, thats been set up, and has a street/track alignment. grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
12. Visability out the srt-10 with the top down is not as good as my ACR, so I'll say it ***** ;-)
13. Light stick column ***** on the SRT-10, I prefer my dial button.
14. Side Mirror adjustment is cooler in the srt-10


NOW.. my questions...

1. Is the differential supposed to do one wheel wonders in an agressive turn under full power? In a straight line, it lays down dual tire marks (uh.. just guessing dad.. i mean.. its not like I did them in your new car )
2. Does anyones else Tachometer have trouble keeping up with the engines RPMS as it climbs on a full throttle stomp in 1st ? I seemed to get a red shift light before the tach even caught up to the rpms I was at.

MY feedback.. my fellow Gen 2 owners that dis the Gen 3's are Dip$hits, if they cant really appeciate the other aspects of the car, besides its not having gen 2 looks.


Vipers.. great cars, no matter which ones you have.

Great post, thank you. For those of us with a GTS that are considering the SRT-10, it is very helpful. I'd like to keep the GTS and get the SRT-10, but will probably need to choose one.

Now, the question. Would you trade your 02 ACR straight up for an 03-04 low mile SRT-10? Why/why not? Just curious. Thanks!

I have one of each and love them both. You are right on most accounts.

1 - I don't agree on the visiblity, but then I'm 6' 4" and had to lower the seat 2 inches just to fit in the cars. With the top down, you can see almost everything around you in the SRT. No comparison to the GTS with it's big round fenders and raised hood. Visibiity out of the SRT is much better forward and rearward. I suspect the new coupe will be slightly better than the GTS.

2 - Yes, the differential *****. I switched to a Quaife. Now the car really rocks. Much better than the GTS. FYI, the GTS will get a Unitrax Trutrac soon, which should help a bunch.

3 - Yes, the tach - and all of the instruments for that fact - are slow in responding. I've been told that they are "dampened". I'd really prefer real time or closer to it, espcially with the tach and the oil pressure gage. I have found that you really need to shift at or slightly before the light. If you wait til the tach reads 6000, you will bump the rev limiter.

4 - Seating. No comparison. The GTS seats are more comfortable to cruise in, initially .... After an hour or so, the additional support of the SRT seats combined with a better gas / brake / clutch / dead pedal arrangement make the SRT far superior. On the race track, again the SRT is better. The SRT seats hold you in the car much better than the GTS does and both of my cars have 5 (ACR) / 6 (SRT) points.

5 - AC is much better in the SRT. Again, no comparison.

6 - Handling is also much better stock vs. stock. I intend to mod the suspensions in both cars for max performance, so we'll see.

Vipers.. great cars, no matter which ones you have. I agree!

Dan

Final Ed 357;

Straight even trade? You must me kidding. The 02' ACR is older, and as you just read, it doesn't brake, or handle as well.

The only thing the ACR has is looks (and it is a Viper!). Other than looks, the SRT-10 is the superior machine. What makes an 02' ACR worth the same as a low miles SRT-10?

No offense, as I love all Viper's. I have owned four; the latest is a Copperhead with a Paxton with 5K miles on it (by me) now. I would never trade my SRT for a Gen II even-up. The ACR is just not worth it... unless looks are what you want.

The SRT is a superior machine, and the buyer will decide if it's worth an even trade. Don't count on it.

The SRT-10 is simply a superior handling Viper.

Just my 2 cents.

Jim W.

Gotcha Jim. The reason I mentioned 'even up' is that his '02 ACR stickered @ about $91k, and is a much more limited car (less than 825 total ACRs from '99-'02, only 159 ACR in 2002). I see most ACRs going for about $62k-$65k which is what 03 SRT's seem to be, as well.

I really need to drive an SRT-10 @ our next Motor City Viper event. We usually have a very good showing of Gen IIIs and I'd love to see for myself. Thanks for the input.

I'm curious, how can you, on the street, push a high performance car like the Viper to it's limit(being a GTS or SRT) in order to be able to say that one handle and/or brake better than the other one?

I'm not questionning the superior braking and handling of the SRT, but, as a long time racer (presently SCCA GT1),I know for a fact that you can only judge the performances of a car, being braking, handling or whatever,when you reach the limits of the car.
As a matter of fact,most high performance cars have a more linear "response" or feel "better" when you drive them at 7/10 and a above, not at 2 or 3/10 like you do on the street.

When you say "handle better", what do you mean by that?
can you define and qualify it?
As more neutral.. better turn in...less pushing...easier to trail brake..?

The only way that I "know" that my Mustang handle better than my friend Compe Coupe is because I can pull more G's and go faster in turns and have lower lap times on a race track that he can.(we are about the same level skills wise)

BTW,his Motec was recording over 1.65G in the carrousel(long,downhill left hand turn at sears/Infineon)


Luc.00GTS

Great post, thank you. For those of us with a GTS that are considering the SRT-10, it is very helpful. I'd like to keep the GTS and get the SRT-10, but will probably need to choose one.

Now, the question. Would you trade your 02 ACR straight up for an 03-04 low mile SRT-10? Why/why not? Just curious. Thanks!

Click to expand...

No I definetly would not. My dad even said later, "why didnt you just give me your old one." Honestly, becasue the thought never crossed my mind. Then gen 2 is soooooo much more of a "keep you on your toes" car. The srt-10 can be driven hard/ to the limits, and you dont even know it. I like the edgyness of the viper. But please, keep in mind I am 32, and since I was a kid I have always had crazy cars. One being a 500hp v8 porsche. So I like the risk.

Gen 3's take a lot of the scare out of driving one of these great machines.

PLUS, I am an attention *****.. so.. yeah, I love people checking me out in the gen 2 ;-)

Jon

I have one of each and love them both. You are right on most accounts.

1 - I don't agree on the visiblity, but then I'm 6' 4" and had to lower the seat 2 inches just to fit in the cars. With the top down, you can see almost everything around you in the SRT. No comparison to the GTS with it's big round fenders and raised hood. Visibiity out of the SRT is much better forward and rearward. I suspect the new coupe will be slightly better than the GTS.

YOU GOT ME ON THIS, I'M 5'7 ITS HARD TO SEE AS WELL AS I CAN IN MY GTS.

2 - Yes, the differential *****. I switched to a Quaife. Now the car really rocks. Much better than the GTS. FYI, the GTS will get a Unitrax Trutrac soon, which should help a bunch.

COOL, THANKS FOR CLARIFYING

3 - Yes, the tach - and all of the instruments for that fact - are slow in responding. I've been told that they are "dampened". I'd really prefer real time or closer to it, espcially with the tach and the oil pressure gage. I have found that you really need to shift at or slightly before the light. If you wait til the tach reads 6000, you will bump the rev limiter.

COOL, HAVENT DONE THAT YET, BUT GOOD TO KNOW.

4 - Seating. No comparison. The GTS seats are more comfortable to cruise in, initially .... After an hour or so, the additional support of the SRT seats combined with a better gas / brake / clutch / dead pedal arrangement make the SRT far superior. On the race track, again the SRT is better. The SRT seats hold you in the car much better than the GTS does and both of my cars have 5 (ACR) / 6 (SRT) points.

AS I SUSPECTED, RELATIVE TO TRACK USE.

5 - AC is much better in the SRT. Again, no comparison.

YEP.

6 - Handling is also much better stock vs. stock. I intend to mod the suspensions in both cars for max performance, so we'll see.

I'M TELLING YA, MY ACR 2002 IS SET UP BY ARCHER RACING FOR ITS ALIGNMENT, ITS CORNER BALLANCED, AND HAS LOWERED RIDE HEIGHT (AS LOW AS YOU CAN GO WITH CORNER BALANCING) AND HAS SOME STIFF SETTINGS ON THE SHOCKS.... STILL STOCK SRT-10 IS A NON ISSUE DRIVING HARD TURNS AT THE SAME SPEEDS THAT KEEP ME ON MY SEAT IN THE 2002 ACR

Vipers.. great cars, no matter which ones you have. I agree!

Dan

I just wrote inside of days quote in Caps so you can see my responses.

Jon

On the other two guys post.

1st, I completely understood what the guy was askeding about a straigh up trade. Lets assume both cars are brand new, the 2002 ACR was in a time capsel. I would take the 2002 ACR. And yes, mine Stickered at $90,100 the most expensive production street legal viper sticker that has been currently produced. Although soon to be copied by the coupe so I hear.

2nd, please calm down with the whole 'far superior' thing, I did NOT submit this post to get people fighting. As I explained they are BOTH great cars, and probably are geared towards different people.

3rd, I didnt say I completely pushed my the car to the limits, yes, I totally agree on track is the best place to truly know. I do track mine, have been to 2 different tracks and done about 6+ full weekend track events in the last 2.5 years. Also, my arch rival George the ******** tangles with me in his 2003 SRT-10 at VIR, and he always takes the up hill high speed S's faster then I can. But then on the back straight, I YANK HIM.. gotta love arrow engines.. I thank them every time I reel old george in and get that point by ;-)

4th, ASK ANYONE ON THE CAROLINA'S VCA, does Jon Drive his car ******* the streets. I guarantee eveyone of them would say yes, if they really know me. So I felt fine making the statement that driving both cars, I can see the obvious superiority of the srt-10 over my ACR in handling... sorry, I hated to admit it too. Still Glad I have the ACR and pops got the srt-10 !!

Jon

PS. on a final note.. my dad used to tell me "opinions are like *** holes, everyone has them, and they all think theirs don't stink" So... keep that in mind.. its MY OPINION... And with having collectively 55,000 viper miles under my belt.. yes.. 55k I personally drove.. I'd say I am well positioned to give my opinion.