Bob Pommer
Enthusiast
1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10
Hi,
This is my first post on this forum. I just traded in my 550 Maranello for a new 03 SRT-10. I have racked up 200 miles on the new beast. I thought I would share my initial driving impressions.
The 550 is an amazing car. It is like a leather couch with a hemi... There is not one inch of the interior that does not have "fine corinthian leather" Even the dash and the headliner are covered in it. It is very comfortable, extremely fast and very capable. 0-60: 4.2 0-100: 9.5, 1/4: 12.4 @119 top end:199 60-0:114ft. .95 on the skid.
At the track: (Yes I took it frequently to the track) It felt heavy around the track because it WAS HEAVY 3800lbs... Handling was nuetral with larger bias towards understeer. (I went through 2 sets of front tires before I went through my rears.) The biggest complaint I had were the brakes. (You felt every ounce of the weight when you tried to put the binders on) The pedal travel was far too much making it very difficult to heal toe. The brake pedal travel would actually go past the accelerator when pushed hard. Even though they stats indicate that is is one of the best stopping cars around it did not inspire confidence. The engine was like butter. 7800 RPM Redline. Sounded crappy at low revs, sounded like only a ferrari does at higher revs.. Overall it was an amazing ride. Fast as hell but definitely biased towards "comfy". Not a great track car, more of a kick [******] cruiser.
SRT-10: This car is all about being rude crude and full of attitude. It is loud, it is manly, it feels as close to a race car as you will find on the street. The steering is lightning quick. The steamroller tires follow every rut in the road so much so that if you do not have REALLY firm grip on the wheel with BOTH hands, it can actually try to dart you off the road or into a different lane. (NO Kidding) (I have felt it mostly at speeds of 30-45mph. Never felt that on the highway.) I had the same problem with the 550M until I added about -.3 negative camber in the front suspension. It fixed that problem bigtime. I have not yet tried it in the Viper, however, when I do, I will report the results. The brakes are AWESOME. The feel is even better. The pedals are very much like a 911 turbo. There is almost no travel in the pedal, the harder you push the faster you stop. Take up is immediate! Heal toeing is excellent. Throttle is very progressive. NOT linear like in the 550. The 1st 50% of the pedal travel yeilds like 30% of the "giddy-up", the second 50% is 70% of the throttle progressivly getting stronger at the end. This takes some time getting used to, but I given the huge torque and no traction control, this will allow you to "feather" the throttle in a corner more effectively without swapping front from rear.
All and all, the major differnce is not so much in the performance (it is better), it is more in the driving experience. The Viper is all about sensation, and it is truely awesome.
That is all I can tell after 200 miles of sub 4000rpms. (well... maybe once or twice above that.......).
Look forward to seeing fellow Viper owners in the Chicagoland area on the track for some fun, ruining expensive rubber and brakepads....
Hi,
This is my first post on this forum. I just traded in my 550 Maranello for a new 03 SRT-10. I have racked up 200 miles on the new beast. I thought I would share my initial driving impressions.
The 550 is an amazing car. It is like a leather couch with a hemi... There is not one inch of the interior that does not have "fine corinthian leather" Even the dash and the headliner are covered in it. It is very comfortable, extremely fast and very capable. 0-60: 4.2 0-100: 9.5, 1/4: 12.4 @119 top end:199 60-0:114ft. .95 on the skid.
At the track: (Yes I took it frequently to the track) It felt heavy around the track because it WAS HEAVY 3800lbs... Handling was nuetral with larger bias towards understeer. (I went through 2 sets of front tires before I went through my rears.) The biggest complaint I had were the brakes. (You felt every ounce of the weight when you tried to put the binders on) The pedal travel was far too much making it very difficult to heal toe. The brake pedal travel would actually go past the accelerator when pushed hard. Even though they stats indicate that is is one of the best stopping cars around it did not inspire confidence. The engine was like butter. 7800 RPM Redline. Sounded crappy at low revs, sounded like only a ferrari does at higher revs.. Overall it was an amazing ride. Fast as hell but definitely biased towards "comfy". Not a great track car, more of a kick [******] cruiser.
SRT-10: This car is all about being rude crude and full of attitude. It is loud, it is manly, it feels as close to a race car as you will find on the street. The steering is lightning quick. The steamroller tires follow every rut in the road so much so that if you do not have REALLY firm grip on the wheel with BOTH hands, it can actually try to dart you off the road or into a different lane. (NO Kidding) (I have felt it mostly at speeds of 30-45mph. Never felt that on the highway.) I had the same problem with the 550M until I added about -.3 negative camber in the front suspension. It fixed that problem bigtime. I have not yet tried it in the Viper, however, when I do, I will report the results. The brakes are AWESOME. The feel is even better. The pedals are very much like a 911 turbo. There is almost no travel in the pedal, the harder you push the faster you stop. Take up is immediate! Heal toeing is excellent. Throttle is very progressive. NOT linear like in the 550. The 1st 50% of the pedal travel yeilds like 30% of the "giddy-up", the second 50% is 70% of the throttle progressivly getting stronger at the end. This takes some time getting used to, but I given the huge torque and no traction control, this will allow you to "feather" the throttle in a corner more effectively without swapping front from rear.
All and all, the major differnce is not so much in the performance (it is better), it is more in the driving experience. The Viper is all about sensation, and it is truely awesome.
That is all I can tell after 200 miles of sub 4000rpms. (well... maybe once or twice above that.......).
Look forward to seeing fellow Viper owners in the Chicagoland area on the track for some fun, ruining expensive rubber and brakepads....
