A few pearls

[jcaspar1]

I have only owned my Viper for 6 months now but have learned a few things that may be worth passing along.

1st) Last week I scuffed my right front wheel. Not severely but very noticable. When I finally got over the initial grief I thought I would try and polish it out. Using 600 grit wet/dry sand paper I was able to completely remove the scuff with the exception of one deeper area. Here I took a very fine file to remove a bit more. Worked great. You cannot see any damage at all from a foot away and the wheels still have their nice shine in the area polished. The aluminum is very soft and easy to polish. Be careful not to polish any area that doesn't neeed it. I would think re-balancing the wheel would be a good idea if you remove a significant amount of metal.

2nd) I had a very annoying creak/squeek coming from behind the passanger seat. Kind of like a styrofoam squeek. I found that this was due to the panel behind the seat (filler panel?) rubbing against the panel to the rear of the passenger door. I squirted a small amount of ArmorAll between the panels and it was gone. A much quieter ride.
I hope someone finds this of benefit.

 

[Stephen Yap]

Jeff, are you the Jeff at Thunderhill a couple of weeks ago?

 

[jcaspar1]

Stephen,
That's me. Thanks again for all your time and help. You made it a fantastic experience and got me hooked on road racing. I am planning on attending the Viper days for at least one day in March and thinking about the street school in April. The lap in your car was amazing and really helped show me the potential of the Viper. Hope to see you there. I don't know if you do any drag racing but if you ever want to meet at the Sacramento Raceway let me know. Not quite the same thrill as road racing but still fun. You really should get an picture of your 97 with your name. It looks great with the rear wing.

BamBam,
Thanks for the advice. If I ever get around to putting in some harnesses I will keep that in mind when I remove the rear panel. My GTS is blue and white.

 

[Stephen Yap]

Jeff, Viper days will prep you for the advanced group in the SCCA track events. Skip does not use cones so get ready for more high speed turns. You will also get to see your lap times which is pretty cool. I'll see about being around for April for the street school and get Philip and Michelle to go since I owe them some seat time. You probably won't need me in your car but remind me to bring the hot lap timer and the in car camera so you can check yourself out after the session. The save in the cyclone would have been nice viewing !

Have not drag raced since I was 18, probably end up embarassing myself.