Caught In The Rain???

[Supercharged Vipermad]

As some of you may have seen I am about to become a first time Viper owner (2001 Sapphire RT/10). I live in Michigan where one day it could be sunny and 80 outside and the next day it could snow.

My Viper is only for nice days but I know eventually I will get caught in the rain. Is it a pain in the *** ??? Or do a lot of you pull the car out of the garage even if the weather is rotten???

Also has anyone ever got caught in the snow??? I got caught one time with my 2000 Vette and it sucked...Thanks for all the advice.

 

[jimandela]

i live here in buffalo, ny
lets just say "I feel your pain"
already caught once just running to the post office.
not much you can do.
summer is too short for us to begin with.
practice putting the softtop together a few times. the video helps.
and keep a sweatshirt in the trunk ... works as a great towel if you need it. it sure helped me out that one day.
and also buy the cockpit cover.
i just got mine and from what i hear if it is just a passing shower. threw it on; wait out the rain then go.
also just learn where all the local gas stations are so you can duck out of the rain to put the softtop on if you have to.
i drove my car with the hardtop when it was still chilly out as soon as the rocksalt was off the road around april 15th
i now have 3300 miles and love it.. congrats
JIM

 

[BWoodbury]

I took my Viper home from the dealer in the rain. And I will get up in the morning, see that it is raining, and take the Viper to work. You just have to be real, real, easy on the gas. Of course I have a GTS so I don't have to worry about leaks.

Don't even think of driving the car in the snow. My rule is to put her away the first time they forcast snow. I don't wait until I can actually see it. And I wait until it has not snowed for a month before I uncover her in the Spring.

 

[Brian Denham]

No problem at all if you get caught in the rain. The car does just fine. But be mindful going round corners with the vertical pedal It's not made of sugar! She wont melt on ya

Just be careful and use your best judgement on proper speeds when wet and you will be fine.

 

[-RUNNR]

Up here in New Hampshire, my window for driving is even smaller than yours.

However, I try to drive it every chance I get. Rain or shine.

As previously mentioned, take it easy in the rain, and watch out for puddles. With tires as wide as we run, the car loves to grab those puddles and hold on to them. At times can severly hydroplane.

Snow? Once the first frost hits, the Viper gets put into storage, waiting for April to come again.

And as far as getting caught in sudden rain showers, the stock toppette kinda *****. Takes about 10 minutes (my best time) to open the truck, take it out of the bag, put it together, and get it on top of the car. My wife and I are working on plans for an "Emergency Toppette" which can be installed in about 3 minutes.... We shall see if it works or not

 

[garolittle]

My Snake has never been driven in the rain and I put about 7,000 miles a year on it. I actually admire you guys who drive the Viper in good and bad weather. My car may always be clean but there is something to be said about enjoying the car every chance you get.

 

[kowalski vanishing point]

Crossed the Sierra Nevadas (I-80) just after chain controls were lifted. Drove 30 miles on mostly packed snow with areas melted by traffic at 15 mph mostly downhill (thankfully) while big rigs blasted by at around 40 mph. I was never so happy to just get down to an elevation where I could finally drive in the rain. The car only had about 2000 miles on it at the time. Who woulda thought that a freak snowstorm would hit the Sierras at the end of May?

Have driven in the rain many times and in light powdery snow (only about an inch deep) a few times (Ely, NV). The throttle is your enemy in such conditions. In snow do not even think about coming to a stop on even a slight incline. You will simply never get started again.
Snow in May in Ely is not unusual and it has snowed there in July.

 

[viperdrummer]

Can't believe any of you young wippersnappers are worried about rain in a Gen 2. You should have been around when we had OE XGT tires in Gen 1 Vipers--now that was an amusement park ride. It happened to me twice and I got to the point where I was ready to leave my signal on since I had no control over the lane changes. Thanks goodness for the MXXs that came along. I have been caught once in the GTS which was a whole , different , more pleasant experience.

 

[GTS Dean]

The first time my Viper ('93) got rained on was at VOI #1 in the parking lot of Chrysler's Auburn Hills HQ for the panoramic photo. Along with about 200 other roadster owners, (that were probably getting rained on for the first time too) we got over it. Then there was VOI #3 at Indy, VOI #4 at Orlando...

The cars are surprisingly well-mannered in the wet - as long as you drive sanely. Gen1s tend to leak and I don't go looking for rain to drive through.

 

[Nadine UK GTS]

Living in the UK, I drive in the rain quite a bit. The Pilot Sports are a better wet tire than the MXX3s. Just drive a gear higher, and go slowly into the bends. My only problem is I can see nothing but a wall of water out the rear view mirror! Out the front...just love the way those windshield wipers work, fascinates me every time!

Yes, I've driven in the snow too (...sideways)! 'Fun'! Took me half an hour just to get back onto my driveway! The spinning wheels did not melt the snow, to get grip!

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

I don't look to drive in the rain, but have been caught in it several times. No problems at all. Just be sensible. Use a higher gear and ride out of the 'ruts' We ran an autocross in the rain on an old airport runway(very coarse). I was amazed at how well it stuck. We have had no problems with leaking. As the the poster above said--"they won't melt"

Steve