DT04R
Enthusiast
Howdy Folks!
I'm a past subscriber, though I think my account may have gotten wacked from non-use.
Anyway, once again I'm thinking about a Viper, thought I'd post with some misc thoughts, questions, etc. This time I'm very serious about it, which for me means, one will be in my garage in a few months.
A quick intro, I live in beautiful Vilano Beach, just north of St. Augustine, FL. My current double-duty car is an '03 Z06 - Millenium Yellow, some minor performance mods (headers, intake, HPT tuning), custom BPP hood, Spectre Werks rear facia, 18" black CCW street classics, some custom interior pieces. It's a great ride from a long line of really classic american autos. Always liked Vettes, always will - the wifey wants me to start a project car like a '66 Vert in fact.
The Z06 is an outstanding car, especially when price is factored in. In the sea of Vette's it's at least a unique model, and I like the notch-back design better than the current C5 coupe. Out of the box it's reasonable strong on track, though it suffers from a few engineering missteps: the really needs an oil cooler and a tranny cooler. I understand the C6/Z51 package will have both of these. Like many performance cars, the brakes are excellent, but can be a weak link when called on to stop repetitively like at a 4-5 hour event at Sebring! Better fluids (I use ATE Superblue) and pads (PFC01's) combined with some better cooling like DRM brake ducts work amazingly well! The ~3100lb weight helps here as well too!
My previous ride was a highly modified 4th Gen Supra - paint, rollbar, AP 6-pistons, coilovers, lots of polishing (had to have a little show with my go!), a big single conversion (~750HP), support electronics, you-name-it. To be honest, the $$$'s spent on that project would have purchased me a brand new Viper _and_ a decent amount of aftermarket, but at the time, I was into an import (this happened just after my company was acquired, so I was a little silly with slinging the cash). I "traded" that car on the Z06, just sold it, and turned the cash right around and bought the Z outright.
The Supra was a was a really fun car, definitely satisfied the exclusivity need I had at the time (build numbers parallel the Viper). I think the wifey and I just got a little "old" for the import scene, even shows (where this car did very well) soon got a little tired - we could only take 6 hours of nonstop 150Db rave music so many times. It also had a lot of tuning headaches that you don't hear much about,
Previous rides have been RX7's, 3 other Vetts, Lexus's (Lexii?), and all sorts of misc odds and ends.
My current enterprise is exceeding my expectations, and looks to have some decent legs for a long run, so I'm looking at the daily + weekend/fun/track car combo again. FWIW, I'm thinking about a V8 4Runner Limited, just can't beat the amazing Toyota quality, and it has plenty of towing (for the boat) and offroad capabilities while not requiring a crew of 40 just to park it.
So my other car can be something for special use, unique, etc., and I think the Viper really fits the bill! I plan on tracking the car, doing some semi-substantial upgrades. The Z06 in my opinion is a great car for overall enjoyment, the Vette crowd is a great bunch of folks, but I'm ready (again) for something that has that no-compromise, no apologies attitude. If I'm going to sink some cash into some aftermarket, I'd rather do it on a platform that has more potential, and is much more rare. I'm at the point that a H/C, or supercharged Vette still doesn't give me that extra "zing" that something much more exclusive would (i.e., a high horsepower massed produced car).
Some questions/comments - I think I'm pretty set of a 01+ to get ABS - I understand an ABS system can be retrofit on older models at around $6K-7K. I guess it comes down to basic economics: if you don't save _more_ than $7K buying an older model (and planning on a ABS setup), you might as well buy newer where it comes standard, plus you get a newer car. Since I'll be in a situation where I can drive the car selectively (like avoid driving in the middle of a hurricane), do you think I'm over=rating the need for ABS? Now I know alot of people will chime in about how it's a handicap, but even with 20+ DE's, several A/X events, and whatnot under my belt, I still feel like ABS is a nice safety net on track. Not too mention the occasional "duh, I got caught in nasty weather *and* traffic" driving.
FYI, in just the last week, while I was combing the vendors section, I found out that Roe is right in my backyard! That's always been an issue with me, the special service that a low volume car requires (the Supra was a nightmare). I may very well do a Roe supercharger system which I see is a positive displacement like the Magnuson/LPE-Magnacharger I was looking at for the Z. I love the response those systems tend to deliver - I understand that post-99's have cast -v- forged pistons, so that should be factored into the upgrade.
I had a questions about cams - on the Z06, the heads have a pretty good amount of extra flow that's not optimized by the stock cam, since GM had to accomodate emissions, "streetability", etc. I noticed on the forums and as offered from many of the Viper tuners, cams aren't mentioned much (mainly 1.7 ratio rockers, P&P heads and FI). Are the stock heads breathing about as much as they can? Is a cam only a good idea? Does it kill the streetability of the car?
One last question - what does everyone think of Dynatech headers (Supermaxx street products) - I have their system on the Z06, and the build quality was outstanding (nice welds, Stainles, all parts included). I see they make Viper headers as well (those *5* into one collectors look insane!) - any feedback? I have a good "in" with pricing on their products, and I plan headers and !cats right off the get-go (heck, I wouldn't mind a pre-header'd car in fact).
At any rate, I'm not rushing into anything, probably sell the Vette, turn that around for the SUV, then take my time and look for that perfect ~snake~ - I'm planning on a GTS FYI - it looks like there are some good deals right here on the forums, maybe as I find cars, I can run them past the folks here, and get some feedback on what's a good buy.
Thanks for the rambling space!
DT
I'm a past subscriber, though I think my account may have gotten wacked from non-use.
Anyway, once again I'm thinking about a Viper, thought I'd post with some misc thoughts, questions, etc. This time I'm very serious about it, which for me means, one will be in my garage in a few months.
A quick intro, I live in beautiful Vilano Beach, just north of St. Augustine, FL. My current double-duty car is an '03 Z06 - Millenium Yellow, some minor performance mods (headers, intake, HPT tuning), custom BPP hood, Spectre Werks rear facia, 18" black CCW street classics, some custom interior pieces. It's a great ride from a long line of really classic american autos. Always liked Vettes, always will - the wifey wants me to start a project car like a '66 Vert in fact.
The Z06 is an outstanding car, especially when price is factored in. In the sea of Vette's it's at least a unique model, and I like the notch-back design better than the current C5 coupe. Out of the box it's reasonable strong on track, though it suffers from a few engineering missteps: the really needs an oil cooler and a tranny cooler. I understand the C6/Z51 package will have both of these. Like many performance cars, the brakes are excellent, but can be a weak link when called on to stop repetitively like at a 4-5 hour event at Sebring! Better fluids (I use ATE Superblue) and pads (PFC01's) combined with some better cooling like DRM brake ducts work amazingly well! The ~3100lb weight helps here as well too!
My previous ride was a highly modified 4th Gen Supra - paint, rollbar, AP 6-pistons, coilovers, lots of polishing (had to have a little show with my go!), a big single conversion (~750HP), support electronics, you-name-it. To be honest, the $$$'s spent on that project would have purchased me a brand new Viper _and_ a decent amount of aftermarket, but at the time, I was into an import (this happened just after my company was acquired, so I was a little silly with slinging the cash). I "traded" that car on the Z06, just sold it, and turned the cash right around and bought the Z outright.
The Supra was a was a really fun car, definitely satisfied the exclusivity need I had at the time (build numbers parallel the Viper). I think the wifey and I just got a little "old" for the import scene, even shows (where this car did very well) soon got a little tired - we could only take 6 hours of nonstop 150Db rave music so many times. It also had a lot of tuning headaches that you don't hear much about,
Previous rides have been RX7's, 3 other Vetts, Lexus's (Lexii?), and all sorts of misc odds and ends.
My current enterprise is exceeding my expectations, and looks to have some decent legs for a long run, so I'm looking at the daily + weekend/fun/track car combo again. FWIW, I'm thinking about a V8 4Runner Limited, just can't beat the amazing Toyota quality, and it has plenty of towing (for the boat) and offroad capabilities while not requiring a crew of 40 just to park it.
So my other car can be something for special use, unique, etc., and I think the Viper really fits the bill! I plan on tracking the car, doing some semi-substantial upgrades. The Z06 in my opinion is a great car for overall enjoyment, the Vette crowd is a great bunch of folks, but I'm ready (again) for something that has that no-compromise, no apologies attitude. If I'm going to sink some cash into some aftermarket, I'd rather do it on a platform that has more potential, and is much more rare. I'm at the point that a H/C, or supercharged Vette still doesn't give me that extra "zing" that something much more exclusive would (i.e., a high horsepower massed produced car).
Some questions/comments - I think I'm pretty set of a 01+ to get ABS - I understand an ABS system can be retrofit on older models at around $6K-7K. I guess it comes down to basic economics: if you don't save _more_ than $7K buying an older model (and planning on a ABS setup), you might as well buy newer where it comes standard, plus you get a newer car. Since I'll be in a situation where I can drive the car selectively (like avoid driving in the middle of a hurricane), do you think I'm over=rating the need for ABS? Now I know alot of people will chime in about how it's a handicap, but even with 20+ DE's, several A/X events, and whatnot under my belt, I still feel like ABS is a nice safety net on track. Not too mention the occasional "duh, I got caught in nasty weather *and* traffic" driving.
FYI, in just the last week, while I was combing the vendors section, I found out that Roe is right in my backyard! That's always been an issue with me, the special service that a low volume car requires (the Supra was a nightmare). I may very well do a Roe supercharger system which I see is a positive displacement like the Magnuson/LPE-Magnacharger I was looking at for the Z. I love the response those systems tend to deliver - I understand that post-99's have cast -v- forged pistons, so that should be factored into the upgrade.
I had a questions about cams - on the Z06, the heads have a pretty good amount of extra flow that's not optimized by the stock cam, since GM had to accomodate emissions, "streetability", etc. I noticed on the forums and as offered from many of the Viper tuners, cams aren't mentioned much (mainly 1.7 ratio rockers, P&P heads and FI). Are the stock heads breathing about as much as they can? Is a cam only a good idea? Does it kill the streetability of the car?
One last question - what does everyone think of Dynatech headers (Supermaxx street products) - I have their system on the Z06, and the build quality was outstanding (nice welds, Stainles, all parts included). I see they make Viper headers as well (those *5* into one collectors look insane!) - any feedback? I have a good "in" with pricing on their products, and I plan headers and !cats right off the get-go (heck, I wouldn't mind a pre-header'd car in fact).
At any rate, I'm not rushing into anything, probably sell the Vette, turn that around for the SUV, then take my time and look for that perfect ~snake~ - I'm planning on a GTS FYI - it looks like there are some good deals right here on the forums, maybe as I find cars, I can run them past the folks here, and get some feedback on what's a good buy.
Thanks for the rambling space!
DT
