doctormosfet
Enthusiast
New Viper owner here. Half of me is very excited. The other half feels like the new guy in prison who just dropped the soap. It's a lot of car for someone whose only experience with the Viper to-date is through Gran Turismo. I've tried to do my research before buying this car and, between this forum and several YouTube channels, there is a surprising wealth of information on how to care for this little devil. So a big thank you to those who put the time into generating content for other Viper owners or would-be buyers trying to learn.
My daily driver to-date has been a 2010 Lexus IS350. Not exactly a slow car, but much easier to drive and certainly pedestrian compared to the Viper. It will take some time to get used to this car and I don't intend to rush it. Track time would be great, but with two small kids that will be hard to manage.
I found this example from a dealer in Colorado (Selten). I couldn't fly out there to inspect it, so basically had to go off of pictures only and back-and-forth discussion with the dealer. Overall, it was a very good buying experience, sans of course the hole in my wallet. Plenty of mods on this car (Greg Good cylinder heads, COMP camshafts, ported intake manifold, later-model roller rockers, Roe Racing triple-pass aluminum radiator, Belanger headers & exhaust, The Viper Store cold-air intake, underdrive pulley, black-finished 19″ CCW wheels, BC Racing coilovers) and I especially appreciate the 19" rims where it's actually possible to get tires for in this universe. I've tried to do some research to understand what the cams, cylinder heads, exhaust, and ported intake are likely worth in terms of power, but I suppose the only true test is to put it on a dyno. Any guesses? One thing is for sure, though, with that camshaft it sounds EVIL.
This has a cat-less exhaust and so my first step will be to install high-flow cats. Then I can actually get it inspected and registered for NY. I just ordered the cats from Belanger and I have to say they are very nice/friendly to deal with. Two thumbs up for them.
In time, I would like to upgrade the power steering pulley and bracket, as well as modify the power steering cap (I saw a thread about routing a catch can from it...good idea) and eventually upgrade the water pump. No need for power mods as it has more than enough already. Just looking for little things to make it more reliable. Maybe also get the IPSCO swaybar cap/bushing set. One step at a time...
One thing that has surprised me is the shifter effort. Prior owner put a short throw on it, so maybe that makes it worse as you have less leverage, but you definitely need some right arm muscle. Going into reverse is especially trying, even after going to first and then shifting over to reverse. The 5th to 6th transition is also...interesting. 6th is not straight down, but more like down and to the right. If you're not careful, you can end up back in 4th. Until I can get used to that, probaby best to just avoid 6th altogether as it's a very tall gear anyway, even at highway speed.
My daily driver to-date has been a 2010 Lexus IS350. Not exactly a slow car, but much easier to drive and certainly pedestrian compared to the Viper. It will take some time to get used to this car and I don't intend to rush it. Track time would be great, but with two small kids that will be hard to manage.
I found this example from a dealer in Colorado (Selten). I couldn't fly out there to inspect it, so basically had to go off of pictures only and back-and-forth discussion with the dealer. Overall, it was a very good buying experience, sans of course the hole in my wallet. Plenty of mods on this car (Greg Good cylinder heads, COMP camshafts, ported intake manifold, later-model roller rockers, Roe Racing triple-pass aluminum radiator, Belanger headers & exhaust, The Viper Store cold-air intake, underdrive pulley, black-finished 19″ CCW wheels, BC Racing coilovers) and I especially appreciate the 19" rims where it's actually possible to get tires for in this universe. I've tried to do some research to understand what the cams, cylinder heads, exhaust, and ported intake are likely worth in terms of power, but I suppose the only true test is to put it on a dyno. Any guesses? One thing is for sure, though, with that camshaft it sounds EVIL.
This has a cat-less exhaust and so my first step will be to install high-flow cats. Then I can actually get it inspected and registered for NY. I just ordered the cats from Belanger and I have to say they are very nice/friendly to deal with. Two thumbs up for them.
In time, I would like to upgrade the power steering pulley and bracket, as well as modify the power steering cap (I saw a thread about routing a catch can from it...good idea) and eventually upgrade the water pump. No need for power mods as it has more than enough already. Just looking for little things to make it more reliable. Maybe also get the IPSCO swaybar cap/bushing set. One step at a time...
One thing that has surprised me is the shifter effort. Prior owner put a short throw on it, so maybe that makes it worse as you have less leverage, but you definitely need some right arm muscle. Going into reverse is especially trying, even after going to first and then shifting over to reverse. The 5th to 6th transition is also...interesting. 6th is not straight down, but more like down and to the right. If you're not careful, you can end up back in 4th. Until I can get used to that, probaby best to just avoid 6th altogether as it's a very tall gear anyway, even at highway speed.
I'm glad I got the car with these components already installed. Saves a ton of time and money. All things considered, I think I got a pretty good deal on this. 
