Question, tires for 94

MoparMap

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ViperEnvy99. What you said makes sense until your driving chill and someone pulls out in front of you. Try stopping on those old tires. It is not just acceleration and handling. You guys have a 400 minimum horsepower Viper and you are debating over $1,300 tires to be safe. If you don’t want to buy the tires you should not have the car. My only exception to this is if you are just showing car, but I don’t see that as the common thing for Viper owners

Keep in mind that a lot of the earlier Vipers are now down in the $20k range to acquire. They aren't crazy high priced supercars that only the rich can attain. They are easily within the range of the average joe that wants a fun weekend car. That doesn't mean they can drop $1500 on a whim. The Viper is pretty well known as a stout car that lasts and doesn't require the same kind of high priced maintenance as some finicky European exotics.

The Viper carries an interesting mystique and can get you into some circles that you really might not fit in. By no means do I consider myself rich. I bought my Viper as my primary car at a pretty reasonable price because it had some miles and blemishes on it, which was perfectly fine in my book because I planned to drive it every day and have no problem working on it myself. I have 125,000+ miles on my car and intend to put that many and more on it in my lifetime. I just finished rebuilding the engine after a spun rod bearing and did it for a half to a third of the price that a specialist would have charged because I don't have the money to just throw at someone. I have hung out with people that surely have 10-100x more money or more in their bank account than I do. I feel way out of place at some car events, but the majority of owners I've ever hung out with are super cool down to earth people that just really enjoy the car and company of fellow owners. The cars fit in just fine with Ferraris and other high priced exotics though, which is where mixed company gets a little weird.

Long story short, just because the Viper looks expensive doesn't mean they are and that everyone that buys one has plenty of disposable income. People at work were giving me grief when I first bought it because they see it as a 6 figure car, but the reality is they paid twice as much for their premium pickups as I paid for my Viper.
 

SRT-OSO

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Bought my 94 R/T 10 from Klufleightner's Galleria of Fine Automobiles in Salem, OH. I was naive, and they were so friendly that they didn't bother to tell me that my vehicle with 1,300 miles on it basically had it's original tires. I am embarrassed to be telling this story, but you need to understand how unscrupulous some sellers are when it comes to tires. I didn't even make it home.

I started to open it up getting onto Interstate 76 east to head towards Youngstown area, and the passenger's rear blew out at 60 mph. I ended up sideways on the Interstate with oncoming traffic coming at us. To make matters worse, they didn't bother to properly inflate the spare. It went flat the second the vehicle went back on the ground.

If you buy anything older than 10 years, first thing replace tires. I do not understand how I failed to question this at the time of my purchase instead of simply insinuating trust in a used motor car dealership. It nearly cost me my life.
 

Paul Choukourian

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RichardS. I just bought Nitto NT555R for the back for $304 each and matching Nittos for front for $254 each. Total with balance install was about $1,280.

These are street/race rated tires as I have a Roe Supercharger and need some extra traction.

My Viper only has 5,700 miles and the original tires were perfect (I kept them), but it is like driving a completely different (and 100x better) car when you can actually use your gas pedal.

Best $1,300 I have spent in a long time.
 

Racejaw

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I purchased my 94 Viper that had 15 year old tires on it. If I got on the gas they would spin easily..they were hard as a rock and that's the issue. They looked fine but due to age they were unusable.

You are risking crashing your car that you obviously love, so do the right thing and replace them.

So I got new tires from a race car shop near me. I told them the tires were 15 yrs old. They replaced them and I drove home, about 1/2 hour. After pulling into the garage I noticed a hissing sound!

These tires are brand new yet air just coming out of the left rear. Upon further inspection the shop didn't replace the air valves! Amazing! This is a race car shop and they told me the valves look good?!

So the motto of the story is don't count on the look of the tire and make sure they replace the air stems too!

Happy trials Viper Owners!
 

johnnyr45

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Yes there is a big difference with the age in tires, and also in how there kept, most Vipers are kept in a garage and not exposed to UV rays or extreme heat or cold so I would say they would last alot longer than normal, but if they are real old I would still use them, but drive easy, I changed the tires on my 99 GTS 4 years ago, the tires on the car at that time had 2500 miles on them and I sold them to a guy with a Viper that was his daily driver and he said they were fine, so the tires on my car have less then 400 miles and are 4 years old, these are the last tires for this car till I am dead and gone. But this is a garage Queen and not driven hard. Use good judgement with your tires and do whats best for you,not everyone dives the same, just know that the older the tires get the less grip they have.
Just took delivery of a 94 that has newer tires with 2010 SRT10 wheels. The original 3 spoke wheels on Michelin Pilot Sport tires also came with it. The Michelin’s are from around 2005 I was told with not even 500 miles on them. They look and feel absolutely perfect. My question is, would these tires be unsafe due to their age? Again, they show no signs of age, dry rot, cracking etc. if you didn’t know how old they were, you would think they were bought yesterday. Not that I plan to put them on, but maybe someday when the current ones go bad. Would love to get all your thoughts and opinions on this. They appear to be in such excellent shape, would be a-shame if they could never be used. I posted some pics.
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johnnyr45

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Just took delivery of a 94 that has newer tires with 2010 SRT10 wheels. The original 3 spoke wheels on Michelin Pilot Sport tires also came with it. The Michelin’s are from around 2005 I was told with not even 500 miles on them. They look and feel absolutely perfect. My question is, would these tires be unsafe due to their age? Again, they show no signs of age, dry rot, cracking etc. if you didn’t know how old they were, you would think they were bought yesterday. Not that I plan to put them on, but maybe someday when the current ones go bad. Would love to get all your thoughts and opinions on this. They appear to be in such excellent shape, would be a-shame if they could never be used. I posted some pics.
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johnnyr45

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I have a 2004 Convertible with 3500 miles and original tires. From the discussion sounds like I need to replace the tires. Street use only, no racing so what tires are recommended. Determined to start driving this year or sell it as its not good just sitting although I have always garage kept and properly stored and maintained.
Thanks for your suggestions on tires.
 

FrankBarba

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2005 Tires they are almost 15 years old..Let me ask you this...Would you
"Use a Rubber from 15 years ago" to keep from having an accident?

Sure go ahead throw those tires on and go do some driving. After a while you'll forget that they
are 15 years old, you'll do something stupid and the tires will be one of your weak links and then we
will be hearing about how you wrecked your car by hitting something or someone.
 

Barry

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The tires on my stock 2000 GTS were replaced in 2008. My tires are old and I will not track this car until I get new tires. I took the car out early last spring and six blocks from my house some scumbag turns in front of me. I was only going 35mph at the time. The car slid a good 10 yards like it was on ice and left no marks on the road. I find if I drive the car for about 30 minutes the tires get much better grip as they heat up, but they still need replacing. I've been driving this car since new so 20 years. If I'm not experienced enough by now no one ever will be. I've been to Beech Bend drag-way and left with a 12.5 and I've been on the Nashville Super Speedway doing 145 in the rain. I had no issues with traction when the tires were new. Today I don't know if I could even get off the line without spinning halfway down the track. Get the new tires; leave the old ones for a show.
 

steve e

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Before you get new tires make sure you take some pictures of some wicked burn outs, at least you will get some use out of them, do it in a huge parking lot were there is nothing to hit, trust me the car go's side ways, round and round and backwards, get it out of your system that way you won't have to destroy your new tires, I have the most awesome pictures of my 95 RT10 and 99 GTS burning the tires to baloney skins before I changed them.
 

DJ'sviper

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The cost of the tires is an inexpensive insurance. Two things to feel safe while driving the coolest car ever, tires and brakes. Change fluid. Be wise. The tires can get you by but it only takes one emergency stop to total your car and people getting hurt. Is that worth the money you save?
 

fhrzr1

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I purchased my 2005 SRT-10 4 years ago. It had 3800 miles on the car with original tires.
They looked brand new. But I knew that the useful lifespan was way pass.
When the shop was breaking down the first tire (right rear), it exploded into two pieces.
They said that the rubber was really hard and not pliable.
 

BlueNNC

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I have a 1996 GTS with tires that need replacement and they are 17" original rims so I need the original Michelin Pilot Z rated radial tires. Does anyone know where I can obtain Michelin Pilot SX MXX3 tires sizes P275/40 Zr17 for the front and P335/35 Zr17 for the rear? I have checked with Discount tire & Tire Kingdom in the Charlotte, NC area and they don't have them in stock in either Michelin or Pirelli. The Discount Tire store manager called Michelin and Pirelli and was told they don't have any in their current inventory and no idea when they will produce these size tires again!! Need help if you can assist!
 

DJ'sviper

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I went to 18" on front and 19"on the back. I bought used rims from the year they made these I think it was 2001. They look great on the car and I think it handles better. Stored my 17" rims with tires on them.
 

Cat22

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Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires (in 17") are currently available from Tirerack.com $1,600.00 shipped.
 

kssssnake

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Ditto. Got mine there last year. They were pretty much order in advance though. Ask for Luke at the South Bend store.
 
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