Spirited Test Ride In 08 ACR

[Bobpantax]

Hi. I was at the dealer today getting my driver's side window regulator replaced. While there I noticed that they had just received a black with red stripe '08 ACR. I asked whether they had done a test ride yet to make sure evrything was working correctly. The Service Manager said: "No. Do you want to do one with me?"

He drove. He did a spirited test drive. Wow! Incredible handling. Fantastic brakes. Good acceleration - not as good as my Paxtonized Gen III - but good. And the best part of all was the expression on the face of people as we drove by. Smiles. Looks of awe and reverence. What a car! But, the tires that come with it are clearly intended for the track. Also, the front splitter, even with the center piece removed would be very hard to avoid hitting while parking. Perhaps little mini cameras can be installed at strategic locations.

You really have to see it in person to fully appreciate what a beast and mean machine it really is. The '08 hood, as we know, was designed as part of the better aerodynamics of the ACR. On the ACR, with the rest of the aero parts, the '08 hood really looks much better.

 

[Art 138]

Bob, what are they asking for it(ACR)? I just find the dealers in the area ridiculously expensive - asking 5 to 10 thous over MSRP for just a plain 08 SRT 10.

 

[Bobpantax]

Hi Art. This particular car was ordered with a particular customer in mind but the last one they had went for MSRP.

 

[CitySnake]

The front spliiter is actually a bit less of a problem than the Gen 2 facia bottom lip in terms of "scraping".

 

[voi9]

So the dealers get to test drive these cars before they sell it to a customer?
I wouldn't want to buy a Viper from that dealership!!

 

[1BADGTS]

My old roommate worked for Mahr Terminals as a CHECKER Elizabeth NJ .The CHECKERS used to fight over who got to check in (DRIVE )the Ferraris off the ships .Interesting enough every Ferrari owner is so careful not to exceed a certain rpm during break in.Those certain Ferarri owners dont live in the real world because those babys are hitting redline many times in the parking lot a Port Newark.

 

[Bobpantax]

All ACRs are tested before they are released for transportation to the dealer. A dealer, if they have the personnel to do it, should do a check ride to see if everything is working correctly. In this case, the Service Manager is an accomplished Viper tech himself and an experienced high performance driver. I like the fact that the dealership has someone so qualified to check out the car. By the way, all Vipers come with some mileage on the clock - whether it is four miles or more - some miles. Also, every Viper is dyno tested at the factory. Not checking a 600 HP performance vehicle to make sure that all systems are GO would be irresponsible.

 

[wallbanger]

The owner of my dealership was pretty cool .. he rolled the 08 of the delivery truck right onto the showroom floor...the viper tech looked it over then he let me drive it right off the showroom floor..class act

Now when the car needed the reflash the owner took it for a spirited test run...

 

[Boxer12]

My old roommate worked for Mahr Terminals as a CHECKER Elizabeth NJ .The CHECKERS used to fight over who got to check in (DRIVE )the Ferraris off the ships .Interesting enough every Ferrari owner is so careful not to exceed a certain rpm during break in.Those certain Ferarri owners dont live in the real world because those babys are hitting redline many times in the parking lot a Port Newark.

All Ferraris are test driven in Italy by factory test drivers before being released.

 

[1BADGTS]

All Ferraris are test driven in Italy by factory test drivers before being released.

Alot of them are also real world test driven in Port Newark NJ by those with slightly less qualifications than the factory.

 

[1BADGTS]

PS my point being every Ferrari owner goes out of their way to break the car in properly (not go over a certain RPM ect )In the real world any person(Checkers at the terminal-dealership employees ect ) who has the opportunity to get behind the wheel puts the petal down.Look at all of the wrecked 08 by dealership employees .Those accidents happened because the employees were trying to accelerate at too high a rate of speed and lost control.

 

[toomanymodz]

".... the face of people as we drove by. Smiles. Looks of awe and reverence."

I love your choice of words! The ACR definitely looks sinister.

 

[TAXIMAN1]

So the dealers get to test drive these cars before they sell it to a customer?
I wouldn't want to buy a Viper from that dealership!!

Was thinking the same thing.... If the car is a "stock" unit, and was not pre-sold/ordered. Then its the dealers car, they can do what ever they want with it...

If the car is sold, and just waiting for pickup... I would be furious..

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

The proper way to check a car in is to drive it for 5-10 miles and let all the fluids get up to temp while you are checking all the other functions. This is why check engine lights and other problems are common when this step is not done. Granted this needs to be done by a competent Tech or Manager that is not just joy riding the thing. There are a few customers that want no miles on the car when they pick it up but they are also risking having trouble right out of the box.

The factory does do a rolling check on the cars but it is not really enough to get things up to temp to check for leaks or other issues that are the dealers responsibility when checking in a car. We ONLY have my dedicated Viper Techs drive the cars and with 17 years between them they know what needs to be done and why. Most of our check is done on the way to our off site secret indoor storage facility and we also fill the car up with fuel along the way to minimize the actual miles the car sees.

 

[mike & juli]

Was thinking the same thing.... If the car is a "stock" unit, and was not pre-sold/ordered. Then its the dealers car, they can do what ever they want with it...
If the car is sold, and just waiting for pickup... I would be furious..

True, and that's what happened when we went in to buy our '08...they happened to have one available....very unusual. But, yes, the owner put 179miles on the car before we bought it. Who KNOWS what he did with it, but yes, in effect, it was his car at the time.
Bob: LOVE your description...I don't think we will see ACRs in our area at all...you are lucky to have RIDDEN in one~!!!! ~juli

 

[PaViper]

I agree that a qualified person should do the mandatory check of the car, but a spirited drive would piss me off as I am sure the break in rules would not be adhered to....that is just wrong

 

[1BADGTS]

I agree that a qualified person should do the mandatory check of the car, but a spirited drive would piss me off as I am sure the break in rules would not be adhered to....that is just wrong

If its a new model or generation (more power )i have never seen it not happen .Too many people from the factory, to transportation people, dealership owners ,employees ect have access to these cars.Put it this way if you get a brand new anything hi-performance car and the car has a few miles on it odds are its been taken thru the gears.

 

[1BADGTS]

PS the 08 Viper engine is capable of running days straight at near redline on the dyno a trip thru the gears isnt really going to hurt anything.

 

[Bobpantax]

I agree that a qualified person should do the mandatory check of the car, but a spirited drive would piss me off as I am sure the break in rules would not be adhered to....that is just wrong

It was spirited but well within tolerances. Keep in mind that the driver was an expert driver and an expert mechanic. There was no go pedal mash from a standing start. Nothing was done in an abrupt manner. He knew what he was doing.

 

[1BADGTS]

Guys you really do have a better chance in changing the weather than stopping the above.Check out the following senerio when the first Vipers appeared in 1992 you dont think the owners of the dealership who got their first Vipers ever took them for rides thru the gears.Every there is a new model or an improvement (power ect) is made to an existing model this is bound to happen

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

I too would prefer that no one drove my new car, and we have some dealers like Woodhouse who religiously enforce that, which is one of the reasons I keep going back there. But don't forget that a couple times a week Vipers are pulled off the assembly line and taken on a test circuit. My GTS has a signed note from the tester in the glove box that it was one of those. And I MET the guy on the plant tour!
And that drive takes place on Detroit streets and freeways near the plant, we just had a close up view of those streets. And don't forget that all Vipers go on the roller and are dyno tested in the plant.
So a RESPONSIBLE drive of a few miles ain't gonna hurt the car.
The cars I worry about are the "dealer specials" that the dealership owner kept and they have a few thousand miles on them as dealer salesman/demo toys. Still new on MSO, but ......
And I believe our man Pantax likes Vipers enough that he would not have abused the car himself AND he might have "counseled" the dealer to stay away from redline also.

 

[Bobpantax]

The test was less than two miles. The RPMs at all times were well below redline. Let me put everyone at ease. If I had the room for a fifth car, and I wanted a car for road course use ( I would not use it for daily driving. To me, it's a purpose built car and should be used for that purpose.), I would have bought the car on the spot when we finished the test drive. Yes. It was that good. The car felt flawless. Whoever gets it will be one lucky individual.

 

[Alexarz]

What about proper break-in procedure? The SRT engineers have highlighted the importance of it and this dealership monkey had no concern for it and laid pipe in somebody else's ACR. I wouldn't be happy about it if it were my 100k car being flogged for sh1ts and giggles. If the guy wants to know what an ACR is all about, let him buy and beat his own.

 

[Bobpantax]

He did not do it for S & G. He did nothing that a factory tester would not have done. He did the test to make sure that everything was in order so that the person who buys it will not have a problem. He would have done it whether I was there or not there. But he is a good friend and was kind enough to allow me to come along on the ride. He knows the car very well and has worked on and driven every generation Viper. The individual involved races his own 2800 HP car. I assure you that he does not need a mere 600 HP Viper to float his boat.