Why Vipers don't handle well?

ElDiablo Viper · Jul 28, 2003

Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

I was talking to this guy that is buying an older M3 with 240HP. He told me that his car is not as fast as a Viper but handles well. I said that he'll have to upgrade his suspension. He told me that M3 handles better than a Viper LOL..he said Vipers handle like sh#$$# So I told him to look up the R&T magazine and see who is right.

Why everybody thinks that Vipers don't handle well?

DodgeViper01 · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

I have heard this story so many times it is ridiculous. People believe this because they think that american cars are only good at going straight. When I was looking to buy my Viper I was told by one dealer that they are not good everyday cars. "Americans only make cars that can go straight, they can never do anything else." When he told me this I knew that was not the dealership to buy the car from. I started to believe it but then I spoke to Viper specialists and then joined this site and those false remarks were corrected. Most of the people talking have never even driven the Viper amyway.

monnieh · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Guys with little motors always try to convince you that it's not how big it is, it's how it handles...

Snake Bitten · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

We all know the beemer guys are mostly homo's...or nerds...or both...

Gerald · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

nerdy homo's

ElDiablo Viper · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

LOL..thanks...I also own BMW X5 (wifes car)

Cop Magnet · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Maybe you should get your facts straight before you shoot off at the mouth. I own a 355HP '97 M3 and a '01 Viper. My M3 outhandles the Viper any day of the week. Having run with Vipers at the track, there's no contest on the straights, but also no contest in the corners. If you want more than a subjective opinion, check Car and Driver from a few years ago. The conclusion was "Best handling sports car, price no object". For your information, the Viper was on the list for comparisons. As for being a homo, that's not what your sister said last night...

ElDiablo Viper · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Funny that R&T lists Viper at over 1G and BMW M3 is listed at 0.91 so maybe you should get your numbers strait. I run my Viper on the track and I was laping all BMW's there.

Ron Hickey · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

The term handling is subjective. It is a popular myth that the Viper -- probably because it's so darn fast -- doesn't handle well. If you define good handling as which car you -- with perhaps limited driving skills -- can comfortably drive the fastest, then there are other cars which will outhandle the Viper. On all the magazine comparos -- including the one Cop Magnet cites -- the Viper usually posts the best numbers, especially on a hot lap around a road course. The proof is in the bottom line -- if the Viper didn't handle well, it wouldn't be the fastest.

Newport Viper · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

I'm pretty sure the Viper wasn't designed to be a 1/4 mile car. There are way better chassis to do that with ( mustang)
3 LeMans wins....
Yea, Viper handling *****....

Toby · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

I have driven both the M3's and Vipers. I drive a Viper.

jcaspar1 · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Every time I do a driving event with an instructor that drives another type of car (BMW, etc) they are always in amazement of the handling. "The potential of this car is unbelieveable" they often say.

P.S. There was a thread a while ago regarding a Seattle Times article on the most popular car of *** men. BMW 3 series was #1.

IMHO: M3's don't handle nearly as well with equal drivers and are down right slow in a straight line...

Saleen-Explorer · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Having a friend who had an e36 M3 and now an e46 M3, neither were close to our others friends 00' ACR in handling. If anything, the e36 handled better then the new e46 cars which feel like they lost a lot of sharpness and feel in the handling department.

Driver's who are afraid to push are the ones who give the Viper a bad name in handling, gotta have big cajones to control a beast with 8 liters ahead of you around a turn, and when you do it correctly it basically outclasses everything else....just look at the numbers the Viper puts up compared to other cars when ever it's compared.

Chuck 98 RT/10 · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

The term handling is subjective. It is a popular myth that the Viper -- probably because it's so darn fast -- doesn't handle well. If you define good handling as which car you -- with perhaps limited driving skills -- can comfortably drive the fastest, then there are other cars which will outhandle the Viper. On all the magazine comparos -- including the one Cop Magnet cites -- the Viper usually posts the best numbers, especially on a hot lap around a road course. The proof is in the bottom line -- if the Viper didn't handle well, it wouldn't be the fastest.

Agree, every word.

Viperfreak2 · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Handling includes safety for some. BMW's are predictable handlers (i.e. easy for an amateur to 4 wheel drift, push the limits) Vipers can bite you when pushed near the limit. The limits are higher, the speeds are faster and the danger is substantially greater. There is no safety net (electronic nanny) on a Viper. Those of us who have come close to wrecking a Viper know what it feels like to have their heart stop for a few minutes. Me personally, I like it. What's life without a little danger? I'm single. Maybe we can get a Vette guy in on this to tell us how electronic 'brains' make him a better driver? Look into the future...soon cars will be able to drive themselves. Where will the skill be? People will become morons of common driving techniques because the computers are better at it than we were. WRONG.

ElDiablo Viper · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

If M3's were so great then why they never run in GTS class in ALMS?

SoCal Rebell · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Handling includes safety for some. BMW's are predictable handlers (i.e. easy for an amateur to 4 wheel drift, push the limits) Vipers can bite you when pushed near the limit. The limits are higher, the speeds are faster and the danger is substantially greater. There is no safety net (electronic nanny) on a Viper. Those of us who have come close to wrecking a Viper know what it feels like to have their heart stop for a few minutes. Me personally, I like it. What's life without a little danger? I'm single. Maybe we can get a Vette guy in on this to tell us how electronic 'brains' make him a better driver? Look into the future...soon cars will be able to drive themselves. Where will the skill be? People will become morons of common driving techniques because the computers are better at it than we were. WRONG.

I agree 100%. The Viper is a more difficult car to master because you don't have the electronics to correct your mistakes and because of it's massive power. Once you master it on the track M3s are lapped regularly and even the full blown race M3s can't keep up with my stock Viper on Hoosiers.

HP · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Maybe you should get your facts straight before you shoot off at the mouth. I own a 355HP '97 M3 and a '01 Viper. My M3 outhandles the Viper any day of the week. Having run with Vipers at the track, there's no contest on the straights, but also no contest in the corners. If you want more than a subjective opinion, check Car and Driver from a few years ago. The conclusion was "Best handling sports car, price no object". For your information, the Viper was on the list for comparisons. As for being a homo, that's not what your sister said last night...

Gerald, you never told me you had a sister??

joe117 · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

How much does your 355hp M3 weigh? Seems like, unless it's a heavy little car, you would be close to the Vipers in HP/Weight.
All in all, it's hard to believe that your M3 with it's tires half as big as a Viper, could somehow make up for all that contact patch.

What do we mean when we say one car outhandles another? How can one compare lap times when one car booms down the straight and the other buzzez?

A skid pad would be one way. How does your M3 do on a skid pad compared to a Viper.

I guess I might also like to know if the Vipers you are running with are similarly prepared chassis wise.

Do all the 97 M3s have 355hp? What did you do to it?

SapphireGTS · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Someone that has driven both would easily say that an e43 M3 handels better. If that person is a lowsey driver. An m3 is more forgiving in the corners. I did that skip barber school and the Formula fords we were in felt like they handeled poorly. Because I didnt know what I was doing.

He is just inexperienced.

Snake Bitten · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Maybe you should get your facts straight before you shoot off at the mouth. I own a 355HP '97 M3 and a '01 Viper. My M3 outhandles the Viper any day of the week. Having run with Vipers at the track, there's no contest on the straights, but also no contest in the corners. If you want more than a subjective opinion, check Car and Driver from a few years ago. The conclusion was "Best handling sports car, price no object". For your information, the Viper was on the list for comparisons. As for being a homo, that's not what your sister said last night...

Click to expand...

Gerald, you never told me you had a sister??

I don't, only brothers...see what I mean...homo's!

Hoosier Daddy · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Tire Rack results One Lap of America Read em and weep 3rd place. Stock 98 GTS with 315's on the front. The SRT could only muster a 8th place finish. I didn't look for any BMW results but I think if you scroll down the page they will be there.

Cop Magnet · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Okay, Guys,
First off I did not start this thread. However, there was clearly some bashing going on I felt I must respond to. My M3 (Supercharged, Bilstein coilovers, RD Sway Bars, Euro brakes, BBS rims, etc.) handles much better than my Viper. Enough said. I seem to be the only one here who has both in his garage right now, and the only one to have driven both of these specific cars. My response was to the blatant bashing that went way beyond the intellectual discussions of the two cars' merits. I can discuss the finer points all day with you. In fact I agree with the majority of posts here. Yes, a better driver will do better in a Viper. Yes the power can kill you. What was described above is throttle induced oversteer; not much of a problem in a BMW. Likewise, as I said, in the straights there is no match here. These cars are, in essence, apples and oranges. There is a lot more to this than a skidpad number. Again, I did not bring up the comparo. What ****** me off (as I am sure you could tell)is the immediate references to "nerd" cars, "homo" mobiles and that kind of crap. So some magazine states 3 series are bought by ****? Does that apply to my M3 (not a routine 3 series)? Does that apply to me? Does the stereotype of guys with macho musclecars having small units apply to you? Does that statement offend you? Think about it, and move on.

Roadkill · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

backpeddling like mad eh?

Austin · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

Maybe you should get your facts straight before you shoot off at the mouth. I own a 355HP '97 M3 and a '01 Viper. My M3 outhandles the Viper any day of the week. Having run with Vipers at the track, there's no contest on the straights, but also no contest in the corners. If you want more than a subjective opinion, check Car and Driver from a few years ago. The conclusion was "Best handling sports car, price no object". For your information, the Viper was on the list for comparisons. As for being a homo, that's not what your sister said last night...

Where did your a$$ come from? Dont just join and come here talking $hit. I say we BAN him! Lets start a poll, oh yeah, wrong site. Bring that $hit over to the A L L E Y.

Austin

Vic · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

blatant bashing that went way beyond the intellectual discussions

Thats what we do best!

And if you turn out to be right, we'll just gang up on you until you shut up and go away!

just kidding, making fun. here's my smiley to prove it.

Supra · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

No offense but on that same test when they had the cars on a roadcourse (the TRUE measure of how well a car handles) the fastest lap time was recorded by the Viper GTS, followed by the Ferrari 355, then the C5, Supra, 911 Carrera 4 and then either the M3 or NSX and lastly the Boxster.

Car and driver picked the M3 and NSX as the top handling cars because although they didn't handle as good (based on their poor results when compared to the cars) they "felt" better. Not to mention the RIDICULOUS bias that Car and Driver has for ANYTHING with a BMW or Honda/Acura badge on it.

I agree that the BMW is an easier car to manage. I don't own either and the Viper can be a bit intimidating when it comes to handling due to it's larger size and more HP.

As far as you keeping up with Viper on roadcourses, not surprising. Road racing is all about the driver. I have seen guys in cars like Mustangs and Camaros spanking cars like 911's and Vipers just because the drivers in those cars couldn't drive worth a lick.

I do think the M3 is a nice car and handles well but in the right hands the Viper will out-handle it with ease.

Maybe you should get your facts straight before you shoot off at the mouth. I own a 355HP '97 M3 and a '01 Viper. My M3 outhandles the Viper any day of the week. Having run with Vipers at the track, there's no contest on the straights, but also no contest in the corners. If you want more than a subjective opinion, check Car and Driver from a few years ago. The conclusion was "Best handling sports car, price no object". For your information, the Viper was on the list for comparisons. As for being a homo, that's not what your sister said last night...

Jim Hodel · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

I traded a 98 M3 in on a 99 Viper GTS. It's hard to compare the two cars because the Viper is so much faster then the BMW. The M3 did have great road feel, and it was nice and predictable with understeer as the ultimate trait - just what road testors like.

As far as the Viper goes, I'm still learning to drive it quickly on the track, and I do think it takes a more experienced driver to get the best out of a Viper, but to say it 'doesn't handle' is mostly just a rationalization guys like M3 owners make about a faster car.

FWIW, I liked my M3, although I never quite had the religious experience of the 'Best Handling Car in America' crowd. Mostly, I thought of it as just another nice car.

Jim

Stephen Yap · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

The problem is the definition of handling. Some of the magazine editors look at handling as the way the car feels, how much feedback it gives you, how progressive or abrupt the transitions are, etc. A lot of them also can't drive so they most times will pick a car that gives them confidence. Another measure of handling could be laptimes and in this venue the driver can be a major factor. So a driver who does not know how to drive a Viper or is not used to the driving dynamics of the car may feel that it is not a good 'handling' car because it does not feel right or they can't get the laptimes down. You can also argue that the type of corner (slow, medium, fast) may favor one type of car over the other. Let's not use race cars for comparison because the rules will cloud the issue even in close to stock series like World Challenge.

The Viper is a great handling car and there are very few cars stock vs. stock that will out handle it. If someone thinks that another car is better, I would love to hear what specifically makes it better. For example, I can take the 90 degree off camber corner at whatever mph, rotate the car by trail braking, blah, blah, blah and cannot do it better/faster in a Viper.

Edward 96GTS · Jul 28, 2003

Re: Why Vipers don\'t handle well?

BMW-suspension outperforms the engine.
Viper-engine outperfofms the suspension/brakes.

Why Vipers don't handle well?

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Viper Owner

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Viper Owner

Enthusiast

VCA Venom Member

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Similar threads

Forum statistics

Share this page