I got a 2000 rt10 yesterday. First time owning this car, and I have zero experience driving cars like this. I have wanted one for about 20 years, and finally just bought one, having no idea what to expect. So these questions may sound incredibly newbie, but nonetheless, figured I would ask here.
First, I drove it back home yesterday about 200 miles. The thing is so incredibly loud (compared to my daily cars) that I wasn't sure when to actually shift gears. For example, cruising at 70mph, it would run at about 3000rpm in 5th gear, higher in 4th gear, and even higher in 3rd gear, but never hit the redline area. I was always taught to "listen and feel" in gear shifting to make it so that it doesn't rev high. But in the case of the viper, I have been reading that 3000pm isn't revving high, but I'm not used to the normal sounds, so I am completely lost here. Any insight into reality here would be helpful. Maybe something like "if you are cruising at this speed, you would probably be at this rpm and in this gear" -- I know this is different on different engines, but I really am at a total loss here. I think it's just because I'm not used to something this loud/powerful -- not to mention that it feels like I'm constantly sitting on top of a rocket waiting to launch even at 60mph.
Second, I have zero experience in driving rear-wheel cars and within 5 minutes of driving, I experienced a situation where I feel like I didn't really hit the gas at all, but did slightly turning in the middle of an intersection and the back started sliding. So I released the gas and the car popped back into control and I was paranoid to even turn the car the rest of the way home. If anyone has any good links or "starters" on how to understand handling better, that would also be helpful. I will probably go spend a few hours a mall parking lot this weekend.
First, I drove it back home yesterday about 200 miles. The thing is so incredibly loud (compared to my daily cars) that I wasn't sure when to actually shift gears. For example, cruising at 70mph, it would run at about 3000rpm in 5th gear, higher in 4th gear, and even higher in 3rd gear, but never hit the redline area. I was always taught to "listen and feel" in gear shifting to make it so that it doesn't rev high. But in the case of the viper, I have been reading that 3000pm isn't revving high, but I'm not used to the normal sounds, so I am completely lost here. Any insight into reality here would be helpful. Maybe something like "if you are cruising at this speed, you would probably be at this rpm and in this gear" -- I know this is different on different engines, but I really am at a total loss here. I think it's just because I'm not used to something this loud/powerful -- not to mention that it feels like I'm constantly sitting on top of a rocket waiting to launch even at 60mph.
Second, I have zero experience in driving rear-wheel cars and within 5 minutes of driving, I experienced a situation where I feel like I didn't really hit the gas at all, but did slightly turning in the middle of an intersection and the back started sliding. So I released the gas and the car popped back into control and I was paranoid to even turn the car the rest of the way home. If anyone has any good links or "starters" on how to understand handling better, that would also be helpful. I will probably go spend a few hours a mall parking lot this weekend.
