A newbie from germany...

[Datenede]

Hello,

I just received my first Viper. I bought it from an owner in New York via Eric Lee, Idaho and imported it to germany.
It is a 2002 GTS ACR from the last edition, 6k miles, very clean and in superior condition. CatBack, FreeFlowCats, Jesel 1.7.
It was a very exciting procedure because all agreements were done only via email, fax and phone. I transferred a mass of money from bank to bank to new york and began to wait and tremble.
The german importer took up time and I got nearly no news. Then, six weeks later the viper arrived in germany and the real work began. In germany all cars have to be quiet and peaceful .
There is a institution called "TueV" and (unbelievable) I now got the clearance for this car for germany, without changing anything except rear (fog-)lights.
Perfect.
My garage walls vibrate when I start the engine, my neighbours too
I got the number-plate "AC-R 488" and I am very happy now.

I have bought a really fine car, I got to know Eric Lee and Chuck Tator at the phone and had great experiences till now.

First I looked to this forum because I was searching about suspension settings for the ACR (I want to drive it on the Nuerburgring), now I think it is a great forum in general.

Sorry for my deficient english.

Kind regards

Heiko

 

[Venomiss]

Welcome!
Be sure to check out more threads in this section and congratulations on your Viper.

 

[topsnake]

Hi Heiko

Gruß aus Stuttgart
Dennis

 

[mad0953]

Welcome Heiko, wow the Nuerburgring!!!!! That would be exciting to say the least. Drive safe.

 

[Cobraken]

Congratulations! We all speak Viper here. Having owned an '02 ACR, I suggest taking the car to the track and run it with the factory settings. Then tune the suspension to the track and your driving style. Suggest a high performance driving school 1st, if you have no experience.

 

[Datenede]

Suggest a high performance driving school 1st, if you have no experience.

Thanks for the felicitations.
I forgot to write that I do long distance races on the Nuerburgring, 10 times a year VLN (4h-races) and once a year the 24h-race (all races on a 3.0-BMW).
That was the really reason to buy the viper. She won the 24h and a lot of the other races and is omnipresent at this track. For the spectators she is like a legend there.

Greetings

Heiko

 

[Neil - UK]

congrats on the cool viper, you did well to get a FE ACR there wasnt many produced

remember to post some pics from the track !

 

[CitySnake]

Welcome Heiko!

Glad to see that you were able to find the perfect Viper from my region! Tator's quite a blessing isn't he!

Welcome!

 

[mike & juli]

Welcome Heiko~!!! Your English is perfectly fine~~we are SO glad to have you onboard! Have NO doubts that Chuck Tator helped you out, he's our *gem*, and we're lucky he's in our region. You have a GREAT car in that '02 GTS/ACR...please post pics when you can!
Next, you can join the overseas people in joining the VCA!!!! VERY envious here when you can be on the Nuerburgring...our dream!!! ENJOY~~~juli

 

[Viper Wizard]

Wie gehts Heiko and Welcome to this site! I'm glad I could help you with your new Viper and you got a REAL GOOD one! I've known that Viper since it was new and let me tell you the owner never drove it hard at all [I think he was scarred of it! ]. We would all like to hear your times from the "Ring" & pics.

 

[ViperGTS]

Hallo Heiko und WELCOME to the Viper world!

Schau mal auf unsere Seite, da gibt es Berichte zum Nürburgring und zum Fahrevent im Okt. 2007.
Have a look at our website and you will find a report about our RING-event in October 2007.

http://www.viperclub.de/videos/Nuerburgring2007.wmv

Markus
aka
ViperGTS

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Herzlich wilkommen Heiko Where in Germany do you live exactly? Congratulations on such a good deal, like the others I would love to see pictures! You know there is a song about the Nürnburgring right? It's Helmut Zerlett - King of the Ring.

 

[Tripple-V]

Hallo Heiko,

Gratulation zu Deiner neuen Errungenschaft!!

Wir sind Genossen, da ich seit letztem Sommer ebenfalls eine '02er ACR mein Eigen nennen darf.

Die Nordschleife steht fest auf meinem Programm für 2009 (ev schon im '08). Vieleicht können wir uns ja dort mal treffen. Wollte schon dieses Jahr mal am Sport Auto Perfektionstraining teilnehmen. War Angemeldet, musste dann aber kurzfristig geschäftlich nach Frankreich .

Anyway, take care on the Nordschleife, and some suspension-settings-info would be highliy apprecciated

Nochmals, Gratulation & alles, alles Gute!
...Some pics would be great...

Greetings from Switzerland
Edi

 

[Datenede]

Hello,

here are a few pics. Not so nice (inside the garage) because these days in germany is very bad weather:

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

@InjectTheVenom: I live in Aachen. It's near cologne (50mls) and near the Nordschleife (70mls).

Kind regards

Heiko

 

[Vic]

Heiko, Congratulations on your purchase, I hope you have a lot of fun with it on the "Ring".

Did you know that you shouldn't turn the front wheels to the left or to the right, when the hood is cracked open? The tires will hit the hood corners, and break them. The only time that it is ok to turn the wheels is when the hood is all the way up, or all the way down, but not in-between!

There is a breather vent, at the forward end of each valve cover. It routes into the incoming air box. During heavy braking, some oil may slosh forward, into the intake plenum, and this will make very embarrassing big blue clouds of smoke. People will think your engine blew up! What you need to do, is to take the hoses from each valve cover, and route them to a small oil catch tank, that you can possibly mount to the aluminum cross brace, just in front of the engine. ITs a good idea to also vent the power steering resevoir into this tank as well, to avoid getting p.s. fluid on the exhaust headers.

There is also one more hose, right under the throttle body, that can allow oil to enter the intake plenum. I'm not sure what racers do with this one, but Dave Cawthorne on this site has a fix for it. He sells under the name "Dave's Big Brakes"

Make sure you flush out the old brake fluid, and go with DOT 4 fluid, like Motul 600, or equivalent. You probably know a lot of this kind of stuff already, from your BMW experience at the Ring. (Damm, I envy you!!!!) heh heh!

Here is a few more things to do to prep a GTS for the track-
*brake ducts for cooling air
*high temperature brake pads
*wrap ball joints with foil or something, so the hot rotors don't melt the grease out
*add "trap doors" to the oil pan, to help oil pick-up in high G turns
*add modified windage tray to the oil pan area, to help the oil return faster to the pan
*add an Accusump, maybe the three quart variety, to provide oil pressure, in case the pan is dry
*If you can't spring for the tripple-adjustable Penske shocks, the stock shock can be revalved for improved track performance. (a "dirty, cheating bastard" trick)
*change power steering fluuid to Red Line brand, much higher boiling point, and less foaming
*add 5 or 6 point harness
*roll bar
*big brakes, from Dave, or Stop Tech, etc

If you don't get a track alignment, the car tends to understeer. There are "sport shims" where the top, front, control arm bolts to the chassis. Removing these shims will give signifigant negative camber to the front wheels, balancing out the understeer, (as well as rendering more toe-out, so you gotta hold the wheel steady). I never tried this myself, but just had a mild track alignment done instead. The advantage of taking the sport shims out is, that you can put them back for the street, and that way you won't be wearing out your tires prematurely. If you go with racing tires, then you will probably have a second set of rims. The list goes on and on!

Sorry if you knew this stuff already,I included as much as I could, and assumed nothing. Hope I didn't tell you anything wrong.

Please let us know about your experiences on the North Loop! We live vicariously through your exploits! Stay safe out there.

 

[Vic]

Here is a translation, from "Alta-Vista Bablefish" (Its a computerized free translation, so "you get what you pay for")


Heiko, Glückwünsche auf Ihrem Erwerb, hoffe ich, daß Sie eine Menge Spaß mit ihr auf dem "Ring" haben. Wußten Sie, daß Sie nicht die vorderen Räder nach links oder rechts drehen sollten, wenn die Haube gebrochen ist, öffnen Sie sich? Die Gummireifen schlagen die Haube Ecken und brechen sie. Das einzige mal daß es okay ist, die Räder zu drehen ist, wenn die Haube vollständig oben oder vollständig unten, aber nicht in-between ist! Es gibt eine Entlüfterentlüftungsöffnung, am vorderen Ende jeder Ventilabdeckung. Es Wege in den ankommenden Luftkasten. Während des schweren Bremsens kann etwas Öl slosh vorwärts, in das Einlaßplenum, und dieses bildet sehr peinliche grosse blaue Wolken vom Rauche. Leute denken, daß Ihre Maschine explodierte! Was Sie tun müssen, soll die Schläuche von jeder Ventilabdeckung nehmen und verlegt sie auf einem kleinen Ölverriegelung Behälter, den Sie zur Aluminiumkreuzklammer vielleicht anbringen können, gerade vor der Maschine. Sein eine gute Idee, das Energie Lenkresevoir in diesen Behälter auch außerdem zu lüften, um p.s., Flüssigkeit auf den Absaugventilatorüberschriften zu erhalten zu vermeiden. Es gibt auch einen weiteren Schlauch, Recht unter dem Drosselkörper, der Öl das Einlaßplenum eintragen lassen kann. Ich bin nicht sicher, welche Racers mit diesem tun, aber Dave Cawthorne auf diesem Aufstellungsort hat eine Verlegenheit für es. Er verkauft unter dem Namen "Daves grosse Bremsen" Stellen Sie, die alte Bremsflüssigkeit auszufüllen sicher und gehen mit Flüssigkeit des PUNKTES 4, wie Motul 600 oder equivelent. Sie kennen vermutlich eine Menge diese Art des Materials bereits, von Ihrer BMW Erfahrung am Ring. (Damm, beneide ich Sie!!!!) heh heh!
Ist hier einige mehr Sachen, zum prep zu tun ein GTS für die Schiene-
*brake Luftschachte für Kühlluft
* Hochtemperaturbremsbeläge
* Verpackung Kugelgelenke mit Folie oder etwas, also die heißen Rotoren schmelzen nicht das Fett heraus
* fügen Sie "Blockiertüren" der Ölwanne, Hilfe Ölaufsammeln in hohe G Umdrehungen hinzu
* fügen Sie geänderten Luftwiderstandsverlustbehälter dem Ölwannebereich hinzu, um der Ölrückkehr zur Wanne schneller zu helfen
* addieren Sie ein Accusump, möglicherweise die drei-Quart-Vielzahl, um Öldruck zur Verfügung zu stellen, falls die Wanne trocken ist
* Wenn Sie nicht für die tripple-justierbaren Penske Schläge entspringen können, kann der auf lagerschlag sein revalved für verbesserte Schiene Leistung. (ein "schmutziger, betrügender Bastard" Trick)
* ändern Sie Energie Lenkfluuid zur roten Linie Marke, viel höherer Siedepunkt und weniger schäumen
* addieren Sie den Kabelstrang mit 5 oder 6 Punkten
* Rollenstab
* grosse Bremsen, von Dave oder Endtech, usw.

Wenn Sie nicht eine Schiene Ausrichtung erhalten, neigt das Auto zum understeer. Es gibt "Sport ausgleicht", wo die Oberseite, Frontseite, Steuerarm an das Chassis verriegelt. Das Entfernen dieser Meßplättchen gibt signifigant negative Wölbung zu den vorderen Rädern und gleicht aus dem understeer aus, (sowie die Übertragung von von mehr Toe-out, also Sie erhielt, das Rad unveränderlich zu halten). Ich versuchte nie dieses selbst, aber ließ gerade eine milde Schiene Ausrichtung anstatt erfolgen. Der Vorteil des Nehmens der Sportmeßplättchen heraus ist, das können Sie sie für die Straße und so zurück setzen, die Sie nicht aus Ihren Gummireifen vorzeitig tragen werden. Wenn Sie mit dem Laufen der Gummireifen gehen, dann haben Sie vermutlich einen zweiten Satz Kanten. Die Liste geht an und weiter! Traurig, wenn Sie dieses Material bereits kannten, schloß ich soviel wie, ich könnte, und angenommen nichts ein. Hoffnung I erklärte Ihnen falschem nicht nichts. Informieren Sie uns bitte über Ihre Erfahrungen auf der Nordschleife! Wir leben vicariously durch Ihre Großtaten! Aufenthaltsafe heraus dort.


Wow, that sounds great!! I don't have any idea how to talk German!! But I hope this helps. I've got a hunch you don't need it anyway. BTW- your English is pretty darn good, especially since you know how to use the word "omnipresent" in a sentence! I have actually run into native English speakers who didn't know what that word meant. You might have a better vocabluary than some of us. Anyway, your English is very understandable. Good job.

 

[mike & juli]

Nice car there, Datenede~~gorgeous!!! Thanx for sharing your pics, and when you can, ENJOY that Viper!!! ~juli

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Hello,

here are a few pics. Not so nice (inside the garage) because these days in germany is very bad weather:
@InjectTheVenom: I live in Aachen. It's near cologne (50mls) and near the Nordschleife (70mls).

Kind regards

Heiko

Nice, right next to Maastricht. And I can confirm the dreadful weather in this region

 

[Obsidian]

Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

Tell me if you ever plan to drive by Hamburg. My cousin lives there, and recently visted the US. He drove my Viper and loved it. If you are in the area, you can do a drive by of his house and seeing your wheels, will give him sweet memories.

 

[Vic]

Was anything I said helpful, Datenede?

 

[Vipergtsbob]

Heiko,
On behalf of the National Officers and Board of Directors we welcome someone who made the great effort to get a truly great Viper!. Your perseverence will be rewarded when the weather clears and you can let your snake stretch it's legs a little. We can't wait until you open it up on the 'Ring, but please be careful, we need more European members! Thanks for posting and we cordially INVITE YOU TO JOIN THE VIPER CLUB OF AMERICA (you can get the application on this website) if you want to be part of the fastest and simply greatest performance car club in the world (I am a little predjudiced as we all own the best car in the world). We hope to all hear about your experiences as you learn to drive your ACR and have a great and safe time.

Bob Carroll
National President
Viper Club of America

 

[AFL in NJ]

Congrats on the new ride and welcome aboard!

Regards,
Aaron

 

[Paul S Lacey]

Welcome from the UK also hope to meet you at the usual Hockenheim meet in June if it happens.

Marcus is a great guy and friend as are all the German Viper Owners.

Enjoy the 'Ring' I did and I cruised it.

 

[Kenneth Krieger]

Congratulations Heiko! Great looking car. As has already been said, be careful stay safe, and go to a driving school FIRST, then prep the car for the track!

 

[DAMN YANKEE]

Welcome! Please so send some track pictures when the time arrives!
Smart man buying it from Tator..

 

[Datenede]

Thanks a lot for the nice words.
I like this viper very much, because it is so uncompromisingly (is it the right word?)
If I drive only a few meters here in the (large) town , next day everybody appeals to me "how is the car?"

In Germany most cars are grey, silver or perhaps white or rarely red. But a red viper with with white stripes and catback and free flow cats is worth a crowd

I own a silver Porsche 997GT3, too, but compared to the red viper acr it is a boring looking car

@Vic: Thanks a lot. I was reading a lot of threads in forums before and did a lot of track-miles in race-cars, so i knew a few of your advices. But let me say: If everybody would take so much care at the newbies: It would be great! Thanks.

@Kenneth and others: Thanks for the advance notices. I drive at the ring for a few years and do long-distance races and the 24h-races there, too (on BMW and Porsche) and a few times a year I am a driving instructor and trainer at the Nuerburgring.
I want to use the car for fun and perhaps for a few passenger rides at the free trainig (on fridays before the long-distance-races). But not so often, because I think one of the last ACRs must not be burn down on a track.

Many thanks for all the nice annotations here.
I am very surprised, very nice people here.

Kind regards

Heiko

P.S.: I will post a lot of pics in spring from the ring.

 

[mike & juli]

datenede...yes, uncompromising is a GREAT word for the ACR...you do have a beaut there, and we await your pics!!! ENJOY~~glad to hear you are an instructor and know that you will thoroughly enjoy your rare ACR! ENJOY~~~juli

 

[SSSSE YA]

 

[Venomiss]

Here is a helpful website if you haven't seen it already:

Viper Club of America Germany

Hope to see you join the VCA!

 

[ViperGTS]

Trying the smilies here...whistling and grinning....cough-cough-there is another German speaking Viperclub also:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Viper Club of America - Region Switzerland - to give you ALL information necessary only


P.S.: see you in Detroit, Venomiss!?