Does anyone keep their Vipers stock or do you Mod??? Poll

[Firecat F7 Viper]

I have had my Viper for about a year now and I think it is a safe bet to say that %80 to %90 or more of Viper owners end up putting at least some kind of aftermarket product on their car.
I would like to see how close I am to that figure.
I am starting to get a real itch to do something to my totally stock Viper.
The funny thing is.....when I was first looking for mine, I wanted nothing to do with any Viper that had any Mod on it at all, not even smooth tubes.(didn't really know what they were at the time). I just wanted something totally stock with low mileage. It took me quite a while to finally locate a totally stock Viper as I wanted. I thought for sure when I first bought it that I would never ever want to modify it at all and thought you guys that modded were crazy but now the tables seem to have turned for some reason and I would really like to possibly Supercharge mine in the not too distant future.
I don't know if I have become.....dare I say.....bored with the stock power or if it is more of a keep up with the "Jones" attitude. The Viper has been near the top in terms of HP for some time now but the gap seems to be closing in. Especially with the Mercedes and the Porsche Cayenne SUV turbo(450 HP) and who knows what the new Vette will really be like.
I know these are more expensive cars(except the Vette)
but it still bothers me for some reason.
I perish the thought of someone in a sedan or SUV leisurely passing me with one hand on the wheel while talking on the cell phone, wife in the passenger seat and 2 kids in the backseat waving at me while I am gritting my teeth trying without success to keep up in a Viper. That just aint right. Then I get a glimpse of the plate and it reads 8AVIPER.
I guess I am a little insecure here!!!(and yes I have been drinking tonight)
Well anyway, sorry for rambling......My question is:
A:Are you a keep it totally stock forever kind of guy(or girl). That is how you want it. No desire to change this beautiful car.
B: Just a couple mods(e.g. smooth tubes...maybe exhaust). Nothing major.
C: Started out thinking I just wanted a couple mods but the list continues to grow.
or
D:Mod to the Max....more mods the better....no looking back.

I am thinking there are not going to be many "A" answers...it seems most of your sigs have some modification in them.

 

[Fiorano]

I suppose 'D'
Modding is an addiction. Once you start and the novelty of the 'newest' mod wears off, you look for another.

 

[GTSnake]

How about an "E". Mod to the point where it would be hard to drive on the street.

 

[Dave T (BADVENM)]

As much as I'd like to mod, in the long run, I figure the car will be worth more stock. With 1 of 82 in my color combo, I'd agree that most have some type of mod. Of course, filters and bolt on stuff could easily be replaced with the stock equipment should selling the car as "original" help in the price. For now, I'm totally stock down to the original tires and filters and plan to keep it that way. I also figure that it will take me some time to learn how to drive the car so additional power will not be in the near future. How many sapphire/silver stripe GTS are stock out there?

 

[01sapphireGTS]

I am a pretty solid B person, but I still want to buy things like an under drive pulley set, vipair box etc... An extra 30-50HP would be a good thing. Not like I need or use it, but I just "want" it. I don't want to dig as deep to change gears or go to a lightweight flywheel etc.

 

[FE 065]

Gears would cost about the same as a pulley set and whatnot. Much more SOTP oomph.

I had a pulley set on my '94, who knows if it did anything..

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I'm solid B. I learned in my youth that once you start turning a wrench on an engine you never stop. With 95K miles on my RT/10 I need it to fire up every day.

 

[HOdbleFman]

Firecat, I did the same thing when I was looking. I figured if it had been modified, it was messed up or someone drove it hard. Now I've started some mods and I can't stop. It's just like Fiorno said, one mod leads to another after the "newness" wears off. Now I wish I would have bought a modified car so I could have saved some money, but at the same time I'm having fun adding my own touch to it and learning in the process. I've learned so much about this car as well as all cars in general since I bought it and began modifying it.

 

[Sam 01 RT10]

<------Started modding his 3 weeks after he bought it.

I like modifying the car, it makes it more "yours"

<----Waiting for new HID headlights to arrive, LOL!

 

[Bill B]

Does a DLM blower count as a mod?
Personalise your car the way YOU like it. If you like it stock leave it that way. If you want DLM to turn it into a 9 sec monster do it. Half of the fun (at least to me) is modding my car to my taste.
Enjoy the car. Enjoy modding the car or not.

 

[Topawam]

Solid "A" for me, but looking forward to get a second Viper to climb the mods ladder...B, C, D, ...!!!

 

[RX VIPER]

Started as a little 'b', but now a capital 'D' for sure!

 

[viperrmike]

solid C but who know what the future holds?

 

[Gerald Levin]

Solid "A" for me, but looking forward to get a second Viper to climb the mods ladder...B, C, D, ...!!!

I have done exactly the same with the 96. I've always believed that mods are best reserved for women, until.......
Last weeks dyno on a bone stock, 6k mi 96 gave me a 416RWHP and 460 torque. I'm probably gonna go smooth tubes and either K&N or Fram air filter and hope to pick up another 10-15 HP for basically pocket change.

Another GTS in the garage with 700-800 HP is one of my long term goals. And of course, it would HAVE to be a Doug LEVIN car.

 

[Bob K]

I'm fortunate in that I own 3 Vipers. I have modified the '96 and left the other 2 stock (except for tubes and filters). So - guess which one I drive the most? That's right -- the '96! I love that car - especially the sound of the exhaust. The wing, splitter, etc. attract a lot of extra attention as well.
I actually think my FE GTS is a faster car (seat of the pants) and have been very tempted to put high flow cats and a cat back on it so that it sounds better. I know I would drive it a lot more if I did that. I'm still resisting that temptation but I don't know how long I can hold out.

Bob K

 

[Steve Miehe]

I'm an "A" person....

 

[pdmracing]

a

 

[TomMiriViper]

Bought my car and said I was going to keep it stock. Then I thought I would only do simple mods, exhaust and filters. I was only kidding myself..... went DLM supercharged

 

[Skyhawk]

Solid A. The need for speed is satisfied by a turbo-Busa. However, the stock Viper, just being a Viper, is a thrill in itself!

 

[beckertb]

D

I had mods ordered for my car before the transport truck even dropped it off.......

Drive it like ya stole it,
Ben

 

[MbnViper]

im looking for 1100 RWHP soon

 

[Wild Bill]

"B" Here (for now )

Bill

 

[ViperJoe]

B for me

I like to tinker, and "B" mods are right up my ally. Done tubes/filters, shifter, and exhaust,thinking of gears next.

 

[Simms]

"D", just getting started though.

 

[2001 Sapphire Blue]

"B" here and I think I'm done.....Hmmmmm...maybe a spoiler.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

B, I think. I've only done handling mods. Haven't touched the engine. Like Chuck said, I need it to start in the morning.

But as for as HP. I bought the car because it's a beautiful. The HP was just a big bonus. If it came with the same HP as a Vette I probably still would have bought it. Besides I think the Viper has held the title for so long we'll never (really) get knocked down.



2000 GTS Steel Grey
6 piston Baer claws up front, Front brakes in back, Quaife differential, GKH half shafts,
Alloy fly wheel, Short throw shifter, Polished aluminum intakes, K&N air filters,
Optima battery, Sterling silver ignition key, ACR 5 point harnesses.

 

[flying dutchman]

Started at A , working my way up to E..

 

[Mike Red 97 GTS]

Solid A have a 97 GTS and it is plenty fast enough for me! Also, when I look for cars I only look for stock I don't even consider one that has been modified.

 

[YouWish]

Re: Does anyone keep their Vipers stock or do you Mod??? Poll

B. Most of my mods are poser mods. Eradispeed rotors,custom stereo system,custom paint job with the engine being painted blue,air brushed engine pad,exhaust shield,momo pedals,momo short throw shifter. I'm not into speed as much as everyone else around here is just the beauty!!!

 

[SUN RA KAT]

Re: Does anyone keep their Vipers stock or do you Mod??? Poll

I had my Viper modded before I even saw it in person at Woodhouse Viper and have added quite a bit to it since. More is coming this winter - I'm going to take it to Level "E".