fluffy
Enthusiast
Well it's been just over a week since Woodhouse dropped off my first Viper. I've been reading this forum for several years now and I thought I knew what to expect from the beast. In almost every instance, however, I was wrong. I had seen the SRT before (from a distance) but never driven or ridden in one; I just knew I wanted one. Obviously this is a bit of a risk to take, but aside from a little buyer's remorse (as there always is for me when spending this kind of money) I am not disappointed.
Driving Position I was very worried about this. I thought the pedels would be grossly offset to the side, the seat would be too high and the steering wheel would be offcenter. On the contrary, I don't notice any offset at all in either the pedels or the wheel. I had the seat lowered 1" before taking delivery and it's perfect: I'm looking right out the center of the windscreen (6'3"... long legs). The pedels are a bit too close and the clutch is a bit too far, but not enough to make a difference.
Seats I expected the seats to be snug and confining. I was hoping that the seats would be snug and confining, but sadly they aren't. I'm 6'3" 180lbs and my butt slithers all over the place when cornering. Conversely, I can barely sit back all the way because my shoulders don't fit. I can wedge myself in there, but I'll have to see what I can do about the seats. Maybe bend the upper bolsters out a bit and the lower ones inwards.
Gearbox This one was a bit worrying. I had heard around here that the Viper's transmission had the gears offset slightly, that the box wasn't meant for speed shifting, that it was balky and notchy. Frankly, I was half expecting it to require double-clutching. To somewhat alleviate this I had Mark at Woodhouse install their modified shifter with the shortened stock lever. I don't know if it was the shifter that did it, but the transmission is spectacular! Shifts are precise, the gates are well defined and as far as I can tell not offset at all. Maybe I just don't notice it. I don't know how it would be possible to miss a shift with this thing... it just slips so easily into fourth, and requires a bit of a tug to downshift into second. Call me relieved and pleased! I had also heard that 6th was basically unusable. I haven't had any problems at all... after about 50mph 6th is quite comfortable and pulls well enough.
Suspension Not as bad as I had feared, but harsher than I had hoped. It doesn't crash and rattle my teeth, but neither is it confidence inspiring. Based on little tidbits picked up here and there I increased the tire pressure to 34 lbs cold, but that made it just a bit too harsh. Scaled back to 32 and am relatively happy with it. I told Bill I might regret not going with the Motons, and boy do I ever!
I sure hope Chuck does Moton installs.
Exhaust note Oh, dear. I wasn't expecting it to be this bad.
Once above 2000 rpm it settles into a less offensive roar, but below 1000 it's almost embarrassing. I do love the popping and crackling under deceleration though.
Cabin and sidepipe heat Haven't noticed any at all. It was 65 here today and I was running the heater to keep warm. After half an hour of driving the sidesills were barely warm, but I suppose under harsher conditions they could heat up fast.
Power No idea. Above 3000 rpm the rear wheels just spin, so it's difficult to get any real feel for the car. I love the way the car vibrates when motionless, and there certainly is a sense of barely restrained power lurking when accelerating at low throttle openings, but so far I have been unable to really open her up. Maybe the temperature has something to do with it. The runflats really are mind-numbingly bad.
Attention Some good, some bad! It's nice when it's parked, but given the seating position in motion it's really nothing more than an invitation to show off the bald spot!
Obviously most everyone on this site already has one (or several) so I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but it was interesting to me just how bad the posts here make the car sound!
Big thanks to Bill P... a great car at a great price!!
Driving Position I was very worried about this. I thought the pedels would be grossly offset to the side, the seat would be too high and the steering wheel would be offcenter. On the contrary, I don't notice any offset at all in either the pedels or the wheel. I had the seat lowered 1" before taking delivery and it's perfect: I'm looking right out the center of the windscreen (6'3"... long legs). The pedels are a bit too close and the clutch is a bit too far, but not enough to make a difference.
Seats I expected the seats to be snug and confining. I was hoping that the seats would be snug and confining, but sadly they aren't. I'm 6'3" 180lbs and my butt slithers all over the place when cornering. Conversely, I can barely sit back all the way because my shoulders don't fit. I can wedge myself in there, but I'll have to see what I can do about the seats. Maybe bend the upper bolsters out a bit and the lower ones inwards.
Gearbox This one was a bit worrying. I had heard around here that the Viper's transmission had the gears offset slightly, that the box wasn't meant for speed shifting, that it was balky and notchy. Frankly, I was half expecting it to require double-clutching. To somewhat alleviate this I had Mark at Woodhouse install their modified shifter with the shortened stock lever. I don't know if it was the shifter that did it, but the transmission is spectacular! Shifts are precise, the gates are well defined and as far as I can tell not offset at all. Maybe I just don't notice it. I don't know how it would be possible to miss a shift with this thing... it just slips so easily into fourth, and requires a bit of a tug to downshift into second. Call me relieved and pleased! I had also heard that 6th was basically unusable. I haven't had any problems at all... after about 50mph 6th is quite comfortable and pulls well enough.
Suspension Not as bad as I had feared, but harsher than I had hoped. It doesn't crash and rattle my teeth, but neither is it confidence inspiring. Based on little tidbits picked up here and there I increased the tire pressure to 34 lbs cold, but that made it just a bit too harsh. Scaled back to 32 and am relatively happy with it. I told Bill I might regret not going with the Motons, and boy do I ever!
I sure hope Chuck does Moton installs.
Exhaust note Oh, dear. I wasn't expecting it to be this bad.
Once above 2000 rpm it settles into a less offensive roar, but below 1000 it's almost embarrassing. I do love the popping and crackling under deceleration though.Cabin and sidepipe heat Haven't noticed any at all. It was 65 here today and I was running the heater to keep warm. After half an hour of driving the sidesills were barely warm, but I suppose under harsher conditions they could heat up fast.
Power No idea. Above 3000 rpm the rear wheels just spin, so it's difficult to get any real feel for the car. I love the way the car vibrates when motionless, and there certainly is a sense of barely restrained power lurking when accelerating at low throttle openings, but so far I have been unable to really open her up. Maybe the temperature has something to do with it. The runflats really are mind-numbingly bad.
Attention Some good, some bad! It's nice when it's parked, but given the seating position in motion it's really nothing more than an invitation to show off the bald spot!
Obviously most everyone on this site already has one (or several) so I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but it was interesting to me just how bad the posts here make the car sound!
Big thanks to Bill P... a great car at a great price!!
