marauderprime
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2017
- Posts
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My name is Blake, I have a couple of questions about buying a Viper, but I thought I would take a moment to introduce myself. I am 33, I am one of two
senior Partners of a Business, construction, real-estate, and immigration law firm in Central Florida, and after getting married, and making the decision to
build my own firm (after having a great Corporate job) we downsized alot. My wife and I had a small wedding, we forewent the honeymoon until later, my
2011 GT500 went away in favor of a single cab short 2wd Ram Express Black which I have nothing but incredible things to say (even with the 6 speed not
the 8 speed), I cut my vehicle payment down by 450 bucks, Insurance got cheaper, gas stayed about the same, we moved into a smaller place with only
a one car garage, and I worked my butt off for the next year and a half.
After a series of lucky breaks, and being in the right place at the right time,(oh and alot of hard work), I just moved into a new office, got a partnership offer
I couldn't refuse, and got my wife the honeymoon I promised her, I got the all important Wife's permission to get a GEN II GTS. A car I lusted after forever,
and even test drove a couple back in 2011. I didnt know much, I was in a hurry, Gen 2 GTS prices were substantially higher than they are now, and
Listened to some people whose opinions were pretty Biased, and I ended up getting the new for 2011 all aluminum "550"hp gt500 instead. I had that car
for a few years, thoroughly enjoyed it (got alot of tickets, so I know for sure, I will not be getting a GTS with stripes.........), but ultimately, I feel like I had
that experience, and theres no need to repeat it. I started looking at Corvettes, the new Camaro, maybe even a Hellcat Challenger (although I had one of
the first 200 SRT8 challengers made with a 6 speed, and it was an awful experience. That was how I ended up in the Shelby, although admittedly, they do
seem to have it down to a science now. Never buy the first 200 of anything).
But I think it was fate, I was driving down US1, and a red stripe delete Gen 2 GTS blew past me, and I struggled to stay with him for as long as I could.
Those cars are probably one of the most visually striking cars I have ever seen, from any angle. I started watching videos, spending hours and hours on
forums reading about every generation of viper. I watched Sneaky Snakes blow away everything on wheels on his youtube channel in his Gen 4, but I just
kept coming back to the Gen 2's looks, and visceral nature.
I am planning on getting a Gen 2 GTS, and I would like gen 4 performance out of it, and having a history with forced induction, I am going to perform just
a few mods. I will get a paxton novi setup for it, although I would prefer an air to air intercooler setup on it, so maybe I can call them and peacemeal the
blower kit together, but if not, air to water would probably be fine, its what was on the Ford. I will be getting Long tube headers, and I will be getting a full
exhaust with cat deletes. black sidewinder wheels (because the new rims look spectacular on these cars), and a Brake upgrade.
Because of that, I have narrowed it down in reality to a 99 GTS. Last Year of the forged pistons. No Anti-lock brakes (which I actually prefer), and the
upgraded interior. With that last requirement comes a question. As I search, 99s seem to be rarer, and they are typically 20-30 percent more expensive
than 97/98s with similar miles on them. Is the upgraded interior so much nicer that it is worth the extra 10k in some cases? Are 97 and 98s as easy to
tune for forced induction? I do not believe in FMU's even though I know they work, I prefer more precise fuel delivery metering with upgraded fuel pumps,
pressure, and injectors. I had good luck with SCT LSX's for boost, and it seems to be a great product in general for the LSX crowd. Does it have the same
level of tunability with Viper PCMs?
My last question is about service and performance work. I have alot of mechanical ability. Before I was an attorney, I was a mechanic for many years, and
at one time I was a fleet manager for a medium size towing company in Orlando, which meant I was working on everything from cummins and power strokes,
to impounded ford fiestas that nobody ever came and got, however with owning my own business, I really don't have the luxury of time I had as an employee,
and really dont have time to service, much less modify a Viper. Can Anyone recommend a shop [preferably in eastern Central Florida, or worst case scenario
Orlando and middle central Florida that does good work at reasonable rates for these cars?
Thanks for listening to my long winded post, and yes I did do a search, but there is so much information it gets hard to wade through. Looking forward to
joining the community.
Sincerely,
Blake
senior Partners of a Business, construction, real-estate, and immigration law firm in Central Florida, and after getting married, and making the decision to
build my own firm (after having a great Corporate job) we downsized alot. My wife and I had a small wedding, we forewent the honeymoon until later, my
2011 GT500 went away in favor of a single cab short 2wd Ram Express Black which I have nothing but incredible things to say (even with the 6 speed not
the 8 speed), I cut my vehicle payment down by 450 bucks, Insurance got cheaper, gas stayed about the same, we moved into a smaller place with only
a one car garage, and I worked my butt off for the next year and a half.
After a series of lucky breaks, and being in the right place at the right time,(oh and alot of hard work), I just moved into a new office, got a partnership offer
I couldn't refuse, and got my wife the honeymoon I promised her, I got the all important Wife's permission to get a GEN II GTS. A car I lusted after forever,
and even test drove a couple back in 2011. I didnt know much, I was in a hurry, Gen 2 GTS prices were substantially higher than they are now, and
Listened to some people whose opinions were pretty Biased, and I ended up getting the new for 2011 all aluminum "550"hp gt500 instead. I had that car
for a few years, thoroughly enjoyed it (got alot of tickets, so I know for sure, I will not be getting a GTS with stripes.........), but ultimately, I feel like I had
that experience, and theres no need to repeat it. I started looking at Corvettes, the new Camaro, maybe even a Hellcat Challenger (although I had one of
the first 200 SRT8 challengers made with a 6 speed, and it was an awful experience. That was how I ended up in the Shelby, although admittedly, they do
seem to have it down to a science now. Never buy the first 200 of anything).
But I think it was fate, I was driving down US1, and a red stripe delete Gen 2 GTS blew past me, and I struggled to stay with him for as long as I could.
Those cars are probably one of the most visually striking cars I have ever seen, from any angle. I started watching videos, spending hours and hours on
forums reading about every generation of viper. I watched Sneaky Snakes blow away everything on wheels on his youtube channel in his Gen 4, but I just
kept coming back to the Gen 2's looks, and visceral nature.
I am planning on getting a Gen 2 GTS, and I would like gen 4 performance out of it, and having a history with forced induction, I am going to perform just
a few mods. I will get a paxton novi setup for it, although I would prefer an air to air intercooler setup on it, so maybe I can call them and peacemeal the
blower kit together, but if not, air to water would probably be fine, its what was on the Ford. I will be getting Long tube headers, and I will be getting a full
exhaust with cat deletes. black sidewinder wheels (because the new rims look spectacular on these cars), and a Brake upgrade.
Because of that, I have narrowed it down in reality to a 99 GTS. Last Year of the forged pistons. No Anti-lock brakes (which I actually prefer), and the
upgraded interior. With that last requirement comes a question. As I search, 99s seem to be rarer, and they are typically 20-30 percent more expensive
than 97/98s with similar miles on them. Is the upgraded interior so much nicer that it is worth the extra 10k in some cases? Are 97 and 98s as easy to
tune for forced induction? I do not believe in FMU's even though I know they work, I prefer more precise fuel delivery metering with upgraded fuel pumps,
pressure, and injectors. I had good luck with SCT LSX's for boost, and it seems to be a great product in general for the LSX crowd. Does it have the same
level of tunability with Viper PCMs?
My last question is about service and performance work. I have alot of mechanical ability. Before I was an attorney, I was a mechanic for many years, and
at one time I was a fleet manager for a medium size towing company in Orlando, which meant I was working on everything from cummins and power strokes,
to impounded ford fiestas that nobody ever came and got, however with owning my own business, I really don't have the luxury of time I had as an employee,
and really dont have time to service, much less modify a Viper. Can Anyone recommend a shop [preferably in eastern Central Florida, or worst case scenario
Orlando and middle central Florida that does good work at reasonable rates for these cars?
Thanks for listening to my long winded post, and yes I did do a search, but there is so much information it gets hard to wade through. Looking forward to
joining the community.
Sincerely,
Blake
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