How many of you RT owners drive your car without the Spare ??

[Yellow Fever]

I'm considering having a Large Sub Woofer installed in the area were the spare tire goes ..But I've heard that the Spare Tire is a key component to the structural integrity & safety of the car (If you get plowed from behind) .

Any RT owners out there that have installed subs in there trunk ??

Thanks !

Jeff

 

[Tomer]

No sub in the trunk for me, too chicken...Several experts have made it very clear that you should leave that spare in there...thats good enough for me...

Also, given that the trunk "tub" is so seperated from the interior, compared
to conventional cars, is it worth putting a sub in the trunk on the RT/10?

Tomer

 

[Yellow Fever]

Also, given that the trunk "tub" is so seperated from the interior, compared
to conventional cars, is it worth putting a sub in the trunk on the RT/10?

Tomer

Good Point Tom..Were do you RT owners install your subs ? I have a buddy with one installed at the foot of the passenger side..But I don't want to sacrifice the leg room.

 

[Russ M]

My viper lost its spare after 10miles on the oddometer, saves about 40lb's of weight and I dont believe that it is in any way part of the structural support.

Just look at the trunk, the wheel is surrounded by fiberglass. What is fiberglass going to do in the case of an accident?

 

[Snake Bitten]

I have two spares in my trunk...10lbs each...

You must be registered for see images

 

[garolittle]

I have two spares in my trunk...10lbs each...

You must be registered for see images

 

[Nasty 10]

My spare is hanging in my garage. I tried the sub in the trunk and it sounded like crap. I have a sub in the passenger footwell now. I put the amps in the trunk behind plexiglass and vinyl

 

[SylvanSRT]

Do a search on this subject!!!! the spare is an integral part of the crash worthiness of the vehicle. Do NOT drive without the spare the little bit of extra weight savings may cost you your life!!! Crash tests were passed w/ the spare in. Viper Days will not let you run if the spare is out of the car. Do a search, and put that spare back in.

 

[Matt M PA]

SylvanSRT is right....at a TEch Session a number of years ago, the tech made it very clear that the spare should remain in the car. If memory serves me, it was something to do with the deck lid slicing off your head in a rear-end wreck and that the spare tire hold down bolt was somehow tie do the frame rails via a cable.

 

[Yellow Fever]

My spare is hanging in my garage. I tried the sub in the trunk and it sounded like crap. I have a sub in the passenger footwell now. I put the amps in the trunk behind plexiglass and vinyl

Nasty ,could you please post some pics ?? Or email them to me..Thanks !
How many watts are you pushing ?

Jeff

 

[AJT]

You must be registered for see images

 

[MannyC]

My spare is hanging in my garage. I tried the sub in the trunk and it sounded like crap. I have a sub in the passenger footwell now. I put the amps in the trunk behind plexiglass and vinyl

Nasty ,could you please post some pics ?? Or email them to me..Thanks !
How many watts are you pushing ?

Jeff

Jeff, if I could have mounted subs in the trunk, I would have. There was just no way to do it that wasn't going to cost a fortune and still sound good. The sub I have in the passenger footwell takes up 1 cubic foot of space -- not a lot, but you do lose that amount. You sat there, so you know what its like. You're a big guy though. If a girl sits there, they can usually prop their feet up against it and it is perfect for them.

Bottom line, the RT/10's are pretty tough to make the stereo system sound good (as compared to most other cars.) This coming from a guy who has spent many thousands of dollars on car audio systems over the course of his life time.

I'm going to be putting in probably around $5K in sound equipment in the GTS when it gets here. It will be totally custom and the best sounding system I have done to date. I'll have the extra power to carry around that extra weight, too!

 

[Yves]

Same over here.
Big sub in the footwell.
1000 W Amp in the spare tire area.
If I won't get rearended and decapitated, the sub will take care of it, hehe.

 

[Yellow Fever]

Same over here.
Big sub in the footwell.
1000 W Amp in the spare tire area.
If I won't get rearended and decapitated, the sub will take care of it, hehe.

Yves, do you have any pics you can post ?? Manny we should both go to the same Audio Shop and negotiate a 2 for 1 deal
I found a great shop in Gardena , they were installing a system in a Lambo when i was there. ( it was some Baseball players car..Jason Gambina ?)

Cheers
Jeff

 

[RedEnuf93]

Definately drive with the spare in place. I may take my chances with my driving skills and hit a tree or a ditch ( at least I can "control" the outcome to some degree), but I will not take chances with someone else rearending Viper.
The whole decklid will decapitate you. Not the way I prefer to go out...

Stereo is not that important, without cats and mufflers I cannot hear a damn thing anyway... I tried to upgare my system to a Sony Xplod 6 1/2" speakers (4), Xplod tweeters and Pioneer CD player. Sound better while cruising, WOT is a different story.

Lauri

 

[Newport Viper]

SylvanSRT is right....at a TEch Session a number of years ago, the tech made it very clear that the spare should remain in the car. If memory serves me, it was something to do with the deck lid slicing off your head in a rear-end wreck and that the spare tire hold down bolt was somehow tie do the frame rails via a cable.

This is the first decent explaination I have heard about the spare tire issue.
Would like someone from PVO to state some FACTS. Not so called VCA experts.
I have the bolt still in place and the wing nut to secure it in place. You got to think, in a rear ender, the trunk lid is coming off tire or no tire.
Looks like the 14 Titleist clubs are going to have to work for now!

 

[SylvanSRT]

do the search of previous threads even the ViperWizard has spoke up on the subject, he might know a thing or two about vipers. Does Skip Thomas and their Viperdays chief steward know much? They wont let you run onthe track w/o a spare, dont you think they might be the first to want to remove any extra weight? DO THE SEARCH been subject several times at least.

 

[Newport Viper]

Searched... but no FACTS on how it would or does work.

 

[Russ M]

From everything I have seen regarding this subject it is always second and third hand. My brothers/wifes/sister told me that her husbands/brother in law/that works at a Dodge dealer said you must have the spare in place.

I am calling bs on this whole subject, if this was a mandatory part of structural impact zone their would be warning labels all over the place stating this. Otherwise if someone were to get seriously injured while the spare was gone they could be getting in serious legal trouble.

 

[Snake Bitten]

It's a race car for the street...capable of speeds in excess of 175 mph...stock.


What spare tire?

 

[GTSnake]

I am calling bs on this whole subject, if this was a mandatory part of structural impact zone their would be warning labels all over the place stating this. Otherwise if someone were to get seriously injured while the spare was gone they could be getting in serious legal trouble.

Russ,

It's pretty common sense even if no one officially has stated anything. Remember the concept of "crush zone"? The part of the car between you and the other object that's hitting you. With the short rear end of the Viper the crush zone is very minimal. Why would you want to remove anything that can add structural rigidity to the zone and get in between you and the F-150 bumper that's crushing it? You can always say you'll play the odds but I'm sure not willing to take the risk...

 

[Nasty 10]

My spare is hanging in my garage. I tried the sub in the trunk and it sounded like crap. I have a sub in the passenger footwell now. I put the amps in the trunk behind plexiglass and vinyl

Nasty ,could you please post some pics ?? Or email them to me..Thanks !
How many watts are you pushing ?

Jeff

Jeff
I don't have any good ones currently, but I'll send you the 2 that I have. I need your email address

My spare is not going in my trunk. If I was worried about safety, I would have bought minivan, not a Viper.

 

[joe117]

I'll call BS on this also. I have no doubt that some Viper tech told people this tale, but I don't believe that the spare could be a part of any crush zone.

Is there a warning in the owners manual or a sticker in the trunk, telling people,
"WARNING, DO NOT OPERATE VEHICLE WITHOUT SPARE IN PLACE"?
No there isn't any such warning. At least not in my car.

Wouldn't it be noted in the book if it were an important safety requirement?

 

[AJT]

[image] ]http://vca2.viperclub.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=4859&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=1[/image]


How come I can't get a picture to show up from image gallery?

 

[Anthony - 98 GTS]

It's a race car for the street...capable of speeds in excess of 175 mph...stock.


What spare tire?

I have a GTS and my spare looks a lot like Geralds.

 

[Steve 00RT/10]

The first year we had the car, I removed the spare and ..yes you can fit a lot of stuff in there. However, after reading that the tire is supposedly part of the crumple zone, I put it back in...where it's been the last 25,000 miles.To me, the reasoning makes sense. Anything which will provide a buffer to the gas tank is a good thing. While the tire may easily rupture in a rear end collision, there will be a layer of tire rubber at the back of the gas tank..at least up to a certain impact. I would also think it would add a little more rigidity to the rear end fiberglass crumpling.

As for limited packing with the spare tire in place, we drove to Nashville(900 miles from here)...gone for over a week...with everything in the RT/10 including helmets. You'd be amazed at how much you can get into the car with a little creativity. Helmets are great for underware and socks. The spare tire area(and under the tire)holds all cleaning materials and more(plug kit/2 cans of fix-a-flat). We had to send the goody bags back via a different method.

Steve

 

[joe117]

That spare isn't going to crumple. Ask any racer that was unfortunate enough to run over a loose tire on the track. They are very sturdy.
The tire may very well transmit force against the gas tank in a rear hit that wouldn't normally crush that far.

In other words, I see as much shade tree logic in having it as in not having it.

If the spare was ever part of the engineering design to pass or improve any crash test rating, there would be a warning about driving without it.
I think it's a Viper myth.

I'd carry the spare if I were going anywhere far from home.

 

[Wild Bill]

Ok-jumping in here. Yes I drive with my spare but my question is if you have a flat and put on the spare where do you put the tire you took off??? It won't fit in the trunk or front seat.

Bill

 

[ubnbit]

Maybe they did not put a warning sticker on it because they figured all would keep the spare tire in our cars. How many other cars do we take the spare out of? I am sure there are a few but us Viper owners are a little more creative with our cars. Also, the warning sticker issue...should there be stickers all over the car about don't break the speed limit, don't street race, additonal mods can increase your chance of injury or death, etc! My 2c!

 

[MikeV]

M3 owners do the same thing to their cars, our full size spare weighs about the same. There is also word the the M3 rim is part of crash safety. Makes you wonder though why both BMW and Dodge would base their safety on a spare tire that may or may not be in the car at the time of a crash...