Just Bought My First GTS

[Plastic]

So I finally got my dream car a 02 Graphite Metallic without stripes, 100% bone stock. Hope you guys like it

BTW the other car is my daily driver I've owned since new for the past 6 years, it's an 04 Saturn Ion Redline that's has a couple mods; ported/polished supercharger, bigger injectors, tune, bigger heat exchanger, cat-back, catless downpipe, 4-1 header, K&N cai, etc...
It gets me from point a to b, and will keep the viper out of the rain


Anyways here are a few pics from today before it's first wash.

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[georgethedog]

Congrats on your new money pit... Only joking--kind of...(money pit due to mods, not repairs). Looks great. What's you first mod? The best mod I have ever had has been the No Cal Viper Club floor mats! Really. They look and feel great and don't move. The stock ones will roll up under your pedals and that is not good. Have fun and safe Vipering.

 

[Stretch]

Congrats on the new ride plastic!!!!











And nice Redline

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Great looking car, beautiful color! You and Stretch have the same tastes in DD's. Stretch however is still looking forward to the day he buys a Viper

 

[01rt10outlaw]

awesome, congrats on your new ride, be safe !

 

[AFL in NJ]

Congrats thats the best and fastest color Viper. (hehehe) You can change to smooth intake tubes to gain and extra 10 hp and its a pretty cheap and easy mod to do. Welcome!

Regards,
Aaron

 

[Synergy]

Congrats! Thats one of my favorite colors on a GTS

 

[v10enomous]

Beautiful car...

 

[Jimbos1980]

Congrats! My favorite Viper color. I almost bought a graphite w/silver stripes coupe instead of the SSG. Welcome, and safe Vipering!

 

[Jeebs]

Congrats on the GTS, love the colour.
Enjoy

 

[forexx4]

Congrats.! Have fun and be safe with it

 

[MikeG]

Congratulations. Excellent color choice.

 

[mad0953]

Very nice, drove mine yesterday for the first time in about 3 weeks (due to out of town baseball games) and the thrill is still there. Have fun and be safe. My dd is a 99 turbocharged Miata puttin down 250 crank hp.

 

[ViperTony]

Congratulations and a very beautiful Viper you got there! Enjoy!

 

[sliverstripeacr]

Nice car, have fun!!!!

 

[vpower01]

Congrats! Love the color

 

[JonB]

.
.
.
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I remember the first time I laid eyes on that Graphite Pearl color, was at VOI-Nashville. Parking was outside (yuck) and a pit of Graphites had lined / parked together, maybe 5-6 of em.;

The sun across them made all the pearlescent paints look diffferent! Beautiful.

If your interier is Black, there are 106 of em....... If Cognac, 15.

I like your "First" GTS comment, and CONGRATS ! NOW, your Car matches your screenname!

JonB~~~~:<~

 

[Viper Blade]

Congratulations-nice nice car. Word to the wise, do not I repeat do not lean on your center console to reach across the car. The console will break. Once you get a new console and the special hard foam thick backing to support your new console you will be out a grand to fix the problem caused by reaching for the cell phone that slid across to the far door after playing around on freeway off and on ramps. One of God's little gifts gotta love freeway ramps their smooth and fast.

 

[Plastic]

Thanks for the compliments everyone, I love everything about the car so far... minus the stock shifter, hurst will probably be my first mod. And it seems to be running hot all the time, usually in the 200-205 range.... is that normal?

 

[MikeG]

Plastic,

You advised your engine temp is running about 200 – 205. I had the same situation, when driving in and around town at low speeds. On the highway it still ran between 190 and 195. According to the Viper Techs, engine temperature is supposed to be 185.

I had a Red Line Water Wetter and 170 degree thermostat installed and had cooling fans recalibrated to engage sooner (DCX XCalibrator 2).
My 02 GTS now runs between 180 -185 on the highway, and 190 – 195 in town. Amazing the difference the simple changes above made to the engine temperature.

Something you might want to look into.

 

[PDCjonny]

Try burping it first before all the other more expensive remedies.
http://forums.viperclub.org/search.php?searchid=105623

 

[JonB]

Thanks for the compliments everyone, I love everything about the car so far... minus the stock shifter, hurst will probably be my first mod. And it seems to be running hot all the time, usually in the 200-205 range.... is that normal?

Entirely Normal..... 195 on your GTS is straight-up, and almost never runs there. A needle-width right is normal. I have never heard anyone at Team Viper, including Gen 2 Engine Chief CB3 say that 185 is normal. Its not.

Four of the most important things a newbee can learn are:

-How to properly close the hood.
-How to check and fill coolant, and burp air.
-Oil management: Dont over-underfill; Maintain good oil pressure at all speeds. Clean air filters = clean oil. New Plugs = Cleaner burn.
-Tire management. Traction Matters, especially in corners / surprises.

GOOD LUCK! .

 

[Texas1]

As everyone else has said...congrat's & welcome aboard!!!

 

[eucharistos]

congrats on getting a really clean looking car,

if you are not set on keeping it stock (i'm guessing you are not is you are changing shifter) look into some hiflows to cut heat

 

[bluesrt]

now bust open a tall drink and sit back and look at it

 

[MikeG]

Entirely Normal..... 195 on your GTS is straight-up, and almost never runs there. A needle-width right is normal. I have never heard anyone at Team Viper, including Gen 2 Engine Chief CB3 say that 185 is normal. Its not. GOOD LUCK! .

Hey, don't kill the messenger ..... I'm just "Quoting" a response last June 21st to a similar question answered on the SRT Engineers Chat Forum. Page 3, #80:

Here is what an SRT Tech/Engineer stated:


Re: SRT Engineering Chat HERE on June 21st!

QUESTION: Originally Posted by GTLaser
"A common issue is the '01 pumps failing.... You are saying there is no known problems with the '01 pumps? Wish I had the time because I could find a bijillian threads on this.... Thanks for your input though. What about the operating temp? Belts are nice and tight.... car has less than 10k miles on it as well."

RESPONSE:
SRT Engineers
Join Date Jun 2006
Location Auburn Hills and Detroit, MI
Posts 561

"The operating temperature needs to be between 185F and 190F. The other thing to check is that the belt is not too tight. Also, make sure that the tensioner is working properly and that the belt that you are using is the correct MOPAR replacement part, and that it is in good condition."


JonB; if you disagree, that's cool. Just wanted you to know I didn't just go and make up my response, that's all.

 

[kyleblix]

looks great, congrats!

 

[PDCjonny]

On my two GTS's the temperature needle was always at the first line PAST 195 (straight up) consistently, sometimes more on hot days.
Only maybe cruising on a cool day at 60-70 mph did the needle drop down to centerpoint.
Ran fine never overheated. Those needle gauges are inaccurate anyway, just a rough indicator.

 

[ViperTony]

Besides the other tips mentioned about temps AIRFLOW is key. At some point, consider investing in an SCT tune that also turns on your fan sooner. In addition to the lower t-stat, water wetter, etc. and assuming a properly burped and maintained cooling system, the fan reprogram will help keep temps down but also rememer these engines were designed to operate in the 185 - 200+ temp range. You will never get temps down into the ice-age range, nor should you, but 10 degrees cooler makes a big difference, to me. Enjoy your Viper!

 

[JonB]

Mike, I remember that....the poster seemed unaware of the 'bajillion" issues on 2001 as YOU correctly pointed out. I think that same writer blanked on the temp, too: 190-205 Please.

P.S. on Gen 2

Straight Up is 190
Next Mark is 205
Next Mark is 235
Next mark is RED ZONE 250

If you are tracking ******* hot day, you could touch 235 or a needle width higher.
If you are stuck in bumper-bumper in a 90+ day and A/C on, you can also hit 235-ish

NORMAL.

But to keep these temps from getting out of hand: Be 100% certain there is NO AIR in your motor, the surge tank is full and the fascia bottle overlow is 50% full, and coolant mix that is under 5 years old. And your radiator is clean and unobstructed by leaves, litter, and birds!

Hey, don't kill the messenger ..... I'm just "Quoting" a response last June 21st to a similar question answered on the SRT Engineers Chat Forum. Page 3, #80:

Here is what an SRT Tech/Engineer stated:


Re: SRT Engineering Chat HERE on June 21st!

QUESTION: Originally Posted by GTLaser
"A common issue is the '01 pumps failing.... You are saying there is no known problems with the '01 pumps? Wish I had the time because I could find a bijillian threads on this.... Thanks for your input though. What about the operating temp? Belts are nice and tight.... car has less than 10k miles on it as well."

RESPONSE:
SRT Engineers
Join Date Jun 2006
Location Auburn Hills and Detroit, MI
Posts 561

"The operating temperature needs to be between 185F and 190F. The other thing to check is that the belt is not too tight. Also, make sure that the tensioner is working properly and that the belt that you are using is the correct MOPAR replacement part, and that it is in good condition."


JonB; if you disagree, that's cool. Just wanted you to know I didn't just go and make up my response, that's all.