Well, I'm sure there are a bunch of guys with Gen2's that want Gen3's and vise versa. I have had a friend's white mamba for a couple of days now and I decided to post some of my observations. First let me say that I like the newness. I'm sure after a few months of ownership things will calm down a little(they did for me with my GTS), but right now I am really digging this car. Unfortunately my GTS is so decked out that it makes this car feel much more "run of the mill" than it should.(But I acknowledge that and adjust my experience accordingly 
)
The Positive:
I really like the interior. It feels more like a nice car on the inside. Some of this feeling may be that I have been in the same ole interior for over four years now and any change would be for the better. One thing that is definetly better is the AC. It has kept me acceptably cool, and it has been pretty hot out down here. I like the power pedals. I like the HIDs from the factory.
The Brakes, the brakes, the brakes!! I love the brakes!! It makes a stock(nonABS) GTS feel like you have to put your feet on the ground and stop the car Fred Flintstone style!! I like the sound of the intake. It has this low grumble that I don't remember my GTS having(pre-insanepowerlevel). I have really warmed up to the rear of the car. I took it to dinner last night, and it was parked ass end towards the restaurant(restaurant is a really weird word to type). When I walked out I thought, damn, that looks pretty nice!
I'm not sure if it a + or -, but the car is really quiet. I don't remember my GTS being that quiet when it was stock. It is not as crude as the GTS. All of the little controls are more modern and "smooth".(I don't think that is saying anything bad about the GTS since it is 8 years older) I love the wat the seats look(but I'm not crazy about the way they feel, more on that in a minute)
The Negative:
So far, I still have not warmed up to the front of the car. It doesn't help that I have to look at my GTS everytime I go out to the garage. (For me)if there were never a GTS, the srt would be just fine, but I find myself comparing the two everytime I look at it. The car seems to track quite a bit on certain roads. I have to pay a lot closer attention to what's going on. I think the run flats must be part of the problem because traction flat out *****!
I am surprised that more guys aren't wrecking these cars. Luckily I have years of high horsepower experience, but I can see where an inexperienced driver could get into trouble. (To any first time viper owners who may read this at some point: Trust me, take this thing some place safe before you try to lay down the hammer or go sliding around with it. This car can be a handful, and it will bite you in the ass if you are not careful.)
I cannot believe how traction limited this car is! My car puts almost 600 horspower to the ground in 1st gear! This damn thing is all over the place if it isn't 85+ degrees out. I was also surprised how quickly this car "let's loose". It's like you're hooked up, you're hooked up... and then BOOM you might as well be on ice. It just has to be the tires. My GTS let's go gradually. I don't know if it is a combination of my Pirelli tires, and my low suspension, but I have had the tires boiling all the way to 120mph in my GTS and it was smooth sailing all the way. The SRT (at least for me) does not inspire confidence.
Another thing I was not expecting to be a problem was axle hop. The SRT seems to have quite a bit of it. I'm sure once we get some better tires on the car, and lower it some, a lot of these issues will go away. The rear visibility is a little more limited than I thought it would be.
The seats look great. When I first saw them I said, man those seats are much nicer than mine, but they seem to make it kinda hard to get in and out of the car. I'm only about 5'9" 165lbs and if it is a little challenging for me, it seems like it would be really difficult for bigger/taller people. Also, I'm sure they really help at the track, but for driving around on the street, those huge bolsters can be a bit over the top for me. The seats make it feel like I have more room in my GTS. It feels a little tight in the SRT. Did I miss something or do you just have to let the gas cap hang down against the paint when you are refueling?
The Bottom Line:
The SRT is great!! I love driving it with the top down!! For me, the GTS(my GTS in particular!! ) is the first choice. With that said. I would love to also have an SRT. I told myself, Alright Gary, can you honestly say that if there was a black SRT with 20"847HRE's, lowered with TT's and a thousand horsepower, that you would still rather have the GTS? No probably not. But I think I would sway towards a "Javoized" SRT only because it would be something new. After the newness wore off I think I would probably lean back towards the GTS. For me there is something in those damn line of that body that I just can't get away from.
This has been my honest opinion. I hope no one gets bent out of shape about it. Maybe it will help some folks choose the car that fits them best.
) The Positive:
I really like the interior. It feels more like a nice car on the inside. Some of this feeling may be that I have been in the same ole interior for over four years now and any change would be for the better. One thing that is definetly better is the AC. It has kept me acceptably cool, and it has been pretty hot out down here. I like the power pedals. I like the HIDs from the factory.
The Brakes, the brakes, the brakes!! I love the brakes!! It makes a stock(nonABS) GTS feel like you have to put your feet on the ground and stop the car Fred Flintstone style!!
I like the sound of the intake. It has this low grumble that I don't remember my GTS having(pre-insanepowerlevel). I have really warmed up to the rear of the car. I took it to dinner last night, and it was parked ass end towards the restaurant(restaurant is a really weird word to type). When I walked out I thought, damn, that looks pretty nice! I'm not sure if it a + or -, but the car is really quiet. I don't remember my GTS being that quiet when it was stock. It is not as crude as the GTS. All of the little controls are more modern and "smooth".(I don't think that is saying anything bad about the GTS since it is 8 years older) I love the wat the seats look(but I'm not crazy about the way they feel, more on that in a minute)
The Negative:
So far, I still have not warmed up to the front of the car. It doesn't help that I have to look at my GTS everytime I go out to the garage. (For me)if there were never a GTS, the srt would be just fine, but I find myself comparing the two everytime I look at it. The car seems to track quite a bit on certain roads. I have to pay a lot closer attention to what's going on. I think the run flats must be part of the problem because traction flat out *****!
I am surprised that more guys aren't wrecking these cars. Luckily I have years of high horsepower experience, but I can see where an inexperienced driver could get into trouble. (To any first time viper owners who may read this at some point: Trust me, take this thing some place safe before you try to lay down the hammer or go sliding around with it. This car can be a handful, and it will bite you in the ass if you are not careful.)
I cannot believe how traction limited this car is! My car puts almost 600 horspower to the ground in 1st gear! This damn thing is all over the place if it isn't 85+ degrees out. I was also surprised how quickly this car "let's loose". It's like you're hooked up, you're hooked up... and then BOOM you might as well be on ice. It just has to be the tires. My GTS let's go gradually. I don't know if it is a combination of my Pirelli tires, and my low suspension, but I have had the tires boiling all the way to 120mph in my GTS and it was smooth sailing all the way. The SRT (at least for me) does not inspire confidence.
Another thing I was not expecting to be a problem was axle hop. The SRT seems to have quite a bit of it. I'm sure once we get some better tires on the car, and lower it some, a lot of these issues will go away. The rear visibility is a little more limited than I thought it would be.
The seats look great. When I first saw them I said, man those seats are much nicer than mine, but they seem to make it kinda hard to get in and out of the car. I'm only about 5'9" 165lbs and if it is a little challenging for me, it seems like it would be really difficult for bigger/taller people. Also, I'm sure they really help at the track, but for driving around on the street, those huge bolsters can be a bit over the top for me. The seats make it feel like I have more room in my GTS. It feels a little tight in the SRT. Did I miss something or do you just have to let the gas cap hang down against the paint when you are refueling?
The Bottom Line:
The SRT is great!! I love driving it with the top down!! For me, the GTS(my GTS in particular!!
) is the first choice. With that said. I would love to also have an SRT. I told myself, Alright Gary, can you honestly say that if there was a black SRT with 20"847HRE's, lowered with TT's and a thousand horsepower, that you would still rather have the GTS? No probably not. But I think I would sway towards a "Javoized" SRT only because it would be something new. After the newness wore off I think I would probably lean back towards the GTS. For me there is something in those damn line of that body that I just can't get away from. This has been my honest opinion. I hope no one gets bent out of shape about it. Maybe it will help some folks choose the car that fits them best.
