Nine Ball
Enthusiast
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Good morning everyone,
This past weekend, I purchased my 2006 First Edition coupe (#166/200) from forum member Dan Woods. He was in Chicago, I'm in Houston. Dan was great to work with, the car is immaculate. I had the car trailered down to Memphis, where I was attending an NMCA racing event, and drove the Viper home from Memphis back to Houston.
For my comparison background, I've owned a low-11 second supercharged C6 Z51 Corvette, link here: http://www.fquick.com/garages/Chevrolet/Corvette/2005/152/
Here are my initial thoughts on the Viper, since I put about 550 miles on it this weekend.
This thing attracts attention, but not all of it is 'good' attention. Try rolling through the ghettos of Memphis to get to the racing event, NOT fun. Idiots on highways almost come into your lane or run off the side of the road to get a look at the car. Also encountered several jerks who would see you coming and start speeding up to try and cut you off, even though I was just cruising at a constant speed. Countless idiots in V6 economy cars and pickup trucks always try to get you to race them on the highway. Then you get the usual non-car guys who ask you tons of stupid questions at each gas station, stuff like "how fast does it go?" or "how much does that cost?". Even had some ghetto teen ask if I was paying for it, or if I paid it off already. ***?
On to the tech stuff.
Since I've owned a C6 already, I have some good comparisons to share.
Interior: It is a much more cramped interior compared to a Corvette. I'm 5'-11' 185 lbs and fit perfectly, however. The seat bolsters are exactly my size (34" waist) so I can't see someone much bigger than myself fitting in one of these cars easily. The seats don't have nearly the adjustability of the Corvette's, you simply get forward/backwards and the back incline angle. No up/down or electric seats, period. That is okay though, they worked perfectly for me (luck?). Steering is tighter and more responsive than the C6. Stereo system is 100x better than the C6. Thing actually sounds great, has a nice subwoofer. Looking out the small windshield feels more like a personal aircraft than a car, the windshield is short and curved. Blind spot from hell over your left shoulder, gotta rely on the mirror for that view. Shifter position is nice. The dead pedal seems a little close, I'd prefer it further back. The Viper has electric adjustable pedals, but that makes the clutch pedal have way too much excess travel. I guess I like feeling the clutch pedal hit the floor as a stopping point, this one disengages at the top so you really only have to push the pedal halfway down. It has about twice the travel necessary, kind of weird. Brakes work GREAT. I really dig the hotrod looking gauges and the simplicity of the layout. The tach is the centerpiece, like it should be. The speedo is a bit difficult to read quickly, as the numbers are small. A digital MPH readout in the odometer/info window would have been a nice addition. Our GTO and our Escalade have that. The A/C system works great, never experienced any "hot cabin" issues that I've heard others complain about. Wind noise is slightly higher than a C6, but not bad. 6th gear is really only useful past 75 mph. The RPM at 80 mph was only around 1500, as per the tach. Mileage wasn't bad at all, I calculated around 25 mpg on the highway cruising 75-80. Our twin-turbo GTO was also on the trip, got nearly identical mileage.
Interior-wise, I'd only make a few changes. Get rid of either the ignition key or the gimmicky "START" button. Kind of weird that you have to turn the key, and then push a start button. On the C6, it senses the remote when you are inside the vehicle and the start button becomes activated to make it function, no key in the ignition required. I caught myself a few times trying to turn the key to start the engine. Next, I'd add cruise control for the longer road trips. Driving 10 hrs in a Viper, in the low seating position, makes your throttle foot/leg stiff. Add the digital MPH redundancy in the lower gauge, and make the dead pedal adjustable. Other than that, I like the rest of it.
Onto the driving/performance aspects.
Ride quality is stiffer than the C6 Z51, but you really only notice it on bumpy roads. I don't mind stiff riding sports cars, so this doesn't bother me. Acceleration and throttle response are awesome, 500ci will do that for you. While the V10 doesn't sound as deep as the LSX V8 engines, it does sound more exotic to me. It would be nice if the engine rev'd past the 6K rpm redline. On the freeway, this thing pulls hard, as you would expect from an 11-sec car. Stability is comparable to the C6, I had it up to 136 mph on a deserted highway for 'testing' purposes. The wide tires up front sure do like to grab onto uneven surfaces and road grooves, which is expected from past experience. Handling is excellent and responsive, no complaints there. The view out of the tiny windshield is 2nd to none though, those aggressive front fenders and the stripes down the hood, along with the heat extractor vents, look killer. I love that view.
Overall, I'd say the C6 is a better daily-driver. It is more spacious inside, easier to get in/out of, has more creature comforts like heated seats and HUD, much larger trunk, better mpg (mine got 31 mpg stock) etc... The Viper is a much better weekend toy that is more about attitude and keeping things simple like a hotrod/musclecar should. It is more rowdy, has less bells and whistles, and stands out far more in the crowd than a Corvette. The cars get compared endlessly, but after owning both I'd say the purpose and target goals for each car is very unique. Neither wants to be like the other. It is good to have choices!
I also write/shoot/test for automotive magazines, and snapped the photo above on Saturday morning. The Viper looks at home on the racetrack
Tony
