Poor weather driving opinions

[nickdiaz]

I am in the process of buying an '01 RT/10 from Bill at Woodhouse in Nebraska. I plan to fly out there and pick it up the first week of January, then drive it 900mi south to Houston, then to St.George UT, Las Vegas, then home to Sunnyvale, CA. I've really been looking forward to this trip, but friends and family are starting to express concern that I'll be driving the most powerful car on the road in potentially extremely adverse weather. I noticed that the temperatures are dropping below zero in Omaha. I don't mind driving in cold, and I don't mind driving on ice, but I *do* mind driving a pre-break-in Viper on ice.

So Question 1: Anybody up in that area driving their Vipers in the cold?

Question 2: Do ya think I should just skip the cross-country trip and ship it?

 

[AviP]

I don't believe you have a choice. This is a very tough car to drive in snow. And ice is tough on any vehicle and impossible in the Viper. If you do exceed 20mph on ice and keep a straight line, consider yourself lucky. I've driven performance Z rated tires (255 wide) on ice for 350 miles and have found it impossible to exceed 30mph. And the torque was much lower in that vehicle.

If you are open to putting in 225 wide winter tires (Blizzak/Alpin) all around and shipping the stock wheels back, you are definitely in the 50mph+ range on snow.

But on ice, you don't stand a chance at those speeds.

If you do choose to drive, weigh down your trunk and set the wheels at 20psi or so.

I'D SHIP.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Agree with JonB...Ship it !! Have 4 in garage,plus a hauler; one on way from Mr.P...he's in Neb, we are in Ind...plan to let THEM deliver it in Jan when THEY feel comfortable...to us, Viper too special to take a chance, AND suspect that it would be tough to follow break-in instructions to the letter in foul weather...just MY conservative 2 cents worth. Have fun, be safe, and Happy Holidays!

 

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

I agree with Steve and Jon B. Don't make your first driving experience in your new car a bad one. You won't regret this, but you might regret your decision to learn body control lessons while on the road in bad weather (do this at the Skip Barber school).

Good luck and have a great holiday.

 

[Ron Hickey]

I just took delivery of a 2001 from Woodhouse, and I considered the drive-it-back-myself option. In my case, that would have been Nebraska to northern Virginia. I quickly decided against that option for the following reasons:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Even if I could pick a several day "window" where the weather looked pretty clear, there's no guarantee that the weather forecasters (and we all need to have a job where we only have to be accurate 40% of the time) would be right.
<LI>If the weather is clear, if that area has experienced snow or icing this season, there's bound to be sand, salt and/or ashes residue on the road to bounce off your paintwork.
<LI>The recommended engine break-in period is 1000 miles (per Herb Helbig's article in VQ). During that time is it suggested that you not maintain a steady RPM for more than 5-10 minutes. Obviously that presents a problem on a cross-country trip.
[/list]

I chose to have them ship it to me. You may want to do the same.

 

[nickdiaz]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The recommended engine break-in period is 1000 miles (per Herb Helbig's article in VQ). During that time is it suggested that you not maintain a steady RPM for more than 5-10 minutes.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh really? I missed that part of the break-in. Nuts. I guess the trip is off.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'll just have to wait another month. (I'm sure you can appreciate that pain.)

 

[JimDavis MT 97GTS 650R]

NUTS! Somewone say "NUTS"? Hay Nick, all kidding aside, your pain is felt, but you have made the right choice.The weather accross the western tier is getting worse by the day. Doubt you would make it with out getting trapped. Enduer the aggony. It ain't that long!! (JD)