Snake Bite, I was a victim of it..

[DaJerseyViper]

*******Disclaimer***** I WAS AN IDIOT FOR A FEW SECONDS AND LOST MY BETTER JUDGMENT AND DO NOT CONDONE OR RECOMMEND ANY OF THE IMPLIED ACTIONS TO BE PARTAKEN UPON PUBLIC ROADS...

Without getting in to too many incriminating details, I will state that I have become the latest victim of the Viper snake bite and did an unintended agricultural off road excursion.... Luckily no damage at all and no one was injured, just some minor embarrassment like farting on a first date. I have now realized how important a good set of tires really are on this car, and just cause they have tread on them does not mean they are good tires. I was trying to get this season out of them due to some dry rotting, but I dont think that will be the case...I successfully scared the crap out of myself..

I will say this, I have owned several very high HP cars with more HP than the viper, and never had an experience like this..I was going straight, 1st to 2nd shift, started going right, over corrected and got out of it, and the car acted as if it were on ice skates and spun, I tired to gain control and realized it was useless and just let go of the wheel and said "oh well, Im going where its taking me" which luckily was into a grassy median..Other than a few bladed of grass under the car and my eyes swollen and itchy from the dirt kicked up in my mouth and face, the car was fine and I was fine.. Thank god..

I can not believe how easily the car let loose going in a straight line, and how violently uncontrollable it was at such a low speed..I couldnt have been doing more than 50 mph or so..

Prior to this I felt like the car was pulling to the right upon acceleration, besides an alignment and indication what this issue could be and what to check? I really dont want to press my luck like that again..

 

[Free2go]

Glad you made it out with a little embarrassment and nothing more.

 

[Free2go]

First time I got bit, it ended with my wife slapping and cursing me repeatedly.

 

[Bobpantax]

Definitely check alignment and while you are at it all the components of the front suspension since it was pulling to the right. Make sure that you clean all the dirt out from everything underneath the car from the recent incursion.

This could have happened even with new tires if they were not heated up enough. A hard rule for the Gen I,II,III and IV, and the Gen V if the nanny tech is turned off or reduced, is to never, ever, hot rod it in any way on cold tires. And even with nanny tech on it is still a bad idea. While you are at it, you might as well check your differential. Also, I always scan the condition of any surface that I am on as far ahead as possible. The Viper has massive torque and any bit of oil, sand, etc. on the surface at the wrong pace at the moment of aggressive application of the go pedal can precipitate a spin.

*******Disclaimer***** I WAS AN IDIOT FOR A FEW SECONDS AND LOST MY BETTER JUDGMENT AND DO NOT CONDONE OR RECOMMEND ANY OF THE IMPLIED ACTIONS TO BE PARTAKEN UPON PUBLIC ROADS...

Without getting in to too many incriminating details, I will state that I have become the latest victim of the Viper snake bite and did an unintended agricultural off road excursion.... Luckily no damage at all and no one was injured, just some minor embarrassment like farting on a first date. I have now realized how important a good set of tires really are on this car, and just cause they have tread on them does not mean they are good tires. I was trying to get this season out of them due to some dry rotting, but I dont think that will be the case...I successfully scared the crap out of myself..

I will say this, I have owned several very high HP cars with more HP than the viper, and never had an experience like this..I was going straight, 1st to 2nd shift, started going right, over corrected and got out of it, and the car acted as if it were on ice skates and spun, I tired to gain control and realized it was useless and just let go of the wheel and said "oh well, Im going where its taking me" which luckily was into a grassy median..Other than a few bladed of grass under the car and my eyes swollen and itchy from the dirt kicked up in my mouth and face, the car was fine and I was fine.. Thank god..

I can not believe how easily the car let loose going in a straight line, and how violently uncontrollable it was at such a low speed..I couldnt have been doing more than 50 mph or so..

Prior to this I felt like the car was pulling to the right upon acceleration, besides an alignment and indication what this issue could be and what to check? I really dont want to press my luck like that again..

 

[DaJerseyViper]

Definitely check alignment and while you are at it all the components of the front suspension since it was pulling to the right. Make sure that you clean all the dirt out from everything underneath the car from the recent incursion.

This could have happened even with new tires if they were not heated up enough. A hard rule for the Gen I,II,III and IV, and the Gen V if the nanny tech is turned off or reduced, is to never, ever, hot rod it in any way on cold tires. And even with nanny tech on it is still a bad idea. While you are at it, you might as well check your differential. Also, I always scan the condition of any surface that I am on as far ahead as possible. The Viper has massive torque and any bit of oil, sand, etc. on the surface at the wrong pace at the moment of aggressive application of the go pedal can precipitate a spin.

I will do..Amazingly there is no dirt on the underside, none..Some dust on the tires and literally 2 or 3 stalks of grass under the car, but other than that spotless..I got really really lucky considering the curb had just ended and I just passed a tree...Where I wound up stopping was about 50 yards from another tree..I literally threaded the needle and got lucky. Oh and the skidmarks in my underpants were way worse than the ones on the road.

 

[DaJerseyViper]

Anyone know if a 295/35/18 tire will fit on the front of an unmodified suspension viper with oem wheels?

 

[Sybil TF]

How old are the tires? I was amazed at the difference in a new set.

 

[Bobpantax]

If you went into a spin before going off the road, you may have flat spotted all four tires. Check them carefully. If you did not plan to replace all four at the same time, I recommend doing so. When something like this happens, expect to have a little ptss for awhile. It is normal. You really did get lucky regarding no damage and no injury and your memory will keep reminding you. I am sure that there are many on this board who have had the same or worse experience.

QUOTE=DaJerseyViper;3271168]I will do..Amazingly there is no dirt on the underside, none..Some dust on the tires and literally 2 or 3 stalks of grass under the car, but other than that spotless..I got really really lucky considering the curb had just ended and I just passed a tree...Where I wound up stopping was about 50 yards from another tree..I literally threaded the needle and got lucky. Oh and the skidmarks in my underpants were way worse than the ones on the road.[/QUOTE]

 

[denniskgb]

thanks for posting a great reminder not to "get used to the car". Glad you just sh*t your pants and nothing more

 

[ViperRed]

I remember when I first bought my 93, the previous owner was showing me how "good" the tires were and how they seemed treaded like new. Exept for one thing..
Tires were 24 years old.

Unbelievable, I didn't even drive a mile on those. Got them changed immeidately.

 

[Allan]

Thanks for the post of this ugly experience.

New Viper owners need to read stuff like this now and then. Hopefully it helps others from plowing in the weeds.

These cars are like no other.

 

[zombiesnake]

vipers are dangerous cars. ive spun tires on purpose and by accident in quite a few different cars. its just not the same in a viper, when they get loose its usually not the most fun experience.

 

[MoparMap]

One of the hard things to remember is that taking your foot off the gas is sometimes worse than keeping it on to some degree. Not saying you have to keep it buried, but modulating just a bit and trying to ride it out can sometime be safer than just quickly letting up. It goes against all reason and instinct, but if the rear end is slipping and you get off it real quick, you put even more weight on the front and more importantly even less on the rear, so it will really want to come around. These cars a pretty sensitive to trail braking and lift off oversteer, especially the earlier gens.

 

[ViperJohn]

Thanks for the post, I am always getting after people about changing their tires out every 5- 7 years regardless of tread. Glad you were able to escape harm and glad the car escaped harm as well. Your willingness to post your situation may in fact save someone else's life.

 

[gb66gth]

One of the hard things to remember is that taking your foot off the gas is sometimes worse than keeping it on to some degree. Not saying you have to keep it buried, but modulating just a bit and trying to ride it out can sometime be safer than just quickly letting up. It goes against all reason and instinct, but if the rear end is slipping and you get off it real quick, you put even more weight on the front and more importantly even less on the rear, so it will really want to come around. These cars a pretty sensitive to trail braking and lift off oversteer, especially the earlier gens.

That' correct don't let of the gas all of a sudden, modulate. And if you do spin, "two feet in" (brake and clutch that is).

 

[AZTVR]

DJV, thanks for posting. We keep telling folks to make sure they have fresh tires because we read these kind of reports periodically. The problem is that there are no "scientific" tests that have been done to demonstrate the actual difference between old and fresh tires. Therefore, people often think that it must be crappy drivers. Yet, often the folks that get bit are often experienced. It would be great if TireRack would take a couple of high HP high TQ cars and run their slalom, skidpad and braking tests on them with old rubber that still has deep tread, and then with new rubber. I'd bet they would increase tire sales. Without those tests, recommendations usually sound like they are based on anecdotal evidence.

I think that much of it is the Viper's torque curve vs RPM that makes it particularly venomous compared to Corvette and others.



_________________________________________________
Jim – ‘02 GTS ACR gray/silver -- sold – ( enthusiastic custodian for 8 years )

 

[Bobpantax]

Keep in mind that it is not just how old they are but how many times they have been heat cycled. So a rear tire that has been the subject of X number of burn outs will stiffen up sooner than one that has been driven normally. It is also important to keep the right tire pressure in the tire for the particular activity. For instance, for drag racing, the rear tires would use lower pressure than the stock number. For road course racing, the pressure is normal and can increase dramatically during a session so much that it is necessary to let some air out of the tires. Even for everyday driving tire pressure can vary quite a bit based on the outside temperature. Let's say you fill the tire to 30 lbs when it is 85 degrees out. If the temperature drops to 65 degrees, the tire pressure pressure will drop considerably.

I leave my tire pressure indicator on the dash on full time so that every time I get in the car, I look at it.

 

[plumcrazy]

karma is a ***** but glad youre ok. good thread to remind everyone about old tires and how if you let your guard down the viper will bite ya

 

[DaJerseyViper]

That' correct don't let of the gas all of a sudden, modulate. And if you do spin, "two feet in" (brake and clutch that is).

I was in the gas partly steering into the initial spin, it seems as if it "caught" then simply threw me the other way around violently..Thats when I knew I was simply along for the ride and no longer had anything resembling control of the car.. I stepped on the clutch and brake and enjoyed the ride at that point...I have drifted the tail on cars in the past and was in control, I have gone side to side while drag racing, I have purposely spun the tails on cars in the past. This was WAY different. Im up in the air between the Michelin PS2's or the Toyo R888's. I have driven a 550 HP car with the R888's that felt really nice and gave it traction, but Im afraid I will only get about 1 year out of them..But I really like the aggressive tread pattern on them. The PS2's I know are great tires also but never drove anything with them and are about $900 more expensive.

Any inputs?

And FWIW my old tires have tons of thread, but are dry rotting. They have a hard feel like a hockey puck. I will not be driving the car until I decide on a tire.

 

[cigar]

And FWIW my old tires have tons of thread, but are dry rotting. They have a hard feel like a hockey puck. I will not be driving the car until I decide on a tire.

How old are the tires?

 

[Free2go]

If you go with Michelins, I'd go with Super Sports over PS2's.

 

[DaJerseyViper]

How old are the tires?

I dont know. I purchased the car last year and they were on there. I have no clue. the tread depth is deep and almost new, but they look like they could have sat somewhere for a long time and then put on the car.

 

[DaJerseyViper]

If you go with Michelins, I'd go with Super Sports over PS2's.

What is the reasoning?

 

[MoparMap]

If you go with Michelins, I'd go with Super Sports over PS2's.

Depends on the rim size. They don't make Super Sports for the gen 1's 17 inch rims. My mom just went through getting a new set of shoes on her car and ended up with PS2's as that was dang near all we could find. Gen 2's have an easier time of it.

 

[charlesj]

Ditto on the above. This is an usual tire size and there are not many choices available. I just put new PS2s on mine for a cost of approx $1,800 installed. Purchased from Tire Rack. They gave me free 24-month road hazard protection on the fronts but not on the backs. Not sure why this is but since it is free, who am I to question? Their promotion just indicates free road hazard protection on "most passenger tires". I guess 335s don't qualify as your typical passenger tire.

 

[Free2go]

Depends on the rim size. They don't make Super Sports for the gen 1's 17 inch rims. My mom just went through getting a new set of shoes on her car and ended up with PS2's as that was dang near all we could find. Gen 2's have an easier time of it.

You know what, you're right. When I bought my car, I immediately put new PS2's on the stock 17's. I noticed quite a bit of slippage at WOT and a propensity to fish around when I hit it going around corners. When I put on a StopTech BBK and got my 19 inch wheels, I went with the Super Sports and noticed a huge difference over the PS2's as far as traction goes.

 

[ViperJohn]

I dont know. I purchased the car last year and they were on there. I have no clue. the tread depth is deep and almost new, but they look like they could have sat somewhere for a long time and then put on the car.

The tires should have a date code on them. It's a 4 digit number. First two digits represent week tires were produced and last two digits are year. So 2307 would be 23rd week of 2007. Hope that helps. Something else that just came to mind is what tire pressure do you typically run in the rear tires?

 

[DaJerseyViper]

The tires should have a date code on them. It's a 4 digit number. First two digits represent week tires were produced and last two digits are year. So 2307 would be 23rd week of 2007. Hope that helps. Something else that just came to mind is what tire pressure do you typically run in the rear tires?

Right on the sidewall? Also I usually run 32-34 psi. Is that too high? I actually ordered the Toyo R888's from John B, he advised me they give the best traction and are the best value.

 

[AZTVR]

Right on the sidewall?

It's only on one sidewall, so on directional tires, you only see it on one side of the tire. However, you have new tires now; so, go out and play !

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

 

[DaJerseyViper]

The date codes on my tires that are on there are 4909 and 0108 so 49th week of 2009 and 1st week of 2008. So um yeah...They are done.