Sold my R8 bought a Gen 1 , love it but have a few questions

[TrexRhymes]

I recently sold my audi r8 and was looking for a fun replacement . I ended up picking a gen 1 up and now have a few questions.

- Im missing my top side windows and rear windows. Is the soft top even worth tracking down? From research I have seen the autoform setup would probably be best. Is that true? and also if anyone has personal experience or one for sale reach out

- I purchased it with some aftermarket seats , I plan to replace them has anyone installed fixed back seats in there gen 1's ? If so how is your overall cabin feel and any pictures . Im a shorter guy so not to worried about the height but mainly seat position in reference to the wheel and pedals for track days. Also has anyone installed race harnesses with aftermarket seats ? If so what was your method ?

- Im on stock ride height , is it worth coilovers , or should i just go lowering springs ? Also what is the recommended drop to not bottom out on speed bumps and driveways?

- Exhaust is stock I believe , what has been the best setup for you other gen 1 owners ? I even thought about gutting the stock cats rather then replacing with a aftermarket system im not sold on yet

- Hydro Handbrake , has anyone done this ? If so please reach out would love to get my gen 1 setup with a hydro

-Steering angle , has anyone slide there viper enough to need to modify the stock angle? If so reach out please

-Are there any good shops in south florida that work with vipers a lot ? Im in the miami/fort lauderdale area .

thanks in advance guys ! happy to be a gen 1 owner , I can never forget the iconic style of the gen 1 . Any other points I should consider let me know , keep those tires SMOKING !

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[Titan1969]

congrats on the Gen I. Luv mine owned for 4 years. My thoughts are below.

- Im missing my top side windows and rear windows. Is the soft top even worth tracking down? From research I have seen the autoform setup would probably be best. Is that true? and also if anyone has personal experience or one for sale reach out
Individual choice. I live in SoCal so the soft top is convienent because it keeps sun off me during day when it's hot and it fits in trunk, if I want to take it off at night.

- I purchased it with some aftermarket seats , I plan to replace them has anyone installed fixed back seats in there gen 1's ? If so how is your overall cabin feel and any pictures . Im a shorter guy so not to worried about the height but mainly seat position in reference to the wheel and pedals for track days. Also has anyone installed race harnesses with aftermarket seats ? If so what was your method ?
I'm 6'4" so tight cabin for me, I have stock seats. I have questions around a 5 point also but I think I read there's no good / easily accessible anchor behind the seats.

- Im on stock ride height , is it worth coilovers , or should i just go lowering springs ? Also what is the recommended drop to not bottom out on speed bumps and driveways?
Cars already very low, mine scraps a lot on stock setup due to the lonnnnngggg nose, would not recommend lowering more.

- Exhaust is stock I believe , what has been the best setup for you other gen 1 owners ? I even thought about gutting the stock cats rather then replacing with a aftermarket system im not sold on yet
I installed headers and straight pipes. Sounds mellow below 3 grand due to the firing order of the V10, but over 3 grand screams.

- Hydro Handbrake , has anyone done this ? If so please reach out would love to get my gen 1 setup with a hydro

-Steering angle , has anyone slide there viper enough to need to modify the stock angle? If so reach out please
The car does slide a little but with the light back end and massive 335s creates the "snake bite effect" causing many wrecked vipers...google it

-Are there any good shops in south florida that work with vipers a lot ? Im in the miami/fort lauderdale area .

thanks in advance guys ! happy to be a gen 1 owner , I can never forget the iconic style of the gen 1 . Any other points I should consider let me know , keep those tires SMOKING !

Check if the head gaskets have been upgraded to the cometics. If you have the paper gaskets 100% fail on Gen Is

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[Bonkers]

Is the soft top even worth tracking down?

There have been at least three on my NoV Lists - hard to find,
yes, but not impossible. I havent seen any on my new list though,
but they do seem to come up on occasion.

Im a shorter guy so not to worried about the height but mainly
seat position in reference to the wheel and pedals for track days.
Also has anyone installed race harnesses with aftermarket seats ?
If so what was your method ?

Viper pedals are adjustable so your lower half is the most adjustable
part of the cab. Tall people (like me) tend to rub their heads on the
roof which requires a seat lowering kit. Im not 100% on Gen1s, but
I know all Gen2s have built in 5pnt harness mounts to the frame. You
can buy an eye loop kit from JonB cheap which makes 5pnt harnesses
a snap to put in with a little modification.

-Are there any good shops in south florida that work with vipers a lot ?
Im in the miami/fort lauderdale area .

I know Roe is down that way somewhere, but I dont know if his shop
works on vipers. At the very least he can probably point you at a
local tech to help out. roeracing.com

Welcome to the addiction - have fun and be safe!

 

[matt dillon]

Congrats & Welcome!

 

[steve e]

Nice car, gutting the cats is a pain, easier to cut them out put a SS pipe where the cat was, no check engine light to worry about there is no rear O2 sensor , stock mufflers ****, replace those to with something you like,Flowmasters, Borla , ect. Once you do that the car runs so much cooler and sounds Awesome and more HP to the wheels.

 

[TonyBelmont]

I recently sold my audi r8 and was looking for a fun replacement . I ended up picking a gen 1 up and now have a few questions.

- Im missing my top side windows and rear windows. Is the soft top even worth tracking down? From research I have seen the autoform setup would probably be best. Is that true? and also if anyone has personal experience or one for sale reach out

- I purchased it with some aftermarket seats , I plan to replace them has anyone installed fixed back seats in there gen 1's ? If so how is your overall cabin feel and any pictures . Im a shorter guy so not to worried about the height but mainly seat position in reference to the wheel and pedals for track days. Also has anyone installed race harnesses with aftermarket seats ? If so what was your method ?

- Im on stock ride height , is it worth coilovers , or should i just go lowering springs ? Also what is the recommended drop to not bottom out on speed bumps and driveways?

- Exhaust is stock I believe , what has been the best setup for you other gen 1 owners ? I even thought about gutting the stock cats rather then replacing with a aftermarket system im not sold on yet

- Hydro Handbrake , has anyone done this ? If so please reach out would love to get my gen 1 setup with a hydro

-Steering angle , has anyone slide there viper enough to need to modify the stock angle? If so reach out please

-Are there any good shops in south florida that work with vipers a lot ? Im in the miami/fort lauderdale area .

thanks in advance guys ! happy to be a gen 1 owner , I can never forget the iconic style of the gen 1 . Any other points I should consider let me know , keep those tires SMOKING !

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Nice going, If your interested I have a complete uncut set from flex pipe to exhaust tips that you can mod and keep your original in tact - let me know if interested

 

[John333]

TrexRhymes,

Wow, nice looking Gen 1. Congrats! BTW, I needed quite a few things after my viper purchase. Saw that many recommended JonB, so I gave him my business and found him to be awesome.

 

[matt dillon]

Really Nice & you can't go wrong with JonB, just don't call him on Monday mornings!

 

[DJ'sviper]

I bought a top form autoform and it looks great. Looks like factory. It has windows. OOOHHH! Recommend to go that way. I have extra windows and a hard top that fits real nice on the car. They make them specific for your year. I have a 93. I also put on Borla exhaust. Very loud. Great at the track can be a little loud for cruising. I don't mind but my wife says it is really loud. Of all the choices it is the loudest I think. When I see a cop I put a little pressure on the gas because if you back off it will backfire sometimes. I think it sounds cool but don't want the cop think I too a shot at him.

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I turn up the radio and have a nice quiet ride with the wife. LOL

If you are going to do racing the best modes you could do is with the brakes and suspension for a Gen 1. The new Gens were faster on the track but they had to really work to get past me. They smoked me on the corners with the newer technology. But I usually went out to have a good time and improve my driving skills.

 

[steve e]

That top looks Awesome, great fit, best I have seen, looks like a gen 2 Viper now. When I had my gen 1 I wish I bought that top, way nicer than the factory hard top, but at the time I thought the factory top was cool, your top much cooler looking.

 

[DJ'sviper]

Thanks Steve. I think I have about every version of top. I like this one and it comes off if you want a convertible. It is best to have help taking it off. If you are anywhere near there shop you should see it. They have other mods for different Gen vipers and some cool concept cars. Really nice people. At the time I drove nonstop to Illinois from Des Moines and was exhausted. I fell asleep in their office. They offered me a real nice car to drive down to the beach. I was so tired I just passed out on the coach. Didn't want to drive their car and fall asleep driving it.

 

[white out]

- Im on stock ride height , is it worth coilovers , or should i just go lowering springs ? Also what is the recommended drop to not bottom out on speed bumps and driveways?

- Hydro Handbrake , has anyone done this ? If so please reach out would love to get my gen 1 setup with a hydro

thanks in advance guys ! happy to be a gen 1 owner , I can never forget the iconic style of the gen 1 . Any other points I should consider let me know , keep those tires SMOKING !

I highly suggest swapping to coilovers over springs as the rates of the shocks and springs are developed together and the shocks & bushings are new vs. 20+ years old, so the car actually performs better, not just goes lower. Adjusting a ride height to suit your specific needs is a major plus.

I have a hydraulic hand brake in my GTS, in-line system. I'm running Stoptech front brakes and GEN2 front brakes on the rear.

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Polyurethane engine & trans mounts; ipsco short throw shifter & shifter lowering; headers & exhaust; and smooth tubes & K&N drop in filters really transform the car (power delivery, weight reduction and direct feel) for not that much work. If you're going to be pushing the car around, or sliding, bigger brakes are really nice to have. Bump up to bigger wheels with sticky tires to get the most out of the components.

 

[ViperDefender]

Do gen 1's actually have adjustable pedals? I was told yes by a couple people, but I can't find a way to adjust mine...

Travis
getupandgo.blog

 

[redtanrt10]

Do gen 1's actually have adjustable pedals? I was told yes by a couple people, but I can't find a way to adjust mine...

Travis
getupandgo.blog

No Gen 1's don't have them. Adjustable pedals started with Gen 2 Vipers.

 

[ViperDefender]

No Gen 1's don't have them. Adjustable pedals started with Gen 2 Vipers.

That's what I thought! Thanks for confirming.

Travis
getupandgo.blog