What year is best?

[ViperJon1996]

All the ring gear bolts broke off of my 96 GTS. Talk about sit and spin! Heavy duty bolts woulda been helpful. : )

 

[ViperJon1996]

True, however I'd much rather be slapped in the face by a dorky balloon than a cool steering wheel at 85 MPH.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

True, however I'd much rather be slapped in the face by a dorky balloon than a cool steering wheel at 85 MPH.

Wear your seatbelt and you won't get slapped in the face by either.

 

[7TH_SIGN]

Awesome chart!

Add another positive check for 92-96. They had that really cool steering wheel that a sports car should have instead of those dorky balloons the government forces everyone to have.

x2. Love that steering wheel!

 

[agentf1]

The exhaust manifold was changed to lighter weight in 98 I believe.
Kinda reaching a little bit to skew the list towards later years.

You could never tell this was compiled by a creampuff owner.

It looks to be based on facts to me so I would thing it would be the same if it was created by any generation owner. The facts speak for themselves.

 

[PDCjonny]

I'm convinced.
Going to be the first one ever in the history of owning a Viper that EVER swaped out forged internals for the "faster" cast ones.
Then get rid of this undesirable loud lumpy cam for a quiet smooth one.
Then put some bigger bolts in the differential cause thats a major issue.
Not. Likely.

 

[CA97GTS]

Best one ?
The one you own, of course.......why do you ask ? ::

 

[mattdillon]

Jon don't forget ALL 2000+ Vipers are creampuffs, including your weak '09 and that pooch of a '10 ACR you have.

I think Jon just Hates Creampuffs for some reason, he never misses a chance to downgrade them. I KNEW when the op said that the Hypereutectic Pistons are Superior, would definitely ruffles some feathers (No Matter what you do, some people will NEVER believe that). jmo

 

[Matt M PA]

The whole "creampuff" piston debate is nuts. So many performance cars come with the cast pistons. My former '03 Cobra had them, and the Cobra guys boost the snot over factory without the pistons falling apart.

But...I agree...the best year Viper is the one in your garage.

 

[FastMatt]

The whole "creampuff" piston debate is nuts. So many performance cars come with the cast pistons. My former '03 Cobra had them, and the Cobra guys boost the snot over factory without the pistons falling apart.

But...I agree...the best year Viper is the one in your garage.

My heads/cam/paxton Creampuff is running fine with boost.

 

[WDW MKR]

The whole "creampuff" piston debate is nuts. So many performance cars come with the cast pistons. My former '03 Cobra had them, and the Cobra guys boost the snot over factory without the pistons falling apart.

But...I agree...the best year Viper is the one in your garage.

Though I agree that hypereutectic pistons do not directly translate into a time bomb, your '03 Cobra only had cast pistons if you or the previous owner swapped them. Stock units were fully forged units from Zolner, though of OEM (less than bulletproof) design with extremely tight PTW clearances that could lead to issues if heat was left unchecked (e.g. repeated 5th/6th gear pulls).

 

[Matt M PA]

Wdwmkr...I stand corrected. After having that car 7 years, I don't know why I remembered that. Thanks.

 

[Viper98912]

So would you say that the 01+ was substantially better than the 96-97's? For example, you have the iconic blue/white combo that is impossible to pass up, but the 01-02's with the ABS (yes, I like ABS) and slightly improved interior & features, how much "better" is it? I guess it's so subjective that this is probably an unanswerable question (everyone will answer differently).

 

[Paul Hawker]

When most of us shop for Vipers, we most always are limited to just picking one.

With all the Vipers sharing the same basic DNA there seems to be a need to isolate one car as the "best".

To that end, people will go to great lengths to rationalize why they settled on one specific model to buy.

But the real reason to buy a viper....any viper... is that they are great fun : >)

 

[slitherv10]

In the land of automobile perception , things often become reality that are not necessarily true. The funny thing is that in 2000 when the cast pistons came out, visitors to the Plant were told about the new motor, about how it had more power and was quite evolutionary. This came to an end by Nov./Dec. at the Plant, as Dodge did not want this information out to the public or competition. Skip Thomas was setting up the Matrix for Viper Days and 2000 Snakes were given an added point for the increase that was known. Bingo, Dodge found out and they came down hard, as frankly they did not want this information out , especially for the Competition to know. Time brings about alot of stories and the idea that one did not want a 2000 in case they would Supercharge it became an issue that really had no reality. We have done well over 300 Superchargers, but very few we ever done on Gen IIs by anyone. Yet this became a perceived disadvantage and somehow over the years folks have forgotten the reality of the situation. The fastest known stock Gen II dragstrip time was and 11.7 at Englishtown. You guessed it, run by a 2000 Red RT-10. Bobby Archer was running a GTS in SCCA and doing quite well and if memory serves me, won the 2000 World Challenge Series. The Ultimate Street Car Challenge was won by the legendary Paul Mumford in his 2001 GTS and there are other numerous examples. What has happened in Viper lore, is a small idea has somehow caused many to actually forget the reality of new technology and that the " Creampuffs " moniker was started by alot of folks with 1999 Vipers. Lost in the translation was the fact that a 2001 and a 2002 also had cast pistons, but with the addition of ABS it seemed only one year suffered the ignomity. The funny part of the whole situation is that many felt, at the time, that the bashing of the 2000 came about because of the incessant rumors that the PCM on the 99 was adjusted and with the heavier wheels ( first year for 18s ) the 99 was down on power and the heaviest Viper ever. Marketing wise , the grass roots efforts turned a somewhat questionable year into a savior, all with the concept of best case scenario for Supercharging. Something seldom done, but within a few years the 99 and older Snakes got a better reputation.

So ask yourself how much of this is really an issue and how much of it is reality, because if one really carried it to a common sense logical conclusion one would have to ask themselves what kind of pistons are in Gen IIIs and Gen IVs --- hmmm , cast, ha,ha!!

Yet the Gen V came out with forged-aluminum pistons, forged-steel crankshaft...hmmm.forged...ha,ha

 

[Jeffsss]

sounds like this list was compilied by a butt hurt 2000+ owner who needed to vent.

 

[klamathpro]

Owning both a GEN1 and 2, I have concluded that, quirks aside, any GEN2 is far superior to the GEN1 in almost everything performance wise. Though the GEN1 is a great handling car, the GTS just kills it from a driving standpoint. I never realized this until I drove a GTS. It accelerates better, corners better, stops better, flexes less, rattles less, is lighter, more agile, and puts you more in control. The suspension on the GEN2 is amazingly superior. My GEN1 has PS2’s and still experiences occasional wheel hop on a power launch. The GEN2 is planted and puts more power to the pavement, even with PS1’s.
The only thing I would miss from the GEN1 are the sidepipes.
You can't go wrong with any of the GEN2's but I personally wanted forged pistons to future-proof my mod path and the 708 cam was a must for sound.

 

[Jeffsss]

You can't go wrong with any of the GEN2's but I personally wanted forged pistons to future-proof my mod path and the 708 cam was a must for sound.

yeah but that's the "only" advantage.

 

[slitherv10]

yeah but that's the "only" advantage.

quite an advantage if you ask me

 

[Jeffsss]

quite an advantage if you ask me

sure is. on top of which they fetch less of a premium. no brainer if you ask me, which is why I have a 97'

 

[slitherv10]

sure is. on top of which they fetch less of a premium. no brainer if you ask me, which is why I have a 97'

They do...I must be looking at the wrong adds..Here is 3 adds on my local kijji site on 97s for sale...

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...-GTS-CANADIAN-NO-ACCIDENTS-W0QQAdIdZ377926645

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1997-Dodge-Viper-GTS-Coupe-W0QQAdIdZ377140786

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1997-Dodge-Viper-GTS-Coupe-W0QQAdIdZ369126077

and heres only 1 1996 GTS for sale, and to add, I have not found another one for sale in 5 years here ( in Canada)...unlike the 97s which pop up frequently and, funny as to why, as they did only have @500 in production compared to @1500 96s which you hardly ever see for sale until the last few months on the interenet. here are a few 1996 adds...check out the Premiiums as you said...seems to me the 96 is fetching more no? For the same apples to apples comparison.

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Dodge/Viper/TORONTO/Ontario/19_4850863_/

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/8-65...3329597?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item41655ae3bd

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/8-65...3329597?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item41655ae3bd

Even in the classifieds here, the 96's are fetching more comparing relatively the same condtion car and mileage.

Now,,,that may just be a Canadian thing,,,but on ebay...for the first time in a while there are a few 1996 GTS B/W and the decent cars ( which I am hoping is what were talking about here) go for more than the 97's ( as you notice in the USA adds and the Canadian comparison adds). Touched the subject with JonB and apparently the 97 B/W GTS was not suppose to be. It was produced because of the huge demand for the 96 B/W and so dodge got smart and produced a few more through 97 for money sakes and I believe charged extras for some options that were not charged in 96 to make extra dineros. Anyway, the truth be told, the 96 is the first year of the Coupe and you cant take that away from it. Maybe, and I say maybe, from the Barrett Jackson quote a few years ago, "Hold on to your B/W' 96 GTS it will probably be a 6 digit figure car in the near future". Now, depending on how old you are, you may or may not be around to see that happen but,,,it will happen. If history repeats itself as it has with the Cudas,mustangs,corvettes and chevelles and the like in the past, first year production cars with that much impact on the future of the said, have held large premiums on the auction blocks and or sales ends. Differences between the 2 was I believe and correct me if im wrong but, the wheels were molded as one piece wereas the early 96 were welded (not the later production 96's) and maybe the passenger seat switch. Also a few seals were replaced. Wow..definetly a deal breaker...Otherwise they are the identical car. Oh and the paint on the 96 is more metallic blue and the all recongnizable dual stripes running through the rear licence plate...(my reason for buying them) Not! The 1996 GTS will always hold a special place in Viper History as the Car that Changed it all ( quoted from Ralph Gilles in the interview a week ago while discussing the Gen V Viper.

Its great to feel the way we do about our own Vipers but, proof is always n the pudding.

Anyway, every Viper is justifiable to its means. But in the end they are all Vipers. And we are all part of one Family. Good or bad. Ugly or not. They are what we want to be look upon and thats a symbol of respect and power which every single Viper and Viper owner feels when its being looked at.

 

[scoobie]

I see this on the other forums every now and then. Always makes me laugh how the c2 guys argue over this, which is better, the 63 or the 67. lol

 

[slitherv10]

I see this on the other forums every now and then. Always makes me laugh how the c2 guys argue over this, which is better, the 63 or the 67. lol

1963 split window for sure.....although the 1967 had the refinements, on the auction block the 63 split window gets more money...apples to apples comparison that is.

 

[PDCjonny]

Differences between the 2 was I believe and correct me if im wrong but, the wheels were molded as one piece wereas the early 96 were welded (not the later production 96's) and maybe the passenger seat switch. Also a few seals were replaced. Wow..definetly a deal breaker...Otherwise they are the identical car. Oh and the paint on the 96 is more metallic blue and the all recongnizable dual stripes running through the rear licence plate...(my reason for buying them) Not! The 1996 GTS will always hold a special place in Viper History as the Car that Changed it all ( quoted from Ralph Gilles in the interview a week ago while discussing the Gen V Viper.

You can tell yourself whatever you need to justify your car and feel better about it, but you are wrong.
Having shopped extensively for my 97 a few years back, I can state categorically that 96's did not bring a penny more than '97's, in fact with comparable mileage the '97's were more.
You are implying the '97 was just some thrown together afterthought. The '97 was the improved version.
FYI, the '96's had cast wheels, that were prown to cracking and failure at the track. The later '97's had forged wheels.
BIG difference. The '97's had better weatherstripping too, albeit a minor issue.

People can ask whatever they want for a car. But to 99.9999% of the public they are the same car.
Claiming to be ther first year model may look good in an ad, but it means nothing between those two years in real $$$.

By the way...they made too many Blue and White GTS's for them to ever bring huge dollars.
Sorry to break your heart and your future windfall...lol.....but you're a sap if you think this is your kids nest egg.

 

[wellshii]

Great post. Looking forward to getting mine sometime next year.Forged internals of course.Don't wan't any new cars being faster now.

 

[ViperJeff]

There's always someone faster

 

[broomrider]

Great post. Looking forward to getting mine sometime next year.Forged internals of course.Don't wan't any new cars being faster now.

You never know, Broom might fly by and wave

 

[Free2go]

I love that post up there from ViperJon. What a supreme snob hahahahaha

 

[Caesar!]

No difference in Value between 96 or 97
97's produced less B/W GTS's
And for the matter 98 99 values are comparable
It boils down to condition of the car that commands price.

 

[Sybil TF]

No difference in Value between 96 or 97
97's produced less B/W GTS's
And for the matter 98 99 values are comparable
It boils down to condition of the car that commands price.

That is true to a point. What's going to matter years down the road is how many are actually left. There are a lot of 96 B/W's in the junkyard