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A bunch of people asked for a thread, so here goes - After this past Virginia City Hillclimb I concluded that I had done all I could with the M3. I'd driven the car as fast as it was going to go without reliability-crippling modifications. I originally thought that in order to go really fast it was going to be Z06 or GTR time, and the Viper wasn't really a consideration. Too expensive, too exotic, too much of an "old man keeps it locked up" kind of car. Then I heard about Chrysler finally admitting that having hundreds of these things languishing on lots, sometimes over a year, was a bad thing, and that they had repriced them. It's about the cost of a well optioned M4, or a completely-stripped out 991. But I've been down this road before, the "cheap" American option that trumps all the exotics. My hope is that this car lives up to its reputation for being well built and having a solid drivetrain. Ironically the radio (which is chrysler parts bin Uconnect poo poo) won't play any sound, which is apparently a known issue with these cars and it needs a firmware update. Daily driver? Sort of. I don't go to an office on a daily basis so it probably won't see as many miles. But I'm going to keep it as my only car for now, because I'm a strong believer in the "drive it, don't hide it" mentality, although I'm not going to be street parking it in San Francisco anytime soon. These things are not nearly as expensive as you'd think - Chrysler repriced them, and although there are plenty of dealerships clinging to the hope that someone fresh off the stock option train will come in and buy one for sticker, there's between 25-35K to be taken off the price. There's one in LA right now in Downey marked down to 78K, for example, but I don't like red despite the fact the black will basically be impossible to keep looking good. So the car itself - I've gone completely full throttle a couple times and the thrust is unreal. The sound is whatever Clarkson metaphor you like but it resonates in your head and combines the accuracy and poise of a 458 in the corners with a brute force drivetrain that somehow manages to feel light. It blips throttle instantly and perfectly, the engine doesn't feel heavy, and I felt right at home driving it once I got used to the much taller gearing. That's glowing praise coming from a car as perfectly dialed in as the V8 M3. Its shell is all carbon fiber, CFRP or some combination of materials. I bought the car after hard negotiation and after closely examining it I'm stunned what I got for my money. It has manual Sabelt racing buckets in tan leather, red  seat belts, CF aero bits (with plastic scrapers!) some absurdly overdone 18 speaker radio with a backup camera, and probably a bunch of poo poo I'm forgetting. The computers have all manner of stuff like G-meter and lap timer and so forth. The tires are gigantic, 295/30/18 in Photos so far:         I'll try to get some of the interior as well as the CF bits tomorrow. I have to take it in to get the stupid radio updated, but so far I've only driven it with the windows down anyway 
Das Volk fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Sep 30, 2014 |
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Sep 27, 2014 13:27
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Pretty cool, I didn't know they were all-carbon, that's very impressive to me at that price. Yeah, I know BMW manage it with the i3, but that's an entirely different boiling vessel of halibut. I can understand you being somewhat apprehensive after your previous experiences, but I hope it works out for you. And those tyre sizes are crazy. I looked at the price of rears. I shouldn't have. 
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Sep 27, 2014 13:52
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Looks awesome. How comfortable is it compared to the bimmer?
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Sep 27, 2014 14:31
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Both sick and nasty.
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Sep 27, 2014 14:32
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Das Volk posted:The tires are gigantic, 295/30/18 in back and 355/30/19 in rear.  That's a drat nice car. So to read between the lines I'm guessing you were able to pick one up for mid 70's? Did you look at ZR1s at all?
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Sep 27, 2014 14:52
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Das Volk posted:Ironically the radio (which is chrysler parts bin Uconnect poo poo) You know that parts bin poo poo radio is considered the best oem system out right now, right? So much so ferrari droped the crap they developed and use them now.... Anyway so jealous right now...
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Sep 27, 2014 15:21
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Sick car man, welcome to the world of Mopar   Is that a GTS or a TA, and what's the gear ratio?And yeah, UConnect really is amazing. Seizure Meat fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Sep 27, 2014 |
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Sep 27, 2014 15:25
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This owns, you own. Chrysler has built and continues to build some turds but I have to admire them for having the balls to build crazy poo poo like this.
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Sep 27, 2014 15:31
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Chrysler has had its issues but I think it's turned the corner for good. If you told me I could have any new car I wanted and price was no object, I'd still take a Viper over anything else. It has a distinctly American sex appeal, which is something that's slowly fading away in the Corvette as it becomes a more civilized global car. The Viper is basically the car version of solving problems with a bigger hammer, and IMO that goes a loooooong way towards making up its flaws. The world needs more savage beasts like the Viper.
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Sep 27, 2014 15:34
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Phone posted:Both sick and nasty. Hopefully it's not also bad and rear end Seconding that this owns. It's hard to believe that they can sell all that for under $100K.
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Sep 27, 2014 16:17
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Mighty Horse posted:You know that parts bin poo poo radio is considered the best oem system out right now, right? So much so ferrari droped the crap they developed and use them now.... I just found it completely hilarious that of all the things that wouldn't work, it would be that the stereo wouldn't produce sound. I can tell it's a sweet system, I just have to use my imagination right now.
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Sep 27, 2014 17:10
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295s in the front? Holy poo poo I thought having 235s in the front were big. Christ I'm jealous of the car. Looks absolutely gorgeous.
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Sep 27, 2014 17:24
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What an awesome car. This is much better than your Nazi Mustang. 
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Sep 27, 2014 17:33
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The unanswered question is -- what are the plans for power mods?
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Sep 27, 2014 17:55
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These are great seats:  And when it comes to "standard equipment" on a car you really can't beat this as a feature: 
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Sep 27, 2014 20:33
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I'm digging the new Viper logo, too. Great looking car. How good is the computer at controlling the enormous power? For that matter, is there a "nonstop sick burnouts in every gear" mode for the traction control?
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Sep 27, 2014 21:05
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I passed one of these (same color too) on the way home yesterday, they are seriously good looking cars. I love how similar they are to the first generation Viper. Post a video!
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Sep 27, 2014 21:19
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Oh sweet! I always wanted a 90's viper, the fastbacks were like an updated shelby daytona coupe. The new ones still keep that very much alive. I love the murdered out black paint. Screw "arrest me red" on a sports car. Stupid question but how is the gas millage?
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Sep 27, 2014 21:31
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Holy poo poo red and tan DO NOT GO TOGETHER Sweet ride for sure; I honestly didn't know that Dodge still made the Viper. I haven't seen one in person in at least a year.. Huggable Bear King posted:Stupid question but how is the gas millage? I'd assume you need a gas tanker following when it's driven as it's meant to be driven.
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Sep 27, 2014 21:49
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Huggable Bear King posted:Stupid question but how is the gas millage? So far it's at 14.4... the M3 made 14.8 I'll definitely take some video once break-in is done with, I am really curious to see if there's flame on overrun from the exhaust.
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Sep 27, 2014 23:14
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Huggable Bear King posted:Stupid question but how is the gas millage? Apparently it's 12 mpg in town, 19 mpg on the highway, and 15 mpg combined. Which is not bad at all. My car has an engine half the size and only gets 19-20mpg combined. Edit: Beaten. Gorgeous car, by the way. Definitely on my 'dream car' list (though I prefer the looks of the 1st generation model). You realise that rear tires are not far off $1000 each, right?
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Sep 27, 2014 23:20
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Holy poo poo those rears are massive! Congrats on the pickup, seems to check all your boxes. Hopefully this slice of Americana will work out well for you this time. Plan on taking it to the next hill climb I assume?
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Sep 28, 2014 00:45
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GentlemanofLeisure posted:Hopefully this slice of Americana will work out well for you this time. The Z06 thread is still one of my all-time favorites on SA. Is that still the only AI thread to get goldmined?
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Sep 28, 2014 00:50
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Nice. How's the ride around town?
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Sep 28, 2014 00:57
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Fucknag posted:The Z06 thread is still one of my all-time favorites on SA. Is that still the only AI thread to get goldmined? No, there have been a few AI threads goldmined now. Also, that's a hell of a car Das Volk, I'm eagerly awaiting video. The question now is, what car do you buy when you get bored of a Viper?
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Sep 28, 2014 01:08
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GentlemanofLeisure posted:Holy poo poo those rears are massive! Congrats on the pickup, seems to check all your boxes. Hopefully this slice of Americana will work out well for you this time. Plan on taking it to the next hill climb I assume? Yeah, this year's hill I was simply stuck at the same mark I'd done in the vette and the M3s. I decided then that I'd buy something a lot faster, I just didn't think it would be this soon.
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Sep 28, 2014 01:47
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Holy crap. I scrolled down immediately to see pics and expected to see a 911 or something, never would have guessed a Viper in DV's garage after the last domestic sports car It looks loving awesome, congrats on the purchase.
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Sep 28, 2014 02:08
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I just had to do the math. If I understand tire sizing right, a 355 is fourteen inches wide. Daaaamn.
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Sep 28, 2014 05:26
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Residency Evil posted:Nice. How's the ride around town? It's so easy to drive - you can tell SRT tuned the drive by wire so that the power comes when you really pin the throttle - complete opposite of the M3 with its overreactive throttle because of the low torque. It's a little loud, but the sound system is louder, so it balances out. MrChips posted:No, there have been a few AI threads goldmined now. I'm really happy about everyone's positive reaction to this thing, people on the street love it, AI seems to love it, and it's going to be a very loooong time before I can imagine replacing it. LloydDobler posted:I just had to do the math. If I understand tire sizing right, a 355 is fourteen inches wide. Daaaamn. 14 INCH TIRES
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Sep 28, 2014 05:27
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I take full credit for giving you this idea. Anyways, I went and test drove one today and loved it. Easy to drive, absolutely absurd amounts of power, and the sidepipes sound fantastic. Since the dealer tried to screw me with an insane lowball offer of $58k for my 2012 GTR, I'm going to shop around a bit more but I think one of these will be my next car. 
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Sep 28, 2014 05:35
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Comrade Flynn posted:I take full credit for giving you this idea. ONE OF US
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Sep 28, 2014 06:26
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Das Volk posted:ONE OF US Sidepipes are the best pipes.
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Sep 28, 2014 07:40
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Das Volk posted:It's so easy to drive - you can tell SRT tuned the drive by wire so that the power comes when you really pin the throttle I watched a few videos about the making of this viper - they had the designer on Jay Leno's Garage an he was saying that they tried to make this Viper more accessible and less scary than the previous models, while still being brutal if you really wanted it to. I love that these are built as chassis with body panels attached at the final stage of production - so for a while the factory workers are driving around and testing these tiny viper go-karts with no panels on them. They look adorable :3 Pomp and Circumcized fucked around with this message at 12:46 on Sep 28, 2014 |
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Sep 28, 2014 12:43
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ShittyPostmakerPro posted:I love that these are built as chassis with body panels attached at the final stage of production - so for a while the factory workers are driving around and testing these tiny viper go-karts with no panels on them. They look adorable :3 Bring back high-end coachbuilding! Only now in carbon and the like, rather than aluminium over ash framing. 
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Sep 28, 2014 13:41
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That car is gorgeous, congrats. To put the absurd tire sizes into perspective, here are the 275s and 325s I bought earlier this year next to some normal car tires. His are bigger than this: 
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Sep 28, 2014 21:52
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Jesus that's sexy looking. Hope you don't end up rear end backwards in a tree, but I will not fault your taste in insane land-based missiles if you do!
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Sep 28, 2014 22:00
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I've got some good and potentially not so good habits I picked up from driving the M3. The M3 had very little torque but really short gears, so I'm used to rev matching and using the lowest possible gear to pass. This is great because the manual says the primary thing to avoid during the first 500 miles is lugging the engine. OTOH, it also means that I'm finding second at like 50 MPH and flooring it, causing this to happen: The engine revs much more freely than I ever thought possible for an engine its size as well, so I get to enjoy both the overrun and the ability to just stab the throttle with the clutch in for awesome noise. I'm going to stick my gopro to the car hopefully tonight and see if I can get some decent video.
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Sep 28, 2014 22:34
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I've always heard it said that the Countach had the widest rear tires of any production car. They were "only" 345, yours are 355. You win.
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Sep 28, 2014 22:58
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Das Volk posted:I've got some good and potentially not so good habits I picked up from driving the M3. The M3 had very little torque but really short gears, so I'm used to rev matching and using the lowest possible gear to pass. This is great because the manual says the primary thing to avoid during the first 500 miles is lugging the engine. OTOH, it also means that I'm finding second at like 50 MPH and flooring it, causing this to happen: I can imagine the difference is huge. When dad got the M3, he was obsessed with a proper break-in following BMW procedures. After that, it took a while for me to goad him into hitting the upper rev ranges (the only place where fun happens in that car). After he got used to it, he loved it, and still does. But he was coming from an LS2 GTO, which had gobs and gobs of torque everywhere. Going the opposite direction, like you did, must be absolutely Candyland.
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Sep 28, 2014 23:30
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Das Volk posted:The tires are gigantic, 295/30/18 in back and 355/30/19 in rear. Front and rear, right? Can't say I agree with black over red but then again Corvettes looks crap in red so you might be on to something with this one.
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Sep 28, 2014 23:35
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