My first ride in a Viper - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

TommyGun · 23rd October 2002, 05:40

WOW is all I can say!
I was fortunate enough to get a ride in my friend's 2001 Viper GTS this past weekend. What a rush!
We've been trying to set it up for a while but simply have not found the time until now. He was married this past weekend and I flew up for the wedding and brought my video camera.
The morning after his wedding we went for a quick ride.
It was great. The car has gobs of torque and it feels great sitting down low to the ground like that.
I am editing the video now and should be able to post some rough clips...maybe tonight if I don't get too tired.

As far as comparing it to the M5..head to head...for pure performance there is no comparison. The Viper would easily out-accelerate and handle the M5.
The M5 is certainly nicer than the Viper as a daily driver. And you can always bring 3 friends along with luggage and still travel quite rapidly!

Angel · 23rd October 2002, 06:41

Quote:

Originally posted by TommyGun

And you can always bring 3 friends along with luggage and still travel quite rapidly!

4 friends!!

I also had a chance to drive an older RT 10....the torque is insane!! I can't imagine what some of those 1000+hp Viper monsters feel like. I have to admit that this car is a lot more fun to drive than the 360M, 996TT and the Z06 IMHO. I would love to track one of those babies some day. But....I just can't ever see myself spending that kind of money for a Dodge.

I'm sure you had fun, I know I did!!

EBMCS03 · 23rd October 2002, 08:06

NICE...

Clips Clips Clips Clips!

Lupo'Z8 · 23rd October 2002, 08:23

Handles better than an M5???

Are sure about that TommyGun???

TommyGun · 23rd October 2002, 17:52

well, I didn't drive the Viper...so it's hard to get an "apples to apples" comparison....
It certainly felt like it handled better to me. But it's difficult to be objective. I mean the overal "feel" of riding in the viper is drastically different. The seating positions are much different...the suspensions are different etc...

Lupo, you seem to be speaking from experience....or have some basis for your question/doubt...???

-Tommy

AJ · 23rd October 2002, 18:33

the viper is the best handling car i have driven (maybe sans the lotus turbo esprit). plain and simple. giant footprint (275 on the front 335 on the back), 48/52 weight distribution favoring slight oversteer when provoked, wide stance, stiff suspension and quick steering ratio

the only complain is the exhaust sound- the v10 sounds like two 4 bangers copulating and a harley watching - all at once

oh, and "you dont spend that kind of money on a dodge", you spend on a hand build car that can out-everything pretty much any car within 30k of its price range. and if 420 rwhp is not enough, the big 8 liter engine is so understressed that you can have 600 rwhp very easy- and cheap (relatively speaking)

alex
02 gts
few other cars

TommyGun · 23rd October 2002, 19:05

AJ, I can certainly agree with you about the exhaust sound...it's very strange...I guess due to the V-10.
I was expecting more of a gutteral roar...but the exhaust note was different...
Anyways...It was a GREAT ride...I would love to get in the car out on the track and really push it to the edge...

-Tommy

M5NSX · 23rd October 2002, 19:11

I have heard of alot of other exotic car lovers selling their cars NSX's, etc.. for the viper and turning around and buying them back after a month or two. They loved the torque but hated everything else about it. After one hour your finished because the car beats you up. Never had a chance to drive one myself to formulate my own opinion, but I hate Chrysler and Dodge products, had nothing but problems with them and their dealerships are the worse!

MEnthusiast · 23rd October 2002, 19:25

videos videos videos!!!!

GreekM5 · 23rd October 2002, 20:12

I drove my cousin's 99 GTS and the torque is unbelievable! You just let off the clutch and the car is rolling at 15 MPH... But of course, in the end, you're driving an expensive dodge engine on 4 wheels (extremely wide wheels) with no luxury. I'll keep my M5 (and not burn my legs on the side pipes like on the RT/10).

BMW M5 all the way!

TommyGun · 23rd October 2002, 21:11

Yes, the Viper would not make a practical "daily driver" by any stretch of the imagination.
It does make a great track car or weekend fun car I would think.

MEnthusiast and UCSDxB0i...clips are coming...probably tonite. I have been playing around with them in Premiere... trying to build a nice compilation video for my friend. But there are some clips that I can post tonite that are just raw footage. I'll put them up tonight I promise...look for me to post around 11pm EST.

-Tommy

Hamann7 · 24th October 2002, 01:17

AJ, best handling car you've ever driven? Have you driven a 996 Turbo or GT2?

The Porsches are much better handling cars than the Vipers, and more refined too. Why do you think the GT3R's do so well in racing right behind the top 2 Vipers in the GT2 class? And as you know, that's with a huge power deficit, since there are no turbos...