Maiden Voyage - Impressions driving my new viper for 1st time

Kmrumedy

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It is 12:30am and just got in from driving my 1st Viper for the 1st time for the past 6 hours!! As per my previous post I just bought a 1997 B/W GTS and had to wait to get it plated so I could drive it legally. That just happened.

So...I spent 8 months doing research while looking for my car. I think I read every single snake bite incident post there was on this forum. As hard as they were to read it did build a respect for the car but also made me nervous as hell to drive it. When I pushed in the clutch today and went into 1st gear for the first time I was holding my breath and expecting my stomach to be slammed into my spine. Instead I found if you want to drive this car like a normal car....well...it can drive like a normal car!

Did learn this quickly....I was practicing driving it in industrial park areas with new wide roads to start. Didn't feel like I was going very fast but I noticed a passed a car very quickly. I'm Canadian, the speed limit in towns is 50km (30 MPH). I checked the speedo and I was only going 60....then I suddenly remebered....I imported this car from the U.S. ....The speedo is reversed. I was going 60 mph (100km) in a 30mph zone. Oooops!

I finally got to the highway. Immediatly a car with 4 teenage boys came beside me and started taking pictures with their cell phones. Then a pickup truck filled with kids came by as two kids hung halfway out the window giving me the thumbs up. I drove to my buddies house. I wasn't there 5 minutes when the doorbell rang and it was some neighbourhood adults asking if their kids to have a look inside my car. I opened the doors and spent time answering all their questions. Great kids!!

Simliar things kept happening all night. What a great car!! I know I have a lot to learn about the car itself. But I am taking it easy and enjoying the ride all that comes with it.

On the last few miles home it occured to me....we always seem to want more, bigger, better (bigger home. etc). But if I could chose any car in the entire world to own (ferrari, etc.) I would chose this car in the year I bought in this colour. How often do you get to say "If I could any car in the world it would be a -----" and turns out...you actually own it!!

Now....how am I supposed to sleep?
 
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PhoenixGTS

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Sounds like you have the Viper Golden Rule figured out already - don't flooor it unless you are going straight!
 

kcobean

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Congrats John. Your patience really paid off. Awesome story.

Don't let comfort and confidence overcome caution and conservatism. If you're rolling on 5+ year old tires, look into a new set soon. The difference in grip is astounding, and will help protect you from snake-bite.

Enjoy that sucker!
 

handyman_321

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Great story... reminds me of last summer when bought mine. All the stories and advice you read on here are true. Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders.

One thing I did that was really worth while was a driving school where you take your own car on the track. I have felt much more comfortable and confident since...
 

VENOMAHOLIC

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2.5 years after buying my Viper and the most disappointing moments are always when I have to put it back in the garage after a great drive.
 

Silver_Snake

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No lie regarding disappointment pulling into the garage. I have found more excuses to get out and drive than anyone could possibly comprehend. Some of them are so lame even I don't believe them....
I have made more trips to the grocery store for my wife in the past month than I have our entire 13 yr marriage. :drive:
 

yogibayer

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On the last few miles home it occured to me....we always seem to want more, bigger, better (bigger home. etc). But if I could chose any car in the entire world to own (ferrari, etc.) I would chose this car in the year I bought in this colour. How often do you get to say "If I could any car in the world it would be a -----" and turns out...you actually own it!!

Now....how am I supposed to sleep?

I feel exactly the same about mine. I sometimes go to the garage just to marvel at the fact that I own the exact car that I have always wanted, even before Vipers existed.
 

PatentLaw

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It drives like a normal car when you drive it as such. Unfortunately, many feel compelled to push the limits to their error.
 

AFL in NJ

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My Dream for owning a Viper was when I read about the upcoming ACR and thinking okay, that's pure extravagence....just the type of extravagence that a car lover would have to own. At the time, I'd been saving my money for a Corvette. (insert laughter here)

Next phase was a divorce and guess what happened to disappear first? Yep, the bank account with the future Corvette savings in it, plus about $90000 other dollars, but it was worth it, my drug-addicted wife was now an ex and I was free!!! Yippee!

Well maybe not quite free, I was $70000 in debt to my father who bankrolled my divorce and I couldn't let that hang over me long....so in 18 months, I paid Dad back and we celebrated my last payment by discussing what reward I was going to buy myself. Dad suggested a project car in which I could use my skills and talents to nurse back to life...but I knew it wouldn't work...some other temptress would come into my life, demand my project car was loved more than her and voila, I'd have to sell her at a loss...so I told Dad no, I want a completed car.

We disagreed, but when I told him about this Viper I'd found and the circumstances forcing it's sale...it was simply too juicy to pass up. I got my 2002 Viper GTS ACR (in Graphite without the stripes and 34000 miles on its odometer) for about 2/3 of its value. When I first drove it, WOW, it was like the feeling some lucky man must have gotten when he managed to wrangle a deal for a 66 Cobra with a racing pedigree, except nearly 40 years had passed. Could it be real, did I really own this beast?

Well it is true, I own a Venom spitting King of the Jungle and no one dares even tread across my path or they know what they'll face....absolute embarrassment. I didn't need to ever race a soul, not once, not ever....as soon as anyone heard those 10 magnificent pistons bellowing how big they were.....it was over...their spine slinked deeper into their seat and fear took over....they couldn't take on this car, they'd lose. Even jabs at the accelerator changed those who wanted to race into those who wanted to talk and make peace and be friendly.....who doesn't want the King Snake as a friend?

Well, having my car there whenever I want to look at her, or whenever I want to drive her is an amazing feeling. I still don't know everything about her, but I'm learning minute by minute and someday I will know her every whim and desire and our drives together will be purely magic. I still remember being a young teenager, getting told to "Get the Hell outta here" by the car salesmen as I dreamed about Camaros, Corvettes and the one Viper in a showroom I ever saw (with a $25000.00 premium over list (Canadian dollars)). Now I share my Love of cars with adults and children as they oggle my car. I know that letting children dream like I did and adults re-adjust their priorities is my way of giving back!!

I think I'll go say hello to my Elvira (my Snake's name) right now!

See you all tomorrow at Saratoga Springs!!

Regards,
Aaron
 

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