GTSJoe

[GTSJoe]

Hello,

Today is my first day in the VOA. I bought my 1997 GTS B/W in November of 2013 after many years of saving $$$$$. I look forward to talking about Vipers with those who share my passion about this vehicle. My car has been driven 9 times since I brought her home. I want to thank Jon B, Chuck Tator and Tom Sessions for all the fantastic advice they have provided. Very soon my car will be getting all the updates it needs to make the trip to CAAP. Any suggestions or thoughts are welcome!

Joe

PS: I have already been warned not to hit the gas unless pointed straight LOL!

[mkviper96]

Welcome to the club! Glad to have you aboard! I sent you a private email with our newsletter information.

[KRATEDISEASE]

best advice will come from John B and Tator.

First, make sure your power steering bracket has been replaced. They crack and break.

[GTSJoe]

Thanks. Are you going to the VOI?

[GTSJoe]

That is on the list on repairs. My car is a virgin meaning the 998 recall was never done wrong. Tom is going to that as well!

[C.J]

Hi Joe, congrats on acquiring your '97 GTS and welcome to the VOA! Those b/w cars are stunning, and you're going to have a blast with it. Do you know how old your tires are? Tires older than 6 years are not your friend. Is your GTS mainly stock or has it been modded?

Also, check out the Tail of the Dragon trip at the end of this May. :)

[Ohiotj]

Welcome to the club. You have my favorite style viper. Enjoy it. If you ever want to take a trip down the river I am always here in Marietta ready for a ride.

[Torquemonster06]

Welcome to the VOA. Be ready for the great pain your face will be in from smiling so much before, during and after each drive in the beast.

[GTSJoe]

Thanks everyone for your support!

[slitherv10]

Welcome Joe,

Congrats on your accomplishment. Studies have shown that new Viper owners don't go into shock until a few months into ownership when something just hits you and you start to cry. Please post when that happends as the record standing so far is from member h@#ty who got over it after 6 months in.

:anonymous:

[KRATEDISEASE]

How many miles on the "puppy" ?

[KRATEDISEASE]

The 1997 model is bulletproof . You can beat on it all day long. I do, and it is rock solid.

Only other tidbit. Be careful when boosting the battery (if it goes dead on you) to NOT use a high powered charger but instead jump start off of another battery from another car otherwise you will fry your computer.

John B and Tator are experts on the gen2.

[GTSJoe]

Should I hold off on getting 3.55 gears until driving the car more? If the price is right I might swap the 3.07’s out. What do you all think?

- - - Updated - - -

Just shy of 16k.

[GTSJoe]

The first thing I bought was the battery tender from Jon B. He warned me about the battery and alarm problems.

[KRATEDISEASE]

Should I hold off on getting 3.55 gears until driving the car more? If the price is right I might swap the 3.07’s out. What do you all think?

- - - Updated - - -

Just shy of 16k.

I supercharged so I have stock rear. I cannot advise on that.

[GTSJoe]

Is it a ROE supercharger?

Does the ROE Custom Programmed SCT X3 Flash Device really add 25 horsepower?

[KRATEDISEASE]

Is it a ROE supercharger?

Does the ROE Custom Programmed SCT X3 Flash Device really add 25 horsepower?

Yes, roe supercharger. Do not know about the flash drive.

Had the roe supercharger, headers, high flow cats, and exhaust done and the car dynoed at the rear wheels at 570hp.

[GTSJoe]

Wow! Sounds like one hell of a car! Do you still have her?

[KRATEDISEASE]

Wow! Sounds like one hell of a car! Do you still have her?

Sure... She gets the garage and my c6 Corvette gets bitch parked on the street in the snow and all.

[GTSJoe]

Nice driveway! The C6 is a great car as well.

[KRATEDISEASE]

Thanks.

Contact member "Daveg " here on the forum. He just picked up a 1996 GTS and is also a new owner. He is a nice guy that I sold my original wheels to. You guys can hook up since you both just got GTS vipers recently.

[slitherv10]

Yes, roe supercharger. Do not know about the flash drive.

Had the roe supercharger, headers, high flow cats, and exhaust done and the car dynoed at the rear wheels at 570hp.

Did you tune it after those installs?

[KRATEDISEASE]

Did you tune it after those installs?

yes, it was dyno tuned. But an interesting story. I had the supercharger installed with the headers cats and exhaust all at once about 10 years ago. My car was stock prior and it just came off extended warranty, so i figured it was time to do some work.

And when first installed I had LOTS of issues with drivability. I was an early Roe purchaser, meaning I was one of the early installed units. Right after the install i had persistent problems with the way the car ran. At times it ran perfect, and other times it ran terrible. It went back to Tators a few times and spoke to Sean Roe on the phone about this. Really strange. Ended up sending the VEC box back to be reprogrammed and it seemed to be fine for several years. Only issue I had after that was a check engine light that popped periodically that came up as intake manifold pressure sensor.Replaced the sensor, but kept popping up periodically, but the car ran fine. Then,about a year ago, unrelated, my 15 year old original battery went dead and when i replaced it all of a sudden the car ran like crap again. Tator changed the O2 sensors since they were 17 years old and original. That made no difference. Tator then suggested that the car be dyne tuned. That was done and since then no issues at all. No check engine lights, nothing. The car never ran better.

In summary, I believe that it should have been dynotuned from day one. It initially was not .

[VoodooRob]

Welcome to the club! Sounds like your on the right track to get all the updates done and eliminate the couple of weak parts on the car ( p/s pulley and bracket to name two). Gears are also affected by tire size, keep in mind if in the future your going to change rim diameter, it will affect your rear end gear choice.

[DrTaco]

Congrats on the B/W and welcome to the forums. Make sure you ask if you have any questions about ur new toy

[Double0fox]

Another 97 B/W! Welcome.

[TitleMine]

B/W is so heroic looking. If they came with ABS I'd have taken one over red in a heartbeat. Don't forget to be careful when you're starting out, and to drive it a lot!

[Vprbite]

Should I hold off on getting 3.55 gears until driving the car more? If the price is right I might swap the 3.07’s out. What do you all think?

- - - Updated - - -

Just shy of 16k.

I had 3:55s on my 02 and loved em. Only other mods were corsa and high flows and smooth tubes. In fact, gonna do 3.55s on my Gen III.

True a bigger rim diameter will change your effective gear ratio IF the overall diameter changes. There are a lot of variables there so going to a 19 with a smaller sidewall wouldn't change it much, though might be heavier. Also, in my personal opinion, higher than 3.55s is too much. There are people here who will say they have 3.73s and love em so it really is a matter of preference but I would think you would be shifting way too much. I found the 3.55s great for street driving. Plenty of off the line oomph, but you could still pick between a couple gears to cruise in. Could even do 5th at 40 for great mileage.

As you can see, I say do it. Makes it a little easier to start in second too for when stuck in traffic. Welcome to the club and congratulations on attaining your dream car. It's a great feeling!

[GTSJoe]

Thanks for all the great advice. I am going to start a new thread about losing to a Vette. Please opine.

[Jack's GTS]

Another B/W in the neighborhood. Picked up mine in August 2013. Original owner had put only 13K on her. Original tires, time for new ones.