Brand New Owner in New Orleans

**Michael-NoLa** · 05-07-2016

Hey all - 1st time Viper owner here! Just wanted to pop in and say hello. I had a Gen II RT/10 on my wall as a child that has always made the viper my dream car. My tastes have changed a little since then, but the overall dream is still the same.

I just received my 2008 ACR 2 weeks ago and it's been a blast getting acclimated. Coming from an FR-S and an SRT-4, this is far more car than I am driver. I'll be driving it old-paw-paw style until further notice.

I've already maxed the front coilovers in height due to the decent size of road variances locally, but I still can't make it up a driveway bump even at extreme angle. I'll be practicing some rear entry parallel moves today and see where that leaves me. I'll keep searching the forums to see what height, rake, and coilover settings other people are using.

Anyway, pics of the delivery are below, maybe I'll run into one of it's previous 3 owners! I bought it from VROOM in Texas. The paint needs a thorough waxing before I hit up Cars & Coffees

delivery1.jpg delivery2.jpg Acr-1.jpg

**BrianACR** · 05-07-2016

Welcome! That's a sweet ride! Love the color

Have you thought of maybe picking up a couple curb ramps? I had to get curb ramps to get into my driveway with my '01, and I still can't hit it straight on without scraping. It was a bit of trial and error but with practice, I know what angle to hit it at.

**fuggles** · 05-07-2016

Awesome car. I like that color combo with the one red stripe on black. Nice. It will be fun learning how to drive fast in that beast.

I run with 4" front and 5" rear, street and track. Now I'm not consistent enough on any track to do useful experiments. I think more rake will be better.

I try to avoid steep driveways. When I can't I use the rub strips and go slow. Congrats on the new ride.

**Michael-NoLa** · 05-07-2016

Thanks guys - Fuggles, I've done plenty of searching but haven't found the concise answers I'm looking for ... so I'll ask you!

All the documentation shows to measure from ground to "middle of frame rail", not sure if that means from the bottom of the frame rail in the middle of the car, or from the ground to the middle of that individual frame rail.

So, where are you measuring from exactly and what are the measurements?
Can you tell me your fender well to ground height for reference? My fronts are at 27" while the lip is still too low for a driveway. I've only got another .25" to raise on the coilovers and that seems incorrect that I should be maxing them out.

Either way, I'm planning on doing several setups over the weekend starting in about an hour, but any reference info would be helpful in getting the most streetable setup possible. I'm thinking perhaps what California considers "normal roads" is different than what Louisiana considers "normal roads" lol. A 5" driveway lip at maybe a 45 deg angle is the norm for most entrances and exits around here. There is definitely no avoiding them.

Thanks!

**J TNT** · 05-07-2016

Nice choice , liking the stripe. Enjoy !

**fuggles** · 05-07-2016

My front fender wells are 26" @28psi.

I measure the frame rail on both sides near the tire to see if any difference for corner weighting. The front measurements were 4.25/4.25".

EDIT:
The frame rail measurement was done on a lift a few months ago with the belly pan on. I can't remeasure today. 27" fender means you are an inch higher than mine. I'm curious how the car handles. I think we want 1-1.5" of rake. I want to lower the front another 1/4" and see what happens.
Our roads are not good. 5" driveway, wow. You'll need a ramp to get in the driveway. That sux.

**Doorman** · 05-07-2016

Hi Michael, beautiful ride. Mine has coilovers too but granted its a Gen 3 coupe and it measured 28.25 to the wheel wells but would sometimes bottom out on the highway. I raised it to 28.675 and have no new issues.

**braunstein82** · 05-07-2016

Good timing since nve is in your area next week.

**St.Char** · 05-07-2016

Michael, that is one great looking Viper! Now...let's get you up that driveway without adjusting your ride height any higher. I use 2X12's that are 36" long, I also wedged one end of each ramp. This is so the ramp won't flip up and ding the under carriage when entering or exiting the ramp. I also installed handles on each side of the ramps to make them easy to carry. You should be able to just lay them down at the base of the curb when exiting your driveway or backing onto them when you are entering your drive. Yeah, I know it's a little inconvenient, but hey you are driving a Viper, not a 4x4....