Introducing my 2017 1 of 1 GTC One Viper Bite

[EliteV]

stunning, this will be a great experience for you!!

[One Viper Bite]

stunning, this will be a great experience for you!!

So far, it already has been, and I haven't even driven the car!

[1ststrike]

Love her! When can she come out to play!

[LmeaViper]

Love that color

[One Viper Bite]

As promised, I am following in the footsteps of my brother @SneakySnakes (@slowhatch here on the VOA) and updating this thread with my ownership experiences so far. Brace yourselves,lots of pictures and information incoming.

So, I received the car in July of 2017 and my good friend Rob Dahm said he would do me the honor of getting the entire car protected with Xpel Ultimate. You should check out his YouTube channel here if you haven't already. He's a rotary nut and has a beautiful 2001 Lamborghini Diablo VT. Unfortunately, the only time he had to come to California to get the clear bra done was the week before the CAAP Closing Ceremony which meant I had to be patient and wait at least a month before I could drive it. He flew in from Michigan to California the week before the CAAP Event and spent 4 days clear bra'ing the car just in time for us to catch a flight back to Michigan for the CAAP Closing Ceremony and to help him film some content that weekend.



I returned from Michigan Monday, August 14, 2017 with one major problem - I was set to participate in Fuel Run on Wednesday, August 16, a rally that runs from Malibu, California up to Pebble Beach for Moneterey Car Week and the car was not broken in yet. So what did I decide to do at 11 PM that Monday night? I decided I was going to put 500 miles on the car in one night. So I plotted a route from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo. Despite being jet-lagged and running on no sleep, I couldn't have picked a better way to get aquainted with my new Snake. It was a blast to drive on dark empty roads and I noticed a few things that were different from my 2013 GTS. The ride was more comfortable in Street mode than it was in my 2013 GTS and the drone was almost non-existent. I noticed that cruising at 65 MPH was an entire 1,000 RPMs less than it was on my 2013. I also averaged 22 MPGs, 4 more than my best average in my 2013. I'm assuming that is because of the revised 6th gear that came after 2015? Overall, it was just a much more pleasant experience. Smooth, comfortable, no squeaks, rattles, or shakes. I followed all of the break in procedures in the manual along the way and the car performed flawlessly despite throwing a code about half way through the trip that ended up clearing itself.



The next day, I took her into my Viper Tech to flush all fluids (engine, transmission, and rear differential).

First up, checking the code. The check engine light came on at 298 miles, 330 seconds after start up, at about 65.27 MPH, oil temperature at 183 degrees. The self diagnostics did show that it was an "unrecognized code". Didn't notice anything wrong with the car when it happened. No irregularities happened on the drive home or to the dealer either. My friend who is the Viper Tech brought me to his station to show me some things. Here is a picture of the code and the possible symptoms. My buddy didn't think it was anything serious but he checked up on each possible cause just to make sure I would have some sanity on my way to Monterey.



Second up, Engine Oil. Very minimal contaminants in the engine oil and he stated it is one of the cleaner looking Gen V engines he'd seen at 500 miles.

Third up, Transmission Oil. The transmission had a surprising amount of contaminants. He was surprised at this. Suggested another flush at 1,000 miles.



Last up, Rear Differential Fluid. Boy was this one scary. You could see the contaminants in this fluid without even shining a light onto it. He suspected that the ring and pinion are set too tight from factory on these diffs which results in excessive wear and the whine / failures we've seen all too common on the Gen V.



Fluids all changed, car inspected, it was time for the fun to begin!

[One Viper Bite]

Fuel Run 2017 started off with a bang. Christian von Koenigsegg himself arrived with the first Regera ever in the US and 8 other Koenigsegg's. Rallying up to Monterey along PCH and through some epic canyon roads in a carvan of epic supercars and hypercars was priceless. I finally got to open the Snake up. Throughout the entire weekend, people couldn't stop taking pictures and asking about my car. Many couldn't believe a Viper could be this nice. Many asked me if it was customized at a shop. They were shocked when I told them that everything they saw was from the factory. It was amazing to see this car get so much attention during Monetery Car Week where the worlds rarest and most prestigious cars gather. All weekend, I only saw 3 other Vipers yet there were twice as many Koenigsegg's and Pagani's. A valet at Carmel Valley Ranch mistook my car for a Ferrari on the valet ticket, a mistake I took as a compliment considering the car is painted to match Rosso Fuoco!













By the time I returned home, I knew I had made the right purchase. Up until the trip to Moneterey, I still had my doubts and buyer's remorse, Especially after the nightmare that was my 2013 GTS. When I returned home, I had wracked up a total of 1,400 miles, made unforgettable memories with old friends and new, and most important of all, I knew I had bought one of the best cars in the world.

[One Viper Bite]

After Monterey Car Week, I got the inspiration to do something I have always wanted to do - make car films. I've always been a photographer and a cinematographer. Monterey Car Week showed me how little people know about the Viper yet how much they adore it. I wanted to find a way to share this special car with the world while sharing my passion for film making. So I set off to create a YouTube channel that would stray away from the normal YouTube practices. Instead of high volume, my goal would be high quality. So I launched Car Gospel. Check out the launch video here. There's lots of Viper goodness in it, and lots more to come soon. I haven't updated in a while because I'm in the process of filming. These videos take a lot of time, money, and effort to produce, but if quality and story telling is something you appreciate, please check it out, subscribe, like, and share!

[One Viper Bite]

Now, I'm just going to flood this thread with photos I have taken over time. What I love about this color so much is how it changes with lighting conditions. Every time I look at it, I noticed a different shade of red, orange, and purples coming through. Prefix did a phenomenal job!

I'm so impressed with how much mechanical grip and balance this car has. Not once has it surprised me. It does exactly what you tell it to do and communicates so well. As long as you are smooth, disciplined, and focused, the car delivers performance and an experience that I truly think is unmatched.

[One Viper Bite]

The two Ferrari colored Vipers finally meet at our local Ferrari meet. LABrit's masterfully spec'd ACR-E GTC painted to match Grigio Medio and my Rosso Fuoco GTC

[One Viper Bite]

Can't wait to see and meet everyone at NVE3. A few more pics and that will do it for now. The question now is, do I go for power mods? H/C? Corsa Exhaust? Retrofit ACR-E CCB's? ACR-E Diffuser? These are some of the things I'm itching to do but so many keep telling me to just leave it as it is because it's just so elegant and classy the way it sits right now. I guess we'll see how long I can keep from scratching the mod itch!

[Anton28]

Great video man!

[hans christian]

Fantastic video

[mikesax]

Nice collage BITE! Loved the car when you first got it- and like mine I like it MORE now! Video was great!

[swexlin]

Brian, nice write up and pics!

[slowhatch]

Car is so beautiful.

I'd start by doing some lowering caps, color matching the gas cap and side emblems to your wheel color. And then sending off the sidemarkers to get color matched to the car...

[CNU_Physics]

Your paint has some awesome color shifts. In some photos it has a dark ruby red color, others it looks a lot like Stryker red, in your youtube video when you are standing next to it, it looks like Stryker Orange to me. Incredible.

[serpent]

Car is so beautiful.

I'd start by doing some lowering caps, color matching the gas cap and side emblems to your wheel color. And then sending off the sidemarkers to get color matched to the car...

Agree with Alex. At the very least, get some spring caps. Just drive carefully around speed bumps and avoid pot holes if you can.

[BrianACR]

Beautiful colour! Looks almost the same as that Regera.

[Crotalidae]

Great vid & nice write up...I vote yes to the diffuser (love mine)...it totally changes the look of the car in a more aggressive way!!!

[chris_lee]

WOW.... That carbon combo with that leather!!! It's absolutely gorgeous. It really does the red justice the same way a Ferrari does it. Love the build pics, thanks for sharing

[98intrigue]

There he is! Absolutely love that color, Brian! Looking forward to the next cargo spel vids

[viperBase1]

Beautiful vid, can't wait to watch it on the big screen.

Lower profiles add to the look, but going low in SoCal is a dicey proposition.

[slowhatch]

By the way, this is awesome ;

[One Viper Bite]

By the way, this is awesome ;

LMAO I sent it to Ralph Gilles and he got a kick out of it!

[One Viper Bite]

Car is so beautiful.

I'd start by doing some lowering caps, color matching the gas cap and side emblems to your wheel color. And then sending off the sidemarkers to get color matched to the car...

Thanks brother, and thanks for setting the example with your epic thread and beautiful beast yourself. I agree the wheel gap needs to be dealt with. But my main concern is ride quality. Doesn't the ride get stiffer as a result of the drop? Or am I not understanding how lowering caps work? I assume they increase the spring rate as a result of the drop.

Agree with Alex. At the very least, get some spring caps. Just drive carefully around speed bumps and avoid pot holes if you can.

Beautiful vid, can't wait to watch it on the big screen.

Lower profiles add to the look, but going low in SoCal is a dicey proposition.

Thanks my man! And yes, I'm a bit nervous because I already scrape coming in and out of driveways. No matter how slow or how diagonally I approach.

What part of SoCal are you in?