You can t winter drive these things

[SharpMan]

SharpMan, I winterized my Gen V way before anyone else. Met with the SRT engineers and one-uped them on their design. We made some videos about it as well. The wheels and tire package is for sale in the classifieds. They have less than 500 miles on them and cosmetically are brand new...in case anyone is interested in driving a Viper in the winter (cold and/or snow) the safe way.

I remember reading about it. I did point out in my post that it's not a traction issue...obviously you can get winter tires and wheels for the car. On the ACR you can even easily crank up the ride height and just think about the extra rear downforce!

It was more meant to be a humourous post and the giant gap on the bellhousing that exposes the flywheel to road grime...nevermind salt! Anyways...was just joking around.

[Matt Dillon]

Different strokes for different folks....

OK, Buy a 4-Wheel Drive! SMDH

[Matt Dillon]

Winter Parking...i hope no snow gets up in the flywheel

Whoever this guy was either a DA OR just Doesn't CARE about a Really Nice car OR just has too much $$$$$'s & could care Less! There Fixed it for you

[camarochevy1970]

Whoever this guy was either a DA OR just Doesn't CARE about a Really Nice car OR just has too much $$$$$'s & could care Less! There Fixed it for you

I'm pretty sure that is JonB in the picture

[theviper]

I remember reading about it. I did point out in my post that it's not a traction issue...obviously you can get winter tires and wheels for the car. On the ACR you can even easily crank up the ride height and just think about the extra rear downforce!

It was more meant to be a humourous post and the giant gap on the bellhousing that exposes the flywheel to road grime...nevermind salt! Anyways...was just joking around.

Yes, big gap and I wonder about salt as well. I drive when there is no salt.

[ViperJon]

I know one thing. It's going to be sunny and 55 here on Long Island this weekend and the roads are bone dry and clean. Has not snowed the entire month.
I WILL be taking a ride.

[Bryan Savage]

SharpMan, I winterized my Gen V way before anyone else. Met with the SRT engineers and one-uped them on their design. We made some videos about it as well. The wheels and tire package is for sale in the classifieds. They have less than 500 miles on them and cosmetically are brand new...in case anyone is interested in driving a Viper in the winter (cold and/or snow) the safe way.

Not to be a jerkface, but there's not much information in your classified ad. I'd guess that you bought some Forgestar F14s in narrower-than-factory widths so you could fit snow tires, and then got some wheel spacers to maintain OE track widths. Why would this take months of planning?

[theviper]

Not to be a jerkface, but there's not much information in your classified ad. I'd guess that you bought some Forgestar F14s in narrower-than-factory widths so you could fit snow tires, and then got some wheel spacers to maintain OE track widths. Why would this take months of planning?

Bryan, good question. The long planning was mainly because there were multiple mixed messages about wheels sizes and tire sizes from SRT, dealers, and suppliers. Then, once a wheel was decided upon (which took a while due availability and lugs), we couldn't get the correct tires (geometry was off). When we decided on the correct tires (which took a while due to availability), we could not get the right wheels (again, geometry). So we finally were able to figure out a solution with the wheels (and we had to wait to have them made), the tires, and the spacers.

Remember, a few millimeters here or there really does change the driving feel. We did not want to just put any wheels or tires on the car. That's what took so long. On top of that, no retail customer had done it before and we were getting a lot of negativity. 5 years later, people are now acting like it was no big deal. I'm used to it though. I have over 20 first-in-the-worlds in my industry (some of them paradigm shifting, internationally recognized). Many of them were done 5-15 years before the rest of my industry started recognizing the advancements. They are all negative at first and put up tons of hurdles. Once it becomes standard in the industry, they all act like it's no big deal and that they never said "no" years before.

Anyway, life is short folks and don't store your vehicles for 6 months. Drive them. Even if it is every 2 weeks for 30 minutes.

[theviper]

I know one thing. It's going to be sunny and 55 here on Long Island this weekend and the roads are bone dry and clean. Has not snowed the entire month.
I WILL be taking a ride.

50 degrees here this weekend. Driving the Viper with the SUMMER tires on!!

[Bryan Savage]

Bryan, good question. The long planning was mainly because there were multiple mixed messages about wheels sizes and tire sizes from SRT, dealers, and suppliers. Then, once a wheel was decided upon (which took a while due availability and lugs), we couldn't get the correct tires (geometry was off). When we decided on the correct tires (which took a while due to availability), we could not get the right wheels (again, geometry). So we finally were able to figure out a solution with the wheels (and we had to wait to have them made), the tires, and the spacers.

Remember, a few millimeters here or there really does change the driving feel. We did not want to just put any wheels or tires on the car. That's what took so long. On top of that, no retail customer had done it before and we were getting a lot of negativity. 5 years later, people are now acting like it was no big deal. I'm used to it though. I have over 20 first-in-the-worlds in my industry (some of them paradigm shifting, internationally recognized). Many of them were done 5-15 years before the rest of my industry started recognizing the advancements. They are all negative at first and put up tons of hurdles. Once it becomes standard in the industry, they all act like it's no big deal and that they never said "no" years before.

Anyway, life is short folks and don't store your vehicles for 6 months. Drive them. Even if it is every 2 weeks for 30 minutes.

Sounds pretty cool! And definitely way more thorough that I would have been!

Didn't the boss at Prefix run snows on his Viper by having a set of SWIIs narrowed? I thought I heard that once.

[theviper]

Sounds pretty cool! And definitely way more thorough that I would have been!

Didn't the boss at Prefix run snows on his Viper by having a set of SWIIs narrowed? I thought I heard that once.

Yes he did, but I think we beat him to it. Also his solution works, but it wasn't the ideal solution due to tire width and geometry. And technically he isn't a retail customer. We interviewed him for the Viper Video Series. Now that I think about it, I don't think we ever released his video though or most of the Prefix people. Maybe we should!

It's funny now, years later. Great memories doing the whole video series and figuring things out for the wheels, etc. I'll remember it forever cause there will never be another Viper!

[Bryan Savage]

Yes he did, but I think we beat him to it. Also his solution works, but it wasn't the ideal solution due to tire width and geometry. And technically he isn't a retail customer. We interviewed him for the Viper Video Series. Now that I think about it, I don't think we ever released his video though or most of the Prefix people. Maybe we should!

It's funny now, years later. Great memories doing the whole video series and figuring things out for the wheels, etc. I'll remember it forever cause there will never be another Viper!

Where are these videos you keep mentioning? They sound like they'd be a good watch.

[ACR Steve]

I have no connection to the ad however thats a great price . It worth it even if no snow. Our R compound tires harden up like rocks 55 degrees and under , Under 45 degrees its outright dangerous . These snows would be great in the cold weather and actually work really well in the rain.

[swexlin]

I know one thing. It's going to be sunny and 55 here on Long Island this weekend and the roads are bone dry and clean. Has not snowed the entire month.
I WILL be taking a ride.

I'm going to try as well - hasn't been out of the garage since 12/28.

[theviper]

I have no connection to the ad however thats a great price . It worth it even if no snow. Our R compound tires harden up like rocks 55 degrees and under , Under 45 degrees its outright dangerous . These snows would be great in the cold weather and actually work really well in the rain.

True and true. The Viper with this setup handled better in the cold, rain, and even light snow than any FWD car I've driven...even better than many RWD cars.

[theviper]

Where are these videos you keep mentioning? They sound like they'd be a good watch.

Here is the link to the playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcwY...BI6NVSRqsMGeb4

We were going to do 10-12 episodes (and still have some of the raw footage for the other episodes) but simply had no more time to put out new videos. In terms of just my time investment, it was high 5 figures (no exaggeration...my hourly rate is not cheap), not including actual costs of labor, cars, etc, which I paid out of my own pocket. I had no sponsors or funding. Maybe one day we will finish the rest of the episodes. Honestly, I think they will be really well received now. We had 90k views for the videos. I'm sure if we released it now it would be a lot more.

It's amazing how attitudes have changed in 5 years. In 2015, people were hating on the Viper and specifically the Gen 5. So much negativity about the car back then, even from owners. It was all about how Dodge messed up. Now, it is all about how iconic and amazing the car is. I guess that is what happens in death. People are simply salivating to hear anything about the Viper now, whereas 5 years ago, they were salivating to say something negative about it.

[Whiskey]

Winter drive is the best where I live. Sunny and 60-75*F, no rain, snow, salt just WOT on a flat and twisty roads. :evil:

[ViperGeorge]

Here is the link to the playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcwY...BI6NVSRqsMGeb4

We were going to do 10-12 episodes (and still have some of the raw footage for the other episodes) but simply had no more time to put out new videos. In terms of just my time investment, it was high 5 figures (no exaggeration...my hourly rate is not cheap), not including actual costs of labor, cars, etc, which I paid out of my own pocket. I had no sponsors or funding. Maybe one day we will finish the rest of the episodes. Honestly, I think they will be really well received now. We had 90k views for the videos. I'm sure if we released it now it would be a lot more.

It's amazing how attitudes have changed in 5 years. In 2015, people were hating on the Viper and specifically the Gen 5. So much negativity about the car back then, even from owners. It was all about how Dodge messed up. Now, it is all about how iconic and amazing the car is. I guess that is what happens in death. People are simply salivating to hear anything about the Viper now, whereas 5 years ago, they were salivating to say something negative about it.

Just watched all the episodes. Great job! I really enjoyed them.

[theviper]

Just watched all the episodes. Great job! I really enjoyed them.

Thanks George!!

[swexlin]

I'm going to try as well - hasn't been out of the garage since 12/28.

60 miles today! Weather is gorgeous here in suburban Philly. Only one bit of weirdness. Car is always on a tender,and in Hibernation Mode. As always, key in pocket, open door, get it, clutch in, press start.

"key not detected". Battery was replaced in fob about 18 months ago. Try again, same. So I take key out of my pocket, hold it, and she starts. Odd. Didn't do it again, after I made stop. I replaced the fob battery (its a CR 2032 3V by the way) just to be sure.

[theviper]

60 miles today! Weather is gorgeous here in suburban Philly. Only one bit of weirdness. Car is always on a tender,and in Hibernation Mode. As always, key in pocket, open door, get it, clutch in, press start.

"key not detected". Battery was replaced in fob about 18 months ago. Try again, same. So I take key out of my pocket, hold it, and she starts. Odd. Didn't do it again, after I made stop. I replaced the fob battery (its a CR 2032 3V by the way) just to be sure.

Same here! I had to push the start button with the key for it to start.

Funny story, drove to the emission testing center today (requirement every 2 years in IL). The one emission guy says "What's that snake thing on the hood". Other guy says "Well the registration says Dodge Viper". First guy starts making dinosaur hissing noises. Third guy says "I think I've heard of those cars". Ages were 20's to 50's. Idiots. But they got the emissions testing done within 2 minutes.

[swexlin]

Same here! I had to push the start button with the key for it to start.

Funny story, drove to the emission testing center today (requirement every 2 years in IL). The one emission guy says "What's that snake thing on the hood". Other guy says "Well the registration says Dodge Viper". First guy starts making dinosaur hissing noises. Third guy says "I think I've heard of those cars". Ages were 20's to 50's. Idiots. But they got the emissions testing done within 2 minutes.

I didn't have to do the key press start trick. She went on the third try. Funny, the battery in the fob for my Ram is original, 4+ years.
I would replace the fob battery if I were you.

I wanted to stay out all day, but I got things to do now. She might come out again tomorrow though!

[ViperJon]

I’ve had that happen in the Viper and in my Wrangler. “key not detected”. Take it out and it works. Less than three feet away. Guess it’s a Dodge thing.

[swexlin]

I’ve had that happen in the Viper and in my Wrangler. “key not detected”. Take it out and it works. Less than three feet away. Guess it’s a Dodge thing.

I know, another Mopar quirk! First time it's ever done it when the fob wasn't actually dead.

Did you get a drive in today Jon? It's like early April outside!

[ViperJon]

I know, another Mopar quirk! First time it's ever done it when the fob wasn't actually dead.

Did you get a drive in today Jon? It's like early April outside!

Scott - Glad you got out! Had to pick a day to get a ride in and I put my chips on tomorrow. Suppose to be even better. Can’t wait.