The Beast finally came home

[640bhpV10]

Hello all,

My rear windshield had to be replaced after a defroster mishap. Took almost 2 weeks to get parts, but the car came home last Thursday and looks perfect. I have not found a single speck of glass and the dealer did a great job. I also got to speak with Graham Henkel (Viper chief engineer) about the problem. He was very helpful, both in terms of explaining the problem (and why it won't happen after the repair) and expediting parts. The replacement part came about a week ahead of the first estimate. Graham is also a real car guy and it was fun to talk things over with him (I doubt that many Corvette owners have talked to Tadge Jeuchter about warranty stuff).

The car was done in time for a coast run with NorCal exotics and my friend who just bought a 1999 Diablo VT (with RWD conversion, so its more like an SV). Awesome day and people LOVE the GenV! Lots of attention, even compared to Lambos and Ferraris. I took a few pictures at the end of the day, up at Timber Cove. A lot of the cars had bailed by that point, but it was the best venue for pictures.

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-Nick

[slitherv10]

Hello all,

My rear windshield had to be replaced after a defroster mishap. Took almost 2 weeks to get parts, but the car came home last Thursday and looks perfect. I have not found a single speck of glass and the dealer did a great job. I also got to speak with Graham Henkel (Viper chief engineer) about the problem. He was very helpful, both in terms of explaining the problem (and why it won't happen after the repair) and expediting parts. The replacement part came about a week ahead of the first estimate. Graham is also a real car guy and it was fun to talk things over with him (I doubt that many Corvette owners have talked to Tadge Jeuchter about warranty stuff).

The car was done in time for a coast run with NorCal exotics and my friend who just bought a 1999 Diablo VT (with RWD conversion, so its more like an SV). Awesome day and people LOVE the GenV! Lots of attention, even compared to Lambos and Ferraris. I took a few pictures at the end of the day, up at Timber Cove. A lot of the cars had bailed by that point, but it was the best venue for pictures.

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-Nick

So what was his explanation in case I missed it.

[640bhpV10]

Apparently carbon fiber can conduct electricity with considerable resistance, which leads to a lot of heat. The original rear defroster design could contact the carbon fiber of the hatch if the rear glass is over compressed when installed in the hatch (pushing down too hard while gluing in the glass). This allows the defroster to arc of the carbon and the heat shatters the glass.

They redesigned the defroster mid-way through 2013 to prevent this problem. My car now has the updated part, though I am in no hurry to use the defroster (they did test it and it works).

This is what was explained to me.

-Nick

[GBS]

Nice to hear that they did a good job taking care of the problem. I always loved the Diablo. For your friends sake, I hope the NorCal Lambo dealers can do a better job making repairs then the ones in Florida.

[ViperSmith]

Been enjoying it so far? Finally got home after a month to mine, time for a drive...

[VYPR BYT]

Diablos are hit or miss with me... some I like, other so-so.

But that red thing with all the slotted vent thingy's in the hood... Now That's a Car!

[hawkeye]

Hehe well, I am actually based in Socal (O.C.) so there are a good number of service options. I will say while I can easily afford the car, I'm not so sure I could afford too many "dealership service appointments". Looking at the service history on the car, it is almost a white collar crime in some cases for what these folks charged for work. The number of 5 figure bills that a previous owner got hit with for almost certainly dropping the car off for something "minor" and then being called up and notified "it should also have xyz done to it while it is here", is almost comical.

A good way to light money on fire: Take a V12 Lambo or Ferrari (or... v8 355?) into a franchised dealer and say "whatever it needs / takes". You WILL be putting someone's kids through private school

Clutches (engine out), major drivetrain failure (quite rare on later models), and body work are the only horrifically expensive things on this girl. The rest are very expensive but not much scarier than Gen II parts and just about as simple to work on as a Gen II...

Finding a good independent or doing the work yourself = absolutely necessary in my opinion...

All that said, there is nothing, I mean NOTHING I have ever driven that is like this car. I thought it would be a like a more refined Gen II Viper, but it isn't. It is the most unique driving experience I have had thus far by a wide margin. It is also suprisingly good in the curves in RWD form if you have the skill / cajones to extract the performance

I had a chance to spend some more seat time in Nick's Gen V doing some canyon work, and I will say there is no better drivers car on sale today than a Gen V. It is ludicrous that the automotive press is not holding it out as the last great analog car you can still buy, and that it should be bought in droves before this sort of car no longer exists in showrooms...

Nice to hear that they did a good job taking care of the problem. I always loved the Diablo. For your friends sake, I hope the NorCal Lambo dealers can do a better job making repairs then the ones in Florida.

[mnc2886]

Apparently carbon fiber can conduct electricity with considerable resistance, which leads to a lot of heat. The original rear defroster design could contact the carbon fiber of the hatch if the rear glass is over compressed when installed in the hatch (pushing down too hard while gluing in the glass). This allows the defroster to arc of the carbon and the heat shatters the glass.

They redesigned the defroster mid-way through 2013 to prevent this problem. My car now has the updated part, though I am in no hurry to use the defroster (they did test it and it works).

This is what was explained to me.

-Nick

This is a reflection of good service if you ask me. Not all Viper's are going to be perfect and there will be issues when you are manufacturing a product. This was a prime example of having a root cause analysis done, explaining it well, and then properly fixing it. Glad to see SRT addressed the issue well.

[640bhpV10]

Been enjoying it so far? Finally got home after a month to mine, time for a drive...

I have been LOVING it!

This car is fantastic drive and the local weather has been pretty cooperative, though it will rain this weekend. I finally started exploring the engine's real capabilities, the power is absolutely HUGE at high RPMs. I was doing some cautious highway runs this evening and I found it rather disorienting at night. I am always about 20-30 mph faster than expected. Despite the tall gearing, the tach moves very fast above 4500 rpms. I would need a ton of practice to run this car well with shorter gearing. I find the gearing to be perfect for my driving (canyon roads and coastal winding roads like highway 1). You do use 1st gear in slow corners, but the car can really put power down in 1st, even with some lateral load.

I am amazed by how well sorted this car is and how much it reminds me of the Gen2 with a muffler delete.

I was also VERY impressed by Hawkeye's Diablo. I thought it would feel arachaic, but it has no trouble keeping up with modern sports cars. It also has impressive turn-in and a fantastic sounding engine. It also feels faster than I expected. It might feel faster than it is, but it does feel quite fast.
Don't believe that Hogwash of Diablos can't handle, I thought it handled quite well (though a bit tricky - much like Vipers of all Gens).

-Nick

[Crotalidae]

Hey Nick,

Could not agree with you more. I have the same car as you with exception of the addition of Jetstars carbon fiber splitters & spoiler package painted to match car. The Gen V is awesome!!! Let the haters keep hating!!!

J.