Sold my 2002 ZO6 and thinking about buying a Viper
Hey everyone, I owned a 2002 Zo6 Corvette for about three years and I just recently sold it. As much as I love Corvettes, I really want to try a Viper. I have always loved the look of the GTS models. A few Corvette junkies that I know tell me that it is a mistake to buy a Viper over a ZO6 and that a stock C-5 ZO6 is just as fast as a stock GTS because of the Vettes weight and gearing advantage but, I find that very hard to believe because of the Vipers huge torque advantage. What would you guys think?
Also, if I do buy the Viper which will most likely be a 1996-1999, I probably will start modifying it. With 488 cubic inches that car just beggs to be modified for more power. What would be the easiest way to get an extra 50 -75 rear wheel horsepower without supercharging? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.
Matt
A stock C5 Zo6 is without a doubt not as fast as genII vipers. I had friends with Z06's with headers/intake exhaust, and they still werent there. It isnt a night and day difference, but it is definitely not as fast. If you get a genII I would say go with a 99 or newer. I am not sure what year ABS was added, but if at all possible go with an ABS car. Dad's old GTS didn't have ABS, and there weren't any problems with it, but I just didn't feel as safe as I do now with the ABS.
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A stock C5 Zo6 is without a doubt not as fast as genII vipers. I had friends with Z06's with headers/intake exhaust, and they still werent there. It isnt a night and day difference, but it is definitely not as fast. If you get a genII I would say go with a 99 or newer. I am not sure what year ABS was added, but if at all possible go with an ABS car. Dad's old GTS didn't have ABS, and there weren't any problems with it, but I just didn't feel as safe as I do now with the ABS.
I feel perfectly safe in my non ABS Viper, as do many of us who are stuck with the crappy forged internals and lumpy cams in the 96-99 years. Believe it or not, it was possible back in the day to drive down the street without slaughtering innocent bystanders and not have ABS.
I feel perfectly safe in my non ABS Viper, as do many of us who are stuck with the crappy forged internals and lumpy cams in the 96-99 years. Believe it or not, it was possible back in the day to drive down the street without slaughtering innocent bystanders and not have ABS.
Chuck should be along any minute now.
LoL. Not sure if you were referring to me, but I have no problem with non ABS. But given the choice why wouldn't you want better braking?
Performance differences about the 2 cars can be debated all day long, depends on who you ask.
Just make sure you are ready for all this:
- a lot of attention
- brute power and torque
- neighbors who will complain about noise (especially Vipers with modded exhaust, or heads/cams)
- tighter ride expected of a race car, you'll feel every bump on the road (most noticeable with ACR's)
If I missed anything, I'm sure someone will fill in.
In regards for the "easiest" mod to get extra 50-75 rwhp, add a nitrous wet kit. The Viper will only take a minimum of 100 shot though.
If all you're after is 50-75hp it wouldn't take much more than air box, exhaust and headers. Since the stock exhaust creates a lot of in-cabin heat you don't want the stock exhaust anyway. Right now there is quite a few Vipers for sale so you can just decide what you want and go buy it already tuned and running perfect.
I bought a heavily modified 01 Viper GTS with 720rwhp for only $10,000 more than the car is worth stock. I'm really happy with it.
I saw 15, C5 Corvettes on the wat to work today. Start counting how many Vipers you see on the road each day... That alone should tell you something about how incredible the "shock value" is when people see a Viper on the streets.
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