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Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747


It's been a bit over 3 months since I finalized my order to replace my 2014 Viper SRT. Between the rod bearing failure, the incorrectly installed clutch and the electrical problems there was no argument from Chrysler over replacing the car. I could have taken a refund, but what fun would that be when I had the opportunity to cut the line for a TA 2.0 at such a massive discount?

Supposedly all these new cars have the fixes in place for the problems that plagued the first run. The black car was assembled in September of 2013 and sat for a full year, whereas this car finished production just a couple weeks ago. I hope that means that this, being the fourth American car I have owned, will finally be somewhat reliable. I'll be carefully breaking it in the first 500 miles, and do a precautionary oil change as well.

But a better, longer break-in is a road trip. A good friend of mine and I are taking it out southwest - Mojave, Vegas, some route 66 stuff and some national parks. Like the other car I will be putting on plenty of miles, but I'm also moving to a better, walkable town where I'll be able to garage the car until I really drive it, rather than use it as a DD. I've already scheduled track days at Sonoma and Laguna Seca next month.

I will upload pictures when I get home, but for now - I bought this shirt and plan to wear it with pride:

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Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
This blue color is a sight to behold :swoon:



I tried a couple different exposures.






Wow what a machine. Looks like the interior's pretty similar, oh hey it's got a numbered badge!


:ughh:

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

InitialDave posted:

Oh, I'd trash that front aero on a kerb or access ramp in the first week.

Certainly looks good, though. Do you have to run a front plate where you are?

Legally required, yes, but I won't and haven't for many years. The aero bits sit at the same height as the black car, so they'll probably get beat up, but those have survived remarkably well. I'm considering removing them unless the car goes on the track, but I'll have to see how difficult it is and whether it looks too weird or not.

The good news with this car is all the poo poo I didn't like about the black car is fixed in it - the suspension is Bilstein Damptronic, the brakes are Brembo 2-piece rotors with aggressive pads, and the stereo is now Harman/Kardon. Once it's broken in I'll put it on the dyno and see how it differs from the old car.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Elmnt80 posted:

There really isn't another option at this point.

Hah I checked that as soon as I got home, it was taken.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

DICKPOCALYPSE NOW posted:

Problem with picking 13THSTP is most people will assume An APC reference in the bay area.

:confused:

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
Considering this car is going into Death Valley for its first major trip, it could get interesting. I would like recommendations on places to see in the southwest - we're going to be following the old route 66 for a bit, do the extraterrestrial highway, and Zion/Bryce. Points of interest or favorite parks out there would be great to know about.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
:raise:

quote:

2014 SRT Viper Break-in
A long break-in period is not required for the drivetrain
(engine, transmission, and rear axle) in your new vehicle.
Following these few simple guidelines is all that is
necessary for a good break-in.
For the first 500 miles (800 km):
• Keep your vehicle speed below the legal, posted speed
limit and your engine speed below 4,000 RPM.
• Avoid driving at a constant speed, either fast or slow,
for long periods.
• Do not make any full throttle starts and avoid full
throttle acceleration.
• Use the proper gear for your speed range.
• Wait until the engine has reached normal operating
temperature before driving at the recommended maximum
break-in speed.
• Avoid excessive idling.
• Check the engine oil level at every fuel fill.
NOTE: A new engine will consume some oil during the
first few thousand miles (kilometers) of operation. This
should be considered a normal part of the break-in and
not interpreted as a sign of difficulty.

quote:

2015 Dodge Viper Break-In
0 to 100 miles (0 to 161 km):
• Do not allow the engine to operate at idle for an
extended period of time.
• Depress the accelerator pedal slowly and not more
than halfway to avoid rapid acceleration.
• Avoid aggressive braking.
• Drive with the engine speed less than 3,500 RPM.
• Maintain vehicle speed below 55 mph (88 km/h) and
observe local speed limits.

100 to 300 miles (161 to 483 km):
• Depress the accelerator pedal slowly and not more
than halfway to avoid rapid acceleration in lower
gears (1st to 3rd gears).
• Avoid aggressive braking.
• Drive with the engine speed less than 5,000 RPM.
• Maintain vehicle speed below 70 mph (112 km/h) and
observe local speed limits.

300 to 500 miles (483 to 805 km):
• Exercise the full engine rpm range, shifting manually
(paddles or gear shift) at higher rpms when possible.
• Do not perform sustained operation with the accelerator
pedal at wide open throttle.
• Maintain vehicle speed below 85 mph (136 km/h) and
observe local speed limits.

For the first 1500 mi (2414 km):
• Do not participate in track events, sport driving
schools, or similar activities during the first 1500 mi
(2414 km).

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
We had a rare bad weather day so I really didn't get any great pictures, but I did get in some break-in miles. I'm very carefully following the break-in procedure, and it helps that the roads around here let you carry silly speed without really trying. This was what I really expected when I bought the Viper the first time around though. The TA 2.0 is a vast collection of little improvements and tweaks over the base model. The Bilsteins ride much better than stock, the car handles noticeably better, the brakes are much stronger, everything about it is dialed up 10-20%. Even the base stereo is a huge improvement. Anyway, the one decent picture from today -



Anyone wanna guess what this is? :v:

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

kastein posted:

a plugin power port pigtail for hard wiring a radar detector? :getin:

We have a winner!

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

meatpimp posted:

The asymmetry of that stripe makes me twitch.

This picture, though, captures my question -- what does the blue look like in real life? In the pictures you posted, DV, the car looks like a pastel blue (like an original '90 blue Miata that has faded), but in the picture above and what The Linux Fairy posted, it looks like it may have a darker depth to it that could be quite awesome... does it have somewhat of a shift in person?

It's been really hard to capture the color, to the eye it looks much darker. Doing HDR with my phone makes it look much brighter so I'm pretty sure that there's some color shift going on, it reminds me of Santorini Blue on BMWs but different somehow.

Linux Fairy made a good point yesterday using Clarkson as an example, that what can be said about cars above a certain level is undifferentiated. Looking at the specs for the ACR, I find it difficult to imagine something faster still, and the analog nature of the car really takes it into uncharted territory for most drivers.

The Linux Fairy posted:

What a loving apocalyptic sound that thing makes. It feels like the end of the world is outside the windows.

If I had the cash on hand, I ... let's be real. I wouldn't buy one. I would be dead within the week.

Thanks for the ride earlier today -- glad to have gotten it while all the rods are still inside! Enjoy the road trip.

You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed it, hopefully this one is going to last.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

BrokenKnucklez posted:

That color is perfect. Does the V10 require unicorn piss in terms of oil?

Not as high a price as the BMW Castrol TWS for M cars, but there's an "SRT formula" called Pennzoil Ultra. I'm not sure how it differs from other oils but there's some certification level it has that others don't. I'm taking the "early and often" option for oil changes, it's getting one at 500 miles tomorrow before we set off.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
Looks like all I need now is to get Euclid's C-Finder from that kid...

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Ether Frenzy posted:

You driven through any tunnels yet? I can't imagine that's any fun when you cannot stomp on it yet. (how many more miles 'til it's broken in?)

Break-in is done now, so I can make the jump to lightspeed anytime I like :v:

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Bape Culture posted:

Have you done a slide? Is it sketchy as balls?

The new suspension is waaaaaayyyyyyy better at handling the car's power. I slid the old one around a bit and you could tell you're really playing with fire.

meatpimp posted:

I expected a trip report by now.

How is the new one holding up?

TPMS got freaked out by the negative altitude in Death Valley, and has been throwing errors since, so I'll have to get that looked at. Otherwise it's doing well!

More photos:



Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

cursedshitbox posted:

Not hardly. No cop ever patrols that far out. By all means. do loving 180 or all she's got.

Did you take the artist drive loop DasVolk?

I couldn't, the road was shredded :( Good enough reason to go back though, we were already talking about going back next year in something AWD with camping gear.

And yeah, it's so incredibly sparse out there we got to play around with the effects of aerodynamics and air density. Turns out the car runs out of power at about 8000ft DA @ 164MPH, and the power meter reads around 550hp. Down at sea level it's pulling hard at 175 and measuring 740hp, for reference.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

14 INCH SLIT posted:

I got go cane the hell out of a 2012 or 2013 or so six speed M3 yesterday, and with the smile it left on my face I can only imagine what daily driving one of those, much less a blue ICBM on wheels is like. Jesus christ. Granted, I only briefly managed to hit full redline to hear it sing once during the drive, but still, jesus.

I still think it's one of the truly great cars, those M3s. The engine is such a pleasure to listen to and the whole car's design makes great speed effortless. The Viper by contrast is bracing to drive even for people with loads of experience going fast. And by bracing, I mean it's mind destroyingly fast. There is NOTHING in my driving resume, including the 605hp 458 Speciale, that has the ferocity of this car.

This car is made of the stuff that gets you to the moon, and this engine is a Saturn V. Imagine these engine thrusts but compressed into the spacing of automotive gears, and separated by 1.5-2.0 seconds at the most: https://youtu.be/J99HJ-HofqM?t=64

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
I took the car to a couple of track days, one at Sonoma where I don't know the line that well, and one at Laguna Seca, where I am a little more experienced.

This guy wanted to race:


That didn't go as planned, but his best lap of the weekend was a long way from mine anyway...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jtQ9g9e40U

I'll post some more pics up later if anyone cares.

HotCanadianChick posted:

You haven't really felt acceleration until you've been on something that can cause a partial grey-out from acceleration.* :getin:

*a liter bike

I'll let z3n comment on that one

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

SFH1989 posted:

Aside from the wheels and tires was the Corvette stock?

Yeah, the car was pretty new, had the automatic 'box.

We were definitely going for a theme in our little group.



This GT40 kit was great, it shot flame on decel the whole time.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

MrChips posted:

I think that's just the PWM effect on the LEDs. They pulse them to vary their brightness, which can cause all kinds of funky effects on camera.

E: f,b

Did that Z06 puke up engine coolant or intercooler coolant?

It blew engine coolant all over the place, apparently he parked it after that. Someone said it was reading 305F on the engine oil and went into limp mode.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

SFH1989 posted:

So the overheating issues with the Z06 weren't just the test cars or "not broken in yet"?

No, he was caning the poo poo out of it trying to catch me, but it's no excuse, ambient temp was 75F that day. I had to hang back for a couple laps to cool the tires off (and let him regain the half a lap or so to have another go) but as soon as we hit clean air on the front straight he dropped back and then pitted. The Z06 definitely has a real world problem.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

kimbo305 posted:

DV, did you stay in contact with corporate through their FCA case system? I'm trying to figure out how much to bug them and how promptly they'll contact me.

I started out with the SRT hotline and bugged FCA directly just for the legal bit of the actual buyback paperwork. Given your situation you shouldn't need any of that, I think once they realize what happened they should just put the parts on order and do it. I suppose you could ask for a cash equivalent too, and get the MCS remote reservoir adjustables from Woodhouse too.

You got any pics of that thing? It's nice to have another Viper owner in here!

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

SFH1989 posted:

That settles what my choice would be between the two American supercars I can't afford anyway. The Viper comes in better colors too. Maybe Chevy banked too much on the Z06 only being driven around at the speed limit by old white guys before getting trapped inside and dying.

That's sad to see, and I would bet that happened not due to a loose cable but due to the faulty key fob they put in those. Mine was intermittent the whole time I owned the car so I just got used to using the "emergency" door pull.

Here are a few more photos from the pro-tographers -








Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Tremek posted:

Re: the blinking tail lights, I have seen that while on the track behind a GT3 before, it's a feature that typically only gets coded on Euro delivered cars but you can enable on a lot of brands (Mercedes in particular, my E55 was capable of it.) Not just an artifact of a camera, at least on the Mercedes it was intended to signal "hard" braking based on pedal position.

It's pretty convenient on the track, since you know how hard the driver is working the car as well as how much to modulate your own braking.

What's happening is LED lights put out a different amount of light, and rather than manufacture a bajillion different output levels in LEDs they use pulse width modulation to effectively change the light output over time. Hence the refresh rate differences.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Alman posted:

Do you use SRT Performance Pages at all? I'm associated with the team that builds and tests the app for all of the SRT brands. We've had some real struggles with the capabilities of the UI libraries available in the app framework, but keep trying to find little performance tweaks as we can. Is the gauge representation still noticeably laggy?

I do use them, and yeah it's a little slow. One problem I have is that you guys capped the power meter, it maxes out at 650hp while the gauge in the cluster will read 740-750hp with a favorable DA, so it just sits at 650hp for 1/4 of the rev range at WOT. How is the car's power measured by the way? I noticed that the meter seems very accurate, lower DA will result in a significant power loss and it's represented well on the power/torque readout.

I don't understand why the apps take so long to load when the data is right there in the gauge cluster. I was a software engineer closer to the beginning of my career so if you need details I'd be happy to give you guys specific feedback. One of the things Uconnect really needs is a Spotify app, and I hate that there's no "off" button for the radio. I want it to STFU sometimes and with bluetooth it will turn audio on even while paused or muted if a notification sound is played on the phone.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

kimbo305 posted:

Do you leave the screen on auto brightness? It seems too bright at night on auto.

I do, but I think it's independently adjustable from the rest of the gauge cluster. Keep digging in the settings, also check here - https://www.driveuconnect.com/software-update/ most of the uconnects are at least a few versions behind by now.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Alman posted:

I can talk for eons about this stuff. It's a little late here for an effort post (I'll make a longer post later), but the short answer is that pretty much any CAN signal you're seeing in Performance Pages is a direct representation of the value from the instrument cluster. I'd have to go back and check the specs to be sure, but I'm relatively positive everything comes from the IC. I'm not sure about the horsepower thing. I'll ask around next week. Maybe you found a defect for us :) The main reason the apps take so long to load is because it's loading every single image asset into memory when you're launching the app. That's part of the limitation of the UI framework. I'll talk about it more in-depth when I have more time to post in the next couple days.

The Spotify thing is a whole different clusterfuck, but the next generation of head units from FCA will support CarPlay and Android Auto which should remedy that. Unfortunately it won't be backwards compatible, at least as far as I know.

Any comments on this? http://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway/

:v:

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Z3n posted:

I would really enjoy reading this - both the nerd blather and the effortpost about proper wiring, as it's relevant to a lot of the bike work I do.

And then Das Volk can have his thread about lucky #13 back. :v:

There isn't much to tell until the Hillclimb in 5 weeks (we have a McLaren P1 registered!!!), and by the way, kimbo you should buy a car at VX and bring it :v:

I'm enjoying the update uconnect put out because my car isn't being rammed into a wall by hackers the Bluetooth is much snappier and the equalizer settings apply all the time now. I am a bit bothered that the car's got so much tech in it, but I'm thankful for the fully separate mechanical handbrake and manual trans.

It needs much more care and attention than my M3s did. Much more frequent oil changes for one, the DOT4 in it is probably not up to the task, and it even needs better dealerships. When I took it to the strip, the clutch got stiff, and the TPMS started freaking out when I drove it below sea level. I took it to a local dealer, only to find out they weren't Viper Certified, then another, same thing. The third dealership was but the tech lied repeatedly about what was wrong - claiming the clutch was gone, that the CAGS was defeated (I wish) that I'd raced and modified the car and a bunch of other bullshit. I took the service manager out to show what a liar the tech was: the CAGS was still functional; he was so loving lazy he hadn't driven the car even the requisite 5 minute warm-up to enable it. The clutch wasn't worn at all, but needed a fluid change (later verified independently,) and the TPMS issue was a broken sensor no amount of relearning would fix. While I have a written letter of apology and admittance of wrongdoing from that dealership, it won't change the fact that I should have listened to the VOA guys in the first place and taken it to the only dealer in the bay area that's known to be good - the one that did my exchange. They fixed the car in a day and a half, and washed it too! This dealership experience reminds me a lot of what I learned with GM. If you really want to run a new car into the ground and have legitimate means for a lemon law, take it to a lovely dealership that doesn't know their rear end from a hole in the ground.

The first car I had, I worried that because the car was 2 quarts low on oil, I had contributed to its failure. I recently found out that the engineers looked at the dead motor, and its failure was due to a mis-machined #8 rod bearing, which apparently had happened on dozens of motors built around the time of my black car. I suppose that's what happens when you have to chase raccoons out of your factory before resuming building the great American supercar after a 3 year hiatus. I absolutely adore the car and I'm happy that I have had better luck with this one. Now that I have a reliable dealer to work with (and no mis-manufactured bearings), I think I can keep this car working for a long time.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
Sounds about right ;)

For reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLTnZ9nwgI

I simply pushed too hard into that turn. I had two options: let the car slide into the mountain, or let the mechanical LSD save my rear end. I chose the latter, and there's a video explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3BKLn9yK-o

The Viper has a similar setup, so we'll see :unsmigghh:

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

mobby_6kl posted:

How was your M3 in terms of maintenance and running costs (besides gas obv)? Hopefully I'll be able to consider an E92 soon enough, though it'd have to be serious decision and not a toy purchase so things like that would need to be at least somewhat reasonable.

Really jello about the Viper too but there's no way I'd be able to get it here in the EU anytime soon.

The E92 was nigh on indestructible and only really needed oil every 7500 and diff/trans every 30k.

Adiabatic posted:

"You Guys, I Think I'm Out Of The Woods, Part II: The Das Volk Story"

:golfclap:

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Ether Frenzy posted:

I bought my 16k mile E92 in January, so far I've had to shell out for: 1 $220 oil change, 1 $250 battery, a couple hours of labor for installing/coding the battery & giving it a general checkup a month after purchase, and 1 set of angel eye bulbs (battery and bulb were both original equipment for an '08 car).

The real expenses (other than gas, which was a bargain for the first 3 months of ownership) so far have been detailing products and the effort of cleaning it myself. And $20's for the valet to let me park it myself.

It's pretty reasonably acting like "A regular car" thus far considering what a highly-strung & focused machine it actually is when it wants to be and I semi-daily drive it to work to the tune of about 80-100 miles a week in addition to weekend fun drives. I've put about 4000 miles on it and it'll be due another oil change in September or so, I don't anticipate any further 'scheduled' maintenance this year, with tires ($1200) possibly being needed a bit after the 1 year ownership mark.

I think I got spoiled by the M3 and its reliability, given how much power they wring out of the motor. I have no idea how they made that thing so good, but once I pay the Viper off in a few months I might start looking for another M3.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
Again, this is why I'm glad I bought a car with a manual + mechanically operated ebrake. gently caress that poo poo ten ways from Sunday.

In other news the VCHC is about to go down as one of the most epic in our history. I'll post videos and photos as I can here and hopefully the biggest Viper burnout of all time (I'm considering my tires done after the event even though they have a good amount of tread.)
For starters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9ObruM554g

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

kimbo305 posted:

More e/n from me. So Chrysler uses a 3rd party company called ISG to handle buyback situations. A timeline:

6/25: I manage to get a case opened within FCA's ticket system, after navigating SRT's support system for a few days.
7/7: I escalate the case a few times myself before finally getting a person who can offer some remedies.
7/15: He passes me over to ISG, who sends me some forms to fill out. After shooting them a huge wad of data, they hunker down to prepare a buyback proposal.
7/22: I receive and agree to ISG's proposed buyback price, which is thankfully 100% of my taxes, fees, financing, etc.
8/10: I ask how things are. ISG says FCA cut the check and they're waiting for it to get mailed to the receiving dealership (where I'll turn the car in)
8/20: I check in again, wondering how long a check in the mail will take. Oops, ISG says no check was actually mailed. Any buyback that is more than $75k takes extra levels of approval, the status of which are opaque to me. ISG says this process can take up to 60 days. :wtc: how many extra people need to sign off on this?
I ask my one contact in FCA who handled my situation when I opened it up with the SRT service center. He said he'd try to expedite it.

So 2 months have passed, and I have no clue how far away I am from being able to turn the car in.

Most of this sounds like horseshit but it's really that Chrysler is still in flux post-buyout. I'd get with the GM of the dealer and make friends with him since he'll be the one handling it, don't talk to people down the foodchain about it. If you post on VOA there's a lot of people with ISG contacts that can give a kick in the rear end, but really, just enjoy the free Viper. They'll get around to it.

mods thread title change to "Free Viper appreciation station" plz

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

glyph posted:

DV, where'd the hillclimb trip report wind up? (I don't keep up with the chat thread- too much, too fast).

Wanna see some dream cars bouncing off their rev limiters.

I'll do a photo dump in a thread since a couple of other AI'ers are coming. I don't know what Motor Trend's time line for producing episodes is either, but I'll see if they can give me some footage bits to throw on youtube.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
Posting to update and keep this out of the archives. Chrysler was dumb enough to sell me a lifetime bumper to bumper warranty on the car, and my friend owns the biggest/best Dodge dealership in the Bay Area, so I got it at cost. Apparently Mopar extended warranty doesn't draw any distinctions between a Caravan and a Viper when they sell them, so for the princely sum of $2000 I will personally cause the downfall of FCA.

A few things things broke on the car - the shifter kept coming loose and the bezel plate on the cover finally broke from them popping it loose to re-tighten it several times. It also needed an amp and a navigation unit, the stereo started making awful dying sounds and finally quit, so I pulled the amp fuse until I got around to taking it in. It'll have a new shifter handle, clamp assembly and so forth in the transmission as well. It's been sitting around for weeks while they ship the wrong parts to them over and over again, of course, because Chrysler.

I've been harassing Kumho USA to sell the ACR tire in the 18" wheel size for the rest of us non-ACR owning plebs. In case you've been living under a rock, the ACR took back the Laguna Seca production car lap record, crushing the original TA's time and the Porsche 918 & McLaren P1 in the process:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXP3Eij2GGA

At the beginning of 2016, Bondurant will be dumping their fleet (including the C7 Corvettes :laugh:) for Viper TA 2.0's and ACRs. I never used the coupon I got for the track day from this car, so I'm going to sign up for that one next year. Since my car is the middle child between the old TA and the ACR (better aero, better brakes, slightly more power, different gearing, alignment, etc etc) I was kind of hoping to see a time for the TA 2.0, but I don't think that's going to happen for now. At the end of the month, I will be returning to Laguna Seca for a one day track event, so I'll have some more content then.

Here are some new photos courtesy of the folks at the hillclimb:














I love this car so much. It's a dramatic leap forward from the M3, but I've driven lots of great cars over the years and it's still the best car I've ever driven. Team Viper did it right: Simplify, then add lightness. They applied extremely sophisticated techniques to keep their formula working, reducing complexity while improving performance. How they can afford to build a car with carbon fiber body panels and chassis development from Ferrari is beyond my understanding though. Underneath, the Viper is still basically the same car, but thanks to the extensive re-engineering, it's lighter, stiffer, faster, and has dramatically improved handling. They've managed this despite having to add a lot of weight to the car in the form of interiors, stereos, and more airbags. The end result is that the TA feels like an Exige with 500hp, and I think we can probably all agree that's a good thing.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

kimbo305 posted:

Do you want my copy of the SRT development journal picture book? It doesn't cover things in tremendous detail, but it goes address how they went from GenIV to GenV on a tiny budget. Basically, they warmed the IV over as precisely as possible. They did exactly 2 things to the engine (variable timing cam and better intake manifold) to pick up 40hp. And similar for the rest of the car -- try to target the most rewarding low-hanging fruit and deliver. This makes me think that, with careful aftermarket suspension choices, you can have a very fast GenIV, even if those are exactly super discounted yet.

That would be great, thanks! Seeing them do things like re-creating the chassis for stiffness while reducing welding by 70% was interesting to me.

I'll email you my current mailing address.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

LloydDobler posted:

You know someone's gonna ask, any good video off that camera stuck to your fender?

I thought I had posted it in this thread, but it looks like I didn't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlI8CSD_T5s

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747
Seeing it tucked away deep in the underground carpark is still an exciting experience. The aero pieces add to the car's silhouette and it gives me goosebumps every time I look at it. Kimbo is right in that the car is physically small, but so too are most other supercars, and the presence it has places it firmly in the company of the greats.

Speaking of torque, rather than straining to redline like small displacement engines, it just rips right to the fuel cut like there's nothing holding the engine back. Going from a fuel cut of 8750 to 6400 was a weird experience, despite the tall gearing I bounced off the limiter frequently in the black car and had to recalibrate my shift timing. You could put that engine in a large motorhome and drive it around with ease.

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

Ether Frenzy posted:

Today's Blipshift shirt seems like a good match for you, DV.



Awesome, bought 2. I always forget to check Blipshift...

Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

TheFonz posted:

How are you liking the Charger so far? More specifically the engine/drive etc. My wife and I are done with my Speed3. She can't drive a stick and I've had issues with the car since I bought it.

I never really considered a Dodge initially but I gave it a look when we started defining what we want in a new car. Auto, 4 Door, Fizzys in the penis area and the Charger seems like it might fit that criteria. The SRT in particular as she can get all the niceties and I can get a very quick large car. I just then think about spending $50k on a Charger and wonder if the 6.4L is worth it with so many other options in the price range.

I love it so far, and you don't have to drop $50K on the SRT to get a whole lot of awesome. Keep in mind that I was a huge BMW guy for a long time too, my opinion was not easily swayed. The 6.4L is the 392 Hemi motor, same as the one in the SRT, only the MSRP of the Scat Pack is $11K less. They nailed everything in the car - the electric power steering is adjustable and feels excellent. The transmission can be lazy and docile or aggressive as hell, it will do engine braking and avoids automatic creep. The paddle shifting is awesome too, and it's fairly clear it was designed to please people who generally hate automatics.

The suspension and brakes are excellent as well, the shocks are Bilstein units so the ride is good but still sporty, and the brakes are 4-pot Brembos that have plenty of stopping power. For a car this big, it performs exceptionally well. Then there's the engine, which has cylinder deactivation and gets 27MPG on the highway. I'm saving the best for last here though, it makes the most satisfying sounds and a shitton of power - it gets you moving right now. The exhaust system is a dual mode, and stays quiet most of the time in the Normal setting but in Sport, the valves are open all the time. Beautiful mandrel bends feed an X-pipe and you end up with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_PCaKvmgzM

Back to the price - this car cost $42.5K optioned with the stuff in the sticker below. That's invoice pricing because I'm friends with the guy who owns the dealership, but that isn't terribly hard to get if you work at it. It can be optioned all the way up to having lane departure assist, radar cruise, for 45K you're basically getting a half priced M5 / E63 AMG. You don't need to buy the SRT model to get all the toys, I think that car is best suited for the person who really wants an all-in-one, and they're liable to be slightly dissatisfied because, like all super sedans, the car is heavy and there's no getting around it. However you might find one or two out there with big discounts (because the Scat Pack is so good) but I wouldn't turn down either one of them.



The Viper club got Ralph Gilles to come talk to a handful of us over drinks in San Francisco a month ago, and at the time I was asking him why there wasn't a Dart SRT. He said that he'd love to have the resources to build that car, but there just wasn't a market for it. After I bought this though, I shot him an email raving about it and this was his response:

quote:

Yeah we have been doing really well with the ScatPack Chargers. Selling all we can make!

Once it is broken in the highway Fuel economy will shock you! (25-27mpg at 75mph!) Glad you discovered it...I think it is the best performance value if not overall car guys sedan out there! I love my hellcat... But as a daily driver the 392 ScatPack is the winner!

Das Volk fucked around with this message at 10:59 on Jan 17, 2016

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Das Volk
Nov 19, 2002

by Cyrano4747

meatpimp posted:

Were you able to get the same forever warranty with the Charger that you got on the Viper?

I've always discounted the Charger, but after seeing Kimbo's cop car and this one, I can see having one somewhere down the depreciation road.

I can, but I haven't decided yet. There is quite a bit of tech in this car, and I have no idea how reliable these are. I have to think that the drivetrain is well established, and the uconnect module as well. I'll probably do some reading on them before I make up my mind.

TheFonz posted:

Thanks for the response DV. I've done a bit of reading on this and I guess I didn't realize all the options you could get with the Scat Pack. I knew the wife would want heated seats and all the drive assist gadgets so that is why I was looking at the SRTs, but I'm glad you said that since now I've looked at some inventory and there are some well optioned Scat Packs at lower prices than SRTs start at.

It helps too living in the snowy north that prices seem marked down:
http://www.coonrapidschrysler.net/new/Dodge/2016-Dodge-Charger-Minneapolis-017f518b0a0e0adf42d49e9b4935b24b.htm

That's a great deal! The LSD works great in the snow too.

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