just picked up my GTS from luton and........

[koopa]

it feels surprisingly er...average performancewise

i know mine is a euro model but i assumed with a borla system and filters (air restrictor removed) it would at least feel quicker than my 370hp GTR i owned previously??

2nd gear just does not feel like supercar acceleration at all! Neither does 3rd tbh?!

The car has only done 11k so i dont know if it just needs new spark plugs or if somethings just not running right??

It also makes a bit of a tappety noise? Is this normal on the viper engines??

Anyone else had a similar experience? I expected to be back home after a 6 hour drive punching the air but i feel quite gutted to be honest

[joelism]

The Skunk felt like that back in 2001 when I bought him. I was disappointed when I took him on a test drive....the performance felt.....well....tame. But I bought him anyway knowing that the scope for modifying was huge and besides that, a black silver GTS is an awesome looking car and a brilliant drive. I've never regretted the purchase.
The Skunk was tested in pretty much standard tune ( airbox restrictor and all) by EVO mag long before I bought him. It was one of their European tests with 5 other supercars. I still have the article, and at one point the Viper follows a Ferrari 360 down a country road in Italy. The Ferrari is using all the revs and all the gears, the test driver keeping the standard restricted perf Viper in 3rd gear. No problem keeping up at all. What I'm saying is that even with the standard power output, performance can be deceptively brisk. Not many standard supercars can pull a 12.5 1/4 or less at 115ish mph straight out of the box on standard street tyres.

[viper_larry]

Hi Koopa and welcome to Viper ownership. Had mine 4 years now and it's made tappety noises for as long as I can remember - still pulls like a train though. Maybe you're used to Turbo assisted power which is quite peaky? Rest assured a normally running Viper certainly feels supercar quick, even in standard form like mine is. 12.49s 1/4 mile and 180mph I've had from mine.

Maybe you should get it checked over?

[koopa]

thats very true joelism

I am chuffed that i got the car, just a bit over expectant perhaps in terms of performance. Im assuming it still has the cats on cos borla dont seem to offer a headers back system, just a cat back. So ive ordered hi flows from roe racing and a set of new sparkies just to begin with... next up will be headers and a pcm of some sort

Still not too sure about the tappety noise though :S anyone able to shed some light?

[joelism]

tappets are hydraulic....often really noisy on start up, it should almost disappear after a few seconds. Has the car got a roller rocker package or is it standard. If its standard and the noise continues, an oil change to mobil 1 0/40 followed by a hard run to get the oil heated up might help.

[viper_larry]

You might want to consider the plug leads too - they can break down over time...

[koopa]

oops just noticed all the other replies

thanks for the advice guys. Dont get me wrong, its not slow. Just i expected 450hp to feel a bit more... i dunno, scary?

Ill get the car checked over tomorrow just for peace of mind.
I suppose i should get on with the tuning now eh

[Viper]

does the headers still have the silver heat shield in place ?
if not remove it and take a pic or much easier I can ask Arthur if he fitted headers

the tappets on my car car are fairly noisy all the time, they are non-adjustable as well first thing I'd did was to get my guy to take a look to reduce the noise, he couldnt... both leads and plugs swap is a good idea and cheap to do as VL said the leads to break down with all the heat engine these are proven to be a great alternative to stock

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-200-

[Barreti]

koopa said:

thanks for the advice guys. Dont get me wrong, its not slow. Just i expected 450hp to feel a bit more... i dunno, scary?

You should have bought a TVR instead of the bucket of bolts Koopa
I scare myself silly regularly in my Griffith with probably a fair bit less than 300bhp (don't believe what you read in the press about 300bhp+)

[koopa]

Viper said:

does the headers still have the silver heat shield in place ?
if not remove it and take a pic or much easier I can ask Arthur if he fitted headers

hi neil,

the headers have silver wrapping round them. Baz told me he reckons they are aftermarket headers on the car as he replaced a blowing gasket on them before.
Would you be so kind as to ask Arthur if he had high flow cats fitted?
Im definately going to add some good leads and plugs just because the car has been sitting in a showroom for about 12 months so probably needs a breath of life.

[Viper]

info request on the way to Arthur

I've a brand new set of OE leads sitting next to me, if your desparate
I can post them tomorrow