He's right. Viper engine was designed for the Viper. Its only a recent idea from Dodge to try putting the Viper engine in a truck... and in a motorcycle for the Detroit auto show.

 

I think the whole "truck engine" argument is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Honestly... if that's the best criticizm you can come up with... you really shouldn't say anything.

The 350 V8 has been put in trucks since Moses... does that make the LS6 or Z06 any less impressive? nope.

Lamborghini started out making farm machinery. Does the fact that a Lambo motor may have been in a tractor take anything away from the Muira, Countach, Diablo or Murcialago? Nope.

The Viper is a bad-***... and I couldn't care less if it's V10 came from a motorized porta-john.

This along with the "all domestic cars suck" argument really **** me off.

Sorry... had to rant.

 

The Lotus Elise is to be imported to the US by summer. There was a Lotus booth at the Houston Autoshow and I believe he was taking orders. The Esprit is a 25 year old design that is being retired after this model year. The elise is very light and quick but not as fast as the Esprit. The Exige is a V8 form of the Elise and is faster than the Esprit. I believe there they want to bring that over as well as a direct replacement for the Esprit.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make was... while the Viper is a fine car it is a different type of car to the RX7. It will smoke the RX7 in the 1/4 mile everytime because the 1/4 mile is the viper's strength. The RX7 was not really designed to be a 1/4 mile car and so the comparison is not fair. But.... Take a Viper out onto a road like California's Highway 1 from from Carmel to Big Sur and drive the car fast. You will find that it will be fast but its a lot more work ('cause you got to manhandle the thing around) than doing the same stretch in a Corvette. A Lotus, or Porsche will do it with minimial effort (and so would the RX7).

 

i dont agree with the viper being a 1/4 mile car. last time i checked the weight dist. for the viper was about 49/51. sounds pretty damn nimble to me. greanted it weighs 400lbs more than an FD doesnt mean you cant swing it. i have never driven one, nor sat in one. i know if i had the money i would more in likely take the venture too. its sad that we must replace engines every 60-100K miles. many vipers dont have that kind of miles but im sure that they can take one hell of a beating. BTW the viper participates in the le mans series races. i have not seen many DRAG vipers out there.
kris

 

That is not it's only strength. The Viper is a VERY good all around car.
This is quite possibly the most ridiculous statement i have ever read regarding a Viper. The Viper does not require much work on a tight, twisty road other than careful throttle modulation. If anything, you'd work harder in the RX7 over a Viper because you would shifting gears roughly 1.7 times more than you would with the Viper. Where you have to downshift in the RX7, you can just lug the motor in a Viper and it will pull it. Hell just driving around the city here i can pull away from a light in 3rd gear from a dead stop and the car doesn't even know it's in 3rd gear. Please don't spread erroneous information regarding the Viper.

See above


Darril

 

i'm talking about the first viper engine.

"For the most part the concept was simple. Build an iconic sports car, modeled after the Shelby Cobra, with current 1990’s vehicle technology. That meant combine the then new 1994 Ram Truck V-10 engine with a heavyweight 6 speed transmission. Then package it all up in a very stylish yet simple Cobra-like design, all for under $100,000. "

http://www.schwiz.com/viper-info.htm

i know the internet is not the most reliable source of info....but....

 

I think the point that Jim was trying to make was that anyone stupid enough to casually dismiss the Viper V10 based solely on the fact that it may or may not originally have been developed as a truck engine is probably the same type of ignorant dumbfuck numb-nutted dipshit that coincidentally makes me embarrassed to admit I own an RX-7 just by simple association...

Isn't that what you were trying to say, Jim?

 

Actually, the Exige has a 1.8L 4 cylinder just like the Elise. Think of the Exige as an Elise with a fixed top/rear wing and all the go-fast goodies.

I wonder if the Sun Auto Elise conversions will drop in price after the Lotus ones are brought in. I'd much rather have the Sun Auto conversions.

 

i'm not dismissing anything about the viper. all i'm saying is some people do care about how the power is produced...just like some people don't look too highly at NOS...just because i don't like a big 8 liter v-10 doesn't make me a dumfuck numb-nutted dipshit...

 

OK, if you say so.

I was speaking metaphorically, by the way.

 

Let's say on task here
It's basically a Viper used in GTS form or keep the RX-7 for the money I have available and my personal choice. I'm not looking for a personal evaluation. So I am an elitist, I admit to it. I don't necessarily need a gawk factor but I like to look at my car and say to myself " that s@*t is bad ***. I like the rarity I like when people ask me what my car is at the gas station. How many of the juniors bought a RX7 because they where tired of the Civics or the wanted something a step above the crowd? Well ....
I still love MY RX7 with the exception of the reliability factors. I like the Rotary motor, I like the racing heritage of the RX series. The styling is fantastic, handling, power, etc.
Basically Jim's first reply is fairly dead on.

"I think some people are missing the point. He's not saying he wants a Viper for performance reasons. He wants a Viper because the price tag will distance him from the "Fast and the Furious" crowd that now owns third gen. RX-7s.

The third gen. used to enjoy semi-elite status as garaged, pampered 2nd or 3rd cars for the professional workforce. Now many of them are cheap, beat-down daily drivers for kids that a few years ago would have been driving used Civics instead.

I can sympathize with Donovan completely. To be perfectly honest, if I hadn't decided to transform my RX-7 into what I wanted, I more than likely would have sold it a long time ago, at least partially for the same reason."

As for the Truck motor deal, remember the REPU? Wasn't that a rotary pickup and made with/by Ford?
It's a thing called tuning, that's why a 350 in a Tahoe is not the same motor as in a Camaro SS, or the monster going into Jim's car.

And Finally thanks to the folks that are giving real insight, The roughly 50/50 split pro and con is not making the decision any easier but thanks.

 

well sounds like you should go with the viper...it has the performance to backup its looks and to the average joe it'll give you that extra status...but a good number of the fd owners have spent enough to buy vipers so it's not all that to us...

 

Yeah I know the feeling, I added up the money I have spent over the years on the car and whew!

 

Bingo.

Jim, your mastery of the English language never ceases to amaze me. Eloquently stated, yet understandable to even the lowest form of "ignorant dumbfuck numb-nutted dipshit".

 

JimLab is on a roll lately, I think he is going to sell his project car because forum members **** him off so much

I know the feeling

 

Let me put it this way. The Viper and the RX-7 are similar, but totally different in my mind. If there was to be even a decesion on this side of the spectrum, I would go either RX-7 or NSX (a decesion I'm making right now). From what I got from your explanation, you said the NSX was too much, news flash, it can be had for the space price as the GTS. I have spent an ample amount of time on the SC and Prime forums and those NSX guys are great people. You can't find a better bunch. Of course next to you guys .

I know I'm just one insignificant peep, but seriously, from one car enthusiast to another, seriously consider the NSX. Go find one to test drive, you most certainly won't regret it. The reliability, looks, and ergonomics of the NSX is unrivaled. It's a beautiful machine and the up-incoming Cybernation turbocharger is setting new grounds for power (400+ rwhp) and price ($3500's). It's a great time to own a car .

 

let me chime in for donovan on this one. hope im somewhat right, but you will correct me. even if the NSX was in his category, it would be back tracking. let me explain. he has worked hard of the years to make his car a weekend beast. handling to acceleration. i remember the first ride that i got in his car. all i could say is why the **** doesnt my car feel this fast. he would have to spend thousands of dollars to make an NSX as quick as his rx7, then thousands more to make it feel like it handles the same way. when you put the viper and NSX side by side there is no comparison. he can jump into the viper, handle just as well as his rx7 if not better, and sure as hell out accelerate a lot faster than his 7. all of this without dropping another dime on the viper. sure vipers can be had for exactly the same price(35000) but you get what you pay for. its not till around 45K that you start getting something that looks and actually is a lot better. the NSX will just have about 10K more invested to even be a competitor.

 

I bought my RX-7 from my brother so he could buy a 99 RT/10. Since then he has gone up to the 02 RT/10. The Viper beats the RX-7 in every category, except maybe fuel efficieny
He has run both at an autocross track, and on the dragstrip. The Viper is a better car in every way. It had better be since you could buy 2 RX's, put $15K worth of mods in both of them, and still have some change left over VS buying one Viper. Everyone stops to see a Viper which is a good/bad thing. The cars have some similarities, but the Viper is in a completely different class. Not many people can afford one, and no, they are not all stuck up jerks, just like all RX owners are not ricers. It is a very tough call to make. Sometimes my brother wishes he kept the RX, sometimes he can't imagine life without the Viper. The best thing to do is GET BOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Well Donovan, keep the Seven & add a GTS to your collection.

If you seriously fall in love with the Viper & the Seven becomes your runt of the litter then ditch it. Until that point you will have an impressive garage!

 

you say you want a car that not just anybody has and in not gettin "riced out" as you put it then stick with the 7 there won't be many out there long. (people keep tearing them up remember) so your car becomes more rare everyday. and as we owners know they ARE one of the best sports cars ever made. But I'm sure you will have fun with which ever decision you make!

 

I hate to say it, but this is where the fucked up social status comes from. It happens in every aspect of life... If people move into your neighborhood that you feel don't belong, you move to a more expensive home to seperate yourself from them. You go to expensive restaurants to seperate yourself from the likes of those who eat at Burger King. You shop at exclusive stores so you don't have to be bothered with people who ask for refunds on a daily basis.
But become a victim of another terrorist attack and it's "United We Stand"
You people make me sick!!!!!

 

whoa whoa, i think you just missed the point. having a viper and wanting to feel good about it while seperating us from a honda crowd is not what you are talking about. hell if he gets the viper, or if you get a BMW wont you still go to walmart to get your oil for almost two bucks less a quart. we are not seperating ourselves from a social status, just a kid/rice status.
kris

 

 

You shouldn't even waste your time with this guy(tbielobockie). Athough he has owned an FD, he seems to have a problem with the turbo charged rotory engine.

 

Donovan, there are many places that will rent you a GTS. Usually for less then $700/day. If you can afford to buy one, you can afford to rent one for a day. You need to drive one. Since you have alot of time in an FD, a day in a viper will make you an educated consumer. If they don't rent them by you rent one in LA or LV for a day and see what you think. I can tell you it's a totally different car. My partner has a 2001 GTS with a full intake and exaust. I get to drive it whenever I want. I have a '95 FD. He says mine rides like a limo compared to his. I haven't rushed out and traded in my 7 on a viper (even though I could afford to) so it's a very personal call. Drive one before you make a decision.