The car has a completely different feel to it than the previous coupe. Its deceiving because minus the hood, they look identical, inside and out, but from the moment you hit the start button you can tell you're in something a bit different than the previous gen. Those not familiar with the differences between the 3rd and 4th gen coupes ('06 vs '08-10), i'll try to spit out what I can remember off the top of my head;
Engine grows in size through increased bore to 8.4 from 8.3L, compression bumped to 10.2:1 from 9.6:1, picks up variable valve timing (cam phaser), and doesn't share a single component with the previous V10. Output is rated at 600hp, but is underrated with dynos showing 640hp+. Dual throttle bodies with a move drive-by-wire, new heads, hollow stem intake valves, pistons get larger diameter wrist pins and bronze bushings, cross bolted main bearings, and a larger oil pump with a swinging pickup (from the comp coupes).
Brakes are same size but use different rotors with revised calipers (piston size grows)
T56 is tossed in favor of a TR6060
Improved shifter
Clutch is now a twin disk unit
Bigger fuel pump
Cooling system upgrades
Dana M44-4 rear with GKN Visco-Lok Diff (huge improvement from the previous lsd)
No more runflats, moved to Michelin Pilot Super Sports
Springs rates changed (stiffer), shocks tuned for slightly stiffer jounce
Stiffer front anti roll bar
Camber and caster increases front and rear
New hood design (better aero, better cooling, looks sick). Frontal drag cd lowered to 0.382
The car is amazing to drive, plain and simple. Everything just feels more refined--if you can use that term in a viper. The clutch is lighter, the shifter is direct and a pleasure to snick from gate to gate, the motor is much much smoother both at idle and in general operation (the car even sounds different). The power band is insane. At first it didnt feel much, if any, faster than my previous bolt on gen 3 (i think its mostly the gearing, which is back to 3.07 from the 3.55s i had in the previous coupe) when i was just getting into it at lower rpms around town. But i finally got to do some real top end pulls and holy shiet, past 5k rpm in 3rd and 4th it pulls so much harder than the old car theres no way it would of been any kind of a race from a roll on. You know that feeling in most cars when you start to get deep into the triple digits where it just seems like the car is just making noise and you're sitting there watching the tach creep? Yeah, you never get any of that. Its relentless, just keeps building and building power till redline, feels like if there wasnt a fuel cutoff it'd happily pull you into the stratosphere until the rotating assembly came apart into a fiery mess at 8k+. It is without a doubt, a 202mph car from the factory as claimed. If only my balls were big enough to allow my right foot to stay on the skinny pedal for the requisite amount of time.
What don't I like? Well, the drive by wire, it sucks, bad. I really miss the instant throttle response in the old car. I mean i heard the viper guys complain about it but good lord, its bad, like a noticeable latency between your right foot and what the motor is doing. I felt like a newb driving the car around the first day. Bucking it from stoplights, overreving downshifts, etc. It was downright embarrassing. Now I've gotten used to it, and pretty soon I'll probably forget the differences all together, but the first time i took it for spin i definitely longed for that tb to be connected to my right foot with a cable. And, in true viper fashion, like clockwork, the window regulator on the passenger side made a loud *POP* and is starting to make noise in operation. But do i really give a squirt? Nah, i just go for spin and all is right with the world
All gen 3/4s have piss poor window regulator design that loves to fail. Good news is that now a cheap fix is in place by swapping in the regulator from the gen 5s, plug n play.
From a reliability standpoint, these cars are rock solid. They are the lowest maintenance and easiest to service exotic you can buy, period. A lot of the "silly parts" are platform shared, and you will be happy they are when you go to pay for them at the checkout counter. Deciding whether to buy a GEN 3 or GEN 4 is really a matter of what you're going to do with the car. If you're going to FI the car at some point, buy a gen 3. You will not be able to do anything with the Gen 4 ECU to bring in FI or nitrous without spending some serious coin (stand alone), wheres the gen 3 is easily plug n play tune-able on SCT or the like. This has been changing as of late with the Gen 4/5s with some beta hptuners implementation but it is still FAR from an oem quality solution, with many tables un-accessible to the end user, and really limit you to just bolt ons. Some people have done it on gen 4s, few have done it well. Most every big power Gen 4/5 build is running a standalone (aem, motec, etc). My goal was RELIABLE power, and something I could road course, autox, and take to the strip occasionally. I achieved everything I set out to do with a mild bolt on gen 4. 600whp/600wtq on pump 93 SAE with catted longtubes, gen 5 intake manifold, and an oem canned tune (acr-x ecu). At 3300lbs, the car runs low to mid 10s @ 134-135mph on 19s with suspension from an ACR (1000lb/in spring rates). No catless smell, completely oem driving experience, and dead ass reliable after 20k miles of street and track driving. I honestly couldn't be happier with the car.
I started with a gen 3 coupe, and then moved to a gen 4. If i knew what i know now, I would have saved my money for a Gen 4. It is night and day. Here is what I wrote when I bought my 4...
All gen 3/4s have piss poor window regulator design that loves to fail. Good news is that now a cheap fix is in place by swapping in the regulator from the gen 5s, plug n play. Gen 3s had some production runs with some bad tolerances on the crank, these cars love to spin main bearings, and when not repaired properly (crank mic'd and machined), they will continue to do so. Gen 3/4s love to have leaky oil cooler lines at the fittings (check em before you buy). All gen 3/4s make some diff noise at full lock low speed cornering due to aggressive clutch packs in the diff.
'03-'06 is Gen 3
'03-'05 is convertible only
'06 is the only year gen 3 where a coupe was offered
'03s have forged pistons
'04s did some weirdness with the crank pulley bolts, and they love to come loose (easy fix, torque em if you buy one)
'05s and '06s largely vetted any issues with '03-'04s (which were really non existent to begin with)
'08-'10 is Gen 4
'08s have PITA non removable stub axle clips in the diff (if you decide to swap gears, swap the whole rear, or get a real shop to do it)
'09-'10s have different exterior and interior color combo options (two tone, red/black/ grey/black, blue/black, tan/black)
Coupes tend to bring a 8-10k premium over convertibles (due to aesthetics, and out of the gate qualification for most racing leagues). Gen 3 coupes tend also to have higher residuals due to their identical looks to a gen 4, but with the benefit of being easily modified for boost out of the gate.
I will close by saying with all the positives to the ownership experience the car is not a lexus, it is not quiet, it is not comfortable for extended trips, and it is an "event" every single time you drive it. I would never daily drive mine, but honestly cant think of a single other car I would ever buy for the money, other than another Viper, and I have had the privilege of driving most everything under the half million dollar range. A lot of people convince themselves that they want a viper because its sexy, and the stigma of "im a good driver" that comes along with ownership. They realize quickly that its not really what they wanted, what they wanted was to just cruise around and make noise (and there are much better cars for that). Find an owner who will take you for a drive and see if it is something you are genuinely interested in. If you are, and its "your type" of car, I promise you it'll be one of the most rewarding vehicles you'll ever drive. It will improve you as a driver, and provide some good old fashioned analog fun in this digital world.
honestly cant think of a single other car I would ever buy for the money, other than another Viper
Ah I wish I would've known that haha I just replaced my driver side about a month ago.
Ah. Well maybe I got a new one. It was $323.You'll know for the next one LOL. Gen 5 regulators only cost like $250ish when the older ones were like almost a grand from what i remember.
This has been my exact feelings since my first drive in my Viper. It is an experience like nothing else.
Just starting it will give you the biggest grin. I equate it to jabbing a sleeping bear with a sharp stick. The car gives a wonderful violent shake, a delightful angry 'roar' for lack of a better word, then settles down into its rough, lopey purr. (My car is running a very open exhaust, your experience may differ)
I say this in any thread I get the chance. You can't lose either way, they are amazing cars. Do it and don't look back, you will be happy you did.
EDIT: This is making me REALLY want to wake her up and go for a drive now.
Slowhatch? (Aspiring Viper owner/lurker from the Viper boards here)
Love your YT videos, man.. :rockon:
Love the info in here. I hate to ask but will anyways. Any info for the G2's like what was posted for the G3/4's?
I'm still a year out until I can get one (debt free again minus the mortgage). I've never ridden in or driven a viper but I've always wanted one since the day I first saw one when I was in middle school. My preferred car is the 96-98 blue with white stripe GTS or any G2 that is grey or red. Haven't dismissed a G3/4 all together but I don't think my budget will allow for that new of a car ($40K).
Congrats on the purchase, she's beautiful, and a rare bird to boot. Copperhead coupes are very rare, and that one looks absolutely virgin! Looks like someone did take the liberty of putting the gen 4 h-spokes on there, hopefully that means they also came with non runflat Michelin PSSs.
Don't worry at all about the engine noise, its absolutely normal and a question every single gen 3 owner asks. Its just the fast bleed lifters making a racket, completely normal. A lot of guys switch to 15w50 for track work and that quiets things down a lot at warm-up (but the racket returns at operating temps when the oil thins out).
My recommendation is two fold. One, check the DOTs on the tires to make sure they aren't as old as the car; and two, do all the fluids. Regardless of what the previous owner said he did or didnt do. Do oil & filter, transmission, clutch, brakes, and rear differential. Its very cheap insurance on these cars, and will make a world of a difference if they are tired. Do factory fluids on everything, trust me. Also, if the car is anything but silky idle at cold starts, buy a new oem IAC valve, they tend to get carbon build up over time and cause a rough idle at cold starts.