Am I insane for wanting a muscle car as my 2nd car?

Am I insane for wanting a muscle car as my 2nd car?


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I have been staying out of this but something that everyone seems to be forgetting here is : You will only get to purchase your first Viper once.

So you want a Viper, chances are you have been wanting a Viper since it came out, now you have your licences and the cash, so it seems logical to buy one, no?
But think about this: woulden't you rahter get your first viper as a confident, experienced driver with a few years and many miles under his belt who has worked his way up through slow RWD cars, have made your share of noob mistakes (you will, everyone does) have dodged the occasional deer totalling the car whithout even hitting the deer etc etc, with all that behind you, you can safely get behind the wheel of your V10 beast and drive it to a reasonable limit, like it was meant to be driven.

Or would you rahter get it as a realitively unexperienced driver, driving it like (as you put it) a pussy using fractions of the cars potential while having to be 200% on your guard all the time not to make a rookie mistake turning your childhood fantasy into a lifealtering nightmare.
 
Or would you rahter get it as a realitively unexperienced driver, driving it like (as you put it) a pussy using fractions of the cars potential while having to be 200% on your guard all the time not to make a rookie mistake turning your childhood fantasy into a lifealtering nightmare.
And keep in mind that the above scenario is frustrating as hell. Others in the thread have said much the same thing, but driving a fast car slow does very little to prepare you for trying to drive the same car fast. Something as brutally fast as a Viper will still catch you completely off guard. Combine that frustration, the cars potential and a lack of experience and you've got plenty of shit-your-pants experiences on the way.

If you want a Viper then go for it. But don't be too upset if some of us start a pool on how long the car will last. :D
 
Indeed, let's also not forget that, let's face it, everybody gets overconfident behind the wheel at some point, and driving a Viper like a granddad will get old realy fast.....so you WILL punch it on occasion, remember this isen't NFS, it only takes one oops moment.

I would love for Viper to just get one and roar of in it like he has never done anything else, sadly that is not the way things work, a man finaly getting his dream car is a beautifull thing, especialy if that dreamcar is one of the most charismatic cars ever made, (not let's say, a 15 year old 318 :p ) and it only happens once, that's why it has to be perfect and you have to make it count.
 
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I voted "You're insane" for pretty much the same reasons as everyone else, but if you do want to get one right away, aren't there these advanced driving schools for supercars you can attend with your own car to learn how to drive it without killing yourself? Will probably be expensive but well worth it IMO.
 
A Viper is never a wise choice, but since you are fixed on it, you should prepare yourself. Yes the wide tires provide a lot of grip, but when they do let go things get interesting to downright dangerous.
The Triumph would be a perfect choice to get used to the idea of RWD, and its pros and cons. The mentioned repairs for it should be on par with the cost of a set of rupper for the beast. And you'll get to know the roads you want to drive on a much easier and safer level. A midcorner bump unsettles every car and the torque of the mighty V10 can spoil pretty much every line. The TR4 is lighter and much more nimble. Both cars need work to get the best out of them, but the Brit is probably more rewarding for a beginner.

And to make my post even worse, I should mention, that the highest HP I drove in a non commercial vehicle was 112 on a MZ.
 
If its what you want, I say, get a Viper. There is nothing worse than driving and paying for a car you don't like.

My only words of advice is just be careful. Don't hoon it on the street. You will want to, but don't. Hypermile that thing if you have to. Start off doing autocrosses in your area. This will teach you how to handle the car at the limit and beyond. Also, you can find the limit in a safe, control environment. After you have some autocrosses underneath you (a couple years at least), then maybe try a track day.

Also you will meet the nicest people at autocrosses, generally. Find someone expirenced with a car like yours and get them to ride along (trust me, with a Viper, you will have no trouble). Get them to tell you what you are doing wrong and right. Also, ride with other people. Ride in MR cars, 4WD, FF, light, heavy, powerful, underpowered, Porsches, street tires, race tires, anything. Eventually you will be able to see how they handle compared to other cars and how they feel.

Even go to an Autocross school. I know, in the Bay Area, there are 5 or 6 a year. I don't know what the scene is like in Portland, but there should be one there sometime.

There really is no replacement for seat time though. You can even get an Xbox or something and play with Forza. I wouldn't take Forza/Gran Turismo as gospel in any way, but you can make generalizations with it. (if I gas it mid corner, this will happen) kind of stuff.
 
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Both less than 40 miles... yes 40.

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Lets ignore the price
 
I don't know. If you have a car museum those would be a nice addition, but it would be stupid to drive them.
 
The Operation Viper timeline appears to have been a little ambitious. As mentioned in the learning stick thread, I went driving for about an hour on Saturday and while I have no problems shifting while moving, I'm still a little really rough at starting on a hill and things like that. It's also not second nature to step on the clutch when braking or whatnot yet. :(
 
The Operation Viper timeline appears to have been a little ambitious. As mentioned in the learning stick thread, I went driving for about an hour on Saturday and while I have no problems shifting while moving, I'm still a little really rough at starting on a hill and things like that. It's also not second nature to step on the clutch when braking or whatnot yet. :(

It's not that bad, you'll have this figured within weeks.
 
The Operation Viper timeline appears to have been a little ambitious. As mentioned in the learning stick thread, I went driving for about an hour on Saturday and while I have no problems shifting while moving, I'm still a little really rough at starting on a hill and things like that. It's also not second nature to step on the clutch when braking or whatnot yet. :(

It's not that bad, you'll have this figured within weeks.

This.

Just keep up the repetition and you'll have it down in no time.
 
The Operation Viper timeline appears to have been a little ambitious. As mentioned in the learning stick thread, I went driving for about an hour on Saturday and while I have no problems shifting while moving, I'm still a little really rough at starting on a hill and things like that. It's also not second nature to step on the clutch when braking or whatnot yet. :(

It's just a time spent thing. Soon enough you'll find yourself in an autobox frantically stomping around with your left foot looking for a pedal that isn't there.
 
It's also not second nature to step on the clutch when braking or whatnot yet. :(
Well, the good thing is the car really reminds you to do that right. ;)

Back in the day, I mostly drove my mother's automatic. Every once in a while I got my father's manual. One of these times, I was so used to drive auto that I started the manual car while it was in gear, right foot on the brake, and left foot in resting position. Greetings from the gearbox.
On the other hand, I more than once stomped on the brakes of the automatic car with both feet because my left foot naturally wanted to step on the clutch pedal.
Ah, learning... ;)
 
Well, the good thing is the car really reminds you to do that right. ;)

Back in the day, I mostly drove my mother's automatic. Every once in a while I got my father's manual. One of these times, I was so used to drive auto that I started the manual car while it was in gear, right foot on the brake, and left foot in resting position. Greetings from the gearbox.
On the other hand, I more than once stomped on the brakes of the automatic car with both feet because my left foot naturally wanted to step on the clutch pedal.
Ah, learning... ;)

This reminds me of the time when I picked up my first MR2 from a tuner shop, having just had it converted to manual after a year of driving it as an automatic. They didn't install a clutch start switch, so when I went to turn the key with it in gear, and more importantly, the parking brake still on, I jumped forward and ruined my rear discs at the same time, luckily not hitting anything. Also, when I went in for my first rest stop after a few hours on the interstate, forgot to take the car out of (fifth) gear and promptly stalled a foot away from the parking spot I'd intended to pull into. Ah, relearning ;)
 
It's not that bad, you'll have this figured within weeks.

This.

Just keep up the repetition and you'll have it down in no time.

While the car passed DEQ (yay!), it's unfortunately back with my dad for some further work. He replaced some of the worn out steering column switches already, but there's a little left to do. The car is really tired.

I'm also not to the point where I want to drive the thing on my own on anything but empty streets, so I'm a bit reliant on him coming over on weekends to go driving with me.

Soon though I hope, soon.
 
This reminds me of the time when I picked up my first MR2 from a tuner shop, having just had it converted to manual after a year of driving it as an automatic. They didn't install a clutch start switch, so when I went to turn the key with it in gear, and more importantly, the parking brake still on, I jumped forward and ruined my rear discs at the same time, luckily not hitting anything. Also, when I went in for my first rest stop after a few hours on the interstate, forgot to take the car out of (fifth) gear and promptly stalled a foot away from the parking spot I'd intended to pull into. Ah, relearning ;)

I always check that the gear stick is in neutral for that reason. Thank God for that as my LR will start in gear.

I'm also not to the point where I want to drive the thing on my own on anything but empty streets, so I'm a bit reliant on him coming over on weekends to go driving with me.

Soon though I hope, soon.

Just jump into it. After 30 minutes of instruction from my Dad on how to drive a stick I was driving out on the streets.

//Ha that can be taken in a bad way without context.
 
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Just jump into it. After 30 minutes of instruction from my Dad on how to drive a stick I was driving out on the streets.
I got 1 less-than-helpful 10 minute instructional drive during which I stalled at least once every set-off. Telling the old man to F off for subsequent drives resulted in significantly more clutch-abuse, but significantly more actual learning. Also, doing your first hill-start with a Porsche parked up your butt at a traffic light is a great motivator for getting it right.
 
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