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Old 04-01-2002, 12:41 AM
Mr. Cuda Mr. Cuda is offline
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Default Driver leg room and head room in an RT 10

I'm curious about the amount of leg room and head room in the RT 10. Some of the earlier RT 10s are coming down in price enough that I've been considering selling the trusty 'Cuda and getting one. However, at 6'-6" I'm not the smallest person so I'm wondering if I would even fit in one. I've heard that the pedals are close together and that there isn't a whole lot of head room.

Of course, I'm hearing this from people who don't actually own Vipers and, therefore, have to take it with a grain of salt.

Would one of you Viper owners give me some insight on this?

Thanks.
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Old 04-01-2002, 04:03 AM
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Viper 10 Viper 10 is offline
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Mr. Cuda:

I would say that when you are shopping for Vipers in stock condition, that you will find that there are some limitations. These can be remedied with seat lowering kits (available from Northwind Engineering). There are 2 models of these kits that you can look at; one is 1 inch kit that will allow frward and backward adjustability. The other is a two inch lowering kit that anchors your seat to the floorboard. You can achieve an extra inch with both kits by removing the trampoline web on the bottom of the seats (which I have done).

I will say that I am 6'2" tall, and very long in the torso (equivilant to a person that is 6'5'). The RT/10's are shorter in the headroom department that the GTS's. You can also remove the visors to improve forward visibility. I drive my car on the track and need to accomodate room for a helmet. With the one inch kit and the removal of the webbing, I can fit with a helmet.

If you have long legs, the seat lowering kit may or may not help you (because your knees might come in contact with the dashboard).

As far as legroom, it gets a bit tight too. If you have large feet, you might have to adjust you driving technique. There is no dead pedal in Vipers because the T-56 tranny is pushed back quite a bit because of the length of the 488 cubic inch V-10. It took a little bit of getting used to the fact that you sit in the Viper slightly angled to the left of center.

Buying this car was well worth the sacrafice. If you can, get an RT that is a '94 or later. The first couple of years of production, the quality was a little bit questionable. The earlier models also had very happy rear ends. The GTS came out in '96 with chasssis, engine and suspension upgrades (which did not get on the RT until '97).

If I were you, I would contact the local chapter of the Viper Club of America. Ask them if you can contact a person who is about your height with a seat lowering kit installed in their RT and GTS (if you would also consider a GTS). I am sure that they would be happy to assist you in your research. If you live near or plan on visiting Southern California, you are more than welcome to check my GTS out.

I hope that this answers some of your questions. Feel free to contact me at bhchang@earthlink.net if I can be of further assistance.

Good luck in your search.

Brad
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Old 04-01-2002, 05:06 PM
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SUN RA KAT SUN RA KAT is offline
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I had the same concerns - I'm 6'5", but my torso is about the same as my 7'0" tall friend - my legs are as short as my 5'9" daughter's legs (34" inseam for me).

I sat in a Viper GTS and had plenty of leg and foot room, but the roof was 1/2" shorter than the top of my head.

As much as I love the Viper, I also would like some practicality, so I'm planning on getting a Ram SRT-10 - no problems with head or leg room & it has a very large trunk. When they come out probably in fall of 2003, they probably will cost about $38K to drive home. They will weigh about 1500+ pounds more than a Viper and will need some super tuner help to get it to run as good as a stock Viper in a straight line. It will look good, but no where near as good as any Viper, Gen. I, Gen. II, or Gen. III.

Sean Roe plans on putting out a supercharger system that can be installed by your favorite mechanic for both the Viper (Gen.II) and later, the new Gen. III Viper and Ram SRT-10 that should sell for less than $7000 and add 100+ rear wheel horsepower.
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Old 04-01-2002, 11:42 PM
Mr. Cuda Mr. Cuda is offline
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I'm 6'-6" with a 36" inseam. In most cars, including my 1970 'Cuda, I can get enough head room by reclining the seat a bit. After doing this for years I'm quite used to the driving position and feel. However, from the pictures I've seen, the driver's seat in the Viper can't recline.

Thanks for the input, everyone.
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Old 04-02-2002, 02:12 AM
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Viper 10 Viper 10 is offline
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The seat lowering kit drops the seat lower into the bucket than the stock position. That means you are just a little further forward than the stock seat location. The pedals are adjustable and can be cranked a full 4 inches from top postion to the bottom (which will help your long legs. The key will be whether your left knee hits the dashboard or not.

I know that there are people that are your height that drive Vipers. I have also heard that it takes a bit of finessing to get into the car (period). These folks love the car, so they think that it is worth the extra effort.

Please go over to the www.viperclub.org site and do a search on the forums area. I am sure that you will find all of the specifics that you need for your decision. When you are done with the research, post a thread on the forum to get some current driver feedback.

Best of luck to you. Renting a car is probably a great idea.

Brad
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  #6  
Old 04-03-2002, 12:38 AM
KrAzYBNCiCeRo KrAzYBNCiCeRo is offline
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Default Mr. Cuda

Mr. Cuda I dont no really anything about Vipers, But 1 Day my brother was watching WCW and Goldberg, Hes im guessing around 6'4 atleast -6'7 Im about 6'4. And hes a pretty big guy hes in the upper 200 maybe 270 or something. He was driving one on the t.v. show he was leaving and he looked like he couldnt even drive it. Maybe thats just what it looked like. But if he could drive it I think U should be able and then what from I read about the lowering the seats go check into that. Go sit in some and then see what -1 in or -2 in looks like from the top.
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