Turns Out, There Are Some Downsides To Off-Roading A Dodge Viper

There’ll all the time be one thing particular about driving a purpose-built sports activities automobile the way in which it was meant to be pushed, however there’s additionally one thing extremely pleasant about utilizing a automobile for the other of its supposed function. I imply, did I’ve a blast driving a Mazda Miata by the Malibu canyons? Completely. Did I’ve a distinct form of enjoyable hustling an everyday ole Honda Civic alongside those self same roads? You guess I did. So, in fact, after we first noticed the off-road Viper, I obtained excited. However would you consider me if I advised you there are additionally some downsides to off-roading a Dodge Viper?

Don’t be concerned, you do not have to take the phrase of a largely irrelevant automobile blogger on that one — not when now we have a brand new video from our outdated buddy SuperfastMatt to speak all about it. Because the proprietor and builder of the off-road Viper, he most likely is aware of a factor or two about off-roading his personal Viper, and total, he says, “It is nice. It is largely nice.” Then once more, that assertion can also be instantly adopted by the caveat, “The stuff I did to it’s nice. All of the Dodge stuff? Not so nice.” 

Yeah… that is to be anticipated. Even by Dodge requirements, early Vipers had been a grasp class in corner-cutting. As SuperfastMatt put it, “Dodge made these with just about no finances. The elements are low-cost, the event was hasty, and the sturdiness testing was minimal. So, clearly, it isn’t going to be the very best automobile to tear down washed-out grime roads or do or do donuts within the sand. It has limitations, and I am discovering all of them.”

That is probably not the very best factor for Matt, personally, however it does make for some nice content material for us, the viewers.

In keeping with Matt, he just lately took the off-road Viper on a little bit off-road journey with some pals, however this video is not about off-road adventuring. No less than probably not. As an alternative, it is about one thing far more essential: complaining. For instance, the hood is approach too lengthy for correct off-roading, and it is also not what you would possibly name “securely connected to the automobile,” which, as you possibly can most likely think about, is usually a problem while you’re bouncing round on unpaved roads in your off-road Viper. 

The hood difficulty additionally led to some paint cracking, though upon additional investigation, that won’t have been Dodge’s fault. It seems to be just like the entrance fender, the place the cracks are the worst, was most likely repainted sooner or later with paint that did a great job of matching the automobile’s authentic shade however was by no means supposed for use on a component that flexes as a lot as a physique panel does. Oh effectively. 

There have been additionally loads of different smaller issues to repair, from leaking hoses to the dearth of a cupholder, however the true enjoyable begins while you get to the half the place he decides to swap the inventory radio out for an aftermarket Apple CarPlay unit. Stripping out a whole inside nonetheless counts as “enjoyable” nowadays, proper? Plus, how else are you going to wash all of the mud out of your earlier off-roading adventures with out stripping all the inside? And as soon as all the things’s out, why not swap out just a few elements you do not like for one thing higher?

The very best half, although, might be when he by chance breaks one of many tabs on a headlight change. That is as a result of, upon nearer inspection, it finally ends up being a Ford-branded change. Presumably, Dodge could not even be bothered to spring for the unbranded model, so it simply obtained the one its provider was already making for Ford in bulk. Now that is some corner-cutting.