azvipermike
Enthusiast
i am looking to add some power. i was thinking a cam,headers and tune. What other changes when doing the cam on an 01 do i need to do? springs,lifters,pushrods,rockers?
Want to add HP to my 01 GTS cream puff!
- Thread starter azvipermike
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Your question really needs some additional info. Changing a cam will have differing requirements dependant on the duration and lift of the cam you choose. I can honestly tell you that a simple cam change is a very costly endeavor on a viper. The net results of a cam, header and tune may not yield the additional power your looking for. Additionally the expense of this endeavor is quite high. In a nut shell, if you don't do the cylinder heads at the same time your really not going to see the benefit of an aftermarket cam.
What's your objective, is it just power, change in idle characteristics.................?
Let's say your looking for a nice healthy cam.
Lifters, springs, pushrods, rocker arms, cloyes timing chain, head gaskets, manifold gaskets, exhaust gaskets, front timing chain gaskets, thermostat and a bunch of minor goodies i've forgotten since I did mine.
If you do all the work yourself it won't be as costly, but your still going to be down on power.
Oh and I forgot something, and this is just my opinion. If your doing this job, you pull the engine out of the car and you do it properly on a stand. Something Dan Craigin told me, and it's smart advice.......when you pull the pan, check the main bearings and make sure the engine doesn't have any issues. I can tell you that when I dropped the pan off my car, two of the screws that hold the windage tray had fallen into the pan. This is on a car with 15K miles on it. You'll also spend a day gently cleaning all the carbon off the tops of the pistons. Since we're not talking about changing the heads, you should at the very least send them out and have them checked out and cleaned. My stock heads looked like they had bad valve guides in them.
What's your objective, is it just power, change in idle characteristics.................?
Let's say your looking for a nice healthy cam.
Lifters, springs, pushrods, rocker arms, cloyes timing chain, head gaskets, manifold gaskets, exhaust gaskets, front timing chain gaskets, thermostat and a bunch of minor goodies i've forgotten since I did mine.
If you do all the work yourself it won't be as costly, but your still going to be down on power.
Oh and I forgot something, and this is just my opinion. If your doing this job, you pull the engine out of the car and you do it properly on a stand. Something Dan Craigin told me, and it's smart advice.......when you pull the pan, check the main bearings and make sure the engine doesn't have any issues. I can tell you that when I dropped the pan off my car, two of the screws that hold the windage tray had fallen into the pan. This is on a car with 15K miles on it. You'll also spend a day gently cleaning all the carbon off the tops of the pistons. Since we're not talking about changing the heads, you should at the very least send them out and have them checked out and cleaned. My stock heads looked like they had bad valve guides in them.
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azvipermike
Enthusiast
just looking for 50 to 80 hp add. i am learning the viper is expensive to modify! thought about nitrous but not good on a non forged motor!
Fatboy 18
Enthusiast
Ive heard a lot of people talk of 'Greg good cylinder heads' I guess if you were to contact him he could give an insight into costings 
Yeh you could get more power by changing the cam BUT as Camfab says, it is costly especially if you consider the garage time costs - it's not a straightforward bolt-on task!
Other things can be done though - there are lots of threads out here on upgrades and 'bang for buck' - assuming you've already done the cheap and cheerful stuff like smooth tubes and K&N filters, Belanger headers and aftermarket exhausts appear expensive BUT they're bolt on goodies, proven and tested hundreds of times, relatively easy and quick to install and give a good return - it would be high on my list.
This should give a mark improvement in HP.
A tune might also be good - improve the AFR - but get advice from the pros who will easily be able to advise you if there is any benefit to buying an SCT tuner etc, based on what mods you are gonna do.
Any cam related improvements are gonna need work inside the engine, are not cheap bolt-ons and are time consuming hence expensive.
Good luck,
Ade.
Other things can be done though - there are lots of threads out here on upgrades and 'bang for buck' - assuming you've already done the cheap and cheerful stuff like smooth tubes and K&N filters, Belanger headers and aftermarket exhausts appear expensive BUT they're bolt on goodies, proven and tested hundreds of times, relatively easy and quick to install and give a good return - it would be high on my list.
This should give a mark improvement in HP.
A tune might also be good - improve the AFR - but get advice from the pros who will easily be able to advise you if there is any benefit to buying an SCT tuner etc, based on what mods you are gonna do.
Any cam related improvements are gonna need work inside the engine, are not cheap bolt-ons and are time consuming hence expensive.
Good luck,
Ade.
Agree with Cam..... The best bang for the buck (among the stuff you're talking about) is headers and tune.
That can be done without a lot of headache for well under $2K. Headers and tune may net you 30-50 RWHP (impossible to tell without a baseline, just guessing here). Changing the cam may oblige a different tuning system (AEM, VEC etc) and I almost guaranty the car's "nature" will be quite different....where the power is, how it idles, throttle response etc. AND, it won't optimize much without the complementary breathing upgrades.
With Greg Good heads, cam, exhaust and tune, you can get 600 RWHP but it costs a lot more.
So I'd say, for $maybe $1,500, you can get 30-50 HP, or spend $5-$10K (depending on who does the work) to get 150-170 more HP. It ain't linear!
That can be done without a lot of headache for well under $2K. Headers and tune may net you 30-50 RWHP (impossible to tell without a baseline, just guessing here). Changing the cam may oblige a different tuning system (AEM, VEC etc) and I almost guaranty the car's "nature" will be quite different....where the power is, how it idles, throttle response etc. AND, it won't optimize much without the complementary breathing upgrades.
With Greg Good heads, cam, exhaust and tune, you can get 600 RWHP but it costs a lot more.
So I'd say, for $maybe $1,500, you can get 30-50 HP, or spend $5-$10K (depending on who does the work) to get 150-170 more HP. It ain't linear!
ZYellow01RT
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Not an expert on this by any means, but if the OP is looking for more of a "seat in the pants" experience vs, actual HP increase, then a gear change (either 3.55's or 3.73's) may be one of the first things to do? I did the 3.55's and it got me that "oomph" that I was looking for...
+1 Listen to Plum, its great advise!Greg makes one nasty cam and head combo.
Evo, I don't think anyone was specifically asking about total price. I just threw it out there, based on cost per HP. It also depends on how you do it. Striker head (if you can find any) or having Greg port your stock castings. Don't forget options like which rockers you get, Valve type and size etc. etc. If your car has headers and a good aftermarket exhaust, that's 4K you don't have to spend.
hey camfab, actually i did ask, see post 5, i think. lol
just trying to get a ballpark figure for heads and cam done right, that means whatever parts it takes to achieve that, quality rockers, valves, whatever.
thanks
REDSLED
Enthusiast
Depending on what roller rockers you use and who does the cam and head work you can look upwards of $5-6K. As Camfab mentioned, Stryker Heads are considerably moe expensive than the typical stage 3 ported heads. Hard to be too specific with pricing as there are many variables to consider when doing engine work.
would you say 7k cover probably cover parts and labor or no?
as there are no stryker heads anymore id probably just go with stage 3 heads and an upgraded but streetable cam
REDSLED
Enthusiast
Yes, you should be able to get the stage 3 heads and a matching cam and roller rockers for under $7k. The T & D 1.7 roller rockers are very popular with the Viper crowd as are the Jesels (more expensive than T & Ds). I have the stage 3 Jeff Morrey heads and a matching cam along with the T & Ds and a non-cat exhaust and my dyno numbers were 558 RWHP/579 RWTQ with a Mopar Performance controller. I do not believe that the Stryker heads are available any longer. The stryker heads will get you closer to 600 RWHP but the limiting factor at that point will be your tires. The engine built was from a 1998 chasis. Best to due your homework on the project and be realistic to what your expectations are and what your pocket book would allow. This motor was put into a race car so it was built for extra HP, but also for reliability. Changing the rear gears from 3.07s to 3.54s is also a great upgrade that feels like extra HP, but really isn't . Might want to check that out as well. That can be done for around $1K and is a great bang for the bcuk upgrade. Good luck. Any more questions just PM.
Absolutely.
If you did Greg Good heads (and all the goodies they come with such as springs, valves, etc.), his cam, aftermarket rockers, headers, catback, cats, tuning, (head bolts, gaskets, oil change, etc) and labor then the answer is NO. $7K is not feasible. If you did the labor yourself, it's possible. I spent over $7K for the mods I have. The Belanger Headers, Catback, RT cats, T&D rockers set me back $4,500 +/- alone. Then add in SCT tuner, a competent SCT tuning specialist, dyno time, heads, cam, labor...you'll be over $7K. We haven't even discussed forged internals. I believe that when Strykers were available for the Gen2, the package was at $8K (not including labor) but included heads/cam/jesel rockers?
Perhaps someone can chime in that has the stryker package and validate this?Heads/Cam pricing? Contact Greg Good for the information, he doesn't hold back, he'll tell you what it will cost to build to your specific needs.
You get what you pay for.
vipertony and redsled,
thanks for the info...
my car is a 2002 and i dont intend on building the bottom half
i already have headers, (b&b), intake, exhaust, and gears.
i want to do the heads and a cam and im looking for over 500 reliable hp at the wheels and was just looking to get an idea abt total price for the head and cam package with labor.
i realize i can call greg good but i dont want to do that untill i have the cash in hand.
didnt mean to "hijack" the thread but i think my questions are pertinent to the topic anyway.
thanks guys
I'd say Tony is right on the ball with pricing as far as parts are concerned. You should really talk to DC or who ever is close to you regarding the shop costs of doing the job. Like everything else though, untill your engine comes apart, you never know what surprises await you. Understandably as a customer it would make me really nervous, particularly if your working with a specific budget. The likelyhood of there being some issue, of course increases as these cars are getting older. I've always been on a budget, so my approach was to do a complete external check of the engine. What I mean by that, is that I checked all the plugs, did a compression test and pulled the valve covers just to check out whatever I could. Of course checking the state of all your belts, external accessories and any other items that may look like they may need replacement during your endeavor is important. This should help you determine what some potential extra cost may come up.
I talked to Dan Craigin and began buying all the parts that he told me I would need for the build. Months later I spoke with Jeff Morys and ordered the Head and cam package (I can't remember the exact amount, but it was between 7-8K). I want to say I spent about 10.5K in parts, total (2007). The only Labor type work that I paid for was the tune on the dyno and that of course was additional.
Hope this helps. Merry Christmas to all..........................
I talked to Dan Craigin and began buying all the parts that he told me I would need for the build. Months later I spoke with Jeff Morys and ordered the Head and cam package (I can't remember the exact amount, but it was between 7-8K). I want to say I spent about 10.5K in parts, total (2007). The only Labor type work that I paid for was the tune on the dyno and that of course was additional.
Hope this helps. Merry Christmas to all..........................
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See post 5.
there were strikers out there recently......claimed to be the last set (or one of the last sets) for $7500 in the box.
Doh, I meant post 8.
5-7 for parts and anothe 3-4 to put everything in if a reputable shop does it. That doesn't include the fanciest stuff like Strikers or titanium valves or stuff like that. But you only want 500 RWHP so you don't need anything exotic.
BigBadViper
Enthusiast
To get a little more HP you don't need to get strykers. In fact the head work would be one of the last things I would do. I would be looking at more of gears, cam, tune, headers, intake, injectors, nitrous, then maybe heads, then forced induction.
I agree with you, you certainly don't need strikers for a mild HP increase, but if your doing a cam, your pulling the heads. If your not doing the work yourself and cost is an issue, why not get the factory heads worked on while everything is apart. I personally never touched my intake or injectors. Sounds like youv'e got some crazy fast GTS's
SYNFULL
Enthusiast
Geez this post makes me realize how much time & effort I put into my car that is sitting in a heap right now waiting on the insurance company.
Heads, Cam, Rockers, Exhaust, Headers, Vec, Tune, Air Fuel, Roe Supercharger. Maybe everything will be easier the second time
Heads, Cam, Rockers, Exhaust, Headers, Vec, Tune, Air Fuel, Roe Supercharger. Maybe everything will be easier the second time
guys, heres what i am tentatively planning...
gen 3 intake, ported and polished, stage 3 head work, a streetable cam, and maybe bigger throttle bodies. i already have the supporting mods. (headers, exhaust, smooth tubes, etc)
id like to upgrade the suspension a bit too, but considering i am not a rockefeller, im just taking it a little at a time.
thanks
gen 3 intake, ported and polished, stage 3 head work, a streetable cam, and maybe bigger throttle bodies. i already have the supporting mods. (headers, exhaust, smooth tubes, etc)
id like to upgrade the suspension a bit too, but considering i am not a rockefeller, im just taking it a little at a time.
thanks
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