Best price for 3:55 gears?

VIPER GTSR 91

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I am wanting to do 3:55 gears on my 09 asap. For those of you that have done this, where is the best place and price to buy these from and what was your total price with labor? My Viper tech will do the work.
 
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Don't buy a "cheap" gear you will regret it Get a good set of Dana gears with the correct install kit. Not cheap but in the end money well spent, I have some on the shelf but since I'm not and "INTERNET" business I don't do ridiculous discounts. Call me if you have any questions.
 
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VIPER GTSR 91

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Don't buy a "cheap" gear you will regret it Get a good set of Dana gears with the correct install kit. Not cheap but in the end money well spent, I have some on the shelf but since I'm not and "INTERNET" business I don't do ridiculous discounts. Call me if you have any questions.
Thanks Mark. I will call you when I get back from vacation as I only want the best. The Dana set is what I want. I read a post where the install is very different or more complicated for the 08-09. Is it a big job to replace and will I get any gear whine or problems down the road over the OEM? Mark.
 
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Thanks Mark. I will call you when I get back from vacation as I only want the best. The Dana set is what I want. I read a post where the install is very different or more complicated for the 08-09. Is it a big job to replace and will I get any gear whine or problems down the road over the OEM? Mark.

It depends on how many miles you have on the original diff. We have worked on numerous new diffs with no issues but even diffs with 600+ miles have been froze up. It depends on the heat cycling evidently. If there is a lot of miles on it the chances of having problems taking it apart go up to 75% from what we have seen.

At that point you may just want to do the core switch and or go the Quaife route with the change. When you call we can discuss the options. I will take the gears back if they are not opened if you can't get your diff apart.

Thanks,
 

FLATOUT

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I just ordered a set of 3.73's with the install kit from John B. Who are you having install them? I am assuming Morgan at Tomball. If so I spoke to him on Friday and I was told he didn't have a special "tool" needed to install the gears in the stock housing. He told me if I ordered the entire diff unit with the gears already installed that they would do it. Not the response I was expecting so if that's your tech give him a call. If your using someone else let me know I need to find someone else.

Andy
 

JonB

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I just ordered a set of 3.73's with the install kit from John B. Who are you having install them? I am assuming Morgan at Tomball. If so I spoke to him on Friday and I was told he didn't have a special "tool" needed to install the gears in the stock housing. He told me if I ordered the entire diff unit with the gears already installed that they would do it. Not the response I was expecting so if that's your tech give him a call. If your using someone else let me know I need to find someone else.
Andy

The Year Matters. Gen 1 - 2 - 3 are very straightforward, any 4X4 gear-shop / offroad shop can do it. G4 needs EXPERIENCE.
 

Black Moon

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Still haven't heard any prices discussed? I'm interested but don't think I could live thru the 500 mile break in peroid without going insane. It would take me a year to put that many miles on it.:D
 

JonB

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Still haven't heard any prices discussed? I'm interested but don't think I could live thru the 500 mile break in peroid without going insane. It would take me a year to put that many miles on it.:D


500 miles a YEAR??

The break-in can actually be 2 x 30 minute drives. Period. There are a lot of urban-myths about ring-pinion break in and oil changes. If you start with hardened shot-peened gears, they cost more, but little break-in needed.

Cheap, Soft, foreign made gears lose metal...... Shot-Peened US-made dont.

[Sponsors are no longer allowed to mention prices in posts]
 

Black Moon

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500 miles a YEAR??

The break-in can actually be 2 x 30 minute drives. Period. There are a lot of urban-myths about ring-pinion break in and oil changes. If you start with hardened shot-peened gears, they cost more, but little break-in needed.

Cheap, Soft, foreign made gears lose metal...... Shot-Peened US-made dont.

[Sponsors are no longer allowed to mention prices in posts]

Jon,
You are always the man with the answers. Thank you for the info. I've been talking to the wrong pwoplw. There have been people on here talking about 500 miles as well.

Thank you
 
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Hate to be the bad news guy BUT there is a 90% chance that the Gen4 diff will not come apart after it has some miles on it. Even Unitrax will tell you this because I have helped them with tools to get it done lol. If you want to change the gears you will have to do it when the car is brand new. We took a few Gen4 cores for Quaife swaps and lost $900 each because Taylor and Unitrax could not get them apart to use as cores...

Although we don't do nearly as many swaps as these two professionals we do 15-25 swaps a year.
 

BossGT

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so if i wanted to get gears, 3:55, and get the whole diff to swap out, who do we get it from and how much does it cost? it is just 355 gears with a new stock differential in it? or do they only sell the gears with that Quaife thing....?
 

Lundqvist

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maybe stupid question.

but a gen 3 going to 3.55 gears, will that help your 0-60 time?
 

ViperGTS

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>>>or do they only sell the gears with that Quaife thing....?<<<

cost?
 

JonB

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so if i wanted to get gears, 3:55, and get the whole diff to swap out, who do we get it from and how much does it cost? it is just 355 gears with a new stock differential in it? or do they only sell the gears with that Quaife thing....?

I think the best gear man is Devin at Unitrax.

I just spoke with Unitrax-Devin (on his vacation) and Devin's recollection is NOT the same as presented above. Anyone can ask Devin his opinion after next week. He has done over 1000 Viper diffs, and over 100 Gen 4. MANY MANY for us. 90% of our gear setup is performed by Unitrax.

You can have gears pre-installed alone, using your diff our ours. With our without a Quaiffe or an OSGiken. DONT use an inexperienced local installer on a used G4, it can be tricky-tough. We will be happy to provide tech support to your installer if NEEDED but the time to ask is BEFORE they attempt to crack a used Gen 4.

Correct to say that once used a couple thousand miles, a G4 is usually a more difficult job, but the outlook for a used Gen 4 is NOT as dire as presented above. We, too, had our first 2 buggered, As did Taylor, as did SRT, as did WMS but the damaged parts get replaced with NEW parts, at a reasonable cost.

We have to talk prices /availabilty in the Vendor Areas....or by email. Thanks
 
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JonB

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maybe stupid question. but a gen 3 going to 3.55 gears, will that help your 0-60 time?

Good Question short answer: It depends on how good a DRIVER you are....

355 can cause more launch wheelspin for a rookie. We have a Viper guy with a 6-sec vette drag car. Good Driver. He claims his 3:55 s in his Viper enabled him to get his Viper .2 sec faster, but he is able to consitantly get a 1.66 -1.75 60' times. Many owners report faster 1/4 mi TRAP speeds, but with slower 60' times IF THEY SPIN TIRES. This results in little or no ET lowering on rookie drivers.

Buy the gears for the 99% of your STREET driving acceleration and braking enjoyment and tranny useage of all 6, not the time-slips at the strip a couple time a year....
 
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Actually if the stub shafts won't even come out it is not damaged parts it is the fact that you can't even get it apart! Like I said we helped Devin with a couple of these when his guys gave up...
 

Lundqvist

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Good Question short answer: It depends on how good a DRIVER you are....

355 can cause more launch wheelspin for a rookie. We have a Viper guy with a 6-sec vette drag car. Good Driver. He claims his 3:55 s in his Viper enabled him to get his Viper .2 sec faster, but he is able to consitantly get a 1.66 -1.75 60' times. Many owners report faster 1/4 mi TRAP speeds, but with slower 60' times IF THEY SPIN TIRES. This results in little or no ET lowering on rookie drivers.

Buy the gears for the 99% of your STREET driving acceleration and braking enjoyment and tranny useage of all 6, not the time-slips at the strip a couple time a year....


John

sorry for the confussion.. but are you saying this person is doing 0-60 in 1.75 seconds? is that from the 3.55 gears?

also when you mention street driving acceleratino.. does that mean it helps you go faster on the street? like lets say two vipers were at a red light and and one had 3.55 gears would that one go faster to the next light then the one that doesnt?

i guess what confuses me people keep saying you accelerate much faster u go much faster etc.. its a cheap mans supercharger..

except you dont seem to actaully go any faster.. street or drag..
 

SilveRT8

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John

sorry for the confussion.. but are you saying this person is doing 0-60 in 1.75 seconds? is that from the 3.55 gears?

NO, this is for the first 60 feet. It tells you how fast you can launch the car. You get this info on your timeslip at the dragstrip along with your 1/8 mile and 1/4 mile time and speed.
 

Malu59RT

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My differential has about 18,000 miles on it, since being replaced (car has about 30k on it now). Looks like this probably won't be something that's in my future, as I was going to have a local installer do it.
 

JonB

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Jon

sorry for the confussion.. but are you saying this person is doing 0-60 in 1.75 seconds? is that from the 3.55 gears? ..........also when you mention street driving acceleration.. does that mean it helps you go faster on the street? like lets say two vipers were at a red light and and one had 3.55 gears would that one go faster to the next light then the one that doesnt? ...............i guess what confuses me people keep saying you accelerate much faster u go much faster etc.. its a cheap mans supercharger..
except you dont seem to actaully go any faster.. street or drag..


Good questions, I hope this helps:


The post states 60' times = 60-ft times. Anyone who drag-races at the strip even infrequently will know their Reaction Time, 60-ft time, and 1/4 mile ET and speed. "Good Drivers Often Win in the First 60 Ft" at the drags....... but who cares about 60' in real-world scenarios? We care about 20mph-100, right? Or 60-120? Or 70-150? GEARS HELP HERE !

As you press your gas pedal with a 307 gear, the RPMs and speed rise at a "given" rate depending on your HP and the gear you are in. Add 3:55 gears, and you accelerate 15.6% faster in each gear. Add 3.73 gears and you accelerate 21.5% faster. [And your engine slows you quicker with gears as well.] You reach redline faster, shift more often and the SOTPants is REAL.

So YES..... equal 505HP Vipers and equal drivers with 307 vs 355, would see the 355 increase speed (accelerate) 15.6% faster than a 3:07. Indisputable fact, all other elements equal.

You can achieve the same thing by adding 15.6% more HP = 79 HP on a stock Gen 3. Except that costs $7000 vs $1000!!! a 3:73 gear "feels' like 111 HP! That costs $9-10K. So, I call a gear swap a "Poor Man's Supercharger" without runability issues.


Did it help? ~~~~Yes, technoids, I know about aero and driveline losses, but those are "Equals" in the rudimentary and factual approximating example above. ~~~~
 
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JonB

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My differential has about 18,000 miles on it, since being replaced (car has about 30k on it now). Looks like this probably won't be something that's in my future, as I was going to have a local installer do it.

Your local installer could R&R the diff...park the car for 6-7 days? Your only additional expense would be the shipping to get 3:55s returned as a unit, and the downtime of the car: annoying

But the 3:55 grin-factor is "new-girlfriend" priceless.... smiles all around.
 

Viper X

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Hey Guys,

Devin at Unitrax is the best "gear man" around.

I know that Devin and Jerry make special tools on many occasions to resolve special issues.

I doubt that Unitrax has met a diff that they couldn't make right, they just have way too much experience.

Prices have always been good and Unitrax also sponsors our local Viper Club.

Dan
 

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