Generation 4 Ported Heads 30RWHP!

Dan Cragin

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Over the past year we have been looking very closely at the Gen 4 Viper engine. With superchargers, turbochargers and big engine builds not practical or economical for most customers with this new engine, we were looking for another 100hp without major internal modifications.

The production bottom end on these Gen 4's has proven very stout with good tri-metal bearings, ARP rod bolts and decent rods. The only limiting factor has been the pistons, so we did not want to increase the piston speed or compression. Another big consideration is the sensitive engine computer, the Venom engine controller is very sensitive to mechanical engines changes and we did not want any check engine lights or "limp" in conditions.

Our performance gains with exhaust and intake modifications have worked really well, the final step for the 100hp gains would need to be in the heads.

With changes to the VVT, cam and compression not viable options, we focused on the cylinder. There has been quite a bit of tecnology in cylinder head testing with wet flow benches and injector spray pattern analysis, so we thought a good look at the heads would yield some big power gains.

Our big focus on a head modification was to maximize air-velocity through the primary choke area of the intake and exhaust ports. Engines runs on velocity and not just cfm numbers. The area under the seat is critical and can be improved dramatically.

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With our ported heads done and ready to test our next concern was clamp load on the head and block. We wanted to do everything possible to keep the straight. The production head bolts are inexpensive and borrowed from the passenger car line, so we opted for an ARP bolt set to finish off our package.

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Our last concern was oil pull through in to the intake manifold from the PCV system. These engines are very sensitive to knock. On many engines that we havew tested we have data-logged the knock control and found the computer retarding timing. This hurts power and can lead to piston issues. Oil in the intake and related carbon deposits increase knock (detonation). Our solution was a air-oil canister that does not allow the oil to migrate into the manifold.

Our testing was done on a 2008 Viper with Belanger headers and exhaust, Arrow intake and Mopar controller. Gains were 30-32rwhp in an AB test. Futher testing with our intake and better fuel added another 7rwhp. Air fuel was very safe and no check engine lights or "limp in" conditions were encountered.

For those of you who want the most from your Gen 4 Viper engine with good reliabilty, this should be an option to consider. I will be posting dyno sheets and pricing in the new product section shortly.
 

Burntrubber

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So a GenIV motor with a Mopar controller, DC intake, DC ported Heads, Belanger Headers & Exhaust should put down in the area of 635-650RWHP?
 

SnakeBitten

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So a GenIV motor with a Mopar controller, DC intake, DC ported Heads, Belanger Headers & Exhaust should put down in the area of 635-650RWHP?

:omg: All motor. Very sick engines. Wish the VVT was tweakable. Would probably yield closer to 700rw na. The older engines would have needed FI to approach what the gen IV motor can do NA. An ACR with this setup would be a terrible thing to face on a roadcourse.
 

KenricGTS

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Over the past year we have been looking very closely at the Gen 4 Viper engine. With superchargers, turbochargers and big engine builds not practical or economical for most customers with this new engine, we were looking for another 100hp without major internal modifications.

The production bottom end on these Gen 4's has proven very stout with good tri-metal bearings, ARP rod bolts and decent rods. The only limiting factor has been the pistons, so we did not want to increase the piston speed or compression. Another big consideration is the sensitive engine computer, the Venom engine controller is very sensitive to mechanical engines changes and we did not want any check engine lights or "limp" in conditions.

Our performance gains with exhaust and intake modifications have worked really well, the final step for the 100hp gains would need to be in the heads.

With changes to the VVT, cam and compression not viable options, we focused on the cylinder. There has been quite a bit of tecnology in cylinder head testing with wet flow benches and injector spray pattern analysis, so we thought a good look at the heads would yield some big power gains.

Our big focus on a head modification was to maximize air-velocity through the primary choke area of the intake and exhaust ports. Engines runs on velocity and not just cfm numbers. The area under the seat is critical and can be improved dramatically.

You must be registered for see images attach


With our ported heads done and ready to test our next concern was clamp load on the head and block. We wanted to do everything possible to keep the straight. The production head bolts are inexpensive and borrowed from the passenger car line, so we opted for an ARP bolt set to finish off our package.

You must be registered for see images attach


Our last concern was oil pull through in to the intake manifold from the PCV system. These engines are very sensitive to knock. On many engines that we havew tested we have data-logged the knock control and found the computer retarding timing. This hurts power and can lead to piston issues. Oil in the intake and related carbon deposits increase knock (detonation). Our solution was a air-oil canister that does not allow the oil to migrate into the manifold.

Our testing was done on a 2008 Viper with Belanger headers and exhaust, Arrow intake and Mopar controller. Gains were 30-32rwhp in an AB test. Futher testing with our intake and better fuel added another 7rwhp. Air fuel was very safe and no check engine lights or "limp in" conditions were encountered.

For those of you who want the most from your Gen 4 Viper engine with good reliabilty, this should be an option to consider. I will be posting dyno sheets and pricing in the new product section shortly.


Ok could'nt find it in product section. Can you do a swap out? Or Do we send in our heads? I am doing all bolt ons except heads on my 10 ACR. Still don't have the car:dunno:. But one day Dodge will finish it. So how much and is 30 rwhp worth it??? Can you feel 30rwhp?:dunno:
 

Twister

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OK let me get this straight..

say 540 rwhp stock

-with air inake 545 rwhp

-with headers 570 rwhp

-with tune 580 rwhp

-with ported manifold 595 rwhp

-with ported heads 625 rwhp

is this about correct if someone were to *** your goodies on a stock gen4???
 
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Dan Cragin

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With baseline numbers on these Gen 4's ranging from 520-535rwhp on our dyno there is going to be a range of power increase from engine to engine. What is interesting is that the peak numbers after the mods seem to be consistent, so whether an engine tests on the low or high side the end result is the same.

In a best case scenario on a car with merge headers, 3 inch side exhaust,no cats, ported intake, heads, Mopar controller and 93 gas 630rwhp is realistic on our dyno. Depending on your combination
your numbers could be a klittle lower or higher.

On the car we tested it had a 2 3/4 inch side exhaust with cats and was showing some knock retard, so our numbers were just over 600rwhp. The AB test with the heads showed 30-32 hp gain depending on the pull. Consider that our dyno does read on the low side compared to most so I feel
most owners testing this package will get higher numbers.

We are testing more cars and I will post up the dyno sheets and pricing in the product section this week.

Thanks!
 

redtanrt10

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Hey Dan, Great work!!!

I saw Sean's post last week and the results sound very good. At the last event Sean was 571 plus to my 575 plus, I'm thinking the head plus pulling the cats should get me 610 or more. Also, I've got a feeling that when you rebuild Anhtuan's Gen III you have him close to 600, so if I want to keep the DC NA crown I'll definately need the heads.

Interested in the cost, Lyle hinted around at the Dyno day but he said it wasn't firm yet. Feel free to call or send an email. Also, Lyle was talking about testing your ported intake further, let me know if you've got that one figured out yet or need a donor.

Thanks for alll the great work you guys do!!

Mike
 

99FRC

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Few questions.

1. Have you seen oil in all intake manifolds or just tracked vipers? (cost for catch cans)

2. Are you worried about the stock head studs failing in 600rwhp cars?

3. How much does the seat of the pants fun improve?

4. MPH guess for 1/4
 
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Dan Cragin

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We have seen oil in the intake manifold on street and track used cars. It seems more prevelent on the Gen 4's but we have seen it on the Gen 3 models as well.

The head bolts on the Gen 4 are an inexpense carry over from the passenger engine, we did not want any issues with leaks or heads lifting, so we opted for ARP bolts.

The cars feels really strong on the top end, when the VVT kicks in it feels like a turbo!

We think the whole stage 3 package should pick up 7-9mph. Chrysler's formula is 1mph per hour for every 12hp. There are lots of variables like launch etc...
 

99FRC

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We have seen oil in the intake manifold on street and track used cars. It seems more prevelent on the Gen 4's but we have seen it on the Gen 3 models as well.

The head bolts on the Gen 4 are an inexpense carry over from the passenger engine, we did not want any issues with leaks or heads lifting, so we opted for ARP bolts.

The cars feels really strong on the top end, when the VVT kicks in it feels like a turbo!

We think the whole stage 3 package should pick up 7-9mph. Chrysler's formula is 1mph per hour for every 12hp. There are lots of variables like launch etc...

sounds awesome...thanks for the quick responce.

How much for the heads?
 
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Dan Cragin

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Our heads are an exchange or we can do yours. Its about one week turn around time. We have a core set on the shelf and will be getting another core set.

I should be posting the pricing and dyno testing tonight.

Thanks!
 

Art 138

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[quote Our solution was a air-oil canister that does not allow the oil to migrate into the manifold."

Dan is the kit (catch can) available.. I am ready to order the product....Please advise..
 

99FRC

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Our heads are an exchange or we can do yours. Its about one week turn around time. We have a core set on the shelf and will be getting another core set.

I should be posting the pricing and dyno testing tonight.

Thanks!

what was the air temp and humidity when you made the final pull?
 

KenricGTS

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So with heads, ported intake, mopar ecu,ACRX headers with stock exhaust I can get 620ish rwhp? What would that combo run in the 1/4?
 

kcobean

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That's awesome Dan....Great work!

Just FYI, I moved this o the New Products section.

Can't wait to see some dyno sheets off one of these beasts.
 

99FRC

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So with heads, ported intake, mopar ecu,ACRX headers with stock exhaust I can get 620ish rwhp? What would that combo run in the 1/4?

10's easy. You think it would be able to get 10.5 or better with DR's+good driver.
 
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Dan Cragin

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We are just finishing our oil-air canister setup for resale.

I have posted the pricing and dyno sheets in this section.

Our dyno tends to read on the low side, but I think it is more realistic than most.

This package should run mid-tens with the right conditions and driver.
 

Boxer12

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Dan, do you get the 30RWHP gain with stock intake, or are the benefits only realized with the package of heads/intake?

It looks to me like the Arrow intake itself yields no gain since the first pull is avg numbers (despite 3.33 gears) for Gen IV w Mopar & Belangers, or is that a reflection of the (low) dyno? Doesn't the DCP intake add 20 RWHP? Have you tested your heads with your intake?
 
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99FRC

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Dan, do you get the 30RWHP gain with stock intake, or are the benefits only realized with the package of heads/intake?

It looks to me like the Arrow intake itself yields no gain since the first pull is avg numbers (despite 3.33 gears) for Gen IV w Mopar & Belangers, or is that a reflection of the (low) dyno? Doesn't the DCP intake add 20 RWHP? Have you tested your heads with your intake?

TTT

bump
 
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Dan Cragin

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Our baseline test was done on a car with Belanger headers, side exhaust (with high flow cats), Mopar PCM and Arrow intake.

We then installed our heads and air-oil seperation canister and retested the car. This netted a 30rwhp gain.

We then removed the Arrow manifold and installed our manifold and found another 5hp. I am sure the Arrow manifold makes power on its own, we just do more extensive porting.

Hope this answers your questions.
 
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caseyse

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It looks to me like the Arrow intake itself yields no gain since the first pull is avg numbers (despite 3.33 gears) for Gen IV w Mopar & Belangers, or is that a reflection of the (low) dyno? Doesn't the DCP intake add 20 RWHP? Have you tested your heads with your intake?

Arrow Racing's ported intake did look good, and was advertised as contributing approx. 20 hp in gains. Having recently installed the Arrow intake a week prior to seeing DCP's ported intake on display during our SoCal club's recent Dyno Day at DCP, I could clearly see the added labor that went into DCP's porting. I had just shelled out $$ on Arrow's intake and a replacement gasket, and spent a few hours in my hot garage to install it. Having DCP pull my heads, I couldn't resist having DCP replace Arrow's intake with theirs. The gearhead in me really liked the prettier porting on DCP's intake, and the potential for added horse was just an added benefit :D

It looks as if I did gain a 5-6 rwhp/tq with DCP's intake over Arrow's. This was also confirmed during our SoCal club's dyno day back in July when Mike (redtanrt10) had dynoed 5rwhp over Dan Everts (ViperX) and me, all of us having similar mods with Dan and I having the Arrow intake and Mike DCP's.
 
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