How long should I wait to change whats under the hood?

[Mark Young]

I've had my ACR now for almost 6 months. I just did my first track event at Thunderhill last week. I can only give you my perspective, though many here will probably agree. The first part of the car to upgrade is "the nut behind the wheel". I don't think its the horsepower thats so amazing in this car, its the torque. The torque is what takes getting used to in my opinion.

If you want to feel like you're doing something, upgrade to smooth tubes and K&Ns. I would only start upgrading the HP once you're sure you can handle the car in its stock form. Maybe you'll find you're ready right away, but I know for myself, the driver is what needs the most upgrading, not the car.

I'll let Fred (Driving School) Kinder pipe in here about driver upgrades

You must be registered for see images

He also has some statistic about how many Vipers never make it home from the dealership - scary!!

- Mark ('99 ACR)

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

Mark is 100% on track, no pun intended. If going fast around Laguna Seca, Thunderhill, etc. is you goal, driving school is the answer as well as many open track events (with an instructor with you) "Viper Day's" is the best ( safest, and best social track event) that I know an as many schools as possible. The members in N. CA who have been around a track with Rich Bontempi know that speed comes from knowing how to be smooth. It take a lot more than HP to go faster than Rich. He drives a stock 96 GTS with K&N filters, fyi.

 

[SoCal Rebell]

Theoretically you can start after the 1,000 mile break in. Start with the bolt on stuff it will not void the warranty. Things like headers, 3" catbacks, smooth tubes and air filters. You can also go wih a different rear gear and light weight flywheel for better road feel. If you are considering super charginging the future make sure you get an exhaust system that can handle it now.

 

[JonB]

SoCal and Fred and others are right on.

UPGRADE THE SOFTWARE first.....ie between your ears. 450HP can get you in a lot of fun..and a lot of trouble!!

Then, consider upgrades exactly as SoCal says, esp if you share waranty concerns.

If you wanna talk VIPERS anytime, including track schools (yay Viper days) E-me

JonB

 

[jwwiii]

My upgrade suggestions;

Drive the Viper stock for the first 1,ooo miles and really get the feel for sound, shifting, etc. My first upgrade was to buy K&N filters and the smooth intake tubes. I REALLY enjoyed the difference in the sound of my Viper from just doing that! It was really noticeable, and only cost me around $200 bucks.

I then changed the rear end gear ratio for a lower gearing of the Mopar.355 set. I really enjoyed the feeling driving with that ratio around town... less jerky to me. I do believe that the Factory ratio is probably the quickest all around in the hands of a skilled driver. It is just not as fun. The gear change cost me around $1,ooo installed if I remember ( a little more with the speedo recalibration computer from Fitzgerald motors).

The most fun I think has been the purchase of the Mopar "Street Exhaust". It was a simple quick bolt-on at the dealership. I spent about $1,500 on that. It sounds GREAT, and I don't feel as tempted to step on the gas all the time to get "that Sound". Really worthwhile purchase to me.

I also added the Mopar "race controller" computer. That thing seemed to change the sound of the Viper a little bit, and I think it gave a bit of a boost, but not too worth the money without performing a host of more major mods. I am very satisfied with my Viper, stayed with Mopar (dealer friendly for me) and still have my warranty. All the other suppliers have great product too, I just wanted to be safe.

There really isn't anything else I want to do to it besides take some driving schools to really learn to drive. It goes faster out of the box than you can drive it unless you are a real skilled racer.

Drive it stock for awhile and do the mods one at a time and savor the changes each makes. I don't really appreciate the things in life I haven't waited for. Doing the mods one at a time was rewarding to me. I am going to drive my new RT-10 stock for a couple of days when it arrives and then change out the tubes, filters, computer, and exhaust from my other car. I want to feel the immediate changes to a stock car now that I have had a couple of years of ownership. I don't think I will put the lower gears in again for awhile, at least not until I take a driving school.

Happy Vipering, and I hope some of the other owners think my advice is wise.

Sincerely,

Jim