Dale Craig
Enthusiast
I have owned my GTS Viper (Red/Silver) for 1 year and 8 months. Every time I get in this car I am amazed. I just can’t keep from smiling!
I drive the car occasionally on the street and usually once a month for Autocross. Today the car goes to Jack Powell Dodge in Escondido, Ca where Viper Tech Mike Cersco will install the Archer aluminum flywheel.
I have made several small modifications to my Viper and thought I would share my observations about each modification (installed by me unless noted).
1. MGW Short gear shifter. Great improvement from stock.
2. MGW Gas Cap. Looks great.
3. MGW Sill Plates. Looks great.
4. NEW seat lowering kit. This is a great mod. I am 6’3” and I can set in the car with a helmet on with no trouble.
5. NEW skip shift. Works as advertised.
6. HMS 3 in. Stainless Cat-Back Exhaust. Fit and finish was excellent. Sound was so much better than stock. 90 db WOT in second gear (measured at an SCCA event, max is 93 db). Some resonance between 1600 and 1800 rpm. This is a great upgrade.
7. HMS Smooth tubes and K&N filters. Didn’t notice much change but everyone does this so I didn’t want to be left out.
8. 3.54 gears. Installed by UNITRAX. This is my favorite mod to date. The car responds much better between 5 and 85 mph where most of the time is spent for autocross. UNITRAX did a great job and I have had zero problems with this mod.
9. Schroth (red) 5 point harness, driver and passenger side. This is a must if you want your body to stay in place on the course.
10. Koni Shocks and springs from Roe Racing. These are significantly stiffer than stock and allow the car to be lowered. I have lowered the car approximately ¾ inch in the front and 1 inch in the rear. After this adjustment, a complete alignment was done. I use 1.75 degrees negative camber with a slight toe out up front and 1.5 degrees negative cambers with a slight toe in for the rear. Caster is per factory specs. This is not a great street alignment but seems to work great for autocross.
11. High flow CATS from Roe Racing. Installed by me with some help from the local muffler shop for welding. I did this primarily to decrease the heat in the side sills. These units are about 1/3 the size and weight of the factory units. The heat seems to be less and the sills cool much quicker. Also the WOT second gear db is now 92.4, very close to the 93 allowed.
12. Fan Control kit from Roe Racing. This is a great mod if you run your car hard then turn off the engine and wait for several minutes before you run again, autocross! With the timer provided you can adjust how long the fans runs.
13. StopTech Big Brakes front and stainless brake lines front and rear. This is an area where the stock parts really needed some help, my opinion. I am happy with this upgrade. The rotors are much lighter and the brakes have a much better peddle feel. If I did high-speed road racing, I would upgrade the rear brakes also. I do use Porterfield R4 pads for the rear.
14. Kinesis wheels K-28’s fully polished. I run these on the street. This mod was just for looks but actually saved 7 pounds a wheel in the front and 9 pounds a wheel for the rear over stock. The wheels look great. The guys at Kinesis liked this combination so well, they did a photo shoot with my Viper and now use this for their add in the Viper magazine. Truthfully, the Viper looks great without any help.
15. Purner wheels for racing. 17x12 with 315/35 Hoosiers up front and 17x13 with 335/30 Hoosiers for the rear.
Other modifications I am considering, Delrin bushings, larger front sway bar, headers, engine work, and the list goes on, and on…. The one thing needed to make this car go faster is more seat time.
I do love this car, just like my Harley, I can’t leave it alone.
I drive the car occasionally on the street and usually once a month for Autocross. Today the car goes to Jack Powell Dodge in Escondido, Ca where Viper Tech Mike Cersco will install the Archer aluminum flywheel.
I have made several small modifications to my Viper and thought I would share my observations about each modification (installed by me unless noted).
1. MGW Short gear shifter. Great improvement from stock.
2. MGW Gas Cap. Looks great.
3. MGW Sill Plates. Looks great.
4. NEW seat lowering kit. This is a great mod. I am 6’3” and I can set in the car with a helmet on with no trouble.
5. NEW skip shift. Works as advertised.
6. HMS 3 in. Stainless Cat-Back Exhaust. Fit and finish was excellent. Sound was so much better than stock. 90 db WOT in second gear (measured at an SCCA event, max is 93 db). Some resonance between 1600 and 1800 rpm. This is a great upgrade.
7. HMS Smooth tubes and K&N filters. Didn’t notice much change but everyone does this so I didn’t want to be left out.
8. 3.54 gears. Installed by UNITRAX. This is my favorite mod to date. The car responds much better between 5 and 85 mph where most of the time is spent for autocross. UNITRAX did a great job and I have had zero problems with this mod.
9. Schroth (red) 5 point harness, driver and passenger side. This is a must if you want your body to stay in place on the course.
10. Koni Shocks and springs from Roe Racing. These are significantly stiffer than stock and allow the car to be lowered. I have lowered the car approximately ¾ inch in the front and 1 inch in the rear. After this adjustment, a complete alignment was done. I use 1.75 degrees negative camber with a slight toe out up front and 1.5 degrees negative cambers with a slight toe in for the rear. Caster is per factory specs. This is not a great street alignment but seems to work great for autocross.
11. High flow CATS from Roe Racing. Installed by me with some help from the local muffler shop for welding. I did this primarily to decrease the heat in the side sills. These units are about 1/3 the size and weight of the factory units. The heat seems to be less and the sills cool much quicker. Also the WOT second gear db is now 92.4, very close to the 93 allowed.
12. Fan Control kit from Roe Racing. This is a great mod if you run your car hard then turn off the engine and wait for several minutes before you run again, autocross! With the timer provided you can adjust how long the fans runs.
13. StopTech Big Brakes front and stainless brake lines front and rear. This is an area where the stock parts really needed some help, my opinion. I am happy with this upgrade. The rotors are much lighter and the brakes have a much better peddle feel. If I did high-speed road racing, I would upgrade the rear brakes also. I do use Porterfield R4 pads for the rear.
14. Kinesis wheels K-28’s fully polished. I run these on the street. This mod was just for looks but actually saved 7 pounds a wheel in the front and 9 pounds a wheel for the rear over stock. The wheels look great. The guys at Kinesis liked this combination so well, they did a photo shoot with my Viper and now use this for their add in the Viper magazine. Truthfully, the Viper looks great without any help.
15. Purner wheels for racing. 17x12 with 315/35 Hoosiers up front and 17x13 with 335/30 Hoosiers for the rear.
Other modifications I am considering, Delrin bushings, larger front sway bar, headers, engine work, and the list goes on, and on…. The one thing needed to make this car go faster is more seat time.
I do love this car, just like my Harley, I can’t leave it alone.
