Re: Vipers Were Bullet Proof Up Until 1999, After That They Did Not Have Forged Inter
The guy who wrote that statement in the ad seems to be implying that...
The guy that wrote the ad is trying to sell an earlier Gen 2 - obviously. I have a 2001 GTS now with 10psi Roe supercharger. I also have a Nitrous kit that I haven't bothered to hook up yet (need more power for street driving?). I also had a Roe supercharged 600rwhp/644rwtq 98 GTS with stock forged pistons at 8psi and w/m inj.
Stock forged pistons are more tolerant of Forced Induction. However, Viper engines don't come with stock FI pistons, not even the forged ones. Custom made forged FI pistons have thicker ring lands between the first and second rings to prevent cracking. Stock forged pistons do not have this feature. My Ross forged pistons (Macedo Motorsports) are lower compression (9-1) and designed for a supercharger. Notice the extra 120+ hp of this car? Nitrous Oxide (think of it as chemical supercharging) can also be added because of my custom designed pistons. The rest of the Gen 2 engines are the same except for the cam timing between years. The earlier engines had more overlap between intake and exhaust timing which cuases a rough idle. Many people recognize the sound of cam overlap and assume that means more power, but that's not true. Gen 2 engines had Forged crankshafts and (I believe) forged connecting rods.
For 'extreme' performance custom forged pistons are required for reliability. Although there are a few Paxton supercharged and TTs are available even with the "cream-puff" cast pistons making 800-1100rwhp, they are normally run at much lower hp ratings to be reliable. Extreme n/a performance requires high compression forged pistons to work with large camshafts. Forced induction requires thicker ring lands and LOWER compression the higher the boost levels.
Stock Viper pistons are custom designed for each Viper. They are all equal reliability as they were designed for each engine. Obviously the Gen4 pistons are the best since the engine has the highest output. The 96-99 Viper engines are recommended if you plan to add a mild Forced Induction system to your Viper after purchase.
Hope this helps you understand the Gen 2 Viper engines a little better?
Ted