Would like advise on a build!

[Jsparks]

Here is the story.

I decided I wanted to build a high rwhp, hopefully around 1000rwhp srt daily driver. I know that there a few guys on this site that have great reps and could do the build no sweat. To the shugrin of most people on these forums I have decided to use a local builder. I do understand the reservations of using a builder not as familiar with Vipers as others but they have done some really innovative work on other vehicles. I guess I am asking or looking from a build stand point on what some things to watch for or some things to add. Any comments are welcome but please don't just bash me for not using a site promoter. Here is the tenative plan:

Crowar or Eagle rods (cryotreat all internals)
JE pistons
all ARP bolts
Ported and polished heads
Crowar custom ground camshaft
Crowar roller rockers
x-metal tb
paxton Novi 2000 with 14-16lbs of boost?
Custom fuel system

They have the software and ability to create new programs for the stock cpu and tell me they do not need a stand alone EMS. Is the AEM used as a piggyback because the stock cpu cannot be accessed or does it allow for more adjustments?

I realize that the members that can answer these question are doing these builds on a regular basis and probably do not want to divulge all of their secrets but any help would def. be appreciated. http://www.big3performance.com is the shop up here in wisconsin. They are a smaller shop trying to make a name for themselves. When I started my business it took a lot of people giving me a shot so I could grow....and grow I did. I really would like to help put these guys on the map. Viper mag. is going to be doing a small story on it a well so they have a huge insentive to do a great build.

Josh

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

You don't really mean "daily driver" do you? I mean, isn't reliability part of the daily driver equation which I suppose depends on one's definition of "reliable."

 

[Jsparks]

Well, I live in Wisconsin so that means about 8 months a year and then only when my wife and son are not with me. I guess somewhere around 10k a year. I will be tracking the car a couple times a year as well.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

1000RWHP as a daily driver AND a occasional track car? I would love to see this happen. Anytime you "build" a high HP motor you ARE going to considerably shorten it's life I don't care what parts you put inside. You need to be OK with the fact that it's not IF but WHEN it comes apart.

 

[Jsparks]

1000RWHP as a daily driver AND a occasional track car? I would love to see this happen. Anytime you "build" a high HP motor you ARE going to considerably shorten it's life I don't care what parts you put inside. You need to be OK with the fact that it's not IF but WHEN it comes apart.

I think I am using the phrase "daily driver" a little to loosely. I guess I should say a street legal, pump gas, very fast car that can be driven to the track and back!

 

[Bobpantax]

1000Hp Paxtonized Viper with a built up engine? Twin turbo with a built up engine and an AEM make more sense. Take a look at Heffner's packages on his web site. They contain a detailed list of the components. You did not mention anything about transmission, clutch, differential, half shafts, brakes or suspension. You might want to upgrade and/or strengthen all of these things. You also should put multi point belts in the car instead of the stock seat belt configuration. I know that you have good intentions regarding the shop but if you intend to track the car you better be damn sure that it is put together properly and that the other systems/components of the car are upgraded to deal with 1000HP. Good luck. Post and tell us what you decide to do and give progress reports.

 

[Jsparks]

1000Hp Paxtonized Viper with a built up engine? Twin turbo with a built up engine and an AEM make more sense. Take a look at Heffner's packages on his web site. They contain a detailed list of the components. You did not mention anything about transmission, clutch, differential, half shafts, brakes or suspension. You might want to upgrade and/or strengthen all of these things. You also should put multi point belts in the car instead of the stock seat belt configuration. I know that you have good intentions regarding the shop but if you intend to track the car you better be damn sure that it is put together properly and that the other systems/components of the car are upgraded to deal with 1000HP. Good luck. Post and tell us what you decide to do and give progress reports.

Plan was:
spec clutch and flywheel
quaife diff and upgraded half shafts
motons

No plans for the tranny but i guess I will start making them..

 

[Paul Hawker]

800 hp and daily driver pretty easy.

1000 hp, daily driver, trackable, pump gas first time attempt. Gonna be dicey.

 

[KenricGTS]

DLM, Heffener, can't go wrong with either. If i was you I would go with the Twins better traction off the line and it goes like hell. I had a DLM with 900rwhp on 91 pump and I loved it but is hard to hook up. A guy I know has a 1100rwhp twin turbo and the thing hooks and then just goes. The boost comes on better with the turbos. I would really let one of the known tuners so your car. It takes a LONG time with most tuners I can't imagine how long local guys that don't tune alot of Vipers. Think a year or more. Either way hope your Viper rocks!

 

[Jsparks]

Either way hope your Viper rocks!

Me too It seems as though the difference between 800 and 1k hp is boost on the paxton. As long as the engine is built well I can dial the boost back if the 1000 is too hard to drive on the street....yes?

 

[Kenneth Krieger]

The more power up front......the more the breakage possibilities in the rear.....tranny will be a necessary beef up item!!! And the hits just keep on coming!

 

[Jsparks]

The more power up front......the more the breakage possibilities in the rear.....tranny will be a necessary beef up item!!! And the hits just keep on coming!

Do you know what kind of the power the stock tranny can handle?


This is not going to be cheap I checked out the Heffner twin turbo build.......looks awesome and I would LOVE to do it but 50K is a good chunk of money. Not to mention everything else you guys speak of which isn't included:

exhaust
half shafts
tranny
diff

Looking at over 70k to do that build. Wish I could justify it to myself to dive in

 

[dave6666]

Do you know what kind of the power the stock tranny can handle?

This is not going to be cheap I checked out the Heffner twin turbo build.......looks awesome and I would LOVE to do it but 50K is a good chunk of money. Not to mention everything else you guys speak of which isn't included:

exhaust
half shafts
tranny
diff

Looking at over 70k to do that build. Wish I could justify it to myself to dive in

I've read in places that factory transmissions are reliable in the 600 to 700 hp range. Probably less if you like drag racing due to shock loads at launch.

What part of this stuff costs money did you miss when you started dreaming???

 

[Jsparks]

What part of this stuff costs money did you miss when you started dreaming???

I know, I know... I am just trying to make it reasonable..

 

[Bobpantax]

I know, I know... I am just trying to make it reasonable..

Sorry to tell you but there is no way to build a safe and reliable 1000HP car for a "reasonable" price if I understand correctly that you mean reasonable to be less than $50,000.00. You need to set your power goal a bit lower. For instance, if you left the engine alone, did a stock Paxton kit installation, swing arm oil pan, corsa cat back, improved the shifter in some fashion, and added eibach springs, motons ( with corner balancing) and a quaife rear end, the cost would probably be under $25,000.00 installed and tuned. You would produce about 740 - 750 flywheel horsepower. You would still need to learn to hook it up by easing into the pedal. You might also consider half shafts but if you are going to track it and not drag it, I think the half shafts are less important at the stock kit power level. All of the above can be done by Woodhouse Dodge in Blair, Nebraska. ( A sponsor to this site.) They can pick up your car in an enclosed trailer and return it in same. Call Mark Jorgensen at Woodhouse. All the work is done by his Viper techs. Woodhouse has installed more than 85 Paxton kits on Gen IIIs, including mine. I think that there is an advantage to having the largest Viper dealer in the world do the work. They are more likely to be there in the future. They have a close relationship with the SRT guys and they are always available to answer questions by email or telephone. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Jsparks]

Sorry to tell you but there is no way to build a safe and reliable 1000HP car for a "reasonable" price if I understand correctly that you mean reasonable to be less than $50,000.00. You need to set your power goal a bit lower. For instance, if you left the engine alone, did a stock Paxton kit installation, swing arm oil pan, corsa cat back, improved the shifter in some fashion, and added eibach springs, motons ( with corner balancing) and a quaife rear end, the cost would probably be under $25,000.00 installed and tuned. You would produce about 740 - 750 flywheel horsepower. You would still need to learn to hook it up by easing into the pedal. You might also consider half shafts but if you are going to track it and not drag it, I think the half shafts are less important at the stock kit power level. All of the above can be done by Woodhouse Dodge in Blair, Nebraska. ( A sponsor to this site.) They can pick up your car in an enclosed trailer and return it in same. Call Mark Jorgensen at Woodhouse. All the work is done by his Viper techs. Woodhouse has installed more than 85 Paxton kits on Gen IIIs, including mine. I think that there is an advantage to having the largest Viper dealer in the world do the work. They are more likely to be there in the future. They have a close relationship with the SRT guys and they are always available to answer questions by email or telephone. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

I appreciate the time you took to respond; and I hope you have a great Thanksgiving as well. I am realizing that I might have set my goals too high....and that maybe a 1000hp car for a street driver is a little too much. I will continue to do research here and hopefully come up with a good plan. I already have the paxton and full b&b exhaust at the installer. I might just have them do whats there and wait on the build.....have some thinking to do..

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I think I am using the phrase "daily driver" a little to loosely. I guess I should say a street legal, pump gas, very fast car that can be driven to the track and back!

That makes more sense.

Now, when you say "tracking" most of us think "road race." Are you dragracing or road racing?

 

[mbccenter]

I know of a mom who has a 900+ RWHP SRT who picks her kids up at school in it. Don't give up yet. It can be done. What part of Wisc are you in?

 

[InjectTheVenom]

I know of a mom who has a 900+ RWHP SRT who picks her kids up at school in it. Don't give up yet. It can be done. What part of Wisc are you in?

NICE! I can see the amazement in everyone's face already.

 

[Jsparks]

I know of a mom who has a 900+ RWHP SRT who picks her kids up at school in it. Don't give up yet. It can be done. What part of Wisc are you in?

Southeastern....Milwaukee area. About an hour or so from Chicago.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Built right, you can drive a 1000 HP Viper as much as you like without so much as a hiccup. Grocery store run or maybe a nice little 5,000 mile drive to the northern Canadian Rockies and back. We did it with our 1000 HP Viper (after driving it about 1500 miles back from the tuner in driving rain, etc.). Runs like a top with ZERO reliability issues. And has many of the same parts you are considering:

Oliver rods
Mahle pistons (I think)
all ARP bolts
Ported and polished heads
Competition Coupe cam shaft (708 cam with extra oil ports as I recall)
Crowar roller rockers
Stock tb
Paxton Novi 2000 with boost
Custom cooling system
VERY custom fuel system

And some other stuff I can't remember offhand. Now, all that said here is one important note: If you are thinking "track" as in "road course" there are a fair number of folks that aren't crazy about their superchargers on the track due to heat issues, traction, etc. using the Paxton stock builds. I am not sure if it is better with an upgraded cooling system or not. Drag strip involves mainly traction issues, although if you do it very regularly at all a beefed up trans & differential is a must.

I admire your desire to use and support a local tuner. And if you are confident that they can do the job then definitely do it. Just realize that when you get far beyond the stock install - especially with a custom fuel system and the tuning it involves to run on pump gas - there are only a handful (or less) of tuners that have done it successfully. We entrusted our baby to Doug Levin (he of twin-turbo Murcielago fame) and couldn't possibly be happier.

By the way, the car still pulls like a monster at 11,000 feet...

 

[Jsparks]

That pic is amazing!! I can't image how fun that was in a 1k hp conv. I will be meeting with the builder on Monday. They are doing some suspension work for one of the Vette's they did the motor on. (750hp NA c6) He's going to show me the car and the build pics. I am on the fence about what exactly I want to do but I have some time to think about it.

 

[Bobpantax]

Hi Chris. Beautiful photo. A few questions if you do not mind. What are the actual dyno numbers on your car? If you have it, please post the graph with A/F and boost included. Have you tracked ( road course or drag strip ) the car? If so, how did it do? With respect to the custom cooling system and the "VERY custom fuel system", where would you have them repaired locally if something goes wrong? I think that it is important for people to keep in mind the difficulty of maintaining some of these cars if something should go wrong. The advantage of using Woodhouse is that they are a dealer. Another dealer is far more likely to favorably communicate with a dealer than with a tuner. With that said, your car is an awesome ride. Enjoy!

 

[plumcrazy]

that stuff isnt rocket science. any GOOD,reliable mechanic can work on them. problem is finding a guy ya trust. but there are plenty around

 

[MbnViper]

i feel a Twin Turbo setup is the way to go.

you dont need 1000hp in city or highway cursing ! the stress is huge form a Supercharger with higher boost pulley making boost almost all the times !

if its me i go TT with boost controller and sure a build from the top tuners !

from my experience with both i can say TT cars are very quite compared to a Supercharged vipers and that’s is a plus for your application as a daily driver car.

good luck

 

[Jsparks]

i feel a Twin Turbo setup is the way to go.

you dont need 1000hp in city or highway cursing ! the stress is huge form a Supercharger with higher boost pulley making boost almost all the times !

if its me i go TT with boost controller and sure a build from the top tuners !

from my experience with both i can say TT cars are very quite compared to a Supercharged vipers and that’s is a plus for your application as a daily driver car.

good luck

I think the TT is a great option but you can't argue the fact the Paxton is 1/3rd the price. If I could let myself spend 50k I would do the heffner twins!

 

[Jsparks]

Pulled the trigger last night....car goes in to the shop next week. I will post the build specs soon and also pics of the build process if anyone is interested.