Hot inside car

[JCH VIPER]

Have 05 convertible hot summer day top down and the air on it is HOT inside the car. runs about 190 to 200 I thougth about putting in a 160 thermostat. Would that hurt the motor??

[plumcrazy]

coolant temps are different from the interior temps.

[Viktimize]

Not much you can do. The car makes so much exhaust heat which has a tendency to roll up over the doors and into the car. And the A/C is pretty inefficient with the top down. If it's really hot I always just put the top up once I can't stand it anymore. Having the windows rolled up does help a bit though.

[plumcrazy]

you can help by installing high flow cats, less back pressure = less heat

[Viper Bill]

MOPAR/Borla Street Cat Back exhaust helped mine and saved a little weight also!!! IMHO sounds a little better also.

[Brian E]

Not sure if you are saying your AC blows hot, or if your cabin temp is just too hot.
Changing your thermastat won't solve either problem.
I will assume you are concerned about how hot it is inside your car.
If you have the OEM exhaust, remove the cross over pipe that is on your exhaust and your cabin temps will be reduced dramatically. A great alternative to an aftermarket exhaust would be to search for someone selling their OEM Gen 4 exhaust. This would allow you to remove the crossover pipe and is a relatively inexpensive alternative to a Corsa or Borla system. SRT did a great job designing the Gen 4 exhaust.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Gen 3 have the HOTTEST cabins due to croossover exhaust system pipes run behind the seats, and 4 cats are cooking the footwell.
The extra backpressure of the X-over and OE mufflers run hot.....

You will be AMAZEd at the cooling achueved by a hi-flow exhaust (any brand, 3" preferred) and HF cats (2 vs 4) waaay cooler.

-All the heat goes away behind the seats. Dwn to just above ambient.
-Sills cool off by 120-135f cooler.
-Footwell exterior cools by 150-200f degrees cooler.
- A/C = much more efficient.

JonB

[MtnBiker]

I have a Gen IV OEM exhaust I am not using.

[Timnineside]

I have a cat delete and Borla for sale PM me. I'll get you a fair price on the entire deal. Your car will sound amazing as well.

Tim

[99RT10]

Get an aftermarket setup or a 2008-2010 exhaust and cut out the cats. Heat will get cut by 90%.

[Viktimize]

you can help by installing high flow cats, less back pressure = less heat



100% correct. Forgot to mention that. My cabin heat dropped significantly when I did my cat delete and Corsa install.

[slysnake]

convertible hot summer day top downIs it OK with the top up? With the top down there is no way the A/C will cool the car. When it get's in the upper 80s and 90s I put the top up and the A/C is just fine.

[Viper Girl]

you can help by installing high flow cats, less back pressure = less heat
This...

On my 06 Vert, I put on corsa track exhaust, removed the X-over and my interior was so much cooler.
Then again, I came from a 93 Gen I Viper that had no AC... I loved that car, but called it the chicken roaster... LOL it was hotter than hell in that footwell.
Remove that crossover, put in some cat back exhaust at a minimum and you should be fine... I left the cats at the time, I didn't want to deal with smog in Cali...
I don't know what your smog situation is in Ohio...

[v10addiction]

LongAcre sells some very nice heat shielding in sheets that you can put under the carpet and stop most of the heat.

Regardless of what you do with the exhaust, the Gen3-4's are designed to move air down the trans tunnel and out the back.
This pulls quite a bit of exhaust heat and makes the tunnel side get very hot all the way up to the shifter.

If you can't get your side pipes heat coated, DEI make very easy to install wrap you can put around the cats and drop the heat a huge amount.
If you use heat wrap, make sure the factory heat shield in the sills, is open enough to still move air through the sills.
Heat shielding also saves your paint, especially in the cat areas.

We wrap even our heat coated exhaust systems with the wrap as well.
People claim it will damage the pipes, but as long as it runs a bit if you ever get it wet, it steams off without issue.
Always install the wrap wet.

The ACR-X's come with nothing, no carpet and no cats, and they are blistering hot.
A little heat shielding and you can't feel the heat anymore.

Putting in a cooler thermostat is common misconception for power gains and cooling.

The fact is, the lower the temp the faster the water moves through the radiator and less time it has to be cooled.
On top of that, aluminum heads drain combustion heat that make power, lower coolant temp cost power.
It is of very little benefit even for intake temps, as the materials used on the intakes are already doing that job efficiently.

On our the dyno, the Viper pulls at 200-220+ degrees make the most power.

The BIG Issue::
The only way to get rid of moisture in the oil is for it to reach boiling temp (212f).
This is why the oil cooler is hooked to the hot water flow of the cooling system.
If you prevent the temps from reaching boiling point, you are in fact killing your motor faster.

Everytime your motor heats and cools, it pulls in moisture.
People often think the dipstick level not dropping, indicates nothing is changing in oil consumption.

Engines with little run time, but run regulary displace the oil with a mix of condensed water vapor and overly rich fuel burn, caused with cold starting and cold idling.
These mix to some degree, making the appearance of oil, but in fact cause wear and do not properly lubricate the engine.
Since water is heavier than oil, it is the first thing sucked in by the oil pump on cold start.
People have asked me why their oil level rise, this is why.

If your cooling system is working, you should run 200-220 regularly, and your fans are programmed to assist in the cooling at those levels.
When the fan (or fans) engage, they force more air over the exhaust, thus removing more heat from the car.
A cooler thermostat mean no fans for longer, unless you turn on the AC or Defrost.

Translation: Cooler thermostat, hotter cockpit, less power, and shorter engine life.

Blown and turbo cars are a little different as the intake temps are raised by the boost.
So for boosted cars we do run lower temps and change the oil more often.
Water meth engines are even worse, but that's an entirely different speech.

[MI Viper]

LongAcre sells some very nice heat shielding in sheets that you can put under the carpet and stop most of the heat.

Regardless of what you do with the exhaust, the Gen3-4's are designed to move air down the trans tunnel and out the back.
This pulls quite a bit of exhaust heat and makes the tunnel side get very hot all the way up to the shifter.

If you can't get your side pipes heat coated, DEI make very easy to install wrap you can put around the cats and drop the heat a huge amount.
If you use heat wrap, make sure the factory heat shield in the sills, is open enough to still move air through the sills.
Heat shielding also saves your paint, especially in the cat areas.

We wrap even our heat coated exhaust systems with the wrap as well.
People claim it will damage the pipes, but as long as it runs a bit if you ever get it wet, it steams off without issue.
Always install the wrap wet.

The ACR-X's come with nothing, no carpet and no cats, and they are blistering hot.
A little heat shielding and you can't feel the heat anymore.

Putting in a cooler thermostat is common misconception for power gains and cooling.

The fact is, the lower the temp the faster the water moves through the radiator and less time it has to be cooled.
On top of that, aluminum heads drain combustion heat that make power, lower coolant temp cost power.
It is of very little benefit even for intake temps, as the materials used on the intakes are already doing that job efficiently.

On our the dyno, the Viper pulls at 200-220+ degrees make the most power.

The BIG Issue::
The only way to get rid of moisture in the oil is for it to reach boiling temp (212f).
This is why the oil cooler is hooked to the hot water flow of the cooling system.
If you prevent the temps from reaching boiling point, you are in fact killing your motor faster.

Everytime your motor heats and cools, it pulls in moisture.
People often think the dipstick level not dropping, indicates nothing is changing in oil consumption.

Engines with little run time, but run regulary displace the oil with a mix of condensed water vapor and overly rich fuel burn, caused with cold starting and cold idling.
These mix to some degree, making the appearance of oil, but in fact cause wear and do not properly lubricate the engine.
Since water is heavier than oil, it is the first thing sucked in by the oil pump on cold start.
People have asked me why their oil level rise, this is why.

If your cooling system is working, you should run 200-220 regularly, and your fans are programmed to assist in the cooling at those levels.
When the fan (or fans) engage, they force more air over the exhaust, thus removing more heat from the car.
A cooler thermostat mean no fans for longer, unless you turn on the AC or Defrost.

Translation: Cooler thermostat, hotter cockpit, less power, and shorter engine life.

Blown and turbo cars are a little different as the intake temps are raised by the boost.
So for boosted cars we do run lower temps and change the oil more often.
Water meth engines are even worse, but that's an entirely different speech.

Nice, very informative.

Anyone have real world results of installing a full Belanger Ex .system both performance gain on a GenIV, and cockpit heat reduction?
Thanks,
MI V.

[Westxsrt10]

Nice, very informative.

Anyone have real world results of installing a full Belanger Ex .system both performance gain on a GenIV, and cockpit heat reduction?
Thanks,
MI V.

This guy says its hot with the top down is summer? :t0140:

My Gen 4 runs a tad cooler (20% cooler inside) with the Belanger exhaust.

[MI Viper]

This guy says its hot with the top down is summer? :t0140:

My Gen 4 runs a tad cooler (20% cooler inside) with the Belanger exhaust.

WS10,
thanks for the info, does your Belanger system have the 3" high flow cat converters that are fully heat shielded to run much cooler than stock cats? 20 % will definitely help me... I don't quite understand your comment... It was hot here on Monday, 86, and yes it can get hot sitting in X-mas day traffic with the top down, that it was 1/2 of the purpose of my Q? Looking to reduce cockpit heat as a by-product of the Belanger full System Ex. Upgrade.:dude3:
Merry X-mas

[Joel]

I can't speak to Belanger exhaust but I did the Corsa exhaust - cat back - and deleted the crossover pipes. It was much cooler inside. When I put a roll bar in my car, I insulated the floors and transmission hump, and the area behind the seats. It is much cooler and quieter and well worth the effort. Now the drone is gone, the heat is gone, and I am much happier. I was going to wrap the pipes but I was told that might produce too much heat in the exhaust. Not sure about that but I am happy with the car's inside heat now.

[MI Viper]

I can't speak to Belanger exhaust but I did the Corsa exhaust - cat back - and deleted the crossover pipes. It was much cooler inside. When I put a roll bar in my car, I insulated the floors and transmission hump, and the area behind the seats. It is much cooler and quieter and well worth the effort. Now the drone is gone, the heat is gone, and I am much happier. I was going to wrap the pipes but I was told that might produce too much heat in the exhaust. Not sure about that but I am happy with the car's inside heat now.

Joel,
Thanks for the info.
Happy New Years.
MI V.

[Bill Pemberton]

The Corsa Catback is a great fix , since as noted once installed the crossover issue is eliminated, but I will also suggest you chat with MTNBIKER , as I put an 08 exhaust system on my 2004 and
it achieved the same result. Depending on what he wants that may give you a fairly inexpensive fix -- good luck.

[CHAP]

I can't speak to Belanger exhaust but I did the Corsa exhaust - cat back - and deleted the crossover pipes. It was much cooler inside. When I put a roll bar in my car, I insulated the floors and transmission hump, and the area behind the seats. It is much cooler and quieter and well worth the effort. Now the drone is gone, the heat is gone, and I am much happier. I was going to wrap the pipes but I was told that might produce too much heat in the exhaust. Not sure about that but I am happy with the car's inside heat now.

What did you put inside to insulate?

I am trying to get rid of the drone

[Timnineside]

If anyone is looming for the CAT delete and Borlas PM me. I'd like to move them. I also have the 08 CATs if someone wants to keep those.

These will also get rid of drone.

Will fit gen 3/4

Tim

[v10addiction]

I have dyno data on two ACR-X's that came factory with American Racing headers, un-coated, that we upgraded to Belanger coated systems, showing a net gain of 28hp and 31tq to the wheels. Most of the hp was above 3600 rpm which made the cars smoke the factory test car in a race in Monticello New York.
It was profound enough to get the Chrysler driver and techs to come see what we changed.

Cockpit heat was not a consideration sorry.

I have data from our dyno on 40+ Gen IV's with one or the other exhaust system, but depending on the version of the PCM flash, some looked the same on both systems.
So the only real controlled test comparison I have is on the ACR-X's.

I would recommend Belanger over anyone else for power and reliability.

But if your after more noise, there are some louder options.

[MI Viper]

I have dyno data on two ACR-X's that came factory with American Racing headers, un-coated, that we upgraded to Belanger coated systems, showing a net gain of 28hp and 31tq to the wheels. Most of the hp was above 3600 rpm which made the cars smoke the factory test car in a race in Monticello New York.
It was profound enough to get the Chrysler driver and techs to come see what we changed.

Cockpit heat was not a consideration sorry.

I have data from our dyno on 40+ Gen IV's with one or the other exhaust system, but depending on the version of the PCM flash, some looked the same on both systems.
So the only real controlled test comparison I have is on the ACR-X's.

I would recommend Belanger over anyone else for power and reliability.

But if your after more noise, there are some louder options.

v10,
Thanks for the input, pretty sure I'm going with Belanger full system.
Happy New Year,
MI V.

[PaulP]

For guys running the corsa high flow cat setup does it delete the last cat on either side or is it stock oe cat then corsa high flow cat?? since theres 4 cats in a gen 3 I'm asking if corsa replaces the 4 oe cats ? thanks

[IndyRon]

I have dyno data on two ACR-X's that came factory with American Racing headers, un-coated, that we upgraded to Belanger coated systems, showing a net gain of 28hp and 31tq to the wheels. Most of the hp was above 3600 rpm which made the cars smoke the factory test car in a race in Monticello New York.
It was profound enough to get the Chrysler driver and techs to come see what we changed.

I would recommend Belanger over anyone else for power and reliability.

But if your after more noise, there are some louder options.

I just recently saw this post. I'm not sure about those results. Another member here recently dyno'd M&M Tri-Y headers that are essentially the same as the Bellangers but with bigger primaries, and there was a slight gain above 5200rpm (less than 10rwhp). He was running the ARE/ACRX headers beforehand also. Could you please post dyno graphs of before and after including temps/DA and with SAE correction?

[venomous08]

For guys running the corsa high flow cat setup does it delete the last cat on either side or is it stock oe cat then corsa high flow cat?? since theres 4 cats in a gen 3 I'm asking if corsa replaces the 4 oe cats ? thanks


Corsa Mufflers replace the factory Mufflers and cross over pipes. If you want to replace the factory cats you will replace the 2 per side with 1 high flow aftermarket cat. I have run the Random Tech in the past and put several on. I would recommend that route if you dont want to change over to Bellanger or AR's headers.

[PaulP]

So the oem cats would stay 2 per side 2005 vert, and the corsa#14174 high flow cat setup would add a third? or would be cat cat high flow corsa cat then corsa muffler, or would this kit replace the last oem cat thanks for reply just trying to fig this kit out so i can order online accordingly

[Viper vince]

A friend of mine installed Dyna matt this made a big difference on heat and road noise. But it adds some weight.

[Sonoman]

So the oem cats would stay 2 per side 2005 vert, and the corsa#14174 high flow cat setup would add a third? or would be cat cat high flow corsa cat then corsa muffler, or would this kit replace the last oem cat thanks for reply just trying to fig this kit out so i can order online accordingly

The Corsa does not replace the secondary cat (or add a third). What you will have is a primary cat (can be seen under the car thru the round hole in the body lower pan) a smaller secondary cat inside the Viper's side sill, then the muffler (whether it be stock or aftermarket). Some have gutted the secondary cat or replaced it with a custom made pipe. A car with primary cats in good condition should still pass smog test tailpipe emissions without a secondary cat, though NOx will be higher.

[venomous08]

So the oem cats would stay 2 per side 2005 vert, and the corsa#14174 high flow cat setup would add a third? or would be cat cat high flow corsa cat then corsa muffler, or would this kit replace the last oem cat thanks for reply just trying to fig this kit out so i can order online accordingly

Buy These http://www.viperpartsrack.com/viper-exhaust/viper-exhaust-emissions/high-flow-catalytic-converters-srt

Buy This http://www.viperpartsrack.com/viper-exhaust/viper-exhaust-systems/track-exhaust-corsa-srt

It goes... Random Tech High FLow CAT (1 per side), Corsa Exhaust that's it. Just tell Jon you want a 3" Exhaust Setup.

[VYPR BYT]

Great info here so thanks to all.
Getting a Venzano interior soon so maybe now's the time to consider the dynamat since the carpet is being replaced too.

[PaulP]

thanks for the info guys, deff a good read in this post

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Cockpit Heat was not a big consideration for the ACR-X vs a street Viper, since the majority of the heat-vulnerable components were removed in creating the -X, and the floorboard insulation package took care of the flamethrower-hot stainless headers.
[Factual Trivia about the -X: Belanger Headers were initially chosen for the ACR-X program, but Lou Belanger was unable to produce the first 25 sets in the time frame allotted for the first 25 ACR-Xs. American Racing did commit to the -X short time frame, as well as very attractive pricing. AR got the nod. ]


I have dyno data on two ACR-X's that came factory with American Racing headers, un-coated, that we upgraded to Belanger coated systems, showing a net gain of 28hp and 31tq to the wheels. Most of the hp was above 3600 rpm which made the cars smoke the factory test car in a race in Monticello New York.
It was profound enough to get the Chrysler driver and techs to come see what we changed.

Cockpit heat was not a consideration sorry.

I have data from our dyno on 40+ Gen IV's with one or the other exhaust system, but depending on the version of the PCM flash, some looked the same on both systems.
So the only real controlled test comparison I have is on the ACR-X's.

I would recommend Belanger over anyone else for power and reliability.

But if your after more noise, there are some louder options.

[HobokenViper]

Not much you can do. The car makes so much exhaust heat which has a tendency to roll up over the doors and into the car. And the A/C is pretty inefficient with the top down. If it's really hot I always just put the top up once I can't stand it anymore. Having the windows rolled up does help a bit though.

My Gen IV vert is nice and cool with the top up in warm weather and A/C turned up. Open the windows and it gets a bit warmer inside, which is to be expected. But top down in anything above around 76 degrees and the car literally cooks me even with A/C blasting. I have high flow cats on my car, but the A/C just can't keep up with heat load coming from combo of the top down and heat coming from exhaust system under the sills. Then again, I'd do anything right about now to get out of this stupidly long cold winter and have this problem to deal with.

[aspman]

Yes I put gen 4 exhaust with high flows and it was like night and day in my 06.Sold it to my friend for his 03 and he too swears by it.Plus sounds great.

[FrgMstr]

I basically stop driving my Vert with the top down when it gets to be sunny at 92+ outside......in the daytime anyway. But then there are still so many mornings and evenings begging for a drive with the top down. Gotta love Texas.