Pre-1997 and Post (1997 to 2002) Coil Pack Differences?

[Coloviper]

Guys and gals;

Curious as to the differences in the Pre-1997 and Post (1997 to 2002) Viper Coil Packs. Some manufacturers out there like DUI Screamin' Demon Coil Packs, MSD, etc. advertise Post (1997 to 2002) Coil Packs only for the early Vipers. Have not seen upgraded coil packs for Pre-1997 Vipers. Anyone know the differences and why no Pre-1997 Viper Upgraded Coil Pack options? More important do these Post (1997 to 2002) Coil Packs still work on the earlier Vipers? Connectors different?

Thanks!

[Dan Cragin]

The coil packs were the same, the connection differed. You can't get the 1996 coil packs anymore so you need to change the connector.

[ViperTony]

I have the Screamin Demon coil packs on my '01. I had no reason to change from the OEM coil packs but these gave me a reason to wrench on my Viper. I cannot tell any difference between the OEM and Screamin Demons. Stick with OEM if you decide to swap them out for some reason. Save the money for the real HP upgrades. Here's some information on the SD installation process:

Since I had to remove my intake (it's off to Greg Good for some porting work), this made access to the coil packs much, much easier. However, removing the intake is not required. Removing the cowl is required and consists of unscrewing 4 screws.

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I weighed both the OEM and SD coil packs and found there was little difference in weight:

OEM Coil Packs: 5 lbs, 3oz
S.D. Coil Packs: 5 lbs, 4 3/4oz

I believe the difference in weight *may* due to the additional resin contained in the new SD coil packs. Here are some photos comparing the OEM to SD coil packs (OEM on left):

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Although the instructions stated no modifications are necessary, one modification is indeed necessary. One of the connectors on the new coil pack will not fit into the wiring harness connector. It appears that the new coil pack connector has a plastic guide offset which is preventing it from mating with the wiring harness connector:

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This will need to be ground down in order for it to fit properly. I suspect this design was made for the SRT Viper truck which may explain the incompatibility issue.

As I noted earlier, the new coil packs are not stamped with the individual cylinder numers like OEM. I took my Sharpie and wrote down the cylinder numbers so I can easily see them from under the hood:
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I opted to remove the coil pack mounting bracket and install the coil packs outside of the engine bay. This is not necessary. The coil packs can be removed from behind the intake by simply removing the 8 bolts in the picture above. The bolts will back out and clear the cowl area.

Still not sure how I'm going to measure the performance of these coils but they're in.
- Tony

[Coloviper]

Thanks Tony and Dan!

Dan; Does anyone sell the newer Post (1997-2002) Connectors in a pigtail arrangement or something? I assume it would have to be soldered into place from the old Post 1997 connector wires?

Tony: I agree it is hard to quantify the value or investment in HP Coil Packs these days. I guess it is one of those ideals that since I am in there and it took a bunch of work to get there, might as well upgrade to the best I can get which might meet future mod needs.

In the past on other vehicles when I upgraded the coil packs, larger wires/lower resistance, gapped spark plugs, etc. I usually also upgraded the electronic ignition as well. On my S351R Saleen with the 408 Stroker that meant an MSD 6AL. Does anyone upgrade the Vipers with a stronger Ignition system? Does MSD even make something like this for a V-10 Viper? My is a 1996 RT/10 so that funky GEN 1.5 model.

Thanks guys, this is helping my understanding! One day I do want to Supercharge it, etc. but waiting for the emissions to start grandfathering as collector, etc. Colorado regulators have really screwed that up for older post-1982 vehicles. Don't even get me started on that!

[Hiss Highness]

I tried to find MSD or other brand coil packs for a gen 2 to no avail. the 4 pack can be matched up easily off of neons and caravans but a six pack was not available or could not be retrofitted, only screamin demons were available