Should I supercharge my 1994 RT 10

[guidob2222]

I own a 1994 RT/10 which I daily drive…I’ve thought about supercharging at times but don’t want to make the car unreliable. Would the supercharger lessen the reliability of my car & destroy my 20 mpg average even driving sensibly?

Also, I’m confused on exactly how much HP the Paxton supercharger kits provide - is it roughly an added 150 HP for the $10k kit installed?

For those who’ve done it, is it worth it? I don’t track my car, it’s just my daily driver fun toy I like to rip once in a while for giggles…

Let me know your thoughts - thanks & God bless

[dave6666]

Based on the fact that you question the reliability of supercharged vehicles I would not do it simply because you will be driving around all of the time nervous that it's going to break at any moment. Also, if you think that more power = same or better fuel mileage, once again, you should skip supercharging.

I would really love to know where you are getting your stories from because it's certainly not from most other Viper owners lol.

[plumcrazy]

Do it ! Nothing more fun than a boosted viper. But it does come with worry. You are more likely to break stuff or break down possibly. But worth it imo

[dave6666]

Everybody loves a Paxton!

^^^^ this guy

[04BlackSRT10]

I'd say spend the 10K swapping some of the engine internals out with upgraded units -- lifters, pushrods, roller rockers, cam, etc. It would probably net you as much extra power as the supercharger would and your engine will be even more reliable than before (as long as a reputable and knowledgeable shop does the work) due to the brand new and strengthened components inside it. This is what I'm planning to do when I decide I need more power.

[TTSnake]

Firstly, your gas mileage will definitely go down. With more power equals more gas consumption. Secondly you're adding more complexity to the system means more parts to potentially fail. Also your stock components weren't designed to handle higher pressures. There may be no issue at first because they may still be operating within the tolerance range but over time it will put more stress on the power train.

If you go down the rabbit hole of power addiction like I did your car will eventually be less daily driver reliable but fun as hell because it's got tons of power. So it all depends on what your preference is. Do you want reliability/driveability or power? It's always a trade off.

[guidob2222]

Thanks TTSnake, I’m keeping her stock to remain as reliable as possible. Thanks to all who chimed in. God bless

[goggles Pizano]

Do it ! Nothing more fun than a boosted viper especially a Roe. Roe is the sh*t.

:devilish::devilish::D:D

[lane_viper]

I would be afraid of parts availability and price when something does break.

Yes, lots of stuff are plentiful, but lots are not. These cars are fairly rare, and are 25+ years old and parts for when things go boom might be hard to come by.

If it were me, I would not supercharge the Viper for that reason.

[Dan Cragin]

I worked with Paxton on those kits. The Gen 1 engine holds up very well as long as the MLS gaskets are used.
The Paxton kit is the most reliable, but it has been discontinued.

[ellowviper]

Since the summer of 2005 when I purchased my 7700 mile one owner GEN-II GTS, I have done it all...and now circa 2022 @63K on the odometer, I wish I had never modified it one bit and left it bone stock and just drove it. Lots of good and bad experiences. Lots of helping others based on what I've learned. Lots of pros and cons of all I did....but now that I've been there, done that...just wish I could undo all the time, cost, aggravation it has resulted in. Marriage is still strong so there's that....and the car is still one bad-ass ride that scares the shit out of me each time I drive it. Maybe I've just gown-up a bit too much.

[RetroJonez]

How often do you drive it? Adding any time of power from a supercharger will lessen the reliability, but to what degree in comparison to your driving habits? I'd say go for it. More power is fun.

[laney487]

I have a 94 myself, i love driving it.. its still faster than just about everything on the road.. so how fast do you want it? Me personally this winter im swpping out my head gasket for mls ones and going to do the harland sharp roller rockers while i got it tore off between cat delete, 1.7 rockers, you could goto a more aggressive cam grind and make about 500 brakehp possibly or more with a gen 1.. but i wont lie them supercharger kits are awesome.. i personally just going to do the rockers on mine i already did cat delete..and just drive it.. i might do headers at some point..

[TheMadMachinist]

I don't know if the crank shafts are the same in Gen 1 as in Gen 2's. Years ago I had a 2000 GTS that I did a built motor and a Paxton as well as all the other stuff. A side from getting screwed royally from the shop I had build the motor. Car had to be shipped back three or four times. It was an E ticket ride for a little wile it lasted until the the crank snot snapped in two. As fun as it was after the supercharger and all. It really ruined the car at least for what I used it for the most. Driving.

[Viper GTS-R]

its still faster than just about everything on the road.
Maybe in 1994:smilielol:
There are a ton of cars that are faster than 4.5 seconds 0-60 right from the showroom now.

[dave6666]

Since the summer of 2005 when I purchased my 7700 mile one owner GEN-II GTS, I have done it all...and now circa 2022 @63K on the odometer, I wish I had never modified it one bit and left it bone stock and just drove it. Lots of good and bad experiences. Lots of helping others based on what I've learned. Lots of pros and cons of all I did....but now that I've been there, done that...just wish I could undo all the time, cost, aggravation it has resulted in. Marriage is still strong so there's that....and the car is still one bad-ass ride that scares the shit out of me each time I drive it. Maybe I've just gown-up a bit too much.

If you look at the complete life cycle of a car guy modifying his car, going back to stock, or near stock, is in many cases part of that cycle. Which may be the grown-up thing, coupled with more quality wrench time as you take mods off and put factory stuff back on.

I as you will remember had one of the four FrankenRoes, that Dan Lesser tuned for me. I had 3rd gear / 100 mph wheel spin issues as the tuning was wrapping up. I decided that instead of spending $$$ to install some form of traction control, that the intelligent thing to do was to not race everyone that saw the red car with stripes on it. In summary, having that extra hp simply allowed me to do stupider things.

The Roe is now gone, and if that's called growing up, I'm still here. So growing up works.

[Dan Cragin]

With the right combination of parts, you can make 600hp on that motor without a supercharger. If it needs to pass smog, closer to 550hp. That is typically just right for a Gen 1.
If you want a bit more poke you can add a little lower gear and a better limited slip.

The parts list is pretty straight forward.

Ported big valve heads, milled for 10.2 CR (with .028 Cometic gaskets)
1.7 Roller Rockers and CM pushrods
Performance low bleed lifter set
Billet cam ( smog or not) LSA differs. No smog cam wont work with cats.
Three Bolt timing gear and HD chain
Headers and side pipes
Port match intake
K&N's with smooth tubes
Gen 2 Injectors
170 Thermostat
Custom Calibration on SBEC controller