Built Motor VS Supercharged VS Twin Turbos

[slitherv10]

Ok, so, what's the verdict guys/gals. What is the best bang for your buck.

This is putting into perspective a few notions.

You are looking for 650-750RWHP

Keeping in mind...

Reliability

Maintenance costs and intervals

Power on demand principles

resale values

and anything else you guys can think of to make the comparison viable.

[BlknBlu]

If you are tracking the vehicle a built motor will not get as much heat soak.

Bruce

[Martyb]

I think NA is more reliable, but more costly to get big numbers. I would love to have a stroker NA engine, maybe someday.

[slitherv10]

If you are tracking the vehicle a built motor will not get as much heat soak.

Bruce

If your tracking, wouldn't stock be the better way engine wise. The track can be utilized better with braking and suspension upgrades no ?

[ICPREY]

Track,drag, or street car?

[FLATOUT]

When you use the term "built motor" what exactly do you mean?

Heads & Cam hydraulic or solid roller
Stroker motor
Forged internals/Stock internals

Or are you using the term "built motor" as a general term for an NA build?

[Red Snake]

650-750 rwhp?

Gotta be Supercharged.

Way less $$$$ than TT or N/A to get to this power level. Its not even close IMHO.

[ICPREY]

650-750 rwhp?

Gotta be Supercharged.

Way less $$$$ than TT or N/A to get to this power level. Its not even close IMHO.

What he said. The year of the Viper will also play a role.

[BigBadViper]

What are you using the Viper for, drag racing, or road racing, or just street driving?

[slitherv10]

I have been going through this debate for a while now and can't seem to get my head around it.

go the cheaper route and sell my car and get a car that has the set up's already? How were they built and how was the car used and abused? Is the savings worth the headaches if they come up?

Talked to Will at RS! a while ago regarding getting a TT set up and he gave me an unbelievable deal with many extras but, I couldn't stand the thought of having no one here to take care of any problems that may arise in the future.

I,m leaning towards TT but I need a dealer to step up to the plate and offer some peace of mind and most importantly, I need an honest one that will deliver the goods and not give me a headache as some have had with a few in the past. The forums are great for getting the word out. I don't want to end up being one of those guys that get told " I told you so".

I also don't want to go through with one of these routes and find out I cant drive and cruise with my Viper anymore worried about what may go wrong. Overheat, something breaks or something is acting up. Reliability is key here !!

[XSnake]

What are you going to be using the car for mainly?

[plumcrazy]

gen 1, 2,3 or 4 ?

what ya gonna use it for mainly ? built motors can be boosted later on.........

[Taylor]

Did you ask for resale value on a modded car? There is not much!

Never look for your money back, I know a lot of people, myself included who pass on highly modded cars.

I bought my viper about 2 months ago now, one thing I was for sure about, it had to be stock, and I was willing to pay more money just for that reason.

[Smoky]

After owning and selling a TT Gallardo I can tell you that you will have a very difficult time with resale. The TT market is very small.

Supercharger should get you the gains you are looking for and still leave yourself room for resale later. You will also be able to develop a more well-rounded package around a supercharger. In my experience (based on supercharged F-bodies and Corvettes) you still have a lot of the NA usability of the powerband whereas with a TT you will find yourself more often than not in "arrest me" territory.

However, and take this next bit with a grain of salt as I am still getting caught up on the history and learnings in this regard...doesn't FI of any kind on a Viper require some level of engine build?

[Ninjakris]

I know where you are coming from. I had a very clean mostly stock 03' and was toying around options for building the motor/FI. I ended up selling it for basically what I paid for it because most people want original cars. Then I did my homework and found a Paxton coupe that had all receipts and history from day one until my purchase. That car was the same price as a clean car with nothing done to it. Some might say there is more risk buying a built car, but really with a viper, there's risk in buying any of them used. Good luck with your decision.

[Troublemaker]

After owning and selling a TT Gallardo I can tell you that you will have a very difficult time with resale. The TT market is very small.

Supercharger should get you the gains you are looking for and still leave yourself room for resale later. You will also be able to develop a more well-rounded package around a supercharger. In my experience (based on supercharged F-bodies and Corvettes) you still have a lot of the NA usability of the powerband whereas with a TT you will find yourself more often than not in "arrest me" territory.

However, and take this next bit with a grain of salt as I am still getting caught up on the history and learnings in this regard...doesn't FI of any kind on a Viper require some level of engine build?

It really depends on how much air you want to force into it. The 96-99s are the reigning kings of stock boosted motors, but they still have a relatively low ceiling. I have seen plenty of FI Gen3s, but knowing its limits and having the proper tune are very important. The way I see it, a built short block really isn't that expensive in the grand scheme of the entire build. But at that point you might as well throw a FI cam in there and then have some head work done. Then the drivetrain become the weak link, it's a viscous downward spiral so have you plan and budget laid out first, then leave a lot of room in the budget for "might as wells",

[Red Snake]

You boys are like a bunch of scared girls, lol.

When i bought my car i wasnt buying anything UNLESS It was modded to the hilt.

[XSnake]

You boys are like a bunch of scared girls, lol.

When i bought my car i wasnt buying anything UNLESS It was modded to the hilt.

Yep, no sense in spending thousands when someone else already has. Let them take the hit

[slitherv10]

Firstly to answer a few of the questions..

I have a 96 B/W and an 08 venom Red convertible.

Im looking at doing this to the 96.

Other debate is whether to keep the 08 and sell the 96. Ill have the 600Hp without the money invested and lost in the 96 build to get me there. Problem is, I love the 96 and the Gen 2 styling more and would hate to part with it. Don't really want to keep both at this point as I only drive one and hate to finick over which to drive. To be honest I am not much of a convertible guy.
I will be using the car 85% street, 10% drag and 5% track.

If I go with either the Super charger or TT, which one would need the least amount of extra mods to make it run right..eg..clutch, halfshafts,rad,etc...anything that should be done right away with the build or can things wait as they break? Im sure I would need a clutch in the near future but, how about the other stuff, can they wait or do they need to be done at the same time as the builds?

[plumcrazy]

depends on how much power you want now... 650, 700, 750, 800 or more ?

[No hemi]

From what i ve heard and read, and for what i think you want , i think going SC in your car will be the best option, you won't spend too much , you'll safely can achieve 650 rwhp, and if you decide to change route or to change to TT for BIG hp, later you can sell the sc kit and buy the TT kit, for any of those you'll need halfshafts, and better tires as well as other "upgrades anyway, the big difference will be in the type of FI you decide to go with, with heads and cam you Won't get to those numbers from a '96, maybe about 540 ish rwhp but i think that's about it w heads and cam (i am being optimist). good luck!! :-)

[Red Snake]

My 97 has 660rwhp on stock engine, stock trans, stock clutch, stock half shafts. 10 pounds of boost and w/m.

Pick up a used Roe, take it to a good tuner and LET IT EAT.

[99RT10]

What he said. The year of the Viper will also play a role.

Off topic, what did you get out of the 2.8 Roe with the GG heads?

[slitherv10]

depends on how much power you want now... 650, 700, 750, 800 or more ?

of course I would want what the car can handle stock...I believe I was told that the 96 can handle up to 800HP at the crank safely. So I would be shooting for that if possible. I realize TT is the only way at that Hp level.

From what i ve heard and read, and for what i think you want , i think going SC in your car will be the best option, you won't spend too much , you'll safely can achieve 650 rwhp, and if you decide to change route or to change to TT for BIG hp, later you can sell the sc kit and buy the TT kit, for any of those you'll need halfshafts, and better tires as well as other "upgrades anyway, the big difference will be in the type of FI you decide to go with, with heads and cam you Won't get to those numbers from a '96, maybe about 540 ish rwhp but i think that's about it w heads and cam (i am being optimist). good luck!! :-)

According to what you say, if I can only get to 550RW, then it would be stupid for me to spend 10K for 100HP with a supercharger. I might as well get an entry level TT and set it at low boost (650RWHP) and have future capabilities open to me. As things break, just replace them. I can't go any higher than 800Hp anyway without beefing up many parts on the car.
Ii think it looks like TT hands down, as my future goals of more than 600HP, falls in the lap of TT territory.

[ICPREY]

According to what you say, if I can only get to 550RW, then it would be stupid for me to spend 10K for 100HP with a supercharger. I might as well get an entry level TT and set it at low boost (650RWHP) and have future capabilities open to me. As things break, just replace them. I can't go any higher than 800Hp anyway without beefing up many parts on the car.
Ii think it looks like TT hands down, as my future goals of more than 600HP, falls in the lap of TT territory.

Your "best bang for buck" is gonna be a S/C. What entry level TT kit are you looking at? I would budget at least 20K for a TT kit unless you plan on doing the work yourself. I would keep it simple and go S/C.