Shortening the gearing

[SSG]

Hello all,

I happen to live in a place where the highest legal speed achievable is 90km/h. I am not saying that I never exceed these limits, but the fact that the Gen V Viper's 2nd gear tops out about 54km/h above this limit is concerning. In short, redlining any gear other than 1st can cause some legal troubles. I would really like to have some more fun while remaining somewhere close to the limits (I know, I should choose a different car...)

I was searching around and found some other threads about gearing. I did read that 4.56 or 4.11 gears would allow for 2nd gear to fall somewhere around 110ish (72mph). That thread can be found here:
https://driveviper.com/forums/thread...l-gear-options

Has anyone swapped to 4.11/4.56s, or somewhere around there? I would anticipate lots of wheelspin, but other than that I am not sure there are any issues associated with the change.

[Bruce H.]

I can tell you what the cure for that is but first tell me what city/area you live in!

[darbgnik]

I can tell you what the cure for that is but first tell me what city/area you live in!

Da track!

[Bruce H.]

Da track!

Bingo!

[Jack B]

Cruise control will not work, you will need to reprogram the pcm

[SilverACR]

The track cured my need for speed and is solely responsible for me avoiding tickets. Lord knows my willpower doesn’t keep my viper under the speed limit! LOL

[SilveRT8]

I also found that the stock 3.55 gearing to be a bit too tall for fun on the street, especially when equipped with the .50 sixth gear.( all 2015+ except Numbered TA's).
I chose to swap for 3.91 which is running 10% higher RPM in all gears and I'm very happy with this set-up. The difference is noticable, but nothing extreme.
Drive your car around and figure that with 4.10 you would be running 15% higher and 28% with 4.56.
Note that as you increase the rear gear ratio, it becomes noisier, so I got the Super polish treatement on mine and they are as quiet as stock, but 4.10 or 4.56 would be louder.

[SSG]

I'm in PEI - nearest track is about 4 hours each way, is run by volunteers, and is generally only open on Wednesdays. I can't make the time commitment so for the time being the track is out of the question.

SilveRT8 - did you get your PCM recalibrated? Does your cruise control and speedometer work accurately? Didn't think about the noise issue. Wondering if anyone has experienced any issues with such a big change in ratios.

[SilveRT8]

I'm in PEI - nearest track is about 4 hours each way, is run by volunteers, and is generally only open on Wednesdays. I can't make the time commitment so for the time being the track is out of the question.

SilveRT8 - did you get your PCM recalibrated? Does your cruise control and speedometer work accurately? Didn't think about the noise issue. Wondering if anyone has experienced any issues with such a big change in ratios.

I have the Arrow PCM as I also have Headers and UD Pulley, so no PCM issues, but I dont think that cruise control is still working with the Arrow PCM installed (never tried it anyway). Speedometer is still accurate as I think it reads from the wheel speed sensors ?. Bought everything from JonB- Partsrack (see post above), and went with his recommendations for the rear gear ratio /Polishing and all my HD parts. Very knowledable guy to deal with, and has great pricing.

[Jack B]

I have the Arrow PCM as I also have Headers and UD Pulley, so no PCM issues, but I dont think that cruise control is still working with the Arrow PCM installed (never tried it anyway). Speedometer is still accurate as I think it reads from the wheel speed sensors ?. Bought everything from JonB- Partsrack (see post above), and went with his recommendations for the rear gear ratio /Polishing and all my HD parts. Very knowledable guy to deal with, and has great pricing.

Cruise still works with the Arrow pcm. I believe with 4.11 and higher it will not work unless you have Prefix reprogram the pcm.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

PEI is all 2-lane? Nearest track Mission? (Short track too!)

Id suggest 4:10, Polished, and severe-service cycle on diff and trans fluids.

[TA Two Oh]

PEI is all 2-lane? Nearest track Mission? (Short track too!)

Id suggest 4:10, Polished, and severe-service cycle on diff and trans fluids.

He's a bit further away from Mission than you thought, Jon. If he takes the shortcut through the US - as recommended by Google Maps- he is 5,654 kms, or 3,457 miles away from Mission. (That's one way. Round trip would be almost 7,000 miles.) Sorry... couldn't resist. Canada is a big country!

[SSG]

Thanks for all the info guys. And John yep, 99% is two-lane roads. Closest track would be Atlantic Motorsports Park (AMP), which as I mentioned is volunteer-run and not open too often. If I lived closer I'd be all over it, but its a small track and its difficult to make Wednesdays work when it's a good 4 hours away. Past that there is always Tremblant in Montreal, and I'm there a couple of times a year. Sadly not enough to get the speed fix!

Is there a reason 4.11 is recommended over 4.56? I assume due to less wear on the differential/less noise..

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Ooops...... Continental Drift at work in my brain

[Viper.954]

The Viper has way too much torque for a 4:56. Even if you go with 4:11's you'll need Drag Radials to keep from blowing off your tires.

[Matt Dillon]

The Viper has way too much torque for a 4:56. Even if you go with 4:11's you'll need Drag Radials to keep from blowing off your tires.

^^^^THIS is what i'm thinking but JonB & some of the other guys know A LOT More than I Do! I put the 355's in my Gen II & Love them, but in my Gen V I think i'd like to go to the 3.77's, just Not Sure How Much Difference they are from the stock 3.55's! I would think the 3.91's would be a lil' much even though I don't do a lot of Highway driving! Actually, Would changing gears void the Warranty, from what I've heard they're gotten Very Strict on ANY kind of Mods!