1,000 Mile Gen V Heads & Cam update and driving impressions.

[FLATOUT]

I thought some of you might appreciate some info based on my first 1,000 miles with the new ViperExchange/Arrow Stage II package. I'll go through some of the driving situations I have put the car through, what we learned, and what surprised us.

Quick history, the install was completed roughly 3 weeks ago and I have put about 1,100 miles on the car since that time. The Houston Temps have been in the low to mid 90's during most of that time with humidity at 80% +. If not commuting in the car due to weather I have still been hitting the back roads in the evening to get miles on the car. Below are some different scenarios and how the package has performed. Quick note, car has not experienced any limp mode issues or CEL's since the initial startup.

Daily commute: 45 minutes each way to and from Viper Exchange, light traffic, mostly asphalt. Traction control is helpful on asphalt lol. Fluid temps typically stay right around stock levels, no idle hunting, bucking, or surging. Car feels very similar to a full exhaust Gen V in day to day driving situations. Very comfortable to spend time in and gets nasty when you hit the go pedal!

Rush Hour Traffic: I have been putting the car into Houston Rush Hour traffic at least once a week to see how it fairs with the elevated outside and surface temps without air moving over the radiator to keep things cool. Coolant levels have stayed rock steady at 200 or below, never showing any signs of temp related problems. Same is to be said for the oil temps. Very consistant even when you would rather be in a swimming pool than driving a Viper. Cabin temps seem to be reduced with the full exhaust as well. The best part of being stuck in traffic now is watching the car twich from the cam, and the cam lopping at idle.

Back Roads Blasts: My favorite place to enjoy the build so far. Car just rips on the back roads and so far has taken everything I can throw at it in stride. Again no temp related issues, and the car just works. Corner exit with an extra 100 hp is fun

Roll Race Pulls: WOT pulls for customers, and a few runs with a friends TA on Saturday were good. Made 4-6 pulls next to a 2014 TA with the Arrow ECU from 60-130 or so and the stage II car was pulling about 5-6 cars consistently. Both cars also have the DSE Heat shielding so they both had similar IAT's. Race weight was also very similar. I had a 1/4 less fuel but weigh about 60-70lbs more than the TA driver. Carbon GTS and Bryan Savage have been along for the ride so they might be able to chime in.

Long Haul: I drove the car round trip about 600 miles a few weeks ago to attend the Texas Invitational. Same outside temps with an average cruising speed of about 75mph. Car did very well and had no problems with the long trip. There is an extremely slight buck that occurs from 1400-1600 when you leave the car in 6th gear and really load it up, but Dick is going to do his magic to get rid of it and even if he didn't it's not really something that you would most likely notice anyways. Car was better than expected on long drives.

I know I work for ViperExchange and sell these packages but I tried to be completely honest with my early assement and how things were progressing. Dick Winkles is flying in tomorrow for some final calibration work and Arrow has 50 sets ready to go within the next couple of weeks. Still planning on hitting the dyno after the final Cal is done.

If you are interested and not on my list email me now so I can make sure you're on it. If you have any other questions fire away.

[Tiago]

cool, looking forward to the dyno #s.

[99RT10]

cool, looking forward to the dyno #s.

X2, any tickets during the testing phase...................

[FLATOUT]

X2, any tickets during the testing phase...................

LMAO word gets around. Yes I got a nice one leaving TI haha. Nothing to write home about just cruising to fast on the freeway. My Black TA blended in better than the Blue.

[Coloviper]

Tell Dick to bring that Blower with him when he comes. (Man that whole sentence just sounds wrong)

[ViperDC]

Tell Dick to bring that Blower with him when he comes. (Man that whole sentence just sounds wrong)

lol

[pdv25]

Tell Dick to bring that Blower with him when he comes. (Man that whole sentence just sounds wrong)

[FLATOUT]

hahahahahahaha

[345s-bspinnin]

Thanks for thorough write up Andy. I certainly like the very OEM-like behavior. Wish I could say the same about my H/C Gen III.

[donk_316]

Are there plans to have a Canadian dealer act as a distributor for this so we can get it as a "dealer installed" option also?

[lochnessmonster]

Are there plans to have a Canadian dealer act as a distributor for this so we can get it as a "dealer installed" option also?

Great question. Nice write up Andy. Sounds awesome!!

[cashcorn]

I enjoyed your write up. Great insight! Looking forward to the coming results. On the roll with the TA, what was his exhaust? thanks

[Simms]

Nice writeup and update.

Man I wish you guys were closer.

[viper04]

Nice keep us posted, really interesting in seeing the dyno numbers.

[swexlin]

Thanks for the update. A cool job - getting to mod your car and then trying to get something to break - and it won't break! I wish my daily driving was a much fun.

[Bryan Savage]

While I was in Houston for a business trip on June 22nd, I'd rented a car and made sure I stopped by Viper Exchange to meet whoever happened to be there.

Bernie and Andy were champs to take time out of their day for my random visit. Bernie showed me up to the Vault, and Andy ducked out of a meeting to chat and he took me for a spin in his car. All I have to say is:

I want.

I've tuned cars before and built my own fuel and ignition tables on a standalone system, and the day-to-day driveability is the most difficult thing to get right. Andy's car was loud as balls with the exhaust package, but his car ran like a raped ape. It fired right up and idled no problem. A/C on, tooling around the parking lot, traffic lights, and stop-and-go, and the car ran and felt like factory. No dead spots, no jumps, skips, stumbles, or shenanigans. No dash lights and no problems whatsoever.

The car pulled like the a twin-turboed Saturn V. Second, third, and fourth gears were gone in seconds, right up to the posted speed limit , and Andy was not gentle with the shifting either.

We checked under the hood so Andy could show me the intake heat shield later on and I saw nothing, as expected. No smoke, leaks, smells, nothing. I looked pretty hard too.

This upgrade isn't cheap, but 1) nothing for these cars is, and 2) that's because it's such a well-sorted package. Made by people who care for the Viper community, grew up with Vipers, worked with Vipers all their lives, and who put their names and reputations on the line. You might be able to go cheaper, but you won't go better, or have even remotely the support behind you that you would with this package.

Aside from my recent "setback" (*cough*), only my checking account prevented me from signing up.

[FLATOUT]

Are there plans to have a Canadian dealer act as a distributor for this so we can get it as a "dealer installed" option also?

No but I can sell you the parts over the counter. Do you have someone you trust to do the install?

[LmeaViper]

Like these threads and waiting for a dyno....just to see.

X 3 on a Cdn dealer.

[cashcorn]

On the roll with the TA, what was his exhaust? thanks

[FLATOUT]

On the roll with the TA, what was his exhaust? thanks

Stock exhaust with ECU. Should make 580RWHP.

[FLATOUT]

Bryan Savage, I really appreciate your feedback. I need to get more people in the passenger seat, I think it will help get the word out a little.

I'm taking the car on the next Bucket list event so I'll get a chance to get people in the car there as well.

[FLATOUT]

Great question. Nice write up Andy. Sounds awesome!!

I can sell you the package directly and you can find a local installer. That would be the best option.

[FLATOUT]

Thanks for thorough write up Andy. I certainly like the very OEM-like behavior. Wish I could say the same about my H/C Gen III.

Thanks Andreas, I'm sure they could have pulled a little more power out of the package but I doubt it would have such good street manners.

[FLATOUT]

Look who stopped by today

Always great spending time with Mr. Winkles. We flashed a new calibration in my car to fix the slight bucking issue I mentioned above, and he is taking our other Heads and Cam test car out for a few days for some more testing.

It was great to watch him work and explain a little bit of what he was seeing on my car. He could tell the motor still had a little more breaking in to do based on friction numbers he was seeing at idle. I went out and drove his latest calibration and low speed driving (parking lot) was even better. We have a couple other things to try that should help some of you that might be on the fence.

Andy

image by Andrew Wheeler, on Flickr

[lochnessmonster]

I can sell you the package directly and you can find a local installer. That would be the best option.

I think that is the biggest problem for those of us up here in the GWN eh. Finding qualified/experienced people to work on these cars isn't easy. The problem stems from the fact that, for example, in 2013 there were 3 GTS Vipers brought into Canada, and I am driving one of them. And the only reason I got a hold of mine is because the owner of the dealership got his hands on the car by agreeing with Chrysler to take on several "less desirable" cars with the deal.

You could literally go your whole life up here and never actually see a Viper on the road. I like to think my car is more rare than a Ferrari, or a Lambo, and I'm probably right. As a result, we just don't have the "talent pool" to draw from. Unless someone else in the VOA has some suggestions, it's gonna take a trip back to my homeland to get the job done. Not a big deal. I've got an Aunt in Austin who'd love to have me stop in sometime