2010 ACR 5th gear!

[cash84]

I just got the winter issue of Viper megazine, I was reading about the new 2010 Viper ACR. I have notice they finally fixed that 5th gear which had problem for all the SRT (I'm sure same with gen 1 and 2). Too bad they won't put it in the standard Viper. Says can get from 0-200mph 14 seconds faster.

Wondering if mopar would be providing the .80 gear for sale. I'm sure some of you may want to know info on this. I did do a quick search but no luck.

 

[01sapphirebob]

I believe all the '10 vipers get the new 5th gear. Would not be cost effective to have two different trans for the standard vipers and acrs.

 

[plumcrazy]

would it be able to get fitted into a gen 2 ? or gen 3 ?

a lot of MILE records would fall i bet if so

 

[PhoenixGTS]

I have a .80 5th and .64 6th in my Gen II. Along with rear end gears my favorite modification. My transmission tech sourced my gears from Rockland Gear in New York - they were stock parts from the Aston Martin version of the transmission. For the Gen IV 6060, I know that the CTS-V version has the .80/.63 gearing the Viper SHOULD have come with (plus 3.73 rear gears!) so the parts might be an off the shelf item. Great, great mod. You end up with a real 6-speed instead of a 4-speed with a crazy overdrive and a ridiculous extra gear.

BTW, I ended up getting the mod because I ripped some teeth of my main input shaft. My guy rebuilds Tremecs for $1,500 with $500 for R&R so the base rebuild was $2,000 total, then he charged me an extra $1,000 to do the 5th and 6th (which required him to sightly turn the shaft they go on) so I ended up at $3,000.

 

[cash84]

I believe all the '10 vipers get the new 5th gear. Would not be cost effective to have two different trans for the standard vipers and acrs.

nope I read the article and it said ACR ONLY!!! Like you said, cost effective but they must not care about that.

 

[cash84]

I have a .80 5th and .64 6th in my Gen II. Along with rear end gears my favorite modification. My transmission tech sourced my gears from Rockland Gear in New York - they were stock parts from the Aston Martin version of the transmission. For the Gen IV 6060, I know that the CTS-V version has the .80/.63 gearing the Viper SHOULD have come with (plus 3.73 rear gears!) so the parts might be an off the shelf item. Great, great mod. You end up with a real 6-speed instead of a 4-speed with a crazy overdrive and a ridiculous extra gear.

BTW, I ended up getting the mod because I ripped some teeth of my main input shaft. My guy rebuilds Tremecs for $1,500 with $500 for R&R so the base rebuild was $2,000 total, then he charged me an extra $1,000 to do the 5th and 6th (which required him to sightly turned the shaft they go on) so I ended up at $3,000.

Hmmm great info. I gotta check into that

 

[01sapphirebob]

Page 22 of the new viper mag. First paragraph. "Dodge officially unveiled the new 2010 viper at the L.A. auto show-showing two new exterior colors -Toxic orange peral coat and bright silver metallic clear coat- with a wider stripe pattern. Also new for 2010 is a revised fifth gear ratio- .80:1 instead of .75:1 -for all vipers, to dramatically improve high speed acceleration."

nope I read the article and it said ACR ONLY!!! Like you said, cost effective but they must not care about that.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

Hmmm great info. I gotta check into that

A GenIII-IV with 3.73 rear gears and a .64 6th gear would have its top speed of just over 200 mph very close to 6,000-6,200 rpm in 6th gear - in other words perfect gearing.

 

[shooter_t1]

nope I read the article and it said ACR ONLY!!! Like you said, cost effective but they must not care about that.

Actually the article I read on line said ALL 2010's get the new gearing. As well as saying the ACR's top speed was increased 4 mph to 184.

Nevermind, Bob beat me to it

 

[cash84]

O gezz, I re-read it and yes it is all 2010 vipers. Must be the 12hr days thats killing me lol. anyway, still like to know if mopar going to provide this gear for us older gens

 

[Greg-TT]

A GenIII-IV with 3.73 rear gears and a .64 6th gear would have its top speed of just over 200 mph very close to 6,000-6,200 rpm in 6th gear - in other words perfect gearing.

Great info!!!! I've been wanting the shorter 5th and 6th gears for the longest time.
Can you please PM me the contact info. of your tranny tech? Instead of 3.73, I'll be
going with the 3.55.

 

[Stealth]

For a good package deal, I would definitely be interested in the new 5th gear and maybe a 6th in my 2008 Gen IV!

 

[Spook120]

So how would "high speed acceleration" compare with stock 2010 compared to a 2008/9 with the "old" transmission and 3:55 gears? Just wondering. *****

 

[challenger&viper]

So,
how i can upgrade my 5th gear ?
who can do it for an 09 viper ??

 

[EZ 2B Green]

Contact John Donato of Donato Engineering in Milford, MI (248-921-4969). John is a former Chrysler drivetrain engineer and has done many of these T-6060 5th and 6th gear updates (including my Gen IV). It's a great upgrade!

 

[redtanrt10]

A. What problem "plagued" earlier models?
B. Are you serious with those ads in your posts?

Jon, he just a spammer, ignore

 

[FastMatt]

I just got the winter issue of Viper megazine, I was reading about the new 2010 Viper ACR. I have notice they finally fixed that 5th gear which had problem for all the SRT (I'm sure same with gen 1 and 2). Too bad they won't put it in the standard Viper. Says can get from 0-200mph 14 seconds faster.

I dont think ACR's can even do 200mph, less all the Down force Aero is removed.

 

[PAvenomRT/10]

I don't completely understand why all the interest in changing 5th and 6 th gears. Unless you are competing in a standing mile event, it will make little difference. On most tracks all you will be using are gears 1-4 and the lower gearing will cost you mileage for street use.
PAVenomRT/10

 

[PDCjonny]

It makes no difference on virtually any track in the US according to the SRT engineer chat as fifth is virtually never used.
Some people are confused thinking it's going to accelerate faster through the lower gears.

 

[GTS-R 001]

You'd get more out of figuring out how to increase the rev range, so you can safely go to higher RPM's vs changing the 5th and 6th gear

 

[Viper X]

It makes no difference on virtually any track in the US according to the SRT engineer chat as fifth is virtually never used.
Some people are confused thinking it's going to accelerate faster through the lower gears.

Well the engineers are usually right, BUT NOT IN THIS CASE. If you run most any "roval" configuration type track (infield combined with NASCAR Oval), you will use 5th gear and the 2010 gear works MUCH better than the previous gear ratio.

 

[redtanrt10]

The only track out in the west that would make a difference is Fontana (CA speedway). With stock 19's or 345 35 18's you'll hit the rev limiter at 160 on the front straight of the oval. It would be great to have a better 5th but but I can't justify the $1500 plus.

Edit: ViperX has a bigger checkbook than me!

 

[Bobpantax]

A .8 fifth gear and a .63 sixth gear are far more useable during everyday driving. You can actually accelerate a bit in sixth and you can use fifth at much lower speeds and actually improve gas mileage a bit. The .5 sixth gear overdrive is annoying and, from my point of view, comparatively useless. Having a true six speed has been a surprisingly enjoyable and effective mod even though I did it to reduce the rev drop after shifting out of fourth at about 165 MPH and keep me more in the supercharger's effective performance rev zone.

 

[Sonoman]

I'd agree, the 6th gear was all but useless even at 73-74 mph on the highway (about as fast as I can drive here without getting ticketed), and it felt like the Gen III V10 was laboring a bit on even small uphills in 6th, so I didn't use it much at all. I changed the rear end to a Visco-Lok with 3.73 gears, and now 6th is really an option on the freeway with fuel mileage that seems to be exceeding the window sticker EPA rating. While the Viper does put out over 400 ft-lbs of torque very low in the RPM range (1100 RPM?), it still seems to be a little overwhelmed by the 0.5 ratio overdrive from a driveability standpoint. Besides, "lugging" a gasoline piston engine never does it any favors in the long run.

 

[Viperless]

The only track out in the west that would make a difference is Fontana (CA speedway). With stock 19's or 345 35 18's you'll hit the rev limiter at 160 on the front straight of the oval. It would be great to have a better 5th but but I can't justify the $1500 plus.

Pop in the Mopar PCM and you'll get a couple hundred extra revs. On Monday I hit 163 in 4th with about 80 rpms to spare before having to slow down for turn 1. I tried 5th gear once and it was worthless:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGFRGC5deho

 

[Paul Hawker]

Believe the rational for the long gears is to avoid a $1500 gas guzzler tax, and the hit on the corporate fuel economy blend.
Same reason for the 1-4 early upshift lockout. A bit annoying but they can be driven around.

The SRT engineers suggested that it might be a more cost effective decision to put in a lower ratio rear gear, than to replace the two overdrive gears.

They went with the new 5th gear specifically to enhance the performance on the North Ring track.

Long 5 th gear works great on Open Road Racing events, where cruising at 165 is often useful.

 

[Bobpantax]

With the Paxton and the DC blower tune, first gear comes and goes in a flash. I once considered puting in something less than the stock diff ratio. However, it would have had to have been custom made and been very expensive. Converting my gen IV tranny to a true six speed was a good buy. It mproved top end performance; highway performance; and increased fuel efficiency since I can shift into fifth without any problem at 40.

 

[redtanrt10]

Pop in the Mopar PCM and you'll get a couple hundred extra revs. On Monday I hit 163 in 4th with about 80 rpms to spare before having to slow down for turn 1. I tried 5th gear once and it was worthless:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGFRGC5deho

Keith, I've got the mopar ecu but I've been running 335 30 18 R-6's so it hits the limiter at about 155 (and it has put me into limp mode a couple of times). At Fontana ACR's can lift (not brake) going into turn 1 on the oval, then get back on the gas. Skill level has you between 120-140 in the corner, (and you have about double the distance to the braking zone as I see in your video after the turn). If you get back on the gas in stock 5th it really bogs down. Dan (Viper X) went with the .80 5th but I can't justify the price.

Nice video, that front straight looks just like Firebird in PHX. Haven't been there in years but I'd bet some AZ guys have the same 5th gear issue. Be safe! Mike