3.55 gears -gottem put on!

[varanus]

Well I dug up all the old posts on the great debate of 3.07 versus 3.55 gears. read them all at least 4 times. I was considering this swap and asked my viper tech Ted May of Valaya Racing if I should get headers first or gear swap. He thought the gears were the best bang for the buck for what I wanted to do. I was still hesitant with all the controversy about gearing but Ted told me that if i didn't like it, he'd switch it back. He also said several road racers ran these gears too. (I guess it depends on the road course-probably tighter courses are best for this gear set )
I wound up talking to Jon B at Parts rack and he too felt it was the best bang for the buck and he had a great price on the gearset ($570 I think) So on it went. Labor was about $400 for a total of $970.
My conclusions:
I don't know if the car is quicker,esp for the 1/4 mile with the extra shift possibility, but it feels great. My gas milage is down a little, but i think it's because of my foot on the floor all the time. Friends tell me they can't believe how quick the car feels as compared to before. It actually will snap your head back. I wasn't stepping on it that much before, but now I am. IT'S A BLAST !!!! Now the viper experience is so much more fulfilling. It seems that on the street for bursts in the 10 to 70 mph area it is much more responsive and quicker. Now I don't live for the 1/4 mile or road racing so I can't vouch for it's effectiveness there, but on the street..TOO MUCH FUN!

 

[Performin Norman]

Thanks for sharing your experience. How do you adjust the speedometer on our Vipers when we change gears? Just curious.

Also, who makes gears for Vipers?

 

[Richard K]

Norman, you need to use a recalibration box that wires into your underhood PCM area. Not a problem as long as you get the correct dip switch settings for the gear ratio you install.

 

[tzoid]

Speedo readjustment is accomplished by buying a recalibration electronic unit that just bolts on under the hood. About half the size of a pack of cigarettes. Most of the suppliers will bench calibrate them to get you + or - 5mph, and then you can fine tune yourself once you test your speed vs. speedometer reading. Directions are all included...installation is simple. All of the gear swap suppliers sell them, Jon B., Unitrax, Sean Roe,etc. Priced about $130 or so. The decision on what type of gear (brand/model) for me was important. The "standard" gear set that many of the suppliers sell on the board actually is a 3.55 gear that was made by Dana for a Jeep, but seems to work OK in a Viper. Keep in mind, nothing is offered or endorsed by Dodge due to the politics of manufacturers vs. the car companies themselves.I decided after talking with Devin at Unitax (very high quality house) that the extra heavy duty gears where the right way to go. A little more expensive than the Jeep gears, but once its done, you can be sure nothing is going to shatter or break over your lifetime. To me that was important and well worth another couple hundred bucks. Talk with Devin at Unitax, he knows his stuff. I did it over winter last year...sent the diff unit complete to Unitax and got it back about 2 weeks later.

 

[SoCal Craig]

Sounds great!!! Does anyone know what this does for 0-60 times?

 

[JonB]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Performin Norman:
Thanks for sharing your experience. How do you adjust the speedometer on our Vipers when we change gears? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why gear your street car for 2/10ths of 1 second, or 32ft of your life!? Maximum bang and grins for buck = Rear Gear Swap. And a 3.33 will still allow a 3rd-gear pass in most High-HP quarter milers.

Norman....PartsRack's gear change kit he purchased included a cryo-treated, polished Dana-Spicer ring/pinion, new shims, seals, washers, and even bearings, (good thing in his case, too!) new drive/half-shaft straps, and INCLUDED a PRE-CALIBRATED speedo converter. He was installed and out-the-door under $1000.

PartsRack will even pre-calibrate for those larger 19" tires w/ any gear ratio purchased....

 

[varanus]

If you're running a high hp car, yes i would stay with the 3.07. But right now I'll only have headers,cats, exhaust, &smoothies. So this mod works great for me and in the scheme of things when it comes to how much everything costs in modifying a viper, its the best deal in my opinion right after filters and tubes.
If you live for the 1/4 mile it may not work for you. Although a member here in southern cal (can't remember his name right now) claims an 11.5 or 11.7 1/4 mile with the 3.55 gears and similar mods to me. I'd be pretty hapy with that.
Later I may do the supercharger route if the DIY packages work out from the tuners at which point I know I will simply go back to my old 3.07s which will only be $400 to go back to for the labor. In the meantime i will be keeping chiropracters busy with patients with snapped necks from the acceleration

BTW the gear set comes with a recalibrated speedo conversion, so it's no problem.