3.55 gears ?

pony23

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After driving the car a little I think it needs a little more gear in the rear. The car seems sluggish out of the hole but rips in the higher gears. I was thinking on going with 3.55's. What is the running cost of a gear install for a viper? Does the rear need to come out? Can I just bring the center section to an installer over the winter to have it done? Is the speedo fixed through a tuner (Xcal) or a gear in the tranny?
Thanks
 

VIPER GTSR 91

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You can bring the gears to a good Viper tech for the install but your final price for parts, lube, and labor will be pretty high when its all done. Its a good bang for the buck but is it worth it for your driving needs, drag strip maybe?
 

cowger

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On those 2013 ones, From the description:
"FITS ALL 2001 - 2010 Dodge Vipers"

What changed in 2001 that makes these not compatible with 1996-2000 Gen2's?

I forget the exact reason, but from when I was looking at this before, I think it might have to do with the ring gear diameter. Could well be wrong, though...
 

dester243

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Was it possibly the ring gear bolt size? I am not sure but I just linked it because I know that's a good price for a 3.55 gear "kit" :)

cowger did a huge write up on how he installed his own gears if you want to look. I'll admit, after seeing his writeup. I didn't want to do mine myself....
 

Tagoo

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2000 and early ring gears were held in place by smaller diameter bolts than later cars. This means that the differential carrier has smaller holes, through which the ring gear bolts pass. The earlier rear ends can be upgraded to the newer specifications by enlarging the holes in the differential carrier, buying larger bolts and buying a later style ring gear tapped for the larger bolts. If I remember correctly.
 

intense5.5

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Don't know where you are in Ct., but Tators in NY would be a great choice to do your gear swap if you can make the drive. And it would'nt hurt to have him go over the car for you, Chuck is awesome. Oh, and iirc, the speedo does not require recalibration with a gear swap.
 

Tagoo

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Speedo will need to be fixed. It cannot be fixed with SCT and there is no gear to swap in the trans (i believe there is a tone ring or magnetic pickup in the trans). There is a solution called "Yellow Box" that gets spliced into the wire that sends the signal to your speedo. Yellow box is highly adjustable with 6 or 8 dip switches so you can get the speedo perfect. IIRC yellow box is $150ish.
 

Sonoman

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Speedo will need to be fixed. It cannot be fixed with SCT and there is no gear to swap in the trans (i believe there is a tone ring or magnetic pickup in the trans). There is a solution called "Yellow Box" that gets spliced into the wire that sends the signal to your speedo. Yellow box is highly adjustable with 6 or 8 dip switches so you can get the speedo perfect. IIRC yellow box is $150ish.

If I recall, these cars use a wheel speed sensor for the speedo, not a tranny sensor. Can anyone confirm this? Don't have my shop manual available...
 
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pony23

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If it's a wheels sensor that would be great. I could only find something for gen 1 & 2 to add in to fix the speedo.
 

SYNFULL

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If I recall, these cars use a wheel speed sensor for the speedo, not a tranny sensor. Can anyone confirm this? Don't have my shop manual available...

I put a Quaife 353 in mine. I was told speedo was controlled by wheel sensor and it works fine.
Also it got rid of the skip shift.
 

1stSgt Viper

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I was just about to post this question, so I will post it here. My 2005 will break 60 in first gear with the stock 3.07 gearing. With a 3.55, it drops down to like 49.5 MPH in first gear. Am I wrong in thinking that your 0-60 time wouldn't get any better due to having to shift in order to get to 60. Also, it seems with the stock gears in the gen 3, you are topping out third gear in the quarter mile....where you would definitely have to shift to 4th with 355 gears. Is it really worth it? I could see for power at speed, like 40 rolls and things of that nature.

Also for the OP, I talked to a very respected Viper Mechanic who was recommended from this sight about a gear swap. He said it is much cheaper for him to get the whole rear end from another car as apposed to a gear swap. About $1000 difference in price. He also stated make sure you get an experienced Viper guy with the gear swap as they are a pain!
 

Canyon707

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I have to say that after using three different diff gears 307, 354, and the 373 I like the 354 the best for drivability. Easy on the fot in traffic for sure. I have drag raced and I think the 3:54 out performs the other two. The 373 is a really fun gear because the kick out of first gear is amazing and fun. the 3:54 is more even on all the way up. Since I have draged raced this car I would prefer something between the 3:54 and the 3:73. The shift takes about 4 tenths of a second per shift but the increase in speed between so much better than the 3:07 this is just my opinion I still have my 3:73 and have sole one to a friend and he told me that the car is much more fun to drive with the 3:73 over the 3:07. I know this to be true just to steep for the 1/4 mile drags strip.
 
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pony23

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I'm not a 1/4 mile guy. Just looking for more fun on the street.

They are not installed yet, will be going in after Christmas.

As far as the install, I will pull the center section out of the car and bring it to a shop. That brings the install price down a lot.
 

Canyon707

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I have a brand new complete with diff with 3:73 from arrow racing . 3:73 are great fun for the street

I'm not a 1/4 mile guy. Just looking for more fun on the street.

They are not installed yet, will be going in after Christmas.

As far as the install, I will pull the center section out of the car and bring it to a shop. That brings the install price down a lot.
 

vancouver-gts

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Have 4.10 gear. Torque multiplication is +25% from the OEM 3.07. Driven Gen 3 ,Gen 4 and I like my Gen II for what it does with this gear combo. Have friends with some hot cars [ Lambo Superleggera, Ferrari 599 GTB, Noble M400 ] we drive around rural roads. None of them walk on me per se. They beat me in the turns breaking later though.
 

Dan Cragin

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The 3.54 has always been the best all around gear. Many gear ratios are discontinued but we have tried 2.73, 3.21,3.33, 3.45, 3.54,3.73, 3.91, 4.10 and 4.56. Back in the day when we could not get better 5th and 6th gear ratios we would use the 2.73 gears for the top speed cars. When the 3.33 was available, the track guys loved it as it put the motor right in the sweet spot for high speed corners in the upper gears. The 3.45's were popular with the drag guys as they could use a taller tire and still pull to redline in the 1/4 mile. For the street the 3.55's have always been the choice, better low speed acceleration without too much wheel spin. The 3.73 was real popular in the Gen 1's as they made less power. The 3.91 seems to be the hot ticket for the Gen 5's, really helps the low speed throttle response. The 4.10 and 4.56's just don't work, even with a really tall drag tire. The gear is so low it slows the car down, not giving the engine enough time to pull the gear. For some, those gears might be acceptable for the Gen 5 with the new transmission ratios.

When you change gears you might consider a better limited slip unit. Notice how your car wants to go sideways in low traction situations? A better LSD will differentiate better and the car will go straight. There are numerous options for LSD's depending on the use. Quaife, Tru-Trac, OS Giken and Wavetrac are a few popular units. The Gen 4-5 LSD unit is a low-cost upgrade for Gen 3 cars.

Hope this helps.
 

Paul Hawker

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Nothing more fun than a Viper with just a little (but only a little) too much gear in the rear.

Dan's post above is kinda a bible for gear selection.

As an illustration I put a 3:54 in my 03, and it was just about perfect for street and occasional drag strip driving.
Then Dan put on a Paxton, and the same rear gear became too much. It over drove the chassis, and overpowered the tires.
Switching back to the original 3:07 not only was stronger to handle the Paxton power, but allowed the engine to pull strongly for a long time, and ended up being faster in most circumstances.
 

Darth Menace

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What gear ratio would be best for a relatively stock 98 (minus catback) but with 2008 viper 18/19 inch 5 star rims? I assume that would make the diameter off compared to factory and change the ratio?
 

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