Feedback - Belangers and PCM

DPViper

Viper Owner
Joined
Dec 15, 2004
Posts
316
Reaction score
0
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana
I am considering having Mark J @ Woodhouse add Belangers and a PCM to my 08. I would use my existing Corsa with the headers. For others that have spent the $6,000+/- to have this done, was it worth it? Would you do it again? Was there a "major" improvement in performance? Mark added a Paxton to my 03 Viper and the difference was dramatic so I'm spoiled! Thanks for the feedback. DPViper
 

CitySnake

Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 18, 2001
Posts
7,115
Reaction score
0
Location
Manhattan, USA
No doubt I'll take some heat for expressing this, but there are few that will post up anything but a positive opinion having spend $6G's on this upgrade. I'm not suggesting it's not worthwhile, but as you've bracketed the question, it would be hard to imagine that a 50-60HP gain on a 600 HP car (call it a 10%) is going to be anywheres near as "dramatic" as a 150+HP gain on a 500 HP car (call it a 30% increase).

I'd be suprised if anyone else will express as "neutral" an opinion as mine.
 

Steve-Indy

VCA Venom Member
Venom Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2000
Posts
8,627
Reaction score
228
Location
Zionsville,IN. USA
Hi, Doug.

As you know, our 08 is still stock.

I can say, however, that several sensible and knowledgeable 08 and 09 Viper owners have told me that they are very pleased with the two mods that you mentioned...especially the PCM. The dyno sheet that I
recently saw on an 09 was very impressive.

Ship that Snake to Woodhouse, and go for it!!!
 

SNKEBIT

Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 19, 2003
Posts
2,575
Reaction score
0
Location
western wisc.
Let me get this straight,,,,, it costs 6k roughly to have your car shipped to Woodhouse and have him put a set of headers and a pcm change on your car?:dunno:


I need to hire a driver...........................................................:rolleyes:
 

Ray W

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 28, 2000
Posts
906
Reaction score
0
Location
Fort Lauderdale,FL USA
Yes, I would do it again. It's all you can do to them for now. Like City says though it's about $100.00 per 1hp gain. Spend another 3K and add a 3:33 or 3:55 gear too.
 

wirepaladin08

Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 30, 2008
Posts
48
Reaction score
0
Location
Dallas, Texas
Is the warranty on the car voided by the installation of the headers? To me that's a whole lot more important than any fifty horsepower gain.
 

Malu59RT

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Posts
1,279
Reaction score
0
Location
Dallas, TX
Is the warranty on the car voided by the installation of the headers? To me that's a whole lot more important than any fifty horsepower gain.

Warranty can't be voided just because of a mod. However, if the mod caused the problem, warranty won't cover it.

BTW, whereabout in Dallas do you live? I don't see too many 08's, other than my friends.
 

witz323

Viper Owner
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Posts
283
Reaction score
0
Location
Delafield, WI
I did the full belanger header/exhaust conversion on my '04 and had my computer re-flashed to better handle the mods. There definitely have been some ups and downs. First of all the sound alone is incredible. I haven't had the car on a dyno, but it sure felt like there was more power once i had the computer re-flashed. Throttle response and acceleration seemed to have improved. The only negative I had is that the 02 sensors fried and i spent about a month resolving this problem. After it's all said and done it probably wasn't worth all the money, but I just had to have that sound.
 

seabass

Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Posts
173
Reaction score
0
Location
Iowa
wallbanger - ive done neither altho i want to... problem with the pcm here in iowa is that there are only 2 or 3 gas stations that sell 92+ octane which is what you need in order to get +hp from the pcm afaik.
 

Malu59RT

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Posts
1,279
Reaction score
0
Location
Dallas, TX
About 3/4 of a mile north of SMU.

I've got two Viper buddies that go to SMU (black 08 w/HRE's and a flat black 04 with 06 coupe conversion and black wheels). I also went to SMU for my BSME. You need to get more active with the local Viper club :2tu:
 

Viper X

Former VCA National President
VCA Officer
Joined
May 1, 2004
Posts
3,471
Reaction score
2
Good upgrade.

Would recommend it to anyone wanting better performance and better throttle response.

Horsepower increase is more like 40 to 50 peak at the rear wheels and you will feel it. Torque increases about 20 to 30 at the rear wheels. Both hp / tq increase over the entire rpm band.

You can also add the ported intake manifold "bottom" from Arrow Racing. This will make more power too, perhaps 25 at the rear wheels at peak with no loss of torque (on my car) with the Belangers, K & N's and Mopar race controller.

As for finding gas, it can be a pain in some areas. I buy 91 at the gas station and then add about 5 gallons of 100 octane unleaded, which is available at many locations here in So Cal.

Go for it and don't forget the K & N high flow air filter.

Dan
 

Art 138

Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Posts
1,065
Reaction score
0
Location
Davie,FL
I was spoiled with the Paxton on my 04....if you do not get the upgrade you will constantly feel the loss of the power you had before...." make sure you get the "squash" OEM metal header gaskets...in fact I got my gaskets from Mark because at the time my dealer did not have any.....
 

wing

Viper Owner
Joined
Oct 25, 2008
Posts
32
Reaction score
1
This was posted early this spring. Now have about 6000 miles on car. Still just grin when I hit the start button. I have had no problems.


Drove my 08 coupe with 800 miles on it 400 miles to Woodhouse. 22.5 MPG on the way down mostly cruising at 80 MPH in 6th (1500 RPM).

Had Belanger headers and cats, Corsa exhaust, 3.55 gears, MGW shifter, MGW knob and Mopar PCM installed.

On the way home got 20.5 MPG but was playing with car more and running more in 5th.

3.55 gears were an excellent recommendation for my driving style and area where I live.

MGW shifter and knob was well worth the money. Shifts are much easier and nicer. Your hand when resting on shifter is at the perfect height to work radio and the feel of the shifter is great.

When the car starts it just barks. Love the sound. Could see where some people might not like it. You can make the car sound like a Japanese water cooled V twin or a 102 CI straight pipe Harley depending on RPM and gas pedal.

The PCM seems to make the car sound like it has a cam in it. The idle, which might still be adjusting definitely has a different feel.

Want to thank Aaron and Fred for the great work on the car. I delivered the car on Thursday at 0800 and left at 1030 Friday.

Mark had my take off parts shipped out by 1200 that day and where at my home Monday.

All in all I am very Happy with the changes.

Thanks Aaron, Fred and Mark
 

CCBrian

Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 27, 2005
Posts
659
Reaction score
0
Location
Nor Cal
Did both mods on our '08 ACR. Had DC install and dyno...worth it-there is a post on the gains. Used stock exhaust with hi-flow cats. Not too loud...sounds just right...and useable for long drives-unlike some exhaust setups.
 

seabass

Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Posts
173
Reaction score
0
Location
Iowa
??? it's hours away for the 92+ octane gas or at least 40 min. so I'm not about to drive just for gas... Is there an octane booster I could use instead? Otherwise a guy I know wants to sell me a 50 gallon jug of 100 octane gas at like $7/gallon which seems dangerous in my townhome and not worth the hassle or the cost.

any ideas? afaik there are only 3 gas stations in the entire state of Iowa with gas >91 octane.
 
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Posts
4,969
Reaction score
0
Location
Omaha NE.
??? it's hours away for the 92+ octane gas or at least 40 min. so I'm not about to drive just for gas... Is there an octane booster I could use instead? Otherwise a guy I know wants to sell me a 50 gallon jug of 100 octane gas at like $7/gallon which seems dangerous in my townhome and not worth the hassle or the cost.

any ideas? afaik there are only 3 gas stations in the entire state of Iowa with gas >91 octane.

I don't know if it is "recommended" but I use NOS brand octane booster when I know I'm going to be driving hard and it works great. Don't think I would use it in every tank, but keep it in the car with me just in case...;)
 

seabass

Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Posts
173
Reaction score
0
Location
Iowa
Mark - I like your style, always have, always will:) we'll see how our President treats me on refund day and I might be able to drive over for some upgrades!
 

Martin

Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 15, 1997
Posts
1,810
Reaction score
0
Location
Silicon Valley, CA and Portland, OR
I don't know if it is "recommended" but I use NOS brand octane booster when I know I'm going to be driving hard and it works great. Don't think I would use it in every tank, but keep it in the car with me just in case...;)

The NOS octane booster is good stuff - it's the only booster that I've found works well and I keep a couple bottles of it in the back of my car in case I can't find 'real' gas. About the only concern I have with it is it uses MMT which supposedly is advised against in the Gen IV Viper. Not sure if it messes up the cats or what - I've never had an issue with it and I've used it for over 100,000 miles on my supercharged JGC. But when I change my plugs, I definitely see a reddish deposit on the plugs - and I hear that's common.
 

Viper X

Former VCA National President
VCA Officer
Joined
May 1, 2004
Posts
3,471
Reaction score
2
Boxer12,

Yes, you can run 91 octane gas with the Mopar race controller, no problem....but.... if you get even slightly aggressive with 91 in the tank, the computer will retard the timing a bit which reduces power. No big deal on the street, but when you take the car back to the track and use 93 or 95 (some blend of 100 and 91 in my case), it will take a while for the computer to advance the timing again and restore the power you had before. Again, no big deal.

DP and Kenric,

Arrow Race Engines, who is the company that rebuilds our engines under warranty, put together a C & C ported lower intake manifold for our cars. They will ship you the ported "lower", you remove your OE manifold, take the top apart from the bottom, install the new bottom onto your exiting "top" (they provide a new metal gasket) and ship your OE lower back to them as a core.

On my car, it added power mostly at the top of the rpm range, from about 4500 rpm and up where our cam is working and our cars' power curve tends to flatten out a bit. Car pulls hard to redline now.

We ran back to back dynos on a Gen IV without it and mine with it. Same day in 98 F heat. RWHP gain was 25 with no loss of torque. No change in everyday drive-ability.

This is a very nice, inexpensive mod. I think I paid $550.00 or something like that. I did the install myself - it was simple. Call Arrow and talk with Todd: 248-852-5151.

If there is a downside, it's that you will hit the rev limiter easier now than before!

Dan
 
OP
OP
D

DPViper

Viper Owner
Joined
Dec 15, 2004
Posts
316
Reaction score
0
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana
Arrow Race Engines, who is the company that rebuilds our engines under warranty, put together a C & C ported lower intake manifold for our cars. They will ship you the ported "lower", you remove your OE manifold, take the top apart from the bottom, install the new bottom onto your exiting "top" (they provide a new metal gasket) and ship your OE lower back to them as a core.

On my car, it added power mostly at the top of the rpm range, from about 4500 rpm and up where our cam is working and our cars' power curve tends to flatten out a bit. Car pulls hard to redline now.

We ran back to back dynos on a Gen IV without it and mine with it. Same day in 98 F heat. RWHP gain was 25 with no loss of torque. No change in everyday drive-ability.

This is a very nice, inexpensive mod. I think I paid $550.00 or something like that. I did the install myself - it was simple. Call Arrow and talk with Todd: 248-852-5151.

Dan

Thanks Dan. This seems like a great bang for the buck....why aren't more people talking about this?
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
153,647
Posts
1,685,251
Members
18,224
Latest member
dave777
Top