What mods do you regret?

costanZo

Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 26, 2008
Posts
1,517
Reaction score
0
Location
Haverhill, MA
I don't regret anything yet....but won't really know until after I have more stuff installed.

My current exhaust is:

Factory Stock Headers
RandtomTech Ceramic High-Flow Cats
Corsa 3" Cat-back Exhaust

I just bought new ARH, so my Exhaust setup this summer will be:
American Racing Headers 1-5/8" X 1-3/4" Step Design
200 cell ultra high flow metallic substrate cats
Corsa 3" Cat-back Exhaust

I should be pretty happy with my new exhaust setup. I will feel a little more power out of the car while seeing higher numbers on the dyno.. and my exhaust should sound pretty good along with it being A LOT louder which I'm looking forward to too. However, if I'm not happy with my new setup.. whether I'm not crazy about the sound or I think it's too loud(Which I know I wont, since I want it to be loud.) or if it happens to worry me a lot regarding the Stainless Steel Headers heating up too much(Although I've heard this really isn't a problem as most people claim it to be, so I'm not really worried about it.) then I might consider changing out the whole exhaust next year.

I do like the sound the Belangers make, and they seem to be good for performance gains too, but at this very moment if I had to choose another exhaust setup besides what my car will have this summer.. I think I would go with the following:

B&B headers
B&B Catback
High Flows
X-pipe

Heard a video of this setup and absolutely love the sound. I will of course post a sound-clip of my new setup once everything is installed. Should sound amazing :2tu:
 
Last edited:

VIPER GTSR 91

Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 11, 2003
Posts
3,789
Reaction score
0
Location
Spring, Texas
Just wondering what people would do different.

1. Putting larger than stock diameter wheels on my old GTS = more weight and ride height and decreased handling esp. for track. Never again. Went back to custom CCW light wheels with oem specs. 2. Installing a custom facia that looked good but was poorly made with a flimsy splitter and ended up being very expensive to get the product right with fit and finish.
 

ghengishahn

Viper Owner
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Posts
232
Reaction score
0
Location
Louisville,KY
As an automotive engineer, I know the rigorous detail we go through to validate even the simplest change to a vehicle. So I cringe when I see others doing major engine modifications. Yep I am sure they run faster, but reliability is generally impaired some down the line.

I think Corsa or Borla exhaust is pretty innocuous as is the K&N intake filters.

But doing a blower or some other major mods are not for me.

My 2 cents.
 

toote

Viper Owner
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Posts
11
Reaction score
0
Location
Stockholm, Sweden
As an automotive engineer, I know the rigorous detail we go through to validate even the simplest change to a vehicle. So I cringe when I see others doing major engine modifications. Yep I am sure they run faster, but reliability is generally impaired some down the line.

I think Corsa or Borla exhaust is pretty innocuous as is the K&N intake filters.

But doing a blower or some other major mods are not for me.

My 2 cents.
Yes but in the automotive business you have to design the vehicle so that EVERY single one thats rolls off the assembly line is able to go for xxxxxx amount of miles without a hickup. So the performance is limited by the least well manufactured parts beeing used on the assembly line.

If everything is checked out and replaced for good/better parts the vehicles are able to do miracles.
 
OP
OP
D

Dart451

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 20, 2006
Posts
51
Reaction score
0
Location
Il
Some good info. I was just wanting to see what, didn't perform, was bad quality or something better is available now.

Just got my first Viper 97 GTS BW, has wheels, borla cat back, and smooth tubes. Having lots of fun with car as is, but in time I will have to mod it.
 

Magnus_

Viper Owner
Joined
Jul 23, 2008
Posts
313
Reaction score
0
Location
US
APR Front Splitter. *****!

Go with Autoforms or the ACR one

Do you have the first version splitter? If so, they redesigned it after I ripped mine off at Road America doing 160.

The new one is thicker and a nicer piece. It also sticks out farther than the ACR splitter, and also has better coverage under the front of the car. The ACR splitter doesn't go all the way back.

I have not seen the autoform pieces.
 

plumcrazy

Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 9, 2003
Posts
16,243
Reaction score
7
Location
ALL OVER
dont regret doing the SC but if i had waited 3-4 months, the DIY TT and much more affordable TT setups would have been avail to me. id have a heck of a lot more power and safer on my forged crank too.
 

VIPER GTSR 91

Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 11, 2003
Posts
3,789
Reaction score
0
Location
Spring, Texas
As an automotive engineer, I know the rigorous detail we go through to validate even the simplest change to a vehicle. So I cringe when I see others doing major engine modifications. Yep I am sure they run faster, but reliability is generally impaired some down the line.

I think Corsa or Borla exhaust is pretty innocuous as is the K&N intake filters.

But doing a blower or some other major mods are not for me.

My 2 cents.
VERY well said. There is so much aftermarket junk out there too that either does not fit right, rattles, or decreases reliability and voids warranties. There are (some) good upgrades but one must really do some research like this forum to pick and choose the right one.
 

dave6666

Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Posts
14,975
Reaction score
0
Location
Explaining Viper things to you
Viper Parts Shopping Checklist:

Have you researched it here? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Are there factory warranty issues? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Does the part fit right? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Will it fly off the car and kill someone? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Any others?
 

Dom426h

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Posts
2,632
Reaction score
0
Location
DE
Well i purchased my viper with alot of mods already done to her.

2 things:

It had a MGW "FirstStrike" shift knob with an ultra short shaft. Made the shifting effort hard and the plastic shift knob looked like a cheap pep-boys ad-on. So i replaced it with the stock 99-up knob and it was a 100%improvement in looks and performance paired with the B&M shifter that was also already installed.

Wheels, I Love the Look of my 19"HRE 547 3-piece wheels but the fully polished aluminum and exposed hardware are somewhat of a PITA to keep clean. If i get new wheels they will be 1-piece 18"s for a couple reasons like; lighterwieght/betterperformance & easiertokeepclean
 

Zentenk

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 3, 2009
Posts
686
Reaction score
0
Yes, same with me for the wheels. I bought my car with someone else's mod. 19/20 polished wheels. Not only did they look ghetto fabulous but they were very hard to keep clean, even after one short drive.

Also cat/muffler delete was a bad idea, do a good set-up to make the car sound awesome, louder is not always better.
 

DrumrBoy

Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 21, 2003
Posts
2,612
Reaction score
0
Location
GA
What Dom said. The HRE's are beautiful but they only look good once....the first time you put 'em on. I switched to CCWs and they're 1000 times easier to keep looking good.
 

cruser

Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 22, 2002
Posts
76
Reaction score
0
For everyone that hates their HREs I have a set of 17 inch stockers I would be more than happy to trade you for.
 

Chuck 98 RT/10

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 15, 2000
Posts
17,923
Reaction score
0
Location
tampa, fl USA
The only mod I regret - mufller delete. I regret that I didn't do it as soon as I got the RT/10 instead of waiting a few years.
 

Bird325

Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Posts
802
Reaction score
1
Location
Ft Worth, Tx
For everyone that hates their HREs I have a set of 17 inch stockers I would be more than happy to trade you for.

If you want to go back to STOCK, I have some Gen II Chromed OEM wheels in the garage that I'm thinking about selling. :D PM or email me if you're looking.:rolaugh:
 

1fast400

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Posts
462
Reaction score
0
Love my black HRE's, very easy to keep clean. Now cleaning wheels is easy. I bought some stuff from a board vender to dress up the interior of the Gen 3. Poor quality and looked like ass.
 

STUGOTS

Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 21, 2004
Posts
5,573
Reaction score
0
Location
NY/CT
my ONLY regret is the lightweight flywheel, low speed bucking, parking lot speeds are a pain and the fact that you HAVE to speed shift or your rpm's will plummit between shifts, yeah not too happy with it as far as streetability but as a performance mod, it works. STILL REGRET IT THO
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
153,645
Posts
1,685,215
Members
18,221
Latest member
tractor1996
Top