what's the better mod: roller rockers or a vec 3? (gen 1)

[whitebluevipe]

Save the money for a supercharger, all these little mods will mean nothing once you throw a SC on it...

this thought has occurred to me. i guess it's just that initial $7 to 8 grand thats hard to swallow. i was hoping to satisfy my hp craving with some small stuff.

 

[jasontiff]

Save the money for a supercharger, all these little mods will mean nothing once you throw a SC on it...

I disagree. Even if you don't see it on the dyno, the benefit of a smoothed-out fuel curve is really something you can feel. An exhaust mod doesn't net you a lot of power (in terms of how much a blower adds), but it makes the car sound like it should. And a lot of this stuff compliments the supercharger, so none of it is money wasted. "Little" mods can make a big difference.

If you have the money for a supercharger and want something in the 600-700HP range, then yeah, go for it. But a grand or so on some engine management and lightening the valvetrain will make a significant difference. Not a supercharger-esque difference, but you'll be able to tell. If you won't, the dyno will!

 

[whitebluevipe]

Both...one compliments the other. To throw more confusion here, look into an SCT tuner. The SCT can tune both open and closed loop whereas the Vec3 shines mostly in the open loop (WOT) area. I don't know if the SCT works on GenI's or not. Try giving Dan at ViperSpecialty a call to discuss the differences between the SCT Tuner and the Vec3.

i didn't realize you can utilize both to compliment each other. i thought if you bought a vec 3 then the SCT tuner would be usless. i didn't think they would work in conjunction. so if i buy a SCT tuner would i be wasting my money down the road if i bought a vec 3? i really am a little in the dark about what works with what as far as tuners go.

 

[jasontiff]

I think ViperTony was saying to get both the VEC and the RR, not both the VEC and SCT.

The big advantage of an SCT is just plugging it into the OBDII port, uploading a tune, then throwing it back in the glove box. The VEC is pretty invasive and there is a LOT of wiring you have to do. A lot of guys throw the VEC in a bag when they wash the car because if you get any moisture in the card reader it goes nuts. Roe provides cables that plug into one another, so if you ever want to go back to stock it's a matter of unplugging both ends of the harness from the VEC and just plugging them together to close the loop.

If you plan on going with a Roe later, the VEC comes with it and is made to go with it. I think most "big" builds go with a standalone like an AEM. I have no experience with the SCT but if you want simple plug and play vs a solid few hours of soldering, that may be the way to go.

 

[ViperTony]

i didn't realize you can utilize both to compliment each other. i thought if you bought a vec 3 then the SCT tuner would be usless. i didn't think they would work in conjunction. so if i buy a SCT tuner would i be wasting my money down the road if i bought a vec 3? i really am a little in the dark about what works with what as far as tuners go.

I meant get the Rockers and a Vec3 or SCT. However, the SCT does not work on the GenI. Some folks run both the SCT and a Vec3. In fact, I plan on utilizing both. The Vec3 shines really well with open loop tuning, fuel trim, logging, IAT temperature feature. I'm really happy with the Vec3 for my setup but wish I could tune for closed loop. The Vec3 can't make the fans come on at a lower temperature, change the short/long term fuel trims or basically do what the SCT or a flash PCM tune can do for close loop (under WOT conditions). I don't think the Vec3 is a throwaway especially for boosted and/or NA buildouts. For stock engines, stick with the SCT IMO or get a PCM flash from one of the tuners. If you can't flash then go with the Vec3. 10 minutes on the phone with Dan at Viper Specialty and you'll know more than you'll want about these options.

 

[TexasPettey]

The Gen1's don't have OBD-2. Having done some recent tuning with a friend's Z06 on OBD-2, not having one on a Gen1 is disapointing. There is a lot you can do with OBD-2. However, tuning with the VEC is VERY easy. The piggyback doesn't have as much capability, but it is very simple to use. You can even start with one of Sean's tunes and then tinker from there, as you see fit.

 

[whitebluevipe]

The Gen1's don't have OBD-2. Having done some recent tuning with a friend's Z06 on OBD-2, not having one on a Gen1 is disapointing. There is a lot you can do with OBD-2. However, tuning with the VEC is VERY easy. The piggyback doesn't have as much capability, but it is very simple to use. You can even start with one of Sean's tunes and then tinker from there, as you see fit.

actually a 96 rt/10 gen one is OBD 2. last year for gen 1 engine but first year for obd 2.

 

[bluesrt]

is there such a motor u can build for nitros only and forget all those wrench turning mods,it seems to be more simple and cleaner for ur engine bay.it seems when u mod,ur allways havn to tweek stuff and scrach ur head with the ses light to much.