Next Generation Viper

 The last Viper to roll off the assembly line before stopping production

As you may or may not already know Dodge has already revealed a concept of the next generation Viper to selected dealers about a week ago and, although previous comments were missing any criticism, rumors are now surfacing that the next Dodge Viper may be looking into its Italian heritage. Okay, so Dodge doesn’t exactly have an Italian background, but rumors have stated that the concept looks to have shared a face with the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizion.  Apparently, the future Viper will not only share design elements with the Italian model, but it will also be built on the same platform.

Ralph Gilles, Dodge CEO said when talking about the 2012 Viper: "We had been debating this particular nameplate for a long time, and every time I just could not get there. And then one morning the product committee went into the dome and saw it, and we all knew we were in front of something magic, unique. It took less than five minutes for the committee to fund the initiative. Not a negative comment, not a remark, not a single question. And so I leave you with this. The 17th car in the lineup, in select dealers in 2012."

Fact: Turbine A/R ratio

An important term to know when talking about turbo housings is it's aspect ratio (AR).  It's not important to know for a non modified car but it's still useful to know what an AR is.  AR is the ratio of the area of the cone to radius from the center hub.  If you were to measure the cross section on any point on the turbo and divide by the distance from the center of that cross section to the center of the turbine wheel, you would get the AR ratio.  Ideally, this ratio should remain the same as you move in and out of the turbo housing because the housing gets smaller as you get closer to the center.  This spiral shaped cone is called a volute.  It begins where the flange opening changes to the shape of the volute.  Basically, it concentrates airflow at a point on the turbo wheels through the spiral shape.  Comparing only AR mean much because engine displacement, tune, supporting mods, and rpm, etc.,  also effect turbo spool up.  But everything else being equal, increasing the AR will reduce spool up but increase top end performance by allowing more air to flow.  Decreasing the AR will increase spool up but reduce top end performance.  A larger AR will allow more air to flow through its passages. 

Gymkhana 3

In case you missed it, Ken Block's Gymkhana 3 part 2 video released earlier this week and is arguably the best yet.  This installment takes place at France's L'Autodrome, and according to Ken was chosen for it's 51-degree bank.  That is over double most NASCAR tracks and is nothing short of awesome.  If you are wondering why this Gymkhana now includes a race prepped Ford Fiesta, it is because Ken Block is now one of Ford's WRC drivers after leaving Subaru and his Rally America sponsorship.  Do not let it fool you, while boasting a sub 2 second 0-60 time this machine is definitely a mean one.

Return of the GT-R LM

It looks like the R35 will mark the return of the GT-R LM after skipping a generation.  The LM stands for Le Mans and was last produced in 1996 in order to homologate the vehicle for use in one of the most famous races out there.  Only one was registered and was never widely sold.  It is said to have the same 3.8 liter twin turbocharged v6 that is in the current GT-R but will running more boost putting it at 600hp.  Also rumored to be included are larger brakes, lighter alloy wheels, suspension and transmission adjustments as well as aerodynamic adjustments.  The car is said to be available in extreme limited quantities and rumors suggest Nissan is also preparing their 24 hour Le Mans car currently with this new design.

Fact: Wastegate

A wastegate is a valve that diverts exhaust gases away from the turbine wheel in a tubrocharged engine system. Diversion of exhaust gases regulates the turbine speed, which in turn regulates the rotating speed of the compressor. The primary function of the wastegate is to regulate the maximum boost pressure in turbocharger systems, to protect the engine and the turbocharger. One advantage of installing a remote mount wastegate to a free-float (or non-WG) turbo includes allowance for a smaller A/R turbine housing, resulting in less lag time before the turbo begins to spool and create boost.

What a day!

Well, today certainly was an interesting day.  I was woken up by my good friend James to run and pick up a crank sensor for a certain '04 TT Viper he has been working on.  He informed me that the original had failed mid pull on LMR's dyno the night before and needed me to pick up the sensor and run him down to LMR where the Viper was still located.  "Sure", I said to him and went and got the part and picked him up and away we went.  When we arrived at LMR there was no available lift for fitting the sensor so we decided to put the car on jack stands and get to work. Well as we soon found out, the Heffner kit that is installed on this car had a different plan for us... After we got it on the stands we noticed we could see the sensor, we could even touch the sensor, but one of the turbochargers and its wastegate were not going to let us remove the sensor.  Shop was closing down and we had run out of time and believe it or not, the car at that point was starting fine.  It was a risky decision but we made it, we were going to try and drive it home. Bad idea. We made it about 2 blocks before it died and we were left in the road.  We called a wrecker after we pushed it off the road. 2 hours later, wrecker shows up. By then it was dark, and we are not.  We had been waiting for 2 hours in the dark, in the ghetto, with a 150,000 dollar car.  The car is now safe at home in the garage, ready to have the sensor put in tomorrow and to have the tune buttoned up before this Viper returns to its owner.  Man, what a day.

To those who were wondering it made 950 to the tire on drag radials, could have been better.

My introduction

Hello, I figured an introduction is as good as anything to kick off my blog so here it is! I'm 26 years old, originally from California and am a Professional Auto Technician. I specialize in Turbo application and tuning from Vipers to Subarus. I am owner and operator of Battle Spec Performance and in the past have worked in conjunction with Turbochargers.com, Artisan Performance and CPE turbo systems to produce cars for events such as SEMA, Texas mile and Texas 2k9.