The ROE Smooth Tubes gave us a peak gain of 6.13whp and 12.39lb-ft of torque to total 451.83whp and 493.17lb-ft of torque! We have eclipsed the factory BHP rating at the tire with factory exhaust manifolds, catalytic converters, and side resonators and to our knowledge, no other Gen-2 has made this much power with stock cats and exhaust manifolds. It’s interesting to note that the torque humps at 3,625rpm and 4,300rpm were exaggerated by smooth tubes, while increasing the area under the curve across the entire rpm range. Assuming the same 13% drivetrain losses, that should now put our viper at 519.3hp at the crank!
ROE advertises these smooth tubes as adding “up to 18 horsepower when coupled with a set of high flow air filters” and they did not exaggerate. Between the K&N Air Filters and the ROE Polished Aluminum Smooth Tubes, we picked up 20.68whp and 25.15lb-ft of torque for less than $160 in total. I think that makes these two easy to do modifications a must-have for any Viper owner, even those with very little mechanical inclination since it only takes a flat head screwdriver and a pair of pliers.
With 451.83whp and 493.17lb-ft of torque, our 1997 Viper is making more power than the 8.3L ’03-’06 SRT-10 Viper which average 446whp and 476lb-ft of torque (from a 13 car sample), all from less than $160 in parts, as well as the removal of the factory rear muffler and AB “Quality” Wires whose effects are unknown but likely contributed to our car’s slight power advantage over the average Gen 2 car.
You can see and hear the deep throaty induction noise that our new intake setup produces in Part 3: Baseline Track Testing where we took the Viper to the track for some benchmark handling and balance testing (please don’t mind the rattling pen in the video). Overall we were ecstatic with the performance improvement both on and off track which gave the car a deeper, more aggressive growl from the intake when under Wide Open Throttle.
After we were done with the Viper, we looked around the shop to check out out a few cars that Power by the Hour Performance (in Boyton Beach, FL) was working on:
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This inconspicuous Black Mustang GT is one of Power By the Hour’s shop cars. Owned by Joey Basile of Wellington, FL it is a full weight street car with every stock function that is routinely driven to work on 93 octane pump or E85. On the dyno the car has made over 1200rwhp through the automatic and recently put down a record setting 8.84@160mph on 20” Mickey Thompson rubber. This is the fastest pass ever recorded on a tire that size.
This record-setting street car has a Fluid Turbo Concepts twin turbo system that uses Precision 64-66 ball bearing turbos with a water to air intercooler and a Tig Vision ice cell. Fore innovations E85 fuel system allows for fuel flexibility as well as Injector Dynamics ID1300 injectors to handle the power. Tuning was handled by Lund Racing who was a sponsor of the build and crucial for the daily driveability of the car. Power By The Hour custom built a 6R80 automatic (stock to the car) as well as a custom 8.8 differential equipped with a Wavetrac LSD and Moser axles. Maximum Motorsports suspension products including lower control arm relocation brackets, upper and lower control arms, and panhard bar help put power down to the ground with the help of Viking shocks. For safety a Tig Vision custom roll cage with Schroth round out the otherwise stock interior and True Forged custom 20″ wheels are wrapped in the Micky Thompson Slicks. This car could be replicated for only $80K which is incredible for its versatility and record-setting performance.
These stainless steel turbo manifolds were designed in-house by Power By the Hour and all development and manufacturing was done in the USA, down to the casting. 3D prototyping was used to ensure the design has a perfect fit before the molds were made. The manifolds are quite versatile since the base design fits both the 5.0L Coyote as well as the 3V 4.6L V8 with minor differences in the flange hole location. Fluid Turbo Concepts is looking to release kits for both applications in the near future which are backed and tuned by Lund Racing.
