Why the Dodge Viper Engine makes so much torque

[@LawrenceMarkFearon]

Yes, an under stressed engine is a durable engine and the car is still light. Plus, that pushrod valve train configuration lightened it and re-enforced big, instant, low end torque characteristics.

[@diosantana2659]

Just bought a 2004 with low mileage and now I’m here excited and nervous. 25 yr dream. Comes next week. Wish me luck.

[@steveharper5368]

i just bought a 1993 with 3,600 miles on it, im going to have a custom made straight pipe made for it...lol

[@diosantana2659]

@@steveharper5368 awesome. Need much done?

[@steveharper5368]

@@diosantana2659 i have to see if i have a fuse blown or bulbs burned out, i have no dash lights or rear running lights, had to clean it real good and get rear tires (which is a treat) car is 30 yrs old and only has one oil change worth of miles. im going to do a tune up with new plugs, green high flow filters and the smooth tubes, then get the custom straight pipes, the cluch on that car is something else, by the time you get home from a ride you are wore out, its very race car like most folk could not handle it, its very rough.

[@user-z3r0187]

How has your experience been with it?

[@TheFiendRacer]

I love torquey cars, I think it’s more fun to drive then having to rev out the engine to have passing power

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

TheFiendRacer 👍🏻couldn’t agree more, that kind of power is addicting.

[@dimmacommunication]

Finally somebody saying the truth... Well a stock Z06 with 500 hp goes as fast as a 458 italia with 570hp. why? Torque!!!

[@f00kinglasrsights89]

@@dimmacommunication While torque is the fundamental element of horsepower, more torque is better, especially low-end torque

[@420CEO]

I think The torque is what makes it so fun to drive... Or crash if you can’t handle it! Lol

[@mayuravirus6134]

No such thing as fancy stuffs like ABS or airbags

[@nadronnocojr]

420CEO running out of talent we say lol n

[@blackice7408]

@@mayuravirus6134 yeah. Stuff that can save your life if you couldnt handle the torque🤦🏿‍♂️

[@3xeplodng_3agle_studios]

@@blackice7408 if you can't drive a certain car safely/properly you shouldn't have it/have access to it. Regardless of safety features. 🤷‍♂️

[@CeeCeeOy]

You forget one of the most special feature: crankshaft degrees. Viper is odd-fire, no two pistons at the top dead at same time. What that makes is shorter spaces between ignition and that makes more tq. So with 15psi it makes almost 1500 lbs ft.

[@brussell639]

The viper engines make enough horsepower that most people can't safely drive the car in a spirited manner.

[@drewmurray2583]

I have a 2005 viper v10 from a srt10 ram apart in my shop and it's a thing of beauty! I have never had a head gasket come off so clean on an engine this old, especially aluminum. Zero corrosion! The heads have a nice looking valve job but they left a lot of rough edges and areas that need to be smoothed and cleaned up. Also the valve seats protrude into the combustion chamber slightly in the middle so there is much room for improvement with my die grinder 😎

[@TheTektronik]

Viper V10's sound good as well.

[@mayuravirus6134]

Slap a Supercharger you have more hp

[@ruggv6217]

Most people talk horsepower but they really like driving torque.

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

ruggv621 exactly

[@Uberragen21]

This is also why people like Teslas so much. Instant torque and lots of it.

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

Messeresser Yeah nothing like the feeling of your stomach go into your throat

[@diosantana2659]

G’s baby!

[@trey_rdee]

This engine has so much power and torque it moves the hell out of this beast.

[@cali2468]

You forgot to mention camshaft; camshaft plays an important role on the production of torque as well, specifically on the exhaust side. I'm surprised you didn't mention that.

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

Cali or Nothin' The cam in these things is nothing crazy. the earlier cams were a little lumpy but they’re not as crazy as 60s muscle cars were. If they didn’t have to worry about emissions or fuel economy I’m sure that thing with sound just like an old muscle car.

[@wyattrudzek2525]

Thanks for the information. Lots of people go over the whole car and not just the specs of the engine👍

[@CSLFiero]

A power band like that is a lot of fun on the street or drag strip but a pain in the butt on a road course

[@cleod99m42]

Love the low-mid rpm grumble of viper engines. And i praise to own a late gts 😍

[@angusandleigh]

...the Viper engine has always been a favourite of mine...gasoline horsepower with diesel torque....the runs at the 'Ring always appeared a little 'lazy' bit that was due to the huge torque that these engines made...you didn't need to bang away at the gears because these cars could hold gears far longer than any other car (60+ mph in first)....one of the greatest overall supercar engines....

[@groomlake51]

Very well said. Some one that actually knows what they are talking about on KZbin

[@brussell639]

8.0 - 8.4 liters, 10 pistons on a big crankshaft, that's what makes it such a torque monster.

[@MrNotorius5500]

You can have all the horsepower in the world, but without torque, you're pretty much going nowhere.

[@KowBoySpace]

How would you propose to have any horsepower without torque? It would no longer be an engine. You can get your torque from gears I can wind a handle with my hand and make more torque than this car

[@KZM9484]

High-torque, low revving engine configuration made these cars so successful in the 24 hours of Le Mans. Even though there were faster cars, vipers were so solid and durable. In 90s and early 2000s these cars finished the race in top ten overall ranking which is a great success.

[@ristekostadinov2820]

After the viper engine, amg m120 v12 for the Zonda is the biggest in the last 30years (7.3L).

[@That_ViperDude]

The torque is very lineal and begins just above 2000 rpms. You don't need to redline this engine to go fast. I typically drive it between 2000 and 4500 rpms and it goes. Another thing very unique about the Viper is if you floor it, it feels like it has a turbo or 4 extra cylinders. Makes it wild to drive :)

[@charlieryan1736]

Thanks for another informative video 👍🏻 I really try to keep my Viper clean but your car is absolutely immaculate 👌

[@drivewaymarvels311]

Lots of torque and tall gearing is a recipe for a fast car.

[@FrmerK20]

"half the size and more horsepower". People who just dont know what torque and horsepower is.

[@garypeatling7927]

V12 jag similar but that had cams and chains and everything

[@BrownAbrahamic112]

Most American muscles have low end torque,and this a "Merican" version of the v10 ,so it sounds also like a muscle ,just like a guzzling v8!

[@dupeaccount1647]

My 350 doesn't get bad gas mileage.

[@garypeatling7927]

Looks beautiful as well

[@trevohlson9733]

If we are talking about torque here try an old diesel motor with a compound turbo set-up ! Lows revs as well

[@jegr3398]

8 liters is pretty much bigger than nearly all the engines from the 60's/70's

[@p.p4013]

Reduce the displacement like to 7 liters reducing the bore, different cam and valve lift and they would get a reliabable and torky truck engine better than the 6.4 hemi

[@brussell639]

If you reduce the bore, the valves would be too big for the cylinder. The biggest reason this engine was phased out of the ram lineup was fuel economy and emissions.

[@brussell639]

What's funny is the 6.4 hemi is a great engine. But everyone is making great engines now, so that's why the numbers it produces kinda seems ordinary now. Just look back to when a 200 - 240 hp engine seemed like it was great, lol.

[@jegr3398]

It already was a truck engine, why reduce the bore?

[@Samspade01]

I just learned something

[@propergarage4249]

Absolutely! Love the video!!

[@Jakedajeweler]

dude has my dream garage...a viper and a cobra r...so jealous

[@salamgorou]

Thanks for the info. I’m own a 2016 viper acr extreme

[@indopleaser]

exactly the video i asked for. that you!

[@XAPSRxCasper]

Twin turbo and freevalve it would be a monster.

[@GerardPedrico]

The hydraulic suspension system is like a 100 meter human athlete sprinter flexing his heels and knees in order to get into an ideal starting postion for the 100 meter sprint to get the best traction. Viper? How to reduce wheel spin-slip is the key...

[@dandeluca9840]

First! Another good video covering topics new to youtube. Thanks!

[@TheMdpalmer]

Most people focus on peak numbers. That neglects 99% of the rev range and doesn't tell you a whole lot about how the engine "feels". Would make more sense to overlay dyno graphs with same scales for revs/hp/tq. Also to sum up the areas under those curves to quantify the overall magnitude of the engine's power and torque. My favorite characteristics of the viper engine are that the torque is readily available, abundant, and predictable.

[@uncklebuck1]

GREAT EXPLNATION.

[@That_ViperDude]

Add a conservative supercharger and now you're at 500 HP and 600 TQ which means an 11 second quarter mile. Add a tiny bit of boost and now you're running 10.6 quarters on a $55k investment:) Not too shabby

[@1991tommygun]

Wasent designed by lambo, it was CAST by them because chrysler wasent into cast aluminum at the time, chrysler owned them at the time also

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

1991tommygun there’s no doubt Lamborghini had a hand in the design as the duel throttle bodies and cast/powder coated intake is classic Italian architecture.

[@Bryan-fg3ey]

Chrysler would have been stupid not to listen to any thoughts Lamborghini had on the casting(which I am sure they did,as any failure would not look good for the raging bull.

[@josea.garcia3994]

Great video and great explanation on why the VIPER was so torquey, but how would you compare the difference between the torque of the DODGE VIPER vs the torque of the ZR1 CORVETTE from the first generation of the DODGE VIPER from 1992??? Is their any comparison between the two??? I remember when the DODGE VIPER first came out in car magazines they would always try to compare it with the ZR1 CORVETTE of that year and they always seemed to put the VIPER on top in every car magazine as far as the performance and the numbers that it put out!!! So with that being said in your opinion is the VIPER better than the CORVETTE??? Once again great video!!! 👍👍👍

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

The torque comes on instantly in the viper while the zr1 it takes more time to build. The whole which car is better argument in magazines is irrelevant to me. Those tests are done over and over by professional drivers until that do everything perfect. If the viper wins every test and you’re a corvette guy, your still gonna buy the vette. Very few people can or even do drive on the streets the way professionals do when they test cars.

[@josea.garcia3994]

@@EnthusiastsGarageSo with that being said about the magazines you would say it's all advertising that's all right???

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

Jose Garcia the magazine results are more about bragging rights

[@dimaflorida9889]

@@EnthusiastsGarage Now that's spot on! It's always been about what type of performance an operator is wanting their "power plant" to achieve. My logic of things is that if the operator is a street racer that does "traffic-light to traffic-light races", a torquey low rev rpm engine is advantageous in such scenario. But if you are that on highway 1/2 mile to 1 mile distance racer, a high top end big horse power is the way to go...am I correct on this?

[@frederickbehn5610]

Great and very informative video, you did a very good job. What an amazing and interesting engine. With the design of the running system of this car what is the experience like driving it. How does it differ from corvette of the same era?

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

Frederick Behn endless low end power and it’s much more rare.

[@Quarterrious1]

2.96:1 was the rear gear ratio when I was researching!

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

Q Littleton 3.07

[@Boatfisherz1]

FYI - the engine was not designed by Lambo. Dodge/Chrysler owned lambo but really only had collaboration the cooling system, but the engine itself wasn't worked on by lambo.

[@FrmerK20]

They also showed how to cast the aluminium block

[@hordegaming4771]

Yes this engine was designed by lamboghini then they made a smaller version which would be put into the lamboghini Gallardo with its 5.7l if not mistaken V10 engine. But yeah the viper was designed when think about it drag racing and for that just like the old Corvettes you want a high torque engine that can spin alot of gears so car changes gears quickly as not to loose control when accelerating quickly. What want is the car to go 1st 2nd 3rd in literally seconds if automatic transmission so don't get so much power the car looses control because of torque steer. But never driven a Viper would love to seem really good plus just a thought imagine a diesel viper, if the gasoline/petrol engine makes that much torque imagine a twin turbo diesel version haha

[@josephandreuccetti8043]

If you want to feel viper like TQ and power supercharge AMG cars build power like that also

[@ernierobinson4892]

Other cars may have lot of horsepower but the torque levels are low and are not available on low rpms so u must rev the hell out of it Thats why Lamborghinis or BMW M3s can rev up to over 8krpms Vipers has virtually instant torque available while the trade off is a lower redline .. Nice thing with torquey cars is that if you drive in the city , it's less shifting because of the high torque Heck you can reach 100mph in just 2nd on the hwy The funny thing is that the viper is really a 5sp, the 6th gear is just an overdrive while cruising on highway

[@dennisbisconti4583]

ENTHUSIASTS GARAGE+ I agree with you on this engine it's beutifull the torque is great that's another good resion it works well as a truck engine I thought about a engine swap in a 2006 2500 ram 4 wheel drive I think that would be great the truck V10s are very different from this beauty the torque is great for towing Dennis P.s. a lot involved in a swap like that

[@bdogjr7779]

Awesome EG《☆》I never cared much for Vipers & even less for the V10 engines until the ACR came along. I still think a Hellcat style powerplant would be more appropriate for a Viper style car. If a new Viper is on the horizon I would like to see a higher revving mid engine car if You know what I mean ☻

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

the hellcat engine is a great engine but there are 3 main issues with putting it in the viper. 1 its too big and wouldnt fit. 2 its too heavy. 3 its a drag race engine and would become too heat soaked if used in an endurance race car.

[@cali2468]

Why would a Hellcat engine be more "appropriate"? That makes no sense in my opinion.. The 6-gen V10 will produce over 600 wheel horsepower with only bolt-ons; 700+ with heads/cam. Twin-turbo setups will easily eclipse the 1000-1500whp mark. In other words, the Viper V10 is superior to the Hellcat V8.

[@bdogjr7779]

@@cali2468 《☆》I would be cool with the V-10 if FCA can produce one that sounds good without 10k worth of mods & whip the stink off the new mid engine Corvette ☻

[@Mroswaldo16]

One thing is that it did t have a lot of power because is one of the first cars. Back then there were not a lotnof car with high hp thats why it didnt need a lot more for the size. You see the viper it has am 8.4L with 650hp. Thats noog for a NA and legal in all states.

[@jegr3398]

It was the beginning of cars finally getting more power again. Before that engines were weak in the 80's and 70's, not since the 60's before pollution controls had there been that type of power from the factory. In the 90's they finally had the technology to do it while still passing emissions and started getting back to that level of power again. Since then cars have just been getting more and more powerful.

[@trevohlson9733]

It's a good engine but try getting low fuel economy thats where a smaller motor less cylinders with turbos will come into play

[@dupeaccount1647]

Ehhh... Biggest component of gas mileage is going to usually be weight. A more mildly tuned 350 V8 (like the 90s LT1/LS1/modern LT1 or even an old school 350 gen 1 SBC) are going to tuned to a bit more street mannered and don't get bad gas mileage. OTOH something like the Viper engine or an engine in most supercars like it are going to suck down the gas like crazy because of tuning every last drop of power out. Look at the gas mileage on a Ferrari Enzo, lol. But with a more mildly tuned, mannered V8 the mileage isn't going to be much different than a smaller engine. By far the biggest difference will be the weight of the vehicle.

[@Jprincemassey]

imagine thwy was used in volvo b10m enged swapped verion

[@tomstech4390]

2003 viper: 8.3l, 510hp and 535ftlb torque at 4200rpm 2002 zonda: 7.3l, 547hp and 553ftlb torque at 4050rpm 2006 zonda: 7.3l, 641hp and 575ftlb at 4000rpm 2008 viper: 8.4l, 600hp and 560ftlb at 5000rpm 2009 zonda 7.3l, 669hp and 575ftlb at 4000rpm OHV is for lawnmowers and generators.

[@cinema6r845]

Torque torque torque that gass

[@frankcastle5294]

My 95 Viper is rated at 425HP bone stock. This is NOT your normal 425HP. You have to own and drive a Viper to even understand that.

[@frankcastle5294]

You nailed it. The rice-a-roni jockeys and Euro trash crown don't even have a clue as to what torque really is and what it feels like.

[@blackice7408]

Is it just me, or does the viper motor make much less power than it can have. It has a massive 8.4L displacement and has 10 cylingers of em. It should be making demon hp and tq

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

Apples to oranges, they are built for different purposes. The viper engine isn’t supercharged from the factory and aftermarket ones can easily push it over 1000 hp.

[@blackice7408]

@@EnthusiastsGarage the hellephant makes 1000 hp and 950 tq. I can imagine naturally aspirated, it will be making close to 800 hp and 800 tq. And thats a 7L v8. This is a 8.4L v10. Bigger both ways in displacement, and in cylinger count. I watched the vid from beginning to end and its very interesting the engineering of this massive engine. But i just cannot fathom how this massive engine when it first came out made just a little over 400 hp and 400+ tq. Only thing i can think of is the fact that the compression ratio was small.

[@blackice7408]

@@EnthusiastsGarage also, how does the 8.2L v8 that cadillac made in the 1970s have 500 cubic inches, but the bigger 8.4L v10 has 488 cubic inches

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

Mr dark man When it came out it was using all old technology and had nowhere near the machining or precision we have today. You also have to remember a crate engine is not designed for longevity and reliability the way a factory street engine is.

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

Mr dark man You can look at nearly every car that existed 30 or 40 years ago and compare it to now to see how much better it’s gotten due to technology. Look at the 5.0 Mustang in the 80s it was making under 200 hp now it’s at nearly 500.

[@jegr3398]

450hp is plenty for the street 😂👍🇺🇸

[@steveharper5368]

more than plenty for the viper set up

[@gzuzsavz]

Viper critics all have one thing in common: They never drove one! And..they just from the start, hate Dodge..hate big engines. Go figure. You touch on some reasons why the V10 in the Viper makes huge torque at all RPM, but did not mention why MoPar went that route. Bc torque out of the curves wins races. A lot of history revisionists state the Viper was not a race winning car. lol. Go back and check the records. The competition caught up after a few yrs, however they had to outspend Dodge by huge margins on their cars..as reflected in the $500k and up window stickers. And another reason for the huge power is that as a V10, you have for a given CI displacement, another set of valves and intake & exaust runners per bank..another header tube per side for exaust.. those are good things! So, why then, not a V12? MoPar engineers (in the Viper's development time frame, Chrysler owned Lamborghini and boosted their engines power levels a bunch. As they went along, they discovered a tendency of V12 engines to have an excess of crankshaft whip..not a good thing..ie premature bearing failure, their size has to be either really small/light, or a slower revving, very heavy crank engine. They wanted neither of those things for the Viper. The Dodge Viper was about the biggest paradigm shift in the auto world since the gen 1 then later the gen 2, 426 Hemi era of '65-'71 and of course for a long time afterwards, the Elephant set..and still does..hold records. Oh..& the gen 3 Hemi has been a big player since '03..although by then, auto racing big brass types kept a tighter chain on them so as to prevent them from embarrassing Ford, Chevy et al like they did in the 50's -70's. It still goes on with the likes of NHRA record setter Leah Pritchett.

[@nezabytes]

All cranks whip. The v8 was chosen over the straight 8 for this reason. Bike engines do it too. Stiffer crank materials mitigate crank whip. A v12 is far superior in design to a v10, no questions.

[@gzuzsavz]

@@nezabytes Chrysler engineers disagree. Y'know..the dudes that helped win WW2 and get us to the moon in 1969? Developed the Hemi V8..built most of our main battle tanks for half of forever? If the V12 was better, the Viper would've gotten one. It was a no holds barred rocket on rails, designed and built when there was less barriers to a true analogue, raucous racing machine.

[@nezabytes]

@@gzuzsavz I love a good debate with intelligent gear heads. With that said, I must say you are misinformed about the V10 being better than a v12. V12s are in perfect primary and secondary balance and also have more power strokes that overlap. Smoother engines rev higher. A have many articles saved on the same issue and I try to read old Formula 1 tech stuff. V10s are built as a compromise between a V8 and a V10.

[@hermenegildogaleana3680]

8.0 damm it

[@petrospago3515]

because over 8 lilers end of story

[@mahalaleelforever4806]

Twin turbo and you'll be fine

[@mayuravirus6134]

Or a supercharger or both if you have a way for decreasing the lag on turbo

[@ejnaygfantzcg]

Hey, we have a front engine, rear wheel drive car that's already hard to control. Let's just add hilarious amounts of torque so people will crash and buy more cars!

[@GerardPedrico]

The solution: 1. Hydraulic suspension system. 2. Depends on how to distribution the traction evenly between the front wheels and the back wheels. 3. Rimac electric super sports car from the Ukraine uses independent-synchronized drive on each of the 4 wheels. Meaning? Can you develop independent-synchronized drive on each of the 4 wheels on a sports car powered by an internal combustion engine?

[@jeromejones5174]

Dodge never made a V10, They aren't good enough,It's a Lamborghini engine with DODGE VIPER VALVE COVER GASKETS...I drove many of them, They are fast fun and exciting to drive though...

[@moimeme6749]

Because it is a 8 liter...

[@GrandmaKeith]

I didn't know it was designed by Lamborghini

[@Blazerghost]

As soon as you said "my cobra r" I came. No homo

[@igorfreitas2841]

🇵🇹

[@slckb0y65]

it's a freakin' truck engine, abeit tuned by lamborghini, what the hell do you expect ??

[@EnthusiastsGarage]

actually no, it shares virtually nothing in common with the V10 ram engine.