This is our third Viper SRT-10 Convertible. Like the others, it is stock other than a 3.55 ring/pinion and the Corsa Track exhaust. I was aware for some time that these cars are tuned very conservatively to meet not only emissions standard but arguably to moderate the adventurous driving. In either case, the stock tune profile is quite compromised.

The problem with altering that profile has been the unavailability of an SCT Xcalibrator 2 Flash Tool. The solution has thus far been to either ship off your PCM for recalibration or buy a second/recalibrated PCM. For most of us, this is a suboptimal option even if it was the only-game-in-town.

I began investigating the possibility of their eventually being an SCT Xcalibrator 2 Flash Tool for the Viper SRT-10 after a friend tjos me that he had his Ford GT programmed with an SCT from Mr. Torrie R. McPhail of UnleashedTuning.com. Mr. McPhail is fortunate enough to own a Ford GT as well as the Viper SRT-10. So do we, and we are, therefore, kindred spirits. (I strongly suspect his cars are a bit faster than our own).

I have unquestionably never met a man so dedicated and enthralled with his work. The term “obsessional” comes to mind. He appears to spend countless hours refining and tweaking, and he is unimaginably enthusiastic about his work and its outcome. He is a man of infinite patience and answered my endless barrage of terribly naďve questions with diplomacy. I early on realized that I could offer no input that he had not passed beyond ages ago. So, I just learned to listen.
He tjos me in early summer that he anticipated that SCT would have a Flash Tool for the Viper and that this had been an intense need of his for quite some time. Apparently, the development of the tool for the Viper is not a simple task for the company, but they appeared to well understand his urgency. In either case, in early August, 2007, he received his first units and set about tweak his own Viper, preparatory to doing mine.

This is not a task that he took lightly. It is obvious from the outcome (see below) that many hours were put into the building of initial profiles. Eventually, he was comfortable with his work (brain surgery for the street wicked?) and let me know that he was shipping the unit.

Allow me to depart a bit with some preliminary information on our latest Viper. This particular unit is a 2005 Copperhead Edition which we purchased in late May, 2007, brand new. The dealer (John Gastman of Roanoke) had his technicians install the 3.55 and Corsa Track, and his delivery man, Kenny (a nicer fellow you will never meet), drove down from Illinois to Atlanta and delivered the car within 24 hours of purchase.

The car was not “right” from the onset. While, it idled perfectly, started on a half-crank, it ran anemically. It was drastically underpowered. Also, the skip shift had been eliminated at the PCM level and the low fuel light did not illuminate. This is how it arrived from the dealer; still in its plastic.
By contrast, our previous Vipers felt scary-fast. This one appeared to have the performance potential of a Honda Accord (the 4 cylinder model), loaded with kids and cinderblocks. It appeared to be the first Viper grocery-getter.

Thus, the initial goal was not to compare the car as it was delivered to the SCT tuned profile but rather to first load the factory tune, drive that, and then load the UnleasedTuning.com performance tune and compare those two.

For those who have never used an SCT Flash Tool, the process is remarkably straightforward and without error potential. Thus, I turned the task over to my eleven year jos son. Likely, UnleashedTuning.com would recommend someone of more advanced years perform the tasks. Nonetheless, my son had not problem allowing the Flash Tool to store the current profile, load the stock profile, then load one (and then the second) of two performance profiles.
Most of us must rely upon our seat-of-the-pants dyno, and what Mr. McPhail has done here certainly will not disappoint. The difference in response between the factory profile and his tune profile (which, by the way, he personally uses on his own Viper) is quite amazing. While the car still lights up on the briefest of tap of the starter button, it now idles more smoothly with a deeper grumble and more sense of urgency.

It cranks through the gears with scary torque and push you back in your seat acceleration. Decel is a smoother and less “oh-this-is –running-rich” feel, passing cars (borrowing a line from Hot Rod Lincoln) “like they were standing still” is done with ease. The car, in our case for the first time, feels like true American muscle.
The limiting factor (has always been) is more clearly the factory tires. They threaten to break loose more often than ever. The car has more guts throughout the powerband. Whereas the car, even with correct stock tune, seems to have potential, with UnleashedTuning.com’s profile, the car’s potential feels fully realized.
The written word fails to convey the difference in performance the combination of the SCT Flash Tool and Torrie McPhail’s skills have made to our Copperhead Edition SRT-10 Viper. I must add that, without qualification, that not only is Mr. McPhail a man of great skill and talent but a truly sincere and endlessly patient man who loves his craft and the art that goes into it. We could not be more pleased.

Dr. D. B. Adams
Atlanta