The Preface
I wish I could honestly say that my driving skills with the Viper reached a point whereby I was frying my brakes/rotors on the track, but, no that's not the case.
95% of the reason I undertook this project is because I enjoy wrenching on the Viper. The other 5% eas due to Chuck98/RT10 describing to me how simple this is to do and you don't have to break the bank to get it done. Chuck is a very experienced Viper racer and his modifications have been proven on the track. So, this was a no-brainer DIY for me. I wanted better cooling of my front brakes and this is as good as a modification as any.
The Parts
I purchased my brake cooling parts from Pegasus but you can find these all over the web if not your local race shop. The parts needed are:
(1) 3631-3.00-6 FOOT High Temp 2-ply Silicone Air Duct, 3 inch diameter, 6 feet $71.00
(2) 3624-Black Air Inlent, Bumper Mount Duct $48
(2) 3613-3.25 Worm-Drive Hose Clamps with Metal Lining
A bynch of12" Nylon Zip Tiies
(2) 10-32 Rivet Nuts & Screws (Optional)
3 1/8" - 3 1/4" Hole Saw & Drill
Jacking up The Viper
It's much easier (to me) to work on this modification by jacking up the front-end of the Viper if you don't have access to a lift. I wrote a procedure for jacking up the Viper on stands and can be found in my Engine Mount Replacement DIY.
Remove the Front Wheels
Mark Duct Locations
The front fascia will have to be removed in order to install the brake ducts and hoses. * Note: Before remove the front fascia, take your Sharpie and draw a line on the baffle just behind the fascia where the ducts are going to mount. This line will indicate where the fascia meets the baffle and help you orient where your brake ducts will be mounted. I did this so the ducts wouldn't interfere with the fascia when its' mounted:
Imagine for a moment that these two Blue Moon beers represent where your Ducts are going to be mounted behind the fascia. The mark you just made with your Sharpie can now be seen on the black baffle and will help line up the outside edge of the ducts. **Note: No Blue Moon Beers were harmed during this DIY. While actual cold, frosty Blue Moons were used during the DIY they were promptly drunk and disposed of humanely.
Removing the Front Fascia
Remove the front fascia. Ken (LifeIsGood) has an excellent DIY for this and can be found here.
Drilling the 3" Holes
You'll probably need a few beers if you're afraid of drilling two 3" holes. Unfortunately, at the time I did this modification, I didn't take too many detailed pictures (was probably the beers' fault). Essentially, you will drill a 3" hole on either side of the front fascia, just behind the blue moon bottles:
You can drill a pilot hole first to make certain you will clear what's being the baffle.
You air damn baffle will not have a cutout as does mine unless you've installed the Roe Front Fascia kit. FYI.
Install Brake Duct Hose
Once you've cut your holes you can run the hose through them. I purchased 6' of hose which is more than enough for this project. I cut it in half creating 3' foot sections. I snaked each section through each hole and ran it to each brake rotor:
I didn't tie anything down at this point but rather wanted to make certain I had plenty of hose and it reached it's destination. With the hoses test-fitted I turned my attention to the brake ducts.
Modify/Install Air Ducts
This is how my brake ducts looked like after they were installed. I actually ended up using 2 screws/rivnuts per brake duct to secure it to the baffle:
At this point, I modified the air ducts to fit the baffle/opening. As you can see from the above pics, I removed the outer flange from the ducts as they interfere with the mounting:
I also cut an additional 1" from the duct inlet and I believe the actual width of it's opening ended up being about 6". I didn't want the ducts extending too far wide into the center of the fascia opening. This was a personal preference more than anything else.
At this point, I lined up the ducts to the Sharpie line I made earlier and drill two holes through the bottom of each duct. I then drilled two holes into the baffle and installed rivet nuts. You could probably secure the ducts with screws only but I had the rivet nuts so I used them.
Next I took a work clamp and secured the hose to the back of the air duct and secured the air ducts to the baffle. This is what it looked at this point:
Securing/Positioning Brake Duct Hose
With the fascia part complete I turned to securing the hoses to the control arms and positioning them against the brakes/rotors. I didn't use rotor shrouds although these may be the most optimal in directing the cooler air against the brakes. However, Chuck assured me this mod would work fine without them and they have.
I secured the hose to the control arm using zip ties.
When I took these pictures about 2.5 years ago. I had the hoses pointing directly against the front of the rotors. I have since changed the orientation so that they point towards the brake calipers which was done by moving the hose along the control arm nearest the brake caliper.
Done.
I've had this on my Viper for 2.5 years and several track outings since. I've noticed that my stock brakes don't fade as badly as they did without this mod. I haven't had any issues with hoses/zip ties, etc. so far. At some point, I may end up installing the Cone shrouds so that the brake calipers receive optimal airflow from this modification:
I'll probably do the shrouds when I get to upgrading my brakes.
I wish I could honestly say that my driving skills with the Viper reached a point whereby I was frying my brakes/rotors on the track, but, no that's not the case.
95% of the reason I undertook this project is because I enjoy wrenching on the Viper. The other 5% eas due to Chuck98/RT10 describing to me how simple this is to do and you don't have to break the bank to get it done. Chuck is a very experienced Viper racer and his modifications have been proven on the track. So, this was a no-brainer DIY for me. I wanted better cooling of my front brakes and this is as good as a modification as any.The Parts
I purchased my brake cooling parts from Pegasus but you can find these all over the web if not your local race shop. The parts needed are:
(1) 3631-3.00-6 FOOT High Temp 2-ply Silicone Air Duct, 3 inch diameter, 6 feet $71.00
(2) 3624-Black Air Inlent, Bumper Mount Duct $48
(2) 3613-3.25 Worm-Drive Hose Clamps with Metal Lining
A bynch of12" Nylon Zip Tiies
(2) 10-32 Rivet Nuts & Screws (Optional)
3 1/8" - 3 1/4" Hole Saw & Drill
Jacking up The Viper
It's much easier (to me) to work on this modification by jacking up the front-end of the Viper if you don't have access to a lift. I wrote a procedure for jacking up the Viper on stands and can be found in my Engine Mount Replacement DIY.
Remove the Front Wheels
Mark Duct Locations
The front fascia will have to be removed in order to install the brake ducts and hoses. * Note: Before remove the front fascia, take your Sharpie and draw a line on the baffle just behind the fascia where the ducts are going to mount. This line will indicate where the fascia meets the baffle and help you orient where your brake ducts will be mounted. I did this so the ducts wouldn't interfere with the fascia when its' mounted:
Imagine for a moment that these two Blue Moon beers represent where your Ducts are going to be mounted behind the fascia. The mark you just made with your Sharpie can now be seen on the black baffle and will help line up the outside edge of the ducts. **Note: No Blue Moon Beers were harmed during this DIY. While actual cold, frosty Blue Moons were used during the DIY they were promptly drunk and disposed of humanely.
Removing the Front Fascia
Remove the front fascia. Ken (LifeIsGood) has an excellent DIY for this and can be found here.
Drilling the 3" Holes
You'll probably need a few beers if you're afraid of drilling two 3" holes. Unfortunately, at the time I did this modification, I didn't take too many detailed pictures (was probably the beers' fault). Essentially, you will drill a 3" hole on either side of the front fascia, just behind the blue moon bottles:
You can drill a pilot hole first to make certain you will clear what's being the baffle.
You air damn baffle will not have a cutout as does mine unless you've installed the Roe Front Fascia kit. FYI.
Install Brake Duct Hose
Once you've cut your holes you can run the hose through them. I purchased 6' of hose which is more than enough for this project. I cut it in half creating 3' foot sections. I snaked each section through each hole and ran it to each brake rotor:
I didn't tie anything down at this point but rather wanted to make certain I had plenty of hose and it reached it's destination. With the hoses test-fitted I turned my attention to the brake ducts.
Modify/Install Air Ducts
This is how my brake ducts looked like after they were installed. I actually ended up using 2 screws/rivnuts per brake duct to secure it to the baffle:
At this point, I modified the air ducts to fit the baffle/opening. As you can see from the above pics, I removed the outer flange from the ducts as they interfere with the mounting:
I also cut an additional 1" from the duct inlet and I believe the actual width of it's opening ended up being about 6". I didn't want the ducts extending too far wide into the center of the fascia opening. This was a personal preference more than anything else.
At this point, I lined up the ducts to the Sharpie line I made earlier and drill two holes through the bottom of each duct. I then drilled two holes into the baffle and installed rivet nuts. You could probably secure the ducts with screws only but I had the rivet nuts so I used them.
Next I took a work clamp and secured the hose to the back of the air duct and secured the air ducts to the baffle. This is what it looked at this point:
Securing/Positioning Brake Duct Hose
With the fascia part complete I turned to securing the hoses to the control arms and positioning them against the brakes/rotors. I didn't use rotor shrouds although these may be the most optimal in directing the cooler air against the brakes. However, Chuck assured me this mod would work fine without them and they have.
I secured the hose to the control arm using zip ties.
When I took these pictures about 2.5 years ago. I had the hoses pointing directly against the front of the rotors. I have since changed the orientation so that they point towards the brake calipers which was done by moving the hose along the control arm nearest the brake caliper.
Done.
I've had this on my Viper for 2.5 years and several track outings since. I've noticed that my stock brakes don't fade as badly as they did without this mod. I haven't had any issues with hoses/zip ties, etc. so far. At some point, I may end up installing the Cone shrouds so that the brake calipers receive optimal airflow from this modification:
I'll probably do the shrouds when I get to upgrading my brakes.
Last edited:
