Dodge Challenger SRT8

[inTempus]

The result of my mid-life crisis.

 

[rallysman]

Very cool!! When are you going to take me for a spin? lol.

 

[Dominantly]

Smart man.

Any plans to throw a cat back exhaust on there to bring out a deeper exhaust note?

 

[usayit]

Nice!!!

Prior to the Challenger SRT8, there were only two SRT vehicles that had manual transmissions: the little SRT4 and the Big SRT10 Viper. I've owned an SRT4 (fun.. cheap) and couldn't justify a Viper. Used to drive me nuts... seeing their lineup.

Enjoy and cherish your mid-life crisis...

 

[rallysman]

Did they decide to throw a manual in the challenger?

 

[usayit]

Did they decide to throw a manual in the challenger?

They have it as an option now... (its about time)

 

[Browncoat]

Wow. :thumbup:

I can't wait to have a mid-life crisis so I can get one of those!

 

[inTempus]

Yeah, 2010 was the first year for the 6 speed manual (which I bought). It's amazing, the thing is geared really low (3.92 in the rear) and just grunts like you wouldn't believe.

I did have a Viper back in 1996, fun car but not at all practical back in those days. The new ones are far more refined than the earlier ones.

I have a Borla cat-back exhaust on order and a Vortech supercharger. I have to take the car to a specialty shop about 2 hours from my home to have the Vortech installed when it gets here. It will probably be 30 days or so before I get around to having that installed since I'll have to take a day or two off work while I wait with my car for the install and tune. The Vortech will add about 140hp which will bring the car up to around 560hp.

It should prove to be a fun summer car.

 

[Derrel]

The result of my mid-life crisis.

Huh...I would have thought you'd have gone with hair plugs instead.

 

[Dominantly]

Yeah, 2010 was the first year for the 6 speed manual (which I bought). It's amazing, the thing is geared really low (3.92 in the rear) and just grunts like you wouldn't believe.

I did have a Viper back in 1996, fun car but not at all practical back in those days. The new ones are far more refined than the earlier ones.

I have a Borla cat-back exhaust on order and a Vortech supercharger. I have to take the car to a specialty shop about 2 hours from my home to have the Vortech installed when it gets here. It will probably be 30 days or so before I get around to having that installed since I'll have to take a day or two off work while I wait with my car for the install and tune. The Vortech will add about 140hp which will bring the car up to around 560hp.

It should prove to be a fun summer car.

Awesome. I was hoping you weren't going to be one of those "it's already good enough" guys.
I'm a huge fan of Borla and have used them on just about every vehicle I have ever owned.
I just looked up the Vortech system and it looks awesome. I couldn't mind taking a SRT-8 with that under the hood, for a test romp.
Forced Induction is a drug.

 

[usayit]

Man.. that's a nice supercharger. If it were me, I'd install it myself and enlist the local shop for assistance for a tune on the dyno. Then put the cash towards strengthening and bracing the rear end.. maybe upgrade the brakes. Curious, do you know if the SRT8 comes with an ECU that can take new fuel maps or reprogram? Past cars I worked on, fueling them (and keeping them street legal) has always been a royal PITA at least around here in NJ.

 

[Dominantly]

Man.. that's a nice supercharger. If it were me, I'd install it myself and enlist the local shop for assistance for a tune on the dyno. Then put the cash towards strengthening and bracing the rear end.. maybe upgrade the brakes. Curious, do you know if the SRT8 comes with an ECU that can take new fuel maps or reprogram? Past cars I worked on, fueling them (and keeping them street legal) has always been a royal PITA at least around here in NJ.

Did you modify your previous SRT-4? Did you ever visit Srtforums?
I only ask because I also owned a SRT-4.

 

[inTempus]

Man.. that's a nice supercharger. If it were me, I'd install it myself and enlist the local shop for assistance for a tune on the dyno. Then put the cash towards strengthening and bracing the rear end.. maybe upgrade the brakes. Curious, do you know if the SRT8 comes with an ECU that can take new fuel maps or reprogram? Past cars I worked on, fueling them (and keeping them street legal) has always been a royal PITA at least around here in NJ.

I would install it myself, but if I did it would invalidate the warranty. If the dealership installs it, or an authorized Vortech center installs it, my warranty remains in tact. Since I have the extended bumper to bumper warranty, keeping that in tact is pretty important.

I've decided to go with the Vortech shop because they do have a dyno and can give it a proper tune. The dealership will use the Vortech factory tune which is far more conservative.

The ECU is programmable with a "Predator". The unit allows you to program all aspects of the system. It's quite simple really.

It should be fun.

 

[usayit]

Man.. that's a nice supercharger. If it were me, I'd install it myself and enlist the local shop for assistance for a tune on the dyno. Then put the cash towards strengthening and bracing the rear end.. maybe upgrade the brakes. Curious, do you know if the SRT8 comes with an ECU that can take new fuel maps or reprogram? Past cars I worked on, fueling them (and keeping them street legal) has always been a royal PITA at least around here in NJ.

Did you modify your previous SRT-4? Did you ever visit Srtforums?
I only ask because I also owned a SRT-4.

Just the full set of toys... Didn't go much farther because I needed the car to behave as it was also my commuter.

It was fun for a while but I felt kinda too old for the car. Wheel hop was horrendous. Now I know why I always preferred RWD. Build quality was a tad low for my tastes but what can you expect from cheap speed. I broke a rear strut mount during an autoX session.. mechanic looked at it and said "wtf?" and admitted the factory wields was shoddy. They fixed her up quite nicely. Turbo was great on the drag strip but a bit too laggy on a tight autoX course. Wheels were strange... 17x6 size. Tall and narrow with a large turning radius for such a compact vehicle. That didn't help on the coned course either. Loved the top end.. always ample power on the highway even at speed. Always had fun on the few times I went to the dragstrip as it was far less maintence and prep required than most sup'd up vehicles. Just show up and and have fun.

I put 85k on the car in just about 5 years and decided it was time to move on. I kinda miss it though.... I see a few still running around and their exhaust "pop" is always recognizable. Cops around here wouldn't leave me alone. What I really miss are the big displacement engined muscle cars I grew up with in TX. Hence why I'm drooling over this thread... just not practical for me up here though.. I ended up going small, focused on suspension and handling on a tight course for my kicks.

SRTForums... hahahah lol. That place is funny... oozing with immaturity BUT with good solid knowledge sprinkled throughout (and probably more knowledgeable on the topic than I can ever be). I was never an actively posting member... just followed the threads from afar.


I considered going to the Caliber SRT-4 for a SHORT while. I wasn't impressed and I think dodge lost some SRT-4 followers afterwards. From my short test drive, the vehicle's center of gravity is just too high/tall. Wheel hope and torque steer was still there.... I felt like I had just modified a grocery getter.


Now, if Dodge had released a small 2 door RWD coupe with the same turbo drivetrain, I'd be on board in a heart beat. Heck, make it a roadster with a mid-engine configuration a-la MR2-ish, I'd be waiting in line at the dealer on the 1st day.

 

[usayit]

I would install it myself, but if I did it would invalidate the warranty. If the dealership installs it, or an authorized Vortech center installs it, my warranty remains in tact. Since I have the extended bumper to bumper warranty, keeping that in tact is pretty important.

I've decided to go with the Vortech shop because they do have a dyno and can give it a proper tune. The dealership will use the Vortech factory tune which is far more conservative.

The ECU is programmable with a "Predator". The unit allows you to program all aspects of the system. It's quite simple really.

It should be fun.

Ah.. makes sense... That's great that the ECU is programmable! Man.. I want one now.