Hellcat Challange the old man

[k98dave]

Haven't driven the car it over a week so I took the Boss out to the local Discount Tire to test fit a wheel to use as a spare. Turns out the one the thought they had in stock that would fit wasn't really there. So I head home along a fairly busy 3 lane road and this guy in a Hellcat comes out of a side street and gets right on my ass. I just drive along with traffic as I'm sure the boss isn't a good match up, I'm not into street drags as there is busy traffic anyway, and since it was only 51 deg the P zeros are like concrete. Guess Hellcat boy didn't figure that out as when traffic opens in front of him he nails it and proceeds to loop and stall it. I just keep going in my lane with traffic but just had to give him a Thumbs up and a little blip of the throttle as I went by. ;D
These kids just never learn

 

[WinterSucks]

It seems to me that the Hellcat is less geared towards enthusiasts and more to the "look at me" and "I has moar powerrr than youz" crowd. I fully expect 50% of them to be totaled within 30k miles.

 

[VoodooBoss]

LMAO. Too bad you didn't have video of that one. Not an even match up and I'm glad the "Stupidcat" didn't hit anyone.

 

[k98dave]

They do look good and sound good but I have never been a Mopar fan. Guess you need 700+ hp to get all that bulk moving. :

I worked safety at Texas Motor Speedway this past spring when we had the Association on Automobile Writers in town, All the makes were there for on track ride & drive sessions. (No GT350 though) Anyway reps from Dodge had two of them there. I talked to guy from Car & Driver, he described it as a constant battle between the engine and the rest of the car! I have seen a couple on track and know of two that have lost motors, one supposedly for lifter issues, the other broken wrist pin. I'm sure there are & will be more.

 

[Berol]

Reminds of that linked story a few months back of the guy leaving cars and coffee in one and decided to slide into some dude's classic car.

I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen a single Challenger at a track event on the east coast. They're not well suited for it, and it seems like the crowd that buys them wouldn't be interested in track events.

 

[TMSBOSS]

We had a hellcat at a track event at Blackhawk this year. Fast straightaway speeds. Had to run a fast lap followed by a slow lap to allow brakes to cool.

Not a car built for much beyond straight line acceleration.

 

[VoodooBoss]

I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen a single Challenger at a track event on the east coast. They're not well suited for it, and it seems like the crowd that buys them wouldn't be interested in track events.

I've only seen one and it looked pretty good. It was heavily modified and ran pretty fast but I've never seen this car or another Challenger on track since then.

 

[302 Hi Pro]

I like the Hemi Challengers, the 392 Shaker Scat Pac look great IMO, but I like all Detroit Muscle cars. Wouldn't trade my Boss in on one, as I still think our Boss 302's are Legendary track cars with celebrated race history in 1970, and 2012. Both years brought both Driver and Manufacturer Championsips home to Ford.

Not to mention an American V8 that left the factory with a 7,500 RPM red line. Plus it can be tuned to make power to 7,900 - 8,000 RPM's! Until the 2012 Boss 302 introduction, that was pretty much unheard of, especially in recent history.

Sorry, got off on a Boss tangent, but I also wanted to say, the Hemi Challenger comes in at an astounding 5,300 pounds! That's over 2.5 Tons on skinny tires. When I pulled up next to one this summer, I looked over and had to look up to see the passenger, they are tall cars. It's a straight line car typical of most 60's early 70's cars.

But I do like the looks of them,

Have fun out there,
302 Hi Pro

Here's another blue car:

 

[WinterSucks]

Interesting that you mention engine problems. I have been noticing some mentions of major issues on Reddit today (one was a Hellcat leaking oil on it's first drive home...). Besides the Chryslers that are catching fire (they must have the worst electrical engineers on the planet)... Or the Chevy's that are burning down houses... I love owning a Ford because, well, I tend to like living...

 

[Champale]

I watched a black Hellcat Challenger leave a restaurant onto a highway today and he gassed it all the way through the first 4 gears (automatic). It was impressive as heck to watch and sounded incredible. I love cornering more than straight line stuff, but wow just wow.

(And they weigh ~4400lbs, not 5300).

 

[302 Hi Pro]

(And they weigh ~4400lbs, not 5300).

Thank you, my bad. I see now it was "gross" vehicle weight, so best to drive it with a 1/4 tank of gas and no passengers.

Specs and Dimensions
Compression ratio: 10.90 to 1 Engine horsepower: 485hp @ 6,100RPM Engine displacement: 6.4 L Engine torque: 475 lb.-ft. @ 4,200RPM Rear shoulder room: 1,369mm (53.9") Interior cargo volume: 459 L (16 cu.ft.)
GVWR: 2,404kg (5,300lbs)

302 Hi Pro

 

[302BOB]

The Hellcat was created to lead the HP war...track performance was never its mission. The Boss & GT350 (R) were clearly made for track use. Buy whatever you need to float your boat... By the way...HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

 

[k98dave]

It seems to me that the Hellcat is less geared towards enthusiasts and more to the "look at me" and "I has moar powerrr than youz" crowd. I fully expect 50% of them to be totaled within 30k miles.

Check this out: Hellcat Owners 7 Rules #1 The Red Key how original!

Warning rough curse words:

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/bp/angry-hellcat-owner-gives-7-rules-of-ownership--with-a-nod-to-tesla-170957428.html

 

[VoodooBoss]

Click on the youtube version and read the comments for a good laugh!

 

[johna]

Yeah too funny.
I did see at the Chicago auto show last year a concept track version of the challenger....don't know the weight or how it could perform...I think it was naturally aspirated.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[VoodooBoss]

Looks like the Hellcat is pretty fast after all. LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlS925qxpns

 

[Fomoco302]

How much weight could they remove from the Mustang if they went to an aluminum body like the F150?

 

[coboss]

At High Plains near Denver this summer I saw a week old Hellcat, a new SRT Challenger and a new SRT Charger all on the same day. They all came separately, not as a group.

The Hellcat driver was not all that experienced, but he got around the track OK. That thing was FAST on the straight and sounded incredible. He brought it in every 5 laps or so to cool down the engine, the brakes, AND the transmission (it was an auto). I have always liked Mopars, and if I wanted a cruiser I'd take a Scat Pack Challenger in a heartbeat. The Hellcat Charger is pretty cool, too. Magazine tests say the Charger is every bit as good around a track as the Challenger.

The SRT's did petty well, too. Not up to Boss standards, but that standard is pretty high!

 

[302 Hi Pro]

Cohos:

I too like Mopar Hemi power, and the new naturally aspirated 392 CID Hemi with 485 HP - 475 lbs/ft TQ is very impressive, and it keeps the Spirit of Competition alive an well for the Detroit Manufacturers.

The 2016 Scst Pack Shaker 392 Hemi Challenger is my personal choice. But why do they have such skinny rubber?

302 Hi Pro

 

[coboss]

Cohos:

I too like Mopar Hemi power, and the new naturally aspirated 392 CID Hemi with 485 HP - 475 lbs/ft TQ is very impressive, and it keeps the Spirit of Competition alive an well for the Detroit Manufacturers.

The 2016 Scst Pack Shaker 392 Hemi Challenger is my personal choice. But why do they have such skinny rubber?

302 Hi Pro

I guess they REALLY want to keep with the nostalgia thing by having skinny tires. Seriously, they do better burnouts that way. The stock tire size on a 70's Challenger was F70x14 as I recall, and the big rubber was F60x15. Honda Civics have bigger tires these days than 60s-70s muscle cars.

I remember the stock wheels on many smaller cars like the Dart, Falcon, Nova, etc. were 13x4.5" You could get a set of four brand new tires for $80!