ORIGINAL: 1 Bad Mirada
i dont want any parts of a V10 challenger, and i dont think that dodge does either...unless the viper is scraped. it would cost a fortune to modify, much like the viper.
however, at 4200lbs, 380hp is sadly not going to be enough to outrun the 300hp mustang gt...there are guys with almost stock GTs in the high 12s, and the same goes for the srt8 sedans...the challenger will likely be a bit quicker than that with the manual trans and the 6.1, but seeing as how the 5.7L sedans are only in the low 14s to high 13s, the 380hp version may only be into the mid 13s, making it fairly easy prey for the mustang...[:@]
As I said in another thread, a friend of mine in Florida just won a dragway season championship in his '06 Magnum. His car is a stock 5.7L 340HP HEMI - except for the addition of a CAI, and the PCM was flashed with a DiabloSport Predator. He was turning 13.7's consistantly, and ran under his 13.65 dial-in time once getting a DQ for that run. That Magnum is 4100 lbs (what they indicated the Challenger would be - kinda hard to believe they'd weigh the same). I would think the addition of the track-pak that's been hinted at being offered on the Challenger with a better suspension and hi-flow exhaust, and the 40HP more in the new 5.7L in front of a 6-speed TREMEC would put us well below the times my friend was turning with his Magnum. Put a set of sticky street slicks/tires on an extra set of rims for the strip......
Keep in mind
we're going to be taking final drive from 2.82 in the autosticks down to 3.73 and 3.92 with the 6-speed TREMEC in the R/T and SRT8 respectively. That alone will make a
BIG difference.
Obviously you have more experience than most of us, Patrick, and would be able to crunch the numbers better. But I think the only way we'll know
for sure is when one of the new 5.7's is bolted up to the TREMEC and running a timed 1/4 mile.
The R/T should be capable of satisfying all of MY needs - including dusting off any Mustangs. Then again,
it'll only take one loss for me to decide to plumb in a ZEX wet kit.