Originally Posted by
V8 Lite
RLSH700, She's a V6 so automatic was the only choice. And because she's an 09 she only gets 4 gears. I'd love to compare it to the 5 speed auto the 10s get to see if that improved performance much. A 6 speed manual would be great for the fun factor but I bet it sucks working the clutch in bumper to bumper traffic.
None of that matters though. I took her for an 800 kilometer blast yesterday and had a ball. The roads were clear, the traffic was light and I opened her to 180 kph a couple times.
It just doesn't get much better.
It's a V6? So why then is V8 in your user name? Based on what I saw in comparisons between the first year Chargers (which had the W5A580 5-speed automatic), to the 300 (which had the 42RLE used in the 09 Challenger), there is virtually no difference. The underlying issue is that the 42RLE has the following ratios.
42RLE
1st....2.84
2nd...1.57
3rd....1.00
4th....0.69
Axle-ratio: 3.64
W5A580
1st....3.59
2nd...2.21
3rd....1.41
4th....1.00
5th....0.83
Axle-ratio: 2.87
Now looking at these raw numbers would lead one to believe that the 5-speed has a clear advantage due to its much shorter first gear, but the problem is the axle-ratio equipped with these transmissions evens things out thanks to the ridiculously short overdrive on the 5-speed. The combined 1st for the 42RLE is 10.34; whereas, the W5A580's combined first is 10.30. This means that they turn out being on nearly equal footing for a first gear ratio with an ever so slight lead for the 42RLE. As for the combined top gear ratio, for the 42RLE it is 2.51 and as for the W5A580 the combined top gear ratio is 2.38. This would naturally tend to help the models equipped with the 5-speed to get better fuel economy, but for some reason, this does not translate into results (my assumption is due to the fact that the 42RLE is listed as having VLP which might make up the difference or some other unlisted factor). The spacing difference doesn't really come into effect until the top gears and by that point is not all that significant. Translation: all you gain is a higher price tag and the Mercedes version of the autostick with the 5-speed.
The thing that really irritates me is we will never get to see the hidden potential of the 3.5L engine as it will be dropped soon and it has never been offered with a manual. I had hopes that the Challenger would provide for me the chance to see what I had been waiting for ten years to behold.
RoswellGrey, glad to hear about the positive experience with the first 3K miles. I understand not wanting to take it out. That is one reason why I have delayed it as I wanted to get a garage to keep it in so then it wouldn't get vandalized or stolen. I now remember you mentioning the Mustang. How is it doing for you?