Cuda340

September 21, 2011 SRT Chat Session
The SRT engineers had a roundtable discussion tonight on another forum.

Here are some of their responses that might interest you.

Why can’t the Challengers come with a convenience spare tire in the car? The mini compressor is useless.
Why can’t the after market make tuners for the 392?Challengers?

1) The mini-spare does not clear the front brake caliper. Looking at the frequency of needing a spare tire these days and the fact that everyone has a cellphone to call for a tow, it is not worth carrying the extra weight. Feel free to install the mini-spare and jack out of the regular Challenger. If you get a flat on the front, put the minispare on the rear, and put your good rear tire on the front.
2) They haven't broken the code, yet. It is a rolling code, like your garage door opener!

On some of the forums they are saying that the new 392 intake manifold has a built in oil separator/ catch can. I believe they are mistaking the PCV system for a factory catch can. Can you please clear this up. I am not talking about if a catch can is good or not but is there a built in catch can in the intake manifold. Thanks for your time. My wife loves the new challenger and is buying me a 2012. How could a guy be more lucky.

You’re correct, it’s the PCV oil/air separator and not a catch can. The flow path is from the passenger cylinder head into the separator and then back into the intake. Through the separator, you'll find a series of baffles that work with gravity to separate the oil from the air.

Where does the oil go? Is the waste oil still burned through the combustion chamber?

The oil separators pull the vast majority of the oil in the crank vapor out where it drains into the heads and then back into the crankcase through the head drainbacks.

Another suggestion is to offer a Chrome or Chrome Clad Wheel option for the SRT8 Challenger.

Chrome clad wheels and performance wheels don't mix.

Have you ever considered building a "bare bones" SRT model no fancy hood ,leather, brembos, hid lights? Jjust a lighter less expensive go fast street car.

All the time.

How soon will Chrysler's Hemi-powered SRT vehicles have a Viper 6-speed transmission? Is there such a plan in the works?

The Challenger SRT8 has had the TR-6060 transmission (which is also in the Viper) since it launched in the 2008 model year.

I own a 2010 300C and was wondering is it possible to install the Brembo brakes from the SRT8 300? Will the stock 300C master cylinder and proportioning valve work with the Brembos? What other changes will be required?

Upgrading to a SRT brake components is a quagmire. The calipers won't even bolt up to the knuckles, which are SRT unique. On top of that, the ESC calibration is TOTALLY different, and your base ESC controller will ramp in way too much pressure to control the car. Same with ABS because the SRT brakes are significantly more effective. You really need a wrecked SRT to take the whole ABS system and front and rear knuckles off of. There is no prop valve on cars anymore. That is handled electronically via EBD.

Can you offer some insight as to why the exterior colors change so often and why some of the most popular colors are not offered any more in the Challenger SRT8 or is this a marketing question- hemi-orange, torred, detonator yellow, b5 blue, plum crazy, etc.

It's more of a marketing question, but we will give you an answer anyway. The colors you specified were brought out in limited production as a throw back to the colors of our muscle cars in the 60s and 70s. SRT vehicles are exclusive to begin with, but with special, limited run colors, you get a little more collectability and exclusivity.

Will a 6.4 production crankshaft fit in a 5.7 6.1 2003-2008 hemi?
I know the crankshaft toner ring has been changed since 2009.
Will the toner rings from earlier hemi bolt on a production 6.4 crankshaft?

The crank will physically fit..yes...however you'll crash valves without a reduction in valve lift. The Tone Rings have been changed...yes they are interchangeable...make sure you change your crank sensor too if you do that.

I love my new 2011 Challenger SRT8-392! But I am having one problem which after reading these boards, seems to be prevalent. My power steering sometimes loses power in low-speed parking maneuvers.
Had it to dealer a few times, but since it is a sporadic issue, & it can't be duplicated at the dealership (of course), nothing can be done! Why is this a common issue, & What should I do?

It seems that you have a power steering pump issue. Take the vehicle back to the dealer and have them replace the power steering pump AND flush the system.

I have a stock 2006 300 SRT8, and a 2010 challenger SRT8....if you had $500-1000 to spend, what would be the first mods you would do to increase horsepower/torque?

Nitrous. Don't run more than a 125 shot with plenty of fuel or you will knock the ring lands off the pistons. Make sure you get a bottle heater. But that's just my advice. I've had a 60 shot of nitrous on my Neon for 7 years.

HEMI 6.4L engine related questions:
1- What are the intake & exhaust ports sizes? I: 54mm, E: 42mm
2- Why did you space the throttle body away from the intake manifold, when the 5.7L and 6.1L have their throttle body right next to the intake manifold? Mostly packaging to give us the plenum entry we desired. With the triangle at the top of the front cover being so close, this was our only option. At SRT, we care about airflow
3- Will the GC SRT suspensions and brakes fit into the Durango R/T? Yes, if you by everything...springs, shocks, knuckles, controls arms, brakes, and ABS controller...

Why did you go one step colder on the 6.1L plugs? I have an 06 C SRT. Would a colder plug be any advantage for me?

Only if your doing power adders will they help you.

car: 2010 SRT8 challenger 6-spd w/mopar coilovers & mopar sway bars.
question: on aggressive cornering maneuvers the car exhibits post-apex steering effort increase (almost like lack of power assist) while unwinding steering angle/wheel. Increased effort is also accompanied by a type of grunt/low freq. short duration hum/sound. normal steering effort returns just before steering wheel & wheels are straight again. no understeer/oversteer present - (i.e. @ corner-speeds below threshold of tire adhesion).
I've heard there may be some type of check valve that is closing in the rack.. does such a device exist in this design? Any ideas what may be causing this condition?

I would replace the pump. Sounds like it is weak and not handling the extra load.

What he said. I'm curious, which of the "new and improved" suspension components would fit my '06 and make a noticeable difference? Also, is the 2011 SRT steering wheel retrofittable (is that a word?) to the earlier models?

See response for question number 2 for suspension components. 2011 steering wheel will mount onto prior models but wheel electronics will not function.

I have been data logging my 2011 SRT Challenger (automatic transmission) and noticed that between shifts the throttle position drop s by 5% to 8%, and quite a bit of timing is pulled even with the traction control in full defeat position. Is there a way to eliminate that from occurring?

The 2011 Challenger ATX has some ridiculously fast shift times...200ms range. The trans has never been asked to shift so fast and also handle the torque of the 392 HEMI...so in order to keep the trans happy shifting that fast, we have to pull a considerable amount of torque.

Two suggestions:
1. for the Challenger, allow the rear seat headrests to fold down out of the way to improve visibility. Many of us never have back seat passengers and this would be a great feature. This would also allow the front seats to be moved back further when the rear seats backs are folded down when hauling something larger in the trunk.
2. Charger SRT8 - offer all-wheel-drive (AWD) like Porsche does on the 911 but don't raise the ride height like you do on the Charger R/T.

We built one AWD 300C SRT8 mule and it was slower than the RWD car due to the extra weight and interia. The traction advantage couldn't make it back up. Some of us rwd guys at SRT joke with the awd guys at SRT that awd is just an expensive solution to having the wrong tire on your car.

With the above frustration in mind, will the super charger that Chrysler/Dodge eventually puts on the 392, be stuck with a canned tune or will it be open to the aftermarket for custom tuning? Will there ever be a 426 SRT?

We haven't announced a supercharger for the 392, and we can't talk about potential future product, but thanks for asking, we appreciate the interest. For the other part of your post, we keep the information proprietary due to issues with warranty fraud.

What HP will the 392 fuel system support over stock? How much more fuel capacity is there between the previous model year's fuel system?

Fuel capacity is equal from previous years.

Can you specify, from experience, what the best conditions are to run any of the 2012 LX SRT cars at the drag strip? I'm interested to know things like optimal outside temperature, tire pressure, where to rev the engine to before leaving the tree, etc. And, in a Challenger with the 6 speed, should you just go from a dead stop? Or bring the revs to a certain range and dump the clutch? ESP on, off, or full off? What has given you the best results?

It really depends on conditions and traction. You need to experiment. Sometimes a brief brake torque to 1200 then go works well if there is enough grip. Don't brake torque it harder and stall the torque converter or the controller will reduce torque to not go over the trans torque limit. Otherwise, experiment with flat punching or squeezing depending on grip. On manuals, I prefer riding the clutch quite heavily from 3000-4000 rpm depending on grip. That is pretty hard on the clutch, though.

How big of a shot would you chance running in a new 392 running on race fuel?

125 shot. Risky, but you wanted to know what power adder I would put on for less than $1000. If I blew it up, I would just pull it and rebuild it.

Can I get SRT with beats system?

The 2012 SRT models have their own performance sound system. Here are the stats from our press kit:

An available 900-watt, 19-speaker premium SRT performance audio surround-sound system from Harman Kardon®. The system offers world premier innovation, featuring a 32-volt TPS (Tracking Power Supply) 12-channel Class D amplifier that delivers outstanding acoustics and brings multi-dimensional, quality sound for all interior occupants.

The new system uses GreenEdge® speaker and amplifier technology to offer superior sound quality and high Sound Pressure Level outputs with minimum energy consumption. GreenEdge amplifiers alone outperform traditional amplifier efficiency by up to 55 percent, representing a net efficiency of more than 90 percent in some cases. The speakers are tuned for maximum efficiency and perfectly matched to the amplifier output.

The system’s 19 GreenEdge high-efficiency speakers include:

Seven 3.5-inch Unity Coaxial mid-range speakers with seven integrated tweeters located in the front dash, rear doors and rear deck
Two 6 x 9-inch subwoofers located in the front doors
Two 6 x 9-inch subwoofers in the rear deck
One 10-inch subwoofer in the rear deck

Can you specify, from experience, what the best conditions are to run any of the 2012 LX SRT cars at the drag strip? I'm interested to know things like optimal outside temperature, tire pressure, where to rev the engine to before leaving the tree, etc.
And, in a Challenger with the 6 speed, should you just go from a dead stop? Or bring the revs to a certain range and dump the clutch? ESP on, off, or full off? What has given you the best results?

Partial off and full off are fine for the drag strip. Full on will cut torque and grab the rear brakes, slowing you down.

Any difference in the Nag1 between the 2010 SRT8 vs. 2012 srt8's?

The torque converter is brazed and the drive plate is shot peened to give them a bit more strength. Other than that they are functionally the same.

Heard the clutches are a larger diameter as well?

That's a negative.

Without discussing future product, is it possible that a turbocharger instead of a supercharger is up for consideration? Seems to me that using a supercharger would only be following suit with Chevy and Ford (something that Chrysler has not made a habit of doing). Why not follow the likes of AMG, M Power, and Porsche who have seen tremendous performance gains by use of smaller displacement and turbochargers? Is the cost simply too great? Just seems to me that aiming at the German competitors would be more advantageous.

As you noted, we can't talk about what we may or may not do in the future, but turbocharging and supercharging are always up for consideration. That's the best we can do on the future product front.

I have an 06 Magnum SRT and at 7,100 miles had to have the pads replaced by the dealer.... a few hundred miles later a HUGE break squeal. Taking it back to the dealer they told me my rotors were SHOT ~ I don't even drive mine hard; ONLY a few WOT take offs. Anyhow they put new "slotted" rotors and new pads again at 8,000 miles. My question: I currently have just turned 11,000 miles... should I be wary of having MORE brake problems?Secondly, my car had a HUGE lag at WOT take offs and between each gear. After having it checked out; was told my computer program was written on 4/20/05... Does this sound plausible to you all? Would you suggest having something rewritten?

If your brakes gave you problems without the slots, the problem is you are driving it too easy. The brakes are performance components and are designed to be used. Drive an SRT like and old lady, and she won't like it. There are a few calibration upgrades available for your car. Have the dealer flash them in. For brake squeal, make sure the copper paste from Brembo is being used between the pads and pistons.

You must be talking about 1/4 mile times, because the 2010 Jeep SRT8 would beat the Challenger, 300, and Charger SRT8's in that year. At the SRT Track Experience in the 1/8 mile runs a couple of years ago the Jeep beat all the other SRT8's consistently!

Not past 75mph. The Jeep was developed from the get go with the AWD system, and it has better grip because of the wider tires.

Are the new Charger SRT8/300SRT8/GCSRT8 being used at the SRT Experience track days yet?

We don't believe the SRT Track Experience folks have taken delivery of their 2012 vehicles yet, you can check their website or give them a call.

I love the performance EVIC (I think that is what it is called). It would be nice in addition to what you already have on there to offer 0 to 30, 0 to 40, and 0 to 50 timers. That way we can easily test some performance changes and launches.

Glad you like it, we will keep your suggestions in mind.

I've taken my 09 Challenger SRT8 6 speed to the track a few times. I've heard axles are the weak link in these cars so I'm basically rolling it out and powering it up{stock F1's}. I'm averaging 13.2's and 13.3's with the shaker hood and hopnot being the only perf. modifications. I have dumped the clutch around 3200 rpm and got it down to 12.9 once. But it was a cold day at Atco. My questions are am I being to careful? Will this drivetrain handle harder launches? And are these times about right for this car?

You are looking pretty good here, time wise. Push her! 12.9 real good here. We test them at the track just for this!

With all that you have learned over the years with the 6.1 and had a chance to go back in time..... What would be some of the changes you would make to it?

Looking back is not very constructive. We focus on looking forward.

If you were looking at a 'off-road use only' situation.. is there any low hanging fruit as far as weight reduction goes... sure would like to drop a few hundred pounds? Also.. any chance of getting manual locks and crank windows on the aforementioned lightweight stripper srt8?

Have considered Jenny Craig? Seriously though, the first thing to go would be the interior, especially the rear view mirror. "What's behind you doesn't matter".

Thor77

Some nice info here, although I thought his answer on the 6.1 "looking back is not very constructive..." was a bit misplaced. If you don't evaluate what was good and bad about your previous product, how can you expect to make something better? And given how retro the Challenger is, it's a ridiculous statement to make in general.

I like how he had the balls to say 'nitrous' when asked about cheap power adders. Makes sense given the budget proposed in the question, just not what I'd expect from the company rep.