I recently sold my challenger hellcat and thought I would share my impressions for anyone that is thinking of one of these. Unstructured thoughts in no particular order:
· It is pretty easy to make power with the 6.2 (up to a certain level - more on that). Pulley/injectors/intake will put you 740 on pump and well over 800 on E or meth. The IHI supercharger is a hell of a stock unit.
· But you will need it because they are pigs. You will feel like you are driving a pick up.
· The 8A is awesome. Hell of a transmission and is perfectly suited for this platform.
· The driving experience is not that great. They are numb and feel totally disconnected from the road. If you want feed back or want to be connected to the road you may be disappointed.
· Aftermarket is not that great. For instance there are a million supercharger options for Mustang while there are only two for HC and they are arguably worse than stock.
· While getting to 800 whp is pretty easy I do not think these are that great for mega power. You can make >1200 whp standing on your head with a trinity or coyote but you will not see many HCs at this level. There was a max effort 426 stroker with a 4.5 whipple in the shop that did my Shelby and I think it made ~1000. A good number for sure but it did not blow me away.
· If you are looking for a daily or need kids they are great. The trunk is friggin huge. I did a $300 costco grocery run and fit it all in the trunk no problem. Back seats are surprisingly large.
· Ride and experience is very comfy. These are labeled as muscle cars but are just as much a classic GT. The challenger is a poor mans version of the S63 IMO and arguably better.
· Despite reputation of Dodge quality being trash they are well built. Solid, materials, build, fit, finish are all 100%.
· Enthusiast community is totally different than Ford/GM. For instance most popular “first mod” section on Hellcat.org was mudflaps. These cars attract guys that have no experience with building cars and want stock 707 hp and that is it. I am sure this is not totally representative but all the guys I met in the street with HCs were basic AF.
· Also there are a ton of guys that cannot afford these that get them. Be very careful if you are buying a used one. Many of these are beat to shit and used condition is all over the map.
My HC did not really do much for me. It sat undriven for 6 weeks before I sold it and do not miss it. YMMV.
· It is pretty easy to make power with the 6.2 (up to a certain level - more on that). Pulley/injectors/intake will put you 740 on pump and well over 800 on E or meth. The IHI supercharger is a hell of a stock unit.
· But you will need it because they are pigs. You will feel like you are driving a pick up.
· The 8A is awesome. Hell of a transmission and is perfectly suited for this platform.
· The driving experience is not that great. They are numb and feel totally disconnected from the road. If you want feed back or want to be connected to the road you may be disappointed.
· Aftermarket is not that great. For instance there are a million supercharger options for Mustang while there are only two for HC and they are arguably worse than stock.
· While getting to 800 whp is pretty easy I do not think these are that great for mega power. You can make >1200 whp standing on your head with a trinity or coyote but you will not see many HCs at this level. There was a max effort 426 stroker with a 4.5 whipple in the shop that did my Shelby and I think it made ~1000. A good number for sure but it did not blow me away.
· If you are looking for a daily or need kids they are great. The trunk is friggin huge. I did a $300 costco grocery run and fit it all in the trunk no problem. Back seats are surprisingly large.
· Ride and experience is very comfy. These are labeled as muscle cars but are just as much a classic GT. The challenger is a poor mans version of the S63 IMO and arguably better.
· Despite reputation of Dodge quality being trash they are well built. Solid, materials, build, fit, finish are all 100%.
· Enthusiast community is totally different than Ford/GM. For instance most popular “first mod” section on Hellcat.org was mudflaps. These cars attract guys that have no experience with building cars and want stock 707 hp and that is it. I am sure this is not totally representative but all the guys I met in the street with HCs were basic AF.
· Also there are a ton of guys that cannot afford these that get them. Be very careful if you are buying a used one. Many of these are beat to shit and used condition is all over the map.
My HC did not really do much for me. It sat undriven for 6 weeks before I sold it and do not miss it. YMMV.