Isn't that why the CHP bought 5.0 LX Coupes & Z28's back in the 90's- they couldn't keep up long enough for backup??
Police Charger Hemi Interceptor
- Thread starter Wildpony
- Start date
lawman85: what agency are you with?
A 5.7 Hemi in the Charger will get a lot better than 8 or 9 miles per gallon. They are rated the same as a 4.6 Crown Victoria. Heck, even if it was all 8 cylinders 100% of the time, it wouldn't get 8 or 9 miles per gallon because my truck gets much better than that and consider its 3.92 geared with over 1000 lbs more weight to lug around.
The only thing that will keep Charger from absolutely destroying Crown Victoria in the fleet sales is dependent on how well then cars hold up in severe service. However, there was a article I read one time that said the Hemi engines were ran hard on the dynos for thousands of hours for endurance prior to production to test for flaws. If anything likely fails on the Charger fleet cars it would probably be something like suspension or brakes but probably not the powertrains or drivetrains. However, the press releases say the Charger Enforcer will get enhanced brakes and suspension superior to the civilian version.
The only thing that will keep Charger from absolutely destroying Crown Victoria in the fleet sales is dependent on how well then cars hold up in severe service. However, there was a article I read one time that said the Hemi engines were ran hard on the dynos for thousands of hours for endurance prior to production to test for flaws. If anything likely fails on the Charger fleet cars it would probably be something like suspension or brakes but probably not the powertrains or drivetrains. However, the press releases say the Charger Enforcer will get enhanced brakes and suspension superior to the civilian version.
Lawman85
Banned
Traveler said:
Wanna bet on that? The best I have been able to get out of a Crown Vic in one shift is 11mpg. My wife's Durango averages 14 - 15 mpg when she drives it carefully. If I drove that Durango the way we have to drive the Crown Vics, it may get 5 or 6 mpg.
The multidisplacement is a mute point in a police car. That system only works while cruising at a set speed, we never do that. We are always accelerating, braking, turning, stopping, for 8 hours straight. The MDS would never be activated in my area.
Traveler said:
but if the electrical gremlins come out
this DOD technology is new. cadillac axed it after one year because of the issues
Lawman85 said:
I guess time will tell if the Dodge will be more durable. I believe that the five speed auto in the Dodge is a carry-over from Mercedes Benz.
As much as I am a Ford guy, I have to think that it is a better piece than the transmission ford is using. I think the Dodge will handle a hell of a lot better to, much of it's suspension comes from the previous generation E-class. ;-) I also thing that it has an IRS. And as far as fuel economy is concerned... I get terrible milage in my crown vic. I burn about 3/4 of a tank in a 12 hour shift, having driven only 100 or so miles.Vancouver83LTD said:
Well, onboard computer management has vastly improved since the early 80s though. There's no reason to think it won't work because so far, there have been no reported problems with the DoD system. In fact, its said that it will soon be implemented in the truck-based Hemi vehicles.
Lawman, I guess its safe to assume that you're working mostly urban areas and thoroughfares the way it sounds to me. The CVs will probably continue to be a favorite in the urban areas and that's where recently the Impala has been cutting into Ford's business. Likewise, the Charger with the standard 250 hp 3.5 V6 will probably find more appeal in urban use but in all honesty I imagine the CVs retain and edge due to the 4.6's torque. Still, that hasn't stopped many agencies from buying Chevys. One local city police department phased out nearly their entire Ford stock with all-new Impalas. With the Hemi Enforcers, I'd bet a lot of sheriff's departments and highway patrol units will value the versatility, including the benefit of fuel economy at a more constant cruising speed while having gobs more power on hand for the highways and interstates than either CV or Impala.
Lawman85
Banned
Our state patrol wouldn't see an advantage in the MDS either.... you have to understand what we do to a car on a daily basis... let's say we are doing stationary radar. You sit idle on the side of the road (poor gas mileage) until you get someone blasting past you at say... oh 80 mph, then you have to romp on it up to about 120mph (very poor gas mileage) until you catch him. Then you sit idle writing the citation, then release him... and do it all over again. The MDS would never come into play that way. Very few officers are cruising at a constant speed for more than minute or two before speeding up or slowing down. My only point is that agecnies will have to spend alot more money on gas and the MDS system isn't a selling point for a police interceptor.
It was my understanding that the engine shuts down four cylinders when at idle as well and the other four fire almost instanteously when needed. If that is so and you do a lot of idling, I would think that there would be at least some benefit. That said, doesn't some of the other added benefits go along with the new Charger such as the electronic stablity control and the electronic emergency braking assist?
Lawman85
Banned
The stability control and emergency braking assist may be beneficial. If they put the 13" brakes on them like they have on the Durango's then I'm sold on it. Brakes seem to be the biggest issue with Crown Vics, they fade very quickly in a chase. If the MDS activates at idle then it may offset the mpg loss from us beating the hell out of it, so it would probably be the same as a Crown Vic mpg wise. Of course, they would have to run it on 87 octane since the rest of the fleet uses it. My only other issue with the Dodge's would be their quality and reliability. If they have solved those quality problems then it would be a superior car to the Crown Vic, but Dodge will have to prove themselves to some agencies, which won't be easy.
My Dodge 1500 w/ 4.6 gets 12-15/gallon. Hemi gas mileage is about the same and the charger would weigh less.
Looks pretty sick to me. And no (alleged) exploding gas tank issue.
Looks pretty sick to me. And no (alleged) exploding gas tank issue.
Really to the CV's credit, I think the whole gas tank issue has been probably blown way out of proportion. Certainly, the officers that have had severe life-changing injuries may not think so or the families of those that have perished. However, there have been several rear-enders around here out on the interstates with the NCSHP troopers and none have caught fire. I've seen one or two of these CVs where the rear bumper was pushed up to just behind the front seat!! Perhaps those late revisions with the kevlar lined trunk kits or the bolt fixes underneath the car has solved a lot of the fire issue. Still, the bad press lingers about like that of the plagued 99 Cobra's power issue.
If you look at the last few years of redesigned Chrysler products, the quality and reliablity looks worlds better and I think they realize that the Charger Enforcer will fall on its face if they fail law enforcement with quality problems. In fact, the press release I've read about it says that they questioned LEOs and tried to consider every request to make the Charger the superior pursuit vehicle. We'll see.
For those who want to see some interior pics of the new Charger Enforcer, you can see them on www.allpar.com which has a feature article on its main page. I don't think they allow image linking so that's why I didn't just post it.
If you look at the last few years of redesigned Chrysler products, the quality and reliablity looks worlds better and I think they realize that the Charger Enforcer will fall on its face if they fail law enforcement with quality problems. In fact, the press release I've read about it says that they questioned LEOs and tried to consider every request to make the Charger the superior pursuit vehicle. We'll see.
For those who want to see some interior pics of the new Charger Enforcer, you can see them on www.allpar.com which has a feature article on its main page. I don't think they allow image linking so that's why I didn't just post it.
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What I can say is that the Hemi is no joke and actually gets "decent" gas mileage from what I have heard from "Dodge people" etc.
I think a 4 door Charger is a bit ridiculous,...but it seems to "work" for some reason. If only is could be had with a stick!
That would be worth looking into.
I think a 4 door Charger is a bit ridiculous,...but it seems to "work" for some reason. If only is could be had with a stick!
That would be worth looking into.
Ford needs to drop the 5.4's and the 4.6's and produce SOHC 427's again. no competition.
Ford could put 5.4 in cop cars and now that the bar is raised, they will have to come up with a hotter car.
toomanymustangs said:
How about just the DOHC 4.6 in the Mach 1? Or even better, the SC motor from the '03 Cobra
Where I think you might see a savings gas mileage wise with the Charger is in the ease of acceleration. If someone flies by at 85, and you're doing 100 in 13-14 seconds, there's no need to top out the car like there was in CV. Less time accelerating at high speed=less gas burned. To get a CV up to 120 must take what, 50 seconds? Maybe more? If you didn't need to accelerate for as long with the charger, wouldn't that save a lot of gas?
Lawman85
Banned
ChuckV said:How about just the DOHC 4.6 in the Mach 1? Or even better, the SC motor from the '03 Cobra
Where I think you might see a savings gas mileage wise with the Charger is in the ease of acceleration. If someone flies by at 85, and you're doing 100 in 13-14 seconds, there's no need to top out the car like there was in CV. Less time accelerating at high speed=less gas burned. To get a CV up to 120 must take what, 50 seconds? Maybe more? If you didn't need to accelerate for as long with the charger, wouldn't that save a lot of gas?
The motor uses more fuel to create more horsepower. I've never timed it but it doesn't take 50 seconds to get a c.v. up to 120. To catch someone doing 85 you'll still have to run around 120, no matter the car.
I dunno, based on my experience merging onto highways in my cars... if someone is going slower than you are very, very quickly, that's less time you need to spend accelerating. You know better than I do what the situation is, it's just in my experience less time spent accelerating=better gas mileage, especially with the extreme difference in power between these two cars. Based on all the test results I've seen, the CV is between 28 and 32 seconds to 100. I couldn't find figures up to 120, the only ones I found were "between 1.5 and 2 miles".
I guess my main question is, why aren't you more enthusiastic about this as a LEO? The performance of the Crown Vic is a joke. Looking up it's performance statistics on websites that list "closest competitors" brings up a list of base model economy cars. If a big part of my job was chasing down people going fast, I'd want a MUCH more capable vehicle. The braking power is particularly frightening. I've seen statistics between 140-165ft 60-0 quoted. That's just unacceptable, in my opinion. Given how close police officers often need to travel to the car infront of them, I think it's irresonsible for the state to permit vehicles with such terrible braking characteristics to be used. Would concerns over gas mileage REALLY result in the CV coming out ahead over the Charger? If so, why not switch out to Honda Accord V6 Hybrids. Cheaper than a Crown Vic, better gas-mileage by two or three times, mid 14s in the upper 90s vs mid 16s in the low 80s, 20-40ft better stopping distance from 60 depending on what figures you use. Handling is probably a wash. If I were you, I'd be demanding one of the many higher performance, safter, less expensive vehicles for use at your job. I'd back you up, as I'm sure any citizen knowledgable about cars would.
I guess my main question is, why aren't you more enthusiastic about this as a LEO? The performance of the Crown Vic is a joke. Looking up it's performance statistics on websites that list "closest competitors" brings up a list of base model economy cars. If a big part of my job was chasing down people going fast, I'd want a MUCH more capable vehicle. The braking power is particularly frightening. I've seen statistics between 140-165ft 60-0 quoted. That's just unacceptable, in my opinion. Given how close police officers often need to travel to the car infront of them, I think it's irresonsible for the state to permit vehicles with such terrible braking characteristics to be used. Would concerns over gas mileage REALLY result in the CV coming out ahead over the Charger? If so, why not switch out to Honda Accord V6 Hybrids. Cheaper than a Crown Vic, better gas-mileage by two or three times, mid 14s in the upper 90s vs mid 16s in the low 80s, 20-40ft better stopping distance from 60 depending on what figures you use. Handling is probably a wash. If I were you, I'd be demanding one of the many higher performance, safter, less expensive vehicles for use at your job. I'd back you up, as I'm sure any citizen knowledgable about cars would.
Ive seen vics take some serious faucking abuse and keep going. One guy that i talked to had 450k on the original motor and tranny in his vic :bowdown:
Wildpony said:
They drove the shit out of their Z28's and 5.0 Notch Backs before that so I dont see why they'ed get bent out of shape over premium now. Hell they probably spend more on 87 driving those Crown Vics. Besides, all paying for premium means, is that they have to pull more people over to get the revenue they need to pay for gas. (odd how that works)
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