First experience with a Hellcat owner today..

[machsmith]

Did I say it was on top NOW? I'm not asking YOU to compare actual cars YOU'VE heard about, but I will. From what I've seen posted here and elsewhere, I TRUST that Ford will get the job done. If for some reason it doesn't happen my wheaties will still be consumed ;)

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[Qtrhorse]

Did I say it was on top NOW? I'm not asking YOU to compare actual cars YOU'VE heard about, but I will. From what I've seen posted here and elsewhere, I TRUST that Ford will get the job done. If for some reason it doesn't happen my wheaties will still be consumed ;)

No Wheaties for you until it happens !

 

[machsmith]

Yeah, im not a FULL fanboy but i do like ford among the other 2. I could change... but IF things pan out the way im expecting them to, i wont be budging for years to come.
If anything ill convert to full fanboy. Even though i wouldnt mind having an exotic in the garage soon as well. 99.44% fanboy i guess...
I need a different breakfast food. Maybe Fruit Loops lol ;)

 

[newmoon]

That's all that hellcat is good for, making noise and going in a straight line....

The Hellcat will pull you on basically everything street related, as well as the strip which up until this GT350 came along is what nearly all mustang owners cared about.

The GT350 will win in the curves though. Question is where is 95% of your driving done? So the Hellcat decided they wanted a car that could dominate 95% of the time.

 

[Gigantor]

Interesting comment on Hellcat Vs


I've been to 2 private SRT Helcat events, at near sealevel in 65-68 degree air, with 3 Hellcats and 2 of SRT's top drivers, the Hellcat on street oem tires could barely run, 11.9@122 mph and a best 0-60 mph of 4.3 sec. That 10.8@125 run was on slicks, on a very heavily prepped track with engineers spraying CO2 on the intercooler between runs, plus 2 psi more than stock, basically about 825 crank hp... Mobey Dick is not to far off. Also, many of us that have had any years racing Omar products could not do better than 12.2@121 mph on oem rubber, no matter how warm the tires were. The cars weight, gearing and poor aerodynamics all contribute. It won't take nearly as much hp for a much more aerodynamic, 700+ lb lighter car with a god driver to handily beat a Hellcat. A GT500 on drag radials with its stock 662 hp runs 10.7@130 all day. A new 2015 5.0 supercharged (under development at FordRacing), ran 10.68 & 10.77 @129 &131 mph, with just 625 hp..... 700 lbs lighter and superior aero with gearing will roast a higher hp vehicle all day. I was a SRT guy till 2013. Not anymore. Especially a vehicle advertising a HEMI, that's not a real HEMI at all.

 

[Nick]

Well those guys next to him were the type of people who wouldn't back off unless you played in their game. So he came up with this solution where they would leave him alone without any more confrontation

[MENTION=12783]Anthony@HTM[/MENTION]

I just cracked up that you actually described the thought process behind this scene. :lol:

 

[Next Phase]

Ford Fan Boi Much?

Some of you are ridiculous...lol

 

[torque124]

The only thing I would buy from Ford is a Mustang... nothing else, never ever. Does that make me a Ford fan boy ?

 

[Next Phase]

The only thing I would buy from Ford is a Mustang... nothing else, never ever. Does that make me a Ford fan boy ?

I didn't see you make any ridiculous comments, but if the shoe fits? :shrug:

I was referring to some of the hate that gets thrown around towards anything not Ford. (like the Hellcat)

Some of you should drive one... It's a fucking blast. Effortless speed, comfortable, 707 hp and 100k mile warranty. It's a boat, but that works great for daily driver duty. :cheers:

 

[Kurac]

Ford Fan Boi Much?

Some of you are ridiculous...lol

Truth

 

[Lexluther]

(Long read but worth it if you really want a first hand objective account of both cars by an owner of both)

I have both cars the GT350 and Hellcat Challenger I bought both within 2 days of each other and neither have over 3k miles on them. Frankly I am tired of the comparison from both sides of the fence the Hellcat is a drag car and GT350 a track car period. Once the GT500 comes out a fair comparison can be made.

I have beaten Hellcats in my GT350 and beaten GT350's in my Hellcat so on the street its all subjective to the conditions both weather and road conditions and driver.

As far as the comment with pro drivers, co'2 and prepped track again that means nothing. When the Hellcat came out nobody but the factory drivers could launch to get the factory numbers I break the tires loose at 60mph putting my foot down. The problem is the car has 275/40R20 on on 4's and the shitty Pirelli Zero's that have been out for 10yrs or so unchanged the GT350 has 305's in the back super sports so no comparison. The max a Hellcat can run is 305's with 315 sticking out like the "R" spec Shelby.

If there was a race between both cars each running the same tire than either side can say something.

Racing both in stock trim



The Hellcat goes 202mph so not sure about the comment of aero at top speed. The fastest I've gone in the GT350 was 157 and I started puckering as the car was hoping over the bumps sounded like a jets ski engine revving up and down as it goes over the waves. The GT350 is a track car period and not meant to go fast on public roads. The Hellcat is a whale on the track so forget even making that comparison. I about shat my pants when I went through a serpentine road and crested a curve at 135 the car wondered outside its lane and I had to feather on and off gas and brake to keep her line but I can do 157 all day going straight like its 80mph.

The Hellcat never launches at anything more than 20% throttle off the line line than you hit 40mph give it 40% than 60mph give is 75% than after 70mph your all in. The GT350 simply uses better traction and the drivetrain your doing 130mph in 3rd at 7k rpm all in after the first 20mph and flat out until the end.

Also remember that Hellcats have 830bhp and were detuned to 707bhp for emissions. All its takes is a supercharger pulley change to gain the power back and 123 extra hp makes a huge difference. Guys also changing gears going from 2:73 to 3:09 to bring that top speed down and engine in the usable range to get that extra gear shift and running drag radials 100% of the time. Going up against a stock Hellcat is a 30% possibility due to how cheaply you can mod them. The fastest Hellcat is running 8's on the stock engine with just bolt on's and NOS 1300hp at the wheels. Look up Tim Barth Tuning formerly MPH Tuning who made his claim to fame tuning Mustangs and only recently has been trying out his tuning skills on Mopars. A cobra jet runs 8's at 100k per pop and not street legal. Now road track work you might as well take grannies buick as your not going to exceed those limits in a Hellcat and the car is not meant for it.

The GT350 shouldn't be a drag car and I know 1000hp is realized with the Hellion turbo thread and a boost controller can dial up hp up and down. With that said I hate driving the Hellcat on stock tires you just spin everywhere and the car is loose around corners due to the torque. I would hate for such a wonderful handling car like the GT350 turn into that. However the Hellcat Nav performance page lets you go down to 500hp while using the red key and than turn on eco mode to limit torque the car is manageable but at that point you should of saved the 15k and bought the next one down the 392hemi that gets you the 500hp or put the stickies on the rear of a Hellcat so look out for those mismatched tires if your going up against one.

Have yet to see the new GT500. If that was a car with Hellcat engine levels with GT350 handling and traction I would sell both cars and buy it.

Trump stopped the Dodge Challenger/Charger move from Ontario Canada to Mexico so the chassis is now going to live on into 2020 making it least competitive and probably at the back of the pack being the oldest. The 2018 was going to be the parent companies Alfa Romero Giulia chassis the giorgio rebodied to a dodge look and made in mexico. A lighter car with the same V6 twin turbo but cranked up since we have looser emission than europe. Thats why guys jumped off the Hellcat list and moved over to the turbo list or cancelled and waited and why Hellcats can now be had in inventory and at MSRP, but thats all vaporwearn now.

Dodge is moving to introduce a styling refresh of the same bodied car with flares called the ADR "American drag racer". All cars but the Hellcat gets All Wheel drive but all do get the fender flares to stuff huge tires dodge learned its lesson. I only mentioned the Dodge stuff here on the Mustang forum so that I hope Ford does a similar move considering the market trend of going boosted and AWD for the GT500. The new Camaro ZL1 has the Z06 corvette supercharged engine which easily goes up to 800hp. Ford being the lightest car really needs to get at least 700-800hp to lead in front and put that down in a manageable way without loosing any of the handling the GT350 has and nobody would want to buy anything else.

 

[Mustang_Scotty]

Lol, had to poke a little fun. In all seriousness though, the hellcat is a hell of a car. At least, in its element.

You are right, the HC is a hell of a car. I traded mine in for my 350.

 

[Next Phase]

I disagree with some of what you stated above... I have nearly 22k miles on my cat and drive the crap out of it (in all seasons). True, it spins tires at 70 mph, but you can get power to the ground with some practice and in the right settings. On the street, use street suspension and street traction and street transmission setting (for best launches). Sport and track "traction" setting allows too much wheel spin. Only time I've lost on the street was against a Tesla P85D and I had it in track "traction" mode... Spun off the line.

Additionally, the video you posted with the M6 Hellcat is pretty bad. (Hope that wasn't you driving it). I'm sure you notice how the cat dives between shifts?

Anyone that loses to a GT350 while driving a Hellcat is doing something wrong. My GT350 R just hooks, but doesn't have anywhere near enough power to walk away from my Hellcat.

On the track, the Hellcat isn't as horrible as some say...it actually handles really well for it's size. (My experience is at VIR which is a fast track). The issues is putting any real power down in corners....it just spins. Under tired; the weak point of the car.

Totally agree that the GT350 and HC are two entirely different vehicles and are not in the same category - despite being pony cars. GT350 is a track / sports car IMHO, while the HC is grand touring muscle car. Both are awesome and fortunate to own both.

I can't wait to get this damn recall taken care of so I can get the R to VIR!

 

[machsmith]

Its what makes the gt500 and ZL1 a great buy, It will excel at strip and track. I'd be suprised if the next gt500 it slower (around most tracks) than a gt350/R. The damn thing can't come soon enough.
I had problems getting the meat to the ground in my 14'GT500 with 760 HP but from a roll the thing just pulled and pulled it would have roasted my 350. The gt500 in 3rd from 50 to 130 was one of the fastest cars I have ever been in. Crazy quick.

 

[Lexluther]

I disagree with some of what you stated above... I have nearly 22k miles on my cat and drive the crap out of it (in all seasons). True, it spins tires at 70 mph, but you can get power to the ground with some practice and in the right settings. On the street, use street suspension and street traction and street transmission setting (for best launches). Sport and track "traction" setting allows too much wheel spin. Only time I've lost on the street was against a Tesla P85D and I had it in track "traction" mode... Spun off the line.

Additionally, the video you posted with the M6 Hellcat is pretty bad. (Hope that wasn't you driving it). I'm sure you notice how the cat dives between shifts?

Anyone that loses to a GT350 while driving a Hellcat is doing something wrong. My GT350 R just hooks, but doesn't have anywhere near enough power to walk away from my Hellcat.

On the track, the Hellcat isn't as horrible as some say...it actually handles really well for it's size. (My experience is at VIR which is a fast track). The issues is putting any real power down in corners....it just spins. Under tired; the weak point of the car.

Totally agree that the GT350 and HC are two entirely different vehicles and are not in the same category - despite being pony cars. GT350 is a track / sports car IMHO, while the HC is grand touring muscle car. Both are awesome and fortunate to own both.

I can't wait to get this damn recall taken care of so I can get the R to VIR!

The vids are not me and in the commentary he stated he spun off launch and didn't do a good job driving but still came out in front of the GT350 was the point.

On the road course it depends. You mentioned high speed track and no issues but thats probably gradual sweeping corners. My issue is the weight transfer pushes the tires in fast tight turns I mentioned the 135mph pucker I had. the other is the initial turn in isn't like the GT350 there is some slop or give thats taken up at first you have to set up for the turn while the GT350 you just do it. The speedlogix billet upper helps in that regard to tighten up the vague 1/8th turn of the wheel but the real problem is the crap Pirelli zero's which I had to pay extra for. Your all-seasons probably grip better than the summer zero's that are 10yr old tech. You have the Conti DW all season right? Thats a relatively newer tire and certainly much newer than the zero's.

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