GT350 vs Hellcat: different class or competitors?

[BluByeU]

Got a chance to briefly speak with a Hellcat owner last week. Laid-back, cool fella, younger than me Told me he picked his up in Kansas for 60k. We are in SoCal, said Cali dealers wanted too much for Hellcats. Car sounded very healthy, auto tranny...he said it was stock and he was only thinking of putting a CAI on it. Though it's been said multiple times on this forum it IS a great time to be a gear-head Still happy with my purchase though :ford:

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[Blk2015GT]

the 707 HP (which is less than many dyno's indicate). They did a hell of a job engineering this car to take all that power. Anyone who tracks a Challenger adds fatter tires. You can easily add 315's. Any larger needs a fender pull. I have friends who track 392's. If they are serious, they get better tires, add strut braces, subframe connectors and lower the car on better coilover shocks. The car is big.....

But does alright. Challenger owners did not buy them to be solely track cars. They are multi purpose cars that can go on a track. As for strait line performance, I would race a GTPP in my SRT with confidence. I run 305's in the rear (275's front). I don't know anyone who drag races or races on curved tracks that uses stock tires. I also do not know any serious 392 or HC drivers who are unable to keep the tires from breaking loose. Just need to get used to all that Q. The best thing a Challenger does is LONG drives. 6 hours in the seat will not cause any aches. With sport mode off, the car has a very nice ride.

The Challenger is a nice looking car. To big/boaty for my taste personally to own one.

But the Challenger still has the same problem the Camaro has; even more so. A high entry price into the competitive level V8.

To get into a 392 you still need to lay out base price of $38,995 (it has a $1k gas guzzler tax) before destination. You can get into a base GT for $32,395 before destination. The base 1SS Camaro is $36,300 before destination for comparison.

The Mustang still has a LOT of money room to compete with the 392; even more than the Camaro. $6,500 is a LOT of go-fast parts.

 

[icormba]

Had lunch with 1688 combined Horse Power today!

 

[Voodooo]

Had lunch with 1688 combined Horse Power today!

Jesus look how big the challenger is!!!! Oink oink.

 

[Tm@c1965]

That is what makes it so nice...

like a 70 Charger, or a 69 Chevelle, or a GTX. Driving big muscle is fun. The car looks the best of the 3 IMO.

 

[73MachI]

They're all good looking cars. I particularly like the Challenger. But I like the Mustang even more...

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Had lunch with 1688 combined Horse Power today!

You eat at In-and-Out too much, it'll be 1688lbs of combined driver weight ...

 

[Caballus]

So Close

Yeah, yeah, I know. Sled, pig, oink, different class, etc. Got it.

Beyond the obvious (?), wanted to provide an update for interested parties. Got till July'ish to hit 200mph on open road (Authobahn), and then the car goes back to the States where a dyno or a drive to the salt flats are about the only real options, and neither compares. Best chance is going to be outside of Berlin in June, but may hit the mark before that. Note the time. Always at night when the road is clear.

Again, ain't a GT350, and not comparing. But still something any car enthusiast would write home about...

Sustained a little above 130mph on Authobahn in the GT350. Will wait until broken in to go beyond that, which will happen soon.

 

[Norm Peterson]

And has anyone ever seen a Challenger on a racetrack? It's the only car out of all the American sports/muscle cars that never makes an appearance.

Saw one, once that I know of. Not running in my run group though.

It's not that the H'cat is so terrible at cornering, just that it's so unbalanced in favor of the straight-line guys' preference that I can't see these specific two cars as true competitors. Being at or near the pointy ends of different individual strengths isn't competition.

A re-imagined AAR 'Cuda version of the Challenger could be a different story though.


Norm

 

[z460]

HellCat a nice car when it's not in the shop getting the transmission fixed and the GT350 a track car Ford should have made the GT50R with a Paxton Supercharger like they did in 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT

 

[9secondko]

Yeah, yeah, I know. Sled, pig, oink, different class, etc. Got it.

Beyond the obvious (?), wanted to provide an update for interested parties. Got till July'ish to hit 200mph on open road (Authobahn), and then the car goes back to the States where a dyno or a drive to the salt flats are about the only real options, and neither compares. Best chance is going to be outside of Berlin in June, but may hit the mark before that. Note the time. Always at night when the road is clear.

Again, ain't a GT350, and not comparing. But still something any car enthusiast would write home about...

Sustained a little above 130mph on Authobahn in the GT350. Will wait until broken in to go beyond that, which will happen soon.

Awesome.

My brother is a HUGE fan of the HellCat Challenger. But he wants the [those we don't speak of] aftermarket tuner version. LOL

Adding even more power...

As if it needed that.

 

[Norm Peterson]

HellCat a nice car when it's not in the shop getting the transmission fixed

That's scary, especially in light of the difficulties my daughter has had with her 2013 Dodge (different model).

and the GT350 a track car Ford should have made the GT50R with a Paxton Supercharger like they did in 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT

Maybe that was the thinking back when Mustang-sized cars were not expected to handle all that well - just give them more power and hope that the straights are long enough.

Today, the added weight up high and up front is a bigger negative because handling has become more balanced in cars this size, and forced induction levels of power don't get you around the corners any faster.

For the dragstrip kind of track car, FI is fine. But you don't need (and probably wouldn't like) a GT350's road course oriented suspension for that.


Norm

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