1,000 Mile Charger Hellcat Impressions

[blackbirdws6]

I eclipsed the 1,000 mile mark in the Hellcat. Can you tell I enjoy driving it? I figured I would write up a casual review of the car since I've had a good amount of seat time in it so far. In for the tl;dr remarks lol.


Pros
- Power is immediate thanks to the roots style blower
- Transmission is as smooth or aggressive as you would want
- Ride is comfortable but solid, no rattles, shakes or other bad chassis vibrations
- Exhaust sounds excellent even when the active valves are closed
- Fit and finish is pretty good. The leather is softer than what is in my wifes Lexus
- Heated/cooled front seats, heated steering wheel, heated rear seats
- Infotainment system via the 8.4" screen has a ton of features allowing for a lot of customization
- SRT performance pages provide a lot of good information
- Changing drive modes ACTUALLY changes the cars character quite a bit
- Brakes are VERY effective (at least on the street)


Cons
- The car is quite large/heavy (expected)
- Vision through the front windshield is partially limited by the hood scoop (I actually kind of like this though)
- You can't see any real corner of the car
- Had to have the wheels/tires rebalanced after taking delivery
- Brake dust is heavy even with very casual use
- 275mm width rear tires (Needs more tire)
- Tiny flappy paddles (at least they are aluminum)


Overall the car is actually more than I expected. The car shrinks in size the more you drive it so while she is a big girl, she can dance. The car corners flat in almost all driving modes (Street, Sport, Track) and the brakes inspire a lot of confidence. When I hit 500 miles, I immediately put my foot to the floor and was impressed with the power. From a highway pull, the car jumps out aggressively and pulls with authority as one would expect. The concerning thing is it does it rather smoothly meaning it's all too easy to break the law. With the Firebird, while its certainly faster, a WOT run includes a lot of drama. This is simply not the case with the cat. On a colder road and low speed, she will spin/wheel hop. I like the fact that you can hear the blower at low speeds with even mild throttle input. It adds to the experience which plays well in concert with the exhaust note. It's odd but as much fun as this car is to drive fast, I also enjoy to just put around in it.


In street mode, the suspension is very compliant, shifts are very smooth and it doddles along like any other car. Switching into sport, you feel the car shift higher up in the rpm band, it will engine brake/downshift more aggressively and the suspension tightens up. The cool thing about sport mode is it will let you spin the tires as long as the car is going reasonably straight. If it senses the back end stepping out, it will stop the fun. In track mode, everything is taunt, shifts are much more aggressive and downshifts are immediate. The sound the car makes in any of these mode when it shifts at WOT is intoxicating. You can watch all of the YouTube videos but it's something best experienced in person.


The interior is a nice place to be. My last new car was a 2008 model year and it was a couple steps behind many current standard and common options found on other cars at the time (bluetooth, Navi, etc). The UConnect system in the Chrysler cars is well sorted and full of customizable features. You can completely tailor the car to what you want it to do and when. If you remote start the car and its below a certain temp, it will kick on the heated seats/steering wheel, etc. On a hot day, it will turn on the vented seats. The mirrors can either tilt down when you reverse or you choose to leave them up. You can use "fat guy mode" when entering/exiting the vehicle when turning the car on/off (steering wheel goes up and away, seat pulls back). Your blind spot warning system can be nothing more than a light or you can have it beep at your if you signal while someone is hiding there. Interior space is just about equal to my 08 G8 but maybe a touch larger. I was always impressed with the interior space of the G8, especially the rear seats. The trunk is size-able as you expect and will pop all the way open when you command it from the key fob, button on the trunk or interior.


The styling of the interior is fairly simple but very effective. Redundant controls for most common functions are included below the touch screen. The steering wheel includes a host of controls like most cars in this class. The center screen between the tach/speedo can be customized as well. You can put any of the performance gauges from the big screen front and center. Some of the performance gauges include lateral, accel/decel G's, AFR, Boost, various timers, IC temp, etc.


Exterior styling is always subjective but I think the new body refresh comes alive in the SRT and up format (Scat Pack, SRT392, Hellcat). The differentiation between a Hellcat and a SRT392 would be the heat extractors on the hood, brakes, suspension, lack of fog lights/auto distance cruise control, wheels and minor badging. I'm not a fan of the new style cars in the R/T and lesser models.


Being a lighting nerd, I appreciate the car comes with bi-xenon HID projector headlights accented by LEDs as DRLs. The tail light section is lit with LEDs including the reverse and license plate lights. The interior lighting will get changed at some point since it's the typical halogen stuff in there. The headlight performance is good but I've seen/built better. I doubt I will take these headlights apart for an upgrade.


Since taking delivery, I've had the front bumper cover, headlights and side mirrors protected with Xpel Ultimate. I saw this stuff in action during my trip to SEMA and was convinced this would go on the car as soon as I took delivery. I am scheduling to have the hood done as well at some point. This was the only drawback to my G8 and wife's vehicle. We do a lot of highway travel and the front end took a lot of stone damage. The Xpel will protect the front end and comes with a 10 year warranty. If it gets scratched, it will literally heal itself with heat from the sun. I installed small fender guards (no not mud flaps) to protect the front and rear fenders. The body work tucks in quite a bit past the front wheels and you really notice how much garbage gets tossed up on the fenders. With these small guards, no issues. I removed the DODGE letters from the rear tail light area and swapped the SRT letters on the bottom of the trunk lid for a different one with the Hellcat emblem.


Other than that, I expect to get the windows tinted at some point and likely some small cosmetic touches. It will go to the drag strip next season to see what it will do. I will likely get a set of DR's and an upgraded driveshaft. I'm hoping the car is reliable but if not, that's why I have a warranty. My G8 was generally trouble free so we will see how this one does.


I will post some pics and videos at some point even though there are already a ton on the web already.

[popo8]

Now ur just rubbing it in. Lol.

seriously though... thats a great write up man. Have u joined any mopar or hellcat forums?

LTXtech.com IS my drug...
OWNER/ADMIN

[blackbirdws6]

Now ur just rubbing it in. Lol.

seriously though... thats a great write up man. Have u joined any mopar or hellcat forums?

LTXtech.com IS my drug...
OWNER/ADMIN

Just sharing some impressions of the car for those curious. Many folks have polar thoughts about the car so I figured a straight up and honest review might be something different to read.

I expect the same from you when you pick up your C7Z.

I've joined the Hellcat.org and LX forums so far. Like any forum, there are good folks but others make you scratch your head a bit. More than a few HC owners are VERY proud of their car and believe it to be untouchable in most cases. Many have a very strong bias against anything not Mopar based but you get that from any camp of product loyalists. The arguments between the guys buying the Scat Packs, SRT392 and HC are entertaining to say the least.

[popo8]

Hahah... someday ill have that c7z.

Thats what I was gonna ask, what are the members like in the hell cat community. U beat me 2 it tho.

LTXtech.com IS my drug...
OWNER/ADMIN

[harner]

I've been looking into the Hellcats since they came out. Not really because I'm dying to own one, but just because they simply deserve the attention. I'm really eager to hear negative reviews about them, but honestly it's few and far between. In a recent Youtube video, I watched an owner complain about their HC Challenger's front clip panel alignment (which I consider typical Dodge) and how the loose leather seats had unusual wear and creases/folds are developing due to how it was manufactured. The guy was pretty adamant about how careful he is with seats and how his 105lb girlfriend even caused premature wear in the passenger seat. The drivetrain and electronics are really solid, though.

Do all the HC's have a launch control feature like the SRT8 Jeeps? I assume so.

You have to love the douchebaggery on the forums. Check out CTSVowners sometime lol!

One thing I'm always intrigued by is the actual power output of the HC's. What kind of go-fast mods are people doing with these? Is everything else holding up to the added power?

[blackbirdws6]

I've been looking into the Hellcats since they came out. Not really because I'm dying to own one, but just because they simply deserve the attention. I'm really eager to hear negative reviews about them, but honestly it's few and far between. In a recent Youtube video, I watched an owner complain about their HC Challenger's front clip panel alignment (which I consider typical Dodge) and how the loose leather seats had unusual wear and creases/folds are developing due to how it was manufactured. The guy was pretty adamant about how careful he is with seats and how his 105lb girlfriend even caused premature wear in the passenger seat. The drivetrain and electronics are really solid, though.

Do all the HC's have a launch control feature like the SRT8 Jeeps? I assume so.

You have to love the douchebaggery on the forums. Check out CTSVowners sometime lol!

One thing I'm always intrigued by is the actual power output of the HC's. What kind of go-fast mods are people doing with these? Is everything else holding up to the added power?

Negative items I hear about most commonly include:

- 2015 cars had a top radiator hose come off. Dumped coolant.

- 2015 some radiators split...dumping coolant

- Loose leather on the Laguna leather. As you mentioned, that particular YouTube person pointed it out. That guy actually annoys me quite a bit. Most of his vids are click bait. He posted a wrecked Hellcat with the title that his car got hit. You watch the vid and he got a dent on his door.

- Paint issues. Some guys have some pretty terrible paint issues. Dirt under the paint, sanding marks, etc. One guy had a damn hand print under the clear lol. Sucks but mine is thankfully really good IMO.

- Engines have been pretty good but a few ruined motors have cropped up. A few had a head gasket issue. The other is how they handled the crank pulley. Rather than simply doing a key or pin setup, they use a magic diamond washer. Some engines have spun the pull on the crank ruining it. Dodge replaces the entire engine.

- Other odd things are complaints about the volume or sound quality of the top level Harmon Kardon stereo. I didn't opt for it since it was $2k and for that much, I expect rave reviews. I'm very pleased with the Alpine system. Head unit is the same regardless of the system chosen.

- Snapped driveshafts here and there with a sticky tire. It's a 2 piece design which I will likely replace at some point when I put a sticky tire on the car.

I know this is quite the laundry list but like a anything else, bad news travels faster than good. Many are beating on these cars with no issue. Hopefully mine stays that way but that's why I have a warranty.

As far as mods, intakes are proving to do nothing except add sound unless you add more boost via pullies. Upper and lowers are available and these cars can be tuned. Tunes next around 30rwhp or so. Headers are needed unless you add boost. Common mods are simply DRs and a better driveshaft. The auto trans is proving to be a beast and so is the rear. Fastest charger to date is running 9.7 @ 141 with no other power adders...bolt ons and full weight we are told.

[blackbirdws6]

Oh and yes there is a launch control feature but it's not all that effective I'm told. I will play with it when the weather is warmer.

[harner]

That level of detail is something you won't find in any particular video or blog. Thanks!

I'm not surprised with the couple issues here and there. Look at the GM cars. The LS platform is riddled with factory defects. Hell, I'm waiting for my oil pump in the 5th gen to give out any day now lol.

I'm impressed with the HC's. I love that they stepped up their game and made GM and Ford have to do the same. Exciting times we live in when you can drive a 700+hp car every day, reliably and it is fully warranted and stock from the manufacturer. Look at all the technology in there as well.

I heard the opposite about the launch control, like its almost required for them to be effective. You'll have to throw a 315 on and play around a bit lol.

If you bring it to the dyno day, you could probably charge $20 a ride haha.

[blackbirdws6]

That level of detail is something you won't find in any particular video or blog. Thanks!

I'm not surprised with the couple issues here and there. Look at the GM cars. The LS platform is riddled with factory defects. Hell, I'm waiting for my oil pump in the 5th gen to give out any day now lol.

I'm impressed with the HC's. I love that they stepped up their game and made GM and Ford have to do the same. Exciting times we live in when you can drive a 700+hp car every day, reliably and it is fully warranted and stock from the manufacturer. Look at all the technology in there as well.

I heard the opposite about the launch control, like its almost required for them to be effective. You'll have to throw a 315 on and play around a bit lol.

If you bring it to the dyno day, you could probably charge $20 a ride haha.

A 305 DR fits without any issues so that's likely what I will go with. I will see if I can find a stock replacement pair of wheels to toss them on but right now, folks want crazy money for the brass monkey color wheels.

I plan on bringing it to the dyno day since I know generally what the bird will put down. Wish I could bring both lol.

[popo8]

Its registered for dyno day already!!! Wooo hooo!

LTXtech.com IS my drug...
OWNER/ADMIN