2019 Challenger Widebooty HellKitty (she's giving me the meatsweats...)
- Thread starter motorheadmike
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Dodge already tried that with Viper engine in a pickup, from what I heard it was a gas gussling dud...
Dodge dropped the ball when they didn't build the t-rex.
Specs: Based on the Ram 3500, 8.0-liter V10 engine with 497 hp and 593 lb-ft (804 Nm) of torque, four-speed automatic transmission, front and rear transfer cases, air suspension, 5,000 lbs (2,267 kg) payload capacity, 26,000 lbs (11,793 kg) towing capacity
Oh, and this was in 1996. I saw the truck in person and was really really hoping for a production version. Instead we've gotten declining duds and now the transmission is shifted by a knob on the dash...
So this showed up in just a day - from Edmonton. That is really fast. I had the day off so I took a moment to install it. It is designed to plug into the OBD II port for power and ground, alternatively you can snip off the connector and run it to another source. I just made an interface harness and ran the wires to the battery in the trunk.
I'll tuck those wires in under the carpet the next time the seats are out.
The centre console has a little pocket next to the drivers' knee that this controller fits nicely into.
CAUTION: This product will KILL YOU!
Initial driving impressions were very good. Started in Sport 4 and made my way up to Sport 6 where I found my rev match sweet spot. Before I would have to double-blip the throttle to get the revs high enough to catch on the way back down after making the shift. The car feels much more analogue and peppy at low speeds.
Should be interesting to see how it hurts me autocrossing tomorrow.
I'll tuck those wires in under the carpet the next time the seats are out.
The centre console has a little pocket next to the drivers' knee that this controller fits nicely into.
CAUTION: This product will KILL YOU!
Initial driving impressions were very good. Started in Sport 4 and made my way up to Sport 6 where I found my rev match sweet spot. Before I would have to double-blip the throttle to get the revs high enough to catch on the way back down after making the shift. The car feels much more analogue and peppy at low speeds.
Should be interesting to see how it hurts me autocrossing tomorrow.
For this event I ran the car with full weight and some extra. That means I had all of the seats and interior in the car, a full tank of gas, and the kids steel framed car seats. This was to see what impact it had on the car (balance, acceleration, etc). I must say that augmenting the pedal paid dividends after a feeling out period in the morning session where I was retuning myself to the power delivery (ran the car with some traction control). In the afternoon I took off all the nannies and gave it the beans.
Here are the class results:
Best times are in yellow - and if not for that pesky cone I hit when I got out of shape a little I would have finished in the middle of the class (shoulda, coulda, woulda). There were a lot of surprised faces at how much the car improved (leaps and bounds to be honest) as the day went on. Shaving a full second off between run 5 and 6 is substantial. I am really starting to appreciate this car. On that 55.8 +1 run I was told that my rotors were glowing (in broad day light)... so I may have to lighten the car back up again. LOL.
This is that run:
And in case you were wondering what it says on the sign over the driver's door:
Here are the class results:
Best times are in yellow - and if not for that pesky cone I hit when I got out of shape a little I would have finished in the middle of the class (shoulda, coulda, woulda). There were a lot of surprised faces at how much the car improved (leaps and bounds to be honest) as the day went on. Shaving a full second off between run 5 and 6 is substantial. I am really starting to appreciate this car. On that 55.8 +1 run I was told that my rotors were glowing (in broad day light)... so I may have to lighten the car back up again. LOL.
This is that run:
And in case you were wondering what it says on the sign over the driver's door:
FWIW I do see some easy time on the table. On the wide, lazy stuff especially you're not hitting your clipping points. Focus more on that and when that clicks better focus on ensuring that, while you hit those points, the car carries enough speed to track all the way to the exit cones. That's the easy money at least.
Totally agree. The previous run was far smoother and more logical - this was just the end of day banzai fun run. I actually smashed my helmet off the inside of roof rail when I corrected for the cone I hit - rattled my noggin pretty good if I am being honest.
A big thing I am doing right now is listening to the tires and doing more or less of whatever it is I am doing at the moment relative to what is needed. The car hasn't yet got away from me yet - so I can continue to push the envelope. Once my *ss and inner ear calibrate to this car I would suspect things will shake out better. I'd be really happy with being low-mid pack in the standings once I am sorted out.
Regardless, this sh*t is fun!
Oh yeah it is. Half the battle is making sure you're going the right way through the cones. As you gain comfort navigating them you'll worry less about going off course and should be able to concentrate more on using all the track. How long have you been autocrossing in general? No need for me to sit here and tell you a bunch of shjt you already know.
About 15 years of seat time spread over two decades - I am coming off a 6 year hiatus. I am pretty impressed that it didn't take long to get anywhere near this level of improvement in just a few events with a completely new car.
Kinda sorta like riding a bike. At least for the big chunks as they're mostly based on car control, confidence, and paying attention to hitting your marks while cutting a decent line at speed. It's those last tenths and hundredths that take so much work. The big pieces need to be muscle memory because there's so much detail that goes into the last little bits of driving your line as fast as you can with all the good/bad habits you've developed over the years there's not much left to devote to the basics.
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