Last week, we explored the superior driveline and rear differential of the Dodge Challenger SRT® Demon that definitely does not need to be upgraded. Let’s talk about upgrades that would actually do something for the SRT Demon.
FACT 3
While the SRT Hellcat proved to be an amazing machine, the Dodge SRT Demon is definitely the king of the hill. As I mentioned yesterday, Dodge/SRT did a significant amount of upgrades to the powertrain and driveline to make this car solid as a rock. Coming in at 840 bhp on race gas in pure stock form (mine dyno’d at 780 rwhp) and capable of running 9s in the quarter-mile, you would think there wasn’t much headroom to push the car much further. You would be incorrect. To get an SRT Hellcat to run as fast as a SRT Demon, you need somewhere around $6,000-$8,000 worth of upgrades. To get an SRT Hellcat to run low 9s, you will probably need to double that. To get one to run 8s, well, only four or five SRT Hellcats have ever even run 8s. There’s only a few dozen that have even run low 9s. Shortly after getting our SRT Demon upgraded with a set of fuel injectors for $1,200, a pulley for the supercharger at $250 and catless mid pipes for $300, as well as a custom tune to run E85, we were able to easily rip off consistent 9.3s on the drag strip. Less than $2,000 is all it took to go beyond what many SRT Hellcats have done on $12,000-$18,000 worth of upgrades. Within just 10 months of the SRT Demon coming out, two SRT Demons have already broken into the 8s at the track, and I’m sure many more will be coming soon. I am not sure if it was intentional or not, but the SRT Demon leaves so much more on the table. It is hard to believe how little it costs to go so much faster in the car. Again pointing out how much more it is than just an SRT Hellcat with slightly more power.
Next up is suspension…stay tuned.