Challenger SRT8 vs. 370Z

[Desert Rat]

My brother has one of the original 2008 SRT8 challengers with a very low production number (#340 something out of 6400). It's the 425hp 6.1 with an auto, and it has just 5k miles on it. He's been mothballing it for a few years now.

I got a chance to drive it the other day and the first thing I did is got in it and did a standing run to 100mph. The car felt great. It handles well, and it's really comfortable, but honestly, I wasn't impressed with the get up and go. Those extra few hundred pounds over my Z34 give it a fairly close power to weight ratio to my car. I suspect in a flat line drag race the Challenger would edge the Z, but not by a helluva lot. Running through the gears and keeping those shift points around 6k or so with the manual gets the Z moving just about as fast.

I will say the Challenger is a more comfortable car for sure, but while it handles quite well, it's a boat by comparison.

Anyways, it was a non technical seat of the pants impression. His Challenger is in Montana; my Z is in Arizona so we couldn't go head to head, but it was fun getting to flog on another performance icon.

Obviously the newer SRT8s with the 485 HP scat pack are a different ballgame, and the Hellcat is in another league all together. I got a ride recently in the Hellcat too, since a friend of mine bought one. That is one scary fast car! Pretty hard to wipe the smile off your face riding around in one of those.

[Firebase99]

Those Challengers have been growing on me over the last year or so. I initially hated them but after driving my friends 392 and Hellcat, its a really crazy beast. Just so much fun. Cant turn worth a damn but its like riding a mach 2 Titanic.

[cv129]

Originally Posted by Firebase99

Cant turn worth a damn but its like riding a mach 2 Titanic.

[jaedub]

Too big, heavy, and sluggish. No way I'd drive that thing. Looks great though.

[ChopsZ]

Originally Posted by Desert Rat

but it was fun getting to flog on another performance icon.

That's stretching it a bit.

This, yes...


This, not so much...

[Duc_Z09]

Originally Posted by ChopsZ

That's stretching it a bit.

This, yes...


This, not so much...

That old-school Challenger with modern coil-overs, some tech upgrades, and a blower...

[COSMO]

It's a Dodge, nuff said...

[cigarclifford]

Really like that color of Orange

Wish that Nissan offered it

-Clifford

[DavidZ370]

Originally Posted by COSMO

It's a Dodge, nuff said...

saying it like Nissan is so much better lol, it isnt

[ChopsZ]

Originally Posted by DavidZ370

saying it like Nissan is so much better lol, it isnt

It is.

Japanese engineering vs American engineering... Japanese every time.

[Duc_Z09]

Originally Posted by ChopsZ

It is.

Japanese engineering vs American engineering... Japanese every time.

I don't get that at all. What's so great about Japanese engineering? That's like the BMW and Mercedes fanboys who rave on and on about how great German engineering is because back in the 80's those cars were superior to the crap Detroit was producing back in the day. Now it's kind of a joke. IMO Japanese engineering has taken a step back (Honda reliability sure isn't what it used to be) and American engineering is at least as good now as anything else (my wife's '05 v6 mustang has 240k on the clock and is still going).

Actually Nissan makes a bunch of $h*t cars IMO. I mean, I'd never own a Versa; it's cheap junk. The Z and GT-R are literally the only things Nissan makes currently that I'd own. And most Japanese cars are boring as crap. I literally can't think of one current model offhand that I'd buy other than the 2 Nissans I mentioned.

[cv129]

Originally Posted by Duc_Z09

What's so great about Japanese engineering?

Tommy Kaira aka "Turtle" shift knob, bam!!!!

lol just a little humor, carry on

[ChopsZ]

Originally Posted by Duc_Z09

I don't get that at all. What's so great about Japanese engineering? That's like the BMW and Mercedes fanboys who rave on and on about how great German engineering is because back in the 80's those cars were superior to the crap Detroit was producing back in the day. Now it's kind of a joke. IMO Japanese engineering has taken a step back (Honda reliability sure isn't what it used to be) and American engineering is at least as good now as anything else (my wife's '05 v6 mustang has 240k on the clock and is still going).

Actually Nissan makes a bunch of $h*t cars IMO. I mean, I'd never own a Versa; it's cheap junk. The Z and GT-R are literally the only things Nissan makes currently that I'd own. And most Japanese cars are boring as crap. I literally can't think of one current model offhand that I'd buy other than the 2 Nissans I mentioned.

Considering all of the crap ALL of the American companies made from the mid 70's on up to about the early 2000's. Crap materials, crap reliability, crap designs. It was horrible for a good 40 years for American vehicles. Hence why more than half of them went out of business over the years.

Japanese and European manufacturers have had fuel injection, disc brakes and independent suspension for the past 30+ years. And then variable valve timing all the way back in 1980, thanks to Alfa Romeo, then Honda with their VTEC in 1989.

The Japanese and European manufacturers were always the leaders in automotive technology (among many other areas as well). Granted, American engineering and quality has finally come a long way, but only in the last 10 years or so, and especially in the last 4 to 5 years.

[COSMO]

Stupid is, stupid does..

Originally Posted by DavidZ370

saying it like Nissan is so much better lol, it isnt

[Duc_Z09]

Originally Posted by ChopsZ

Considering all of the crap ALL of the American companies made from the mid 70's on up to about the early 2000's. Crap materials, crap reliability, crap designs. It was horrible for a good 40 years for American vehicles. Hence why more than half of them went out of business over the years.

Japanese and European manufacturers have had fuel injection, disc brakes and independent suspension for the past 30+ years. And then variable valve timing all the way back in 1980, thanks to Alfa Romeo, then Honda with their VTEC in 1989.

The Japanese and European manufacturers were always the leaders in automotive technology (among many other areas as well). Granted, American engineering and quality has finally come a long way, but only in the last 10 years or so, and especially in the last 4 to 5 years.

This is true. However I get annoyed when people apply the standards of yesteryear to the products that are actually being offered today. I've also worked on enough Corollas and whatnot to know that something can be well engineered and still be cheap junk.