Challenger SRT8 vs. 370Z
 

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.

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.

:roflpuke2:

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

That's stretching it a bit.

This, yes...
http://www.musclecarcult.com/wp-cont...emi-rt-640.jpg

This, not so much...
http://www.gautoparts.com/blog-path/...utoparts_0.jpg

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

It's a Dodge, nuff said...

Really like that color of Orange :yum:

Wish that Nissan offered it :tup:

-Clifford :tiphat:

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

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.:ugh2:

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

lol just a little humor, carry on

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.

Stupid is, stupid does..:tiphat:

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.

i was interested in one until i drove a 1970 423ci Cuda 4 speed, I'd chose the '70 any day even over a new hellcat

Well that's mainly due to the fact that over here in the states, it's what most of us have been forced to grow up with over the years, crappy American vehicles. Then again, the Japanese and European cars of the same time period were far superior quality wise, and typically with superior technology as well.

Of course, with the lower end models, the manufacturers have to compromise in order to stay within a certain price point, so there will be cheaper materials used throughout.

On that note, try to think about how many '87 Chevy Chevette's or Ford Escort's you've seen lately vs an '87 Honda Civic or Accord, or Mazda RX-7 or 323, or Nissan Sentra or 300ZX.

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw an '87 Chevette or Escort.

And just off the top of my head, no more Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Mercury, Plymouth, Saturn...

Japanese car companies?... Scion.

I ran an 08' 300c srt8 from a dig when I still had the stock AT 370, we were neck to neck up to 90 before we let off on a Mexican back road. I'm sure it will pull on most stock 6mt 370s as computer always shift faster than humans especially from a dig. The newer srt8 just eats our lunch, but doesn't feels as fast while driving it bc of the weight

Japan did have some very significant moments in the past...

• 89 LS400 - extremely over-engineered, seriously challenged the German big boys.
• NA1 NSX - a reliable and user friendly super car (in the old days standard anyway), something the Europeans didn't know exist. Gordan Murray agreed.
• 09 R35 GTR - heavy pig bending physics to take on 911 Turbo for half the price.

One may add Vtec and Prius to the list. However, outside of them, I personally wouldn't put Japanese in the same pedestal with the Europeans in terms of technological break through.

Ford has such a mature V6 turbo game nowadays (they use that thing everywhere!), where we the Nissan/Infiniti guys are just finally getting a VR38. And oh, Tesla is certainly changing the game again. I still love my Z tho. Keep it simple, keep it NA. I'll ride with this VQ for a long time.

Hence, General Motors bankruptcy 2008 nuff said. Would never buy a GM car even a vette.

Nissan was practically bankrupt in 99 then Renault swooped in to save it.

And now Nissan is doing the same with Mitsubishi.

Practically aka "all most" does not count, full retard does.

If Nissan had climbed out of that hole themselves, then yes "almost" doesn't count. It got a saving hand from Renault. We will agree to disagree.

They sound very beasty..

Their both good cars in their own ways. Even they are both sports cars they are built for different purposes and different target demographics so you really can't compare the two.

Good.:rofl2:

Not every time. I'd rather have a Ford or Chevy than a Mitsubishi. I'd rather have the clap than a Chrysler, though.

:rofl2:

This is why. This sh%t doesn't happen in japan.

Chrysler UAW workers caught drinking, smoking pot during lunch

Chrysler UAW workers caught getting drunk, high - again [Video] | LeftLaneNews

an escort from 87 sounds great to me:icon18:

The Z makes power all the way up to redline, you can stay on it :)

you are thinking of a dual clutch transmission, the Z has a traditional automatic transmission. Also autos weight 41 pounds more. And there is more gears in the automatic tranny (7). and flat foot shifting if its tuned. and :driving:

If you don't know the AT shift faster than the 6mt, you must been living under a rock, never took the Z on the drag and would be gravely disappointed when you line up next to one

Edit: oh wait, you drive a civic

Well my SRT8 will spin circles around my Nismo all day long with just a tune and CAI, pretty much the same mods I have on my Z. The pull is just night and day, Z's have no torque and straight line performance is not even close. Buy what you like and if you have the money, buy one of each and be INTERNATIONAL, LOL..................

a standard civic to match my standard z :)


if your car was an auto it wouldn't lose i'm told

I guess I've become an electric car proponent, but the results are in. The Tesla Model S with Ludicrous option does 0-60mph in 2.6sec. , which BTW is quicker than a new Z06 Vette with 650hp. Just can't get around that 700+ft/lbs torque of electric grunt at all four corners. The "only" downside as I see it is the $100k+ cost. But hey, it's only money. And we are talking bragging rights here...😀

This is true to a point. The point being that I would take any car over the clap any day. LOL

I have to admit though, there's a new white SRT8 Charger driving around town with a nasty aftermarket exhaust that dumps out the stock integrated exhaust tips. Damn that thing sounds good! And I mean really good!

He did a two blip rev at me the other day, I did the same thing back. At the light, he rolled up along side me and said "Sounds good!". I said, "Thanks, but yours sounds better!" We both laughed then I took off on the green arrow.

I seriously doubt that!!!

They need to make it look better. Looooooooooots better.:icon14: