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1/4 mile runs....on the street...stock!

17486 Views 12 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Driver72
Well, it was time to take out the VBox and do some street runs on the Hellcat.
2015 Challenger Hellcat
8 speed auto
Stock P Zero Summer Tires, at stock 35 psi
(**Edit: I just checked my tire pressures and they were actually at 37 psi cold. Then I noticed that on the sticker in the door jam that 32 psi is recommended. So new runs are in order, as my tires were slightly overinflated. I may of done 11.6's the other night had I been at 32 psi instead of 37 psi)

595-610 miles on the odometer (first run was 595, last run 610)
Started with 3/4 tank of gas, 93 Octane Shell
70 degrees outside
91% humidity
3 feet elevation
Based on Density Altitude Calculator my DA was 938 feet.
Clearly not the best of conditions.
Had it been a month earlier, DA would probably be sea level with temps in the 50's

Car is completely stock, not a thing different from factory (except tint and clearbra). :)
I had not gone full throttle on the Hellcat until I had 525 miles on her and then I only did 3 full throttle runs from 50-120 mph prior to these runs tonight, so the car may be ecu learning still too.

Red Key of course
Transmission in TRACK
Suspension in SPORT

I did a couple attempts at the Launch Control and it resulted in too much tire spin, need to learn that system better.
So I decided to just do it the old fashioned way.
I am a seasoned drag racer with many other cars in the past, but first time in Hellcat.
All runs launched in 2nd GEAR, no launch control, just easing into throttle and letting transmission shift for itself.

My very first run was:
0-60 in 4.0
0-100 in 7.9
1/4 mile in 11.9 @ 127.2
Had a 2.2 60' time

Then I reeled off 3
11.7 @ 126.7 to 127.4
Best 60' time was 2.1 seconds.

So the best run was run #3 of 4
0-60 in 3.8 seconds
0-100 in 7.6 seconds
1/4 in 11.7 @ 127.4

Got home and decided to compare that to Car and Driver's time with their Hellcat and they did it in
0-60 in 3.6 seconds
0-100 in 7.6
1/4 in 11.7 @ 126
Their car had 2000 miles on it and they had better weather. Basically tied (and had better trap) their times and they do it for a living. LOL

11.5 @ 128 on the street, on street tires at street tire pressure will be a reality once car is broken in a bit more, I have a better DA, and get a chance to learn to launch this car a bit better.
On a drag strip with VHT prepped surface, 11.2-11.3's no problem on street tires (which is about what the pro drivers at Dodge got and stated IIRC) So overall I'm pleased considering these were my 1st attempts at 1/4 mile runs in this car.
Sadly weather is only going to get hotter and more humid (life in the south) in coming months, so may have to wait till fall to hit up drag strip around here to see if I can get those low 11's at 127-128 on street tires. Good times.

**Disclosure:
Before anybody gets mad, I went out of the city on a desolate flat highway (where I live, just above sea level, you can go 50-100 miles and elevation will change by no more than 10 feet). On this highway where I did the runs, there are no side streets, no homes, no buildings, and no cars in sight. If I saw a car coming, I pulled over and waited for them to pass, and get out of sight. Open fields on both sides of highway.
If anything was going to happen, I would not of hurt anybody else or anybody else's property.
Was as safe as I could be. Made 2 runs in each direction.
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It was so effing humid when I did these runs, my windows kept steaming up on the outside, had to turn on windshield wipers and rear defoggers just to see out my windows. LOL
And 3 hours later it's now raining.
I know I may not get any cooler of a day in the coming weeks but maybe one that's less humid.
I'll go out and try again then if so.
But as it stands, considering the lower miles on my car, the not great weather and DA, matching Car and Driver's ET's and bettering their trap speeds is awesome.
Also, by the way, my 60-130 time beat Car and Driver's time for the Challenger Hellcat and was only .1 second behind what they did on the Charger Hellcat (which when C&D tested the Charger they had better conditions than when they tested the Challenger), and both were way better than the conditions I just tested in.
Both those C&D test cars had just over 2000 miles on the odometer too.
I'm confident with even slightly better weather, I'd of tied their time in the 60-130 for the Charger Hellcat, and beat it had I had as good of weather and more break in miles on my car like they had.

Feeling pretty good that I have a strong running HC already.
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First of all thanks for the disclaimer as I have no issue under those circumstances. 2 lane roads with side streets with houses on any side block vision (deer here) and kids and isn't the place to get on it IMHO. Nice write up. I was running Sunday and a HC Charger made a few passes when I was in the staging lanes and all I could hear was 11 sumthin at 124 so not so good I thought.

Thanks B5.
Great job Driver 72. From what I have read they seem to pick up a bit of HP over 2000 miles. So I think you have a lot more to come. Out of interest what was your 60-130 time

8.4 seconds.

I analyzed my info and this is what is clear.
Car and Driver got a 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, I got 3.8 seconds.
We both got 0-100 in 7.6 seconds.
My 60-130 was 8.4 seconds, they got 8.6 seconds.

So it's clear, they got a better launch than I did (I'm sure they practiced a whole bunch these were my first 4 launches ever with the Hellcat), but my car is a stronger runner, as I tied their time to 100 mph and beat them to 130 by .2 seconds.
Not bad considering I was also in much worse conditions and my car had only 600 miles on it, to their 2004 miles.

Also of note, when Car and Driver tested the Charger Hellcat, their 60-130 time was 8.3 seconds, .1 better than I got.
BUT, they were in a car with 2100+ miles on it, in 40 degree air with a Density Altitude WAY below mine, and even better than they had when they tested the Challenger Hellcat.

So it's clear that even without the extra break in miles they had on the Charger compared to my Challenger, if I had the DA they had when they tested their Challenger, I would of tied, and maybe even beat their 60-130 time for their Charger.
If I had the DA they had when they tested the Charger, I would have easily beaten their 60-130 time of their Charger with my Challenger. Add in the extra break in miles they had, and again, I feel pretty good about how strong of a runner my HC is already!
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^^ Nice
The in car app isn't quite as accurate I found.
I use a VBox, same as the car magazines use.
When I've tested it at 2-3 different drag strips it's within .05 of a second and .5 mph of what the track's have.

Let me know how you do at the track and compare it to the in car app.
Also, where are you located?
What kind of weather did you have, what elevation are you at, and how many miles on your car?
Gonna do some new runs.
Checked my tire pressure while tires were cold and they read 37 to 38 psi (one of the rear was 38, all the other 3 were 37)
Noticed door jam sticker states 32 psi is ideal.
So my tires were overinflated by 5 psi. Well that doesn't help traction now does it. LOL
So time to retest, completely stock, now that I deflated rears to 32 psi and fronts at 34 psi.
I also have less fuel in now too (same tankful though) so carrying around a bit less weight.
DA is a bit better tonight as well.
Will let you know if I can better my times from a couple nights ago.
New runs here:
1 4 mile runs...on the street...stock Round 2 SRT Hellcat Forum
With better DA and a bit less gas, times improved to 11.6 seconds
Trap speeds went to 128.5 to 129 mph.

Can't wait for 2,000 plus miles on odometer and sea level DA's come fall.
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