You folks who are the long runners, give some help here. So is the low 180's mph a reasonable time for a stock Hellcat in a mile?
With a DA low enough, absolutely...
With me at 7500-8500DA, I'm running 174-176*, while I haven't seen it first hand, 180-182 apparently is common in Texas. I've heard rumors of 185ish as well, but I have some doubt...
The guys who have run down at KSC might be the answer for the highest reasonable speeds...
*MY16 Challenger HC - M6, 3.09
I'm also not understanding the "slow-down" from a 6-7 shift... Certainly you always lose some speed at a shift, it obviously gets more pronounced as you approach VMax and go to each subsequently taller ratio...
The A8 ratio change from 6th, 7th and even 8th don't even suffer the high aspect ratio change that the M6 does from 4th to 5th...
(See steady, progressive slope of each gears ratio depicted in the screenshot compared with the M6)
See comment below
Now I think I understand the problem...
The 3.09 gears FORCE a shift to 7th. It's not exactly that there is a "slow-down" when shifting to 7th (FDR-2.596), it's that the acceleration isn't as great as it is in 6th gear, naturally(FDR-3.09). You've given up ~16% torque.
While the A8 with 2.62 ratio gears is still accelerating in a 6th gear ratio (FDR of 2.620), and
STAYS there, the A8 with 3.09 ratio gears is FORCED to shift to 7th with a FDR of 2.596, this is just a bit taller although not by much, but you add the taller ratio AND the shift point itself and that explains it.
I had a similar issue when I went from 3.70s to 3.90s in my M6, the 3.90s allow for faster acceleration but ADDED a shift into 6th just before the Mile mark (see attached video), ultimately I gained 1-2mph in the Mile, but ONLY if I make that 5th-6th shift just right...