Purchased in March 2016, a one owner dealership trade in, it was totally unmodified by the previous owner. Garage kept, the factory recommended maintenance schedule was dealership maintained. The detail department had very little to do in preparing it for the lot. I had the good fortune of meeting the previous owner and his wife, she commented "It was his baby". I was the first person to see it before it sold. The car was in new condition.
The R/T option indicates a 5.7 HEMI power plant and the "Plus" trim package adds several perks. Sports Suspension, Leather, Heated Seats, Steering Wheel, Heated and Cooled Cup Holders, 8.4 Uconnect Media Center, Auto Stick just to name a few.
My vehicle search priorities were for a 2013-2014 clean, low to medium mileage, HEMI, Granite Crystal Metallic color, and no spoiler. It took six months to locate. The Plus trim was a welcomed bonus.
My Performance Modifications
In preparation for a Dyno Tune. The Exhaust.
A Corsa Performance Exhaust system. If you know of Corsa Performance you understand there is no increase in cabin noise or annoying drone resonance . All HEMI Chargers come factory with perfect audible exhaust tones the cabin. The Corsa tone is more of a performance tone but no louder giving the engine a less restricted exhaust flow. Dynamometer operators claim horse power gains are minimal if any.
Next are the K&N Drop-In Intake Air Filter & 180°F Thermostat.
Required or highly urged by the by the tuner/dyno operator are a 180°F thermostat a drop in K&N air filter.
An aftermarket Cool Air Intake is not needed with this generation. The air box and inlet are large enough bringing air from behind the bumper cover as pictured HERE.
Engine & Transmission Performance Dyno Tuning by Injected Engineering in Marietta GA for a engine and transmission tune using HPTuners.
Marietta GA 678-449-6871
The above made for a very nicely improved driving experience & enhancement. Horsepower and Torque were modestly increased by 10+HP & TQ for a total of 362HP at the wheels but the it feels like a 25HP gain due to the way Performance Engineering spun their magic on the calibrations.
Dodge does not leave a lot of hidden horsepower on the table with these cars but there are ways to wake up the power delivery making everything more responsive or not left to waste.
Generally from the factory, in comparison power comes on slower and later with sooner shift points at lower RPM's. The transmission was dialed in for firmer and faster shifting but not in a rude back slapping manner.
In auto stick it shifts in Sport Mode and on occasion will bark the tires in the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts.
I use HPTuners on My Truck so I am able to run scans on the car and I am happy to report my WOT runs in the August 99°F heat and high humidity shown only a few cells pulling 1° of timing on QT gasoline 93 octane. This tells me she is right at the line. I flushed the tank a couple of times with BP 93 octane scanning again in the same conditions and got one singe cell pulling 1° of timing. Nice!
It runs so good for me I rarely use Auto Stick. I have to remind myself I have the option. No multiple trips back to the tuner for corrections. They got it right the 1st time..
I was impressed with their shop and staff. The facility is large and there were lots of high end MOPAR among other makes about the place which helped calm my nerves when I first arrived.
Below are two video links demonstrating the 1-2 shift time improvement simply by listening to the exhaust.
When I first put the Corsa Sport exhaust on and heard what sounded like the exhaust inhaling between the 1-2 shift it startled me. In the cabin it sounded like I ran over something. I had to get a sound clip. After the tune the noise is gone due to a faster exchange between gears.
My 19 year old daughter winds it out while I shoot the videos. The inhale is pretty evident in the pre-tune.
Pre-Tune 1-2 Shift , Post tune 1-2 Shift.
Other Items & Components
The Brakes (Front & Rear):
Rotors are StopTech Cryogenically Treated and Drilled.
Pads are Raybestos Element 3 EHT (Enhanced Hybrid Technology).
Brake Lines at the Calipers were replaced with StopTech Stainless Steel lines.
My experience with this component combination are a positive improvement over a factory original setup. If you drive spirited you will have to brake same. The factory setup will fade much earlier and eventually transfer material to the rotors causing Hot Spots and that rumble or pulsation in the brake pedal.
The Pads: I am hard on brakes and have done lots of trial and error over the years and finally landed on a brake pad that is resistant to fade, material transfer, no visible wheel dust, and does not wear down or eat rotors.
I just did a 20k mile inspection of the pads and rotors while installing SS brake lines and was amazed to see absolutely no wear ridge on the rotor. The pads were less than 25% gone.
Most brake shops will not resurface Drilled or slotted rotors. I say most but I could not find any that does or could refer me to one in my area. These are the pads for me.
The Rotors: How I came to use these. Several years ago I did 3 years of surveillance duties using a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan. Its not just sitting in the van and observing. You have to get there in time or be 1st, leave suddenly, keep up, and so on. Basically you beat the crap out of the vehicle and the brakes take the brunt of it.
The Van was not designed for much more then grocery getting or the soccer mom thing and the first thing we did was smoke the brakes.
Long story short after lost of headaches and brake jobs we landed on these rotors and Raybestos "Advanced Technology" pads. They ate the rotors and dusted like hell but never hot spotted and resisted fade impressively. We were lucky to get 20k on a set of pads, and two pad changes before changing the rotors but no more instant brake problems.
So.... This setup is not for track race abuse or bullet proof. If you want bullet proof you have to go Brembo or the likes of and you will get dust, rotor wear, and near race performance braking.
What it dose for me is resist material transfer in those occasional panic braking sessions from speed that occur when speed detection devices alert, or a motorist does the unpredicted without excessive rotor wear, or pad dusting.
Suspension: Pictured above I replaced the factory Sach's dampers on al four corners @80+k miles with the Bilstein B6 Performance line.
The Sach's were OK and the B6 improvements subtle but welcomed. Most notably is nose dive is al but gone. Subtle improvements are body roll reduction and steering response improvement. I'm sure I don't drive the car hard enough to really test the full differences but I know what I have in Bilstein. Bilstein's claim for handling improvements without sacrificing comfort are not unfounded. In my case the car handles road surface irregularities better.
Tires: Michelin Premier A/S
Amazing tires. In the wet Michelin's claims are true. A quiet smooth running tire in the all season luxury touring category, its not a summer sport handling tire like the Pilot Sport A/S 3 but not a mushy touring tire either.
Balancing went very well using a RoadForce Balancing machine with the weights required being very small.
The Countermeasures
The Devices: Two Radar/Laser detectors, one being the discontinued but still coveted Beltronics STi Magnum and the
Radenso XP and a Laser Defense System.
The STi Magnum is a no frills but powerful long range detector utilizing an M3 Horn. Its best use on long interstate runs. No GPS false alarm lockout feature with limited false signal filtering its outdated in this area but still on the top of the heap along with the Escort Redline as far as long range detection.
The Radenso XP has more than adequate range and includes the best false signal filtering in the industry caused by late model vehicles and transfer trucks equipped with Blind Spot Monitoring & Autonomous Cruise Control devices, not to forget business and storefront devices that set off most detectors. It has a GPS that allows the user to manually lockout those stubborn punch through false alerts we pass by on our daily commutes.
The radar detectors are not ran at the same time as they will interfere with each other.
Antilaser with WiFi & Bluetooth Control Set options by AL Priority
Learn more about ALP HERE
Radar Countermeasure & Dashcam Cockpit
Antilaser Controls
Front Sensors
Dash Cameras Front & Rear By BLACKVUE
The Blackvue DR650-2ch Dash Camera
For me the best thing on this Dashcam is the form factor. I like the look and footprint but video quality is what I call passable. In dark shady areas it has pixilated areas. If not for a super deal I may have returned it. It serves its purpose and night recording is passable as well.
Lighting
The Factory Fog Lights: The sore spot on this generation R/T Chargers are the OE fogs. More for decoration their output which from the drivers seat isn't notable. You cannot tell they are on.
I replaced them with Morimoto XB LED units and they can actually be used to help in inclement weather. Unlike the masses that seem hell bent to aim theirs up to blind oncoming motorists in the name of "See my fog lights?" I aim all my lighting properly and only run them in the fog, rain, because of the peripheral light they provide dark city streets and known deer areas.
In thick fog as with any lighting all you can hope for is to see the stripes on the road while you crawl along. In the rain you get a little bit of warning on the puddles but not much according to your speed. The added peripheral work well on dark streets for pedestrians. If they are aimed too high you just get the wall of haze and flashed by oncoming motorists. How To Aim Your Fog & Headlights.
Motimoto XB LED Fog Lamps
The Factory High Beams:
The high beams are 9005 halogen 65W bulbs I replaced with 65W Halogen Infrared Reflective bulbs from Candlepower.com. They are brighter, focused very well and a clean white color.
The low beams are factory HID and perform well.
The Grill Shell
I replaced the original chrome shell with a black chrome shell I found a deal on. I mainly did it to facilitate my ALPriority sensor mounting while I still had a shell on the car. I was going to get another chrome but a Black Chrome shell deal popped up.
It has my creature comforts, bells, whistles, and runs out a little better than an average stock R/T, quietly and comfortably.
4/30/2017
