Another New Toy Challenger Hellcat

[427.060]

A few days ago I went on a 2 1/2 day road trip to look at a few 2022 and 2023 Challenger Hellcats that I found for sale online. I looked at 9 cars in South Carolina and northeast Florida. I was up front will all of the dealers and told them I was going to look at all of the cars on my list before making a decision. Of the 9 there were 3 that I would even think about buying, a 2022 and 2 2023s. These were all low mile cars. The one I liked the most was at a high end car dealer in Jacksonville Florida. It was the 5th one I looked at. They are one of the "No Haggle" dealerships. They gave me their price and I left to go look at the others. I wasn't interested in any of them so I went back to test their No Haggle policy. It took a little while but I got them down $2400 and they agreed to deliver the car almost 400 miles away for free. We finalized everything Friday at around 1:30. As I was leaving the dealership to drive back home, they were loading the car to be delivered. It was delivered 11:30 this morning.

It is a 2023 Challenger Hellcat Jailbreak with 290 miles. It has 366 now.

[396 SS/RS]

Nice! I've found that with today's internet pricing about $2,500 is all you'll get them down too nowadays. I'm surprised they would even come down any on a Hellcat.

[69M22Z]

Three real cool cars there!!!

[njsteve]

If I saw this earlier I would have steered you toward a 2022. The 2023s are having a ton of parts quality issues and structural build issues (like the windshields cracking midway up the A-pillar on the passenger side.) Basically all the parts venders knew that the assembly plant was closing at the end of 2023 and all quality control on parts went out the window. Nothing was rejected: it was all sent directly to the assembly line. The assembly line also starting skimping on structural adhesives and welding quality (most likely cause of the windshield cracking issue) My one recommendation would be to drive the heck out of it and get at least a couple thousand miles on it to shake it out and see what glitches may show up. The special hellcat fuel pumps tend to fail a lot. (The Redeye actually has dual pumps). Also the center support bearing on the two piece driveshaft is a major failure point, and they wont replace just the rubber bearing, they only replace the entire $2,000 driveshaft if they consider it a warranty issue. (even though multiple companies sell a two-piece bearing support fix that goes for only a couple hundred bucks.) Also get the extended Mopar warranty on the car when it gets close to the 3-year factory warranty expiration date. There's several Mopar dealerships that sell it a $25 over cost (see Challengertalk.com and Hellcat.org) http://www.buymoparwarranty.com/

Enjoy the car. We love our Triple Redeye (797hp advertised: 812hp actual per SAE). These are completely insane. It's basically a recliner/lounger with JATO pods bolted to it.

[njsteve]

BTW, here is the SAE testing results for all the Hellcat variants over the years. This is the actual data from SAE when the drivetrains were emissions certified.

Gotta love how Dodge just altered the HP ratings by simply posting the numbers at 6,000 or 6,200 rpm instead of 6,400 for most of the models. They originally didn't want to upset the 2018 Demon owners when the Redeye option came out in 2019, which was actually the entire Demon drivetrain minus the transbrake equipped transmission.

So your car is actually 745HP @6200 versus the 717@6000 as advertised. :-)

2015 - 2017 Hellcat (compared to base 2015 Hellcat):
714 HP @ 6200rpm measured, 707 HP @ 6000rpm advertised
652 TQ @ 4800rpm measured, 650 TQ @ 4800rpm advertised

2018 Hellcat (+ electric power steering, widebody option with 20x11 rims)
730 HP @ 6200rpm measured, (+16 HP), 707 HP @ 6000rpm advertised
654 TQ @ 4800rpm measured, (+2 TQ), 650 TQ @ 4800rpm advertised

2019+ Hellcat (Combined air-flow rate of 1,048 CFM, after-run chiller, torque reserve, dual scoop hood, line lock):
745 HP @ 6200rpm measured (+31 HP), 717 HP @ 6000rpm advertised
662 TQ @ 4800rpm measured, (+10 TQ), 656 TQ @ 4800rpm advertised

2019+ Redeye (Combined air-flow rate of 1,130 CFM, 2.7L SC @ 14.5 psi peak boost, 6500 rpm rev limit increase, 25 engine component upgrade including strengthened connecting rods and pistons, high-speed valve train, fuel injection system and improved lubrication system, SRT Power Chiller, 700 cc fuel injectors, Two dual-stage fuel pumps, steel prop shafts (driveshaft) for 15% increase torque capacity (2lbs heavier), 41-spline half shafts for 20% increase torque)
793 HP @ 6200rpm measured (+79 HP), 797 HP @ 6300rpm advertised, 812 HP @ 6400rpm measured
709 TQ @ 4800rpm measured (+57 TQ), 707 TQ @ 4500rpm advertised, 719 TQ @ 4800rpm measured

2020 - 2023 Super Stock (Combined air-flow rate of 1,134 CFM)
793 HP @ 6200rpm measured (+79 HP), 807 HP @ 6400rpm advertised, 812 HP @ 6400rpm measured
709 TQ @ 4800rpm measured (+57 TQ), 707 TQ @ 4500rpm advertised, 719 TQ @ 4800rpm measured

2018 Demon (Combined air-flow rate of 1,150 CFM, transbrake, drag-mode suspension, Air-Grabber hood)
804 HP @ 6200rpm measured (+90 HP), 808 HP @ 6300rpm advertised, 812 HP @ 6400rpm measured
719 TQ @ 4800rpm measured (+67 TQ), 717 TQ @ 4500rpm advertised, 719 TQ @ 4800rpm measured

2018 Demon (+ 100 octane PCM tune)
835 HP @ 6200rpm measured (+121 HP), 840 HP @ 6300rpm advertised, 845 HP @ 6400rpm measured
776 TQ @ 4800rpm measured (+124 TQ), 770 TQ @ 4500rpm advertised, 774 TQ @ 4500rpm measured

2023 Demon 170
1,025 bhp (764 kW) @ 6,500 rpm with E-85 fuel
900 bhp (671 kW) @ 6,500 rpm with Premium 91 octane fuel
945 lb.-ft (1,281 Nm) @ 4,200 rpm with E-85 fuel
810 lb.-ft (1098 Nm) @ 4,200 with Premium 91 octane fuel

SAE Measured
812 HP @ 6400rpm SAE measured Demon/Redeye/Super Stock/Jailbreak
845 HP @ 6400rpm SAE measured Demon with 100 octane / Race PCM

Advertised Direct Connection Kits
Hellcat:
747 bhp Hellcat w/ PreStage Kit (2015-2018)
757 bhp Hellcat w/ PreStage Kit (2019+)

Redeye:
802 bhp (598 kW) Redeye w/ PreStage Kit
807 bhp (601 kW) SRT Super Stock & Jailbreak w/ PreStage Kit
840 bhp (626 kW) Redeye w/ Stage I (100 octane functionality)
837 bhp (624 kW) Redeye w/ Stage II (3.17 Hellephant pulley and 91 octane)
885 bhp (660 kW) Redeye w/ Stage II (3.17 Hellephant pulley and 100 octane)

Direct Connection Redeye Stage II
(+ 100 octane PCM tune; 180 tstat, 3.17 Hellephant pulley)
875 HP @ 6200rpm measured (+161HP), 885 HP @ 6400rpm measured
787 TQ @ 4800rpm measured (+135TQ), 786 TQ @ 4500rpm measured

Source: SAE Engine Power Certification Database (EPCD)
SAE J1349 certified results. Chrysler Test Center Test Cells C07 and C08.
SAE J1349 testing standards (SAE J1349 standard of 77°F (25°C) day with 0% humidity and a barometric pressure of 29.234 in-Hg (99 KPa)).

[njsteve]

One more thing. ABSOLUTELY get the dealer to perform the RFHM lockout. This is a TSB that is covered under warranty to prevent a thief from programming a new set of keys in a matter of seconds and driving off in the car. This is how the majority of them are stolen. And bring them all your keyfobs when you get it done. (2 red, 1 black). Don't let the dealer tell you it was "done already at the factory". That is BS. They have a special form you have to sign that says you are aware that once the lockout is done, no new keys can be produced without replacing the RFHM module itself on your own dime.


Also, And immediately buy the Faraday pouches for stopping the keyfobs from sending the signal out to the car 24/7 - another thing the thieves can intercept and make a new fob from. And test the pouches before you rely on them. Put the keyfob in the pouch and then get in the car and try to start it. If the car starts, the pouch is bad. And furthermore...place the keyfobs and pouches somewhere inside your house (a metal safe is best) and not hanging on a hook by the front door. (Another theft method is they walk around your house/garage with a modified receiver to pick up the keyfob signal from the typical homeowner who hangs his keyfobs by the back door.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[njsteve]

But, wait, there's more! Change the oil now. It takes exactly 7 quarts of the 0w40 Pennzoil Platinum Ultra (the only oil they recommend and will give you $%^& if there is ever a warranty claim and you used different oil) I bring this up because the factory overfilled the engines by close to a quart and the drain plug on the oil cooler is always loose. There was a TSB on replacing that drain plug because the rubber O-ring seals were too soft.

And yes there are 2 oil drain plugs on these cars. One on the pan and one on the oil cooler near the bottom of the passenger front fender. You have to remove most of the underbody shields to get to it. The dealers either don't bother or don't know it's there and leave half a quart of dirty oil in the cooler and lines when they ignore it...and then they dump too much oil in thinking it was drained. But it is critical to check the tightness of that cooler plug. Mine was finger tight and about to fall out when I changed the oil at 500 miles.

Here's how much is in that cooler after an hour of draining. Second photo is of the actual cooler drain plug

[njsteve]

And yes, actually I did have WAAAAY too much coffee this morning.

[427.060]

Steve, I was hoping you would reply to this thread. Thank you for all the info. I read the thread you have going about your car before I bought this car. One of the cars I was really interested in was a black 2022 with 1800 miles. When I went to the dealer the didn't have the car on the lot and it would be a couple hours before they could get it there. I had more stops to make so I didn't want to wait around. This was Wednesday. The car has now been sold.

What makes these cars a Jailbreak edition and what is the significance of the Last Call edition?

[njsteve]

The whole 2023 Last Call thing was a marketing scam to get people in the showrooms and used Home Depot rivets to attach an aluminum "Last Call" plate to the removeable plastic front fender splash shield. The Jailbreak was allegedly the ability to get whatever options/colors/stripes you wanted on your car by paying $2000 more in 2022. In 2023 all the cars were "Jail Break" because the $2000 upcharge was now mandatory on all Hellcats. It was originally meant to be a way to order what you wanted: like a Limelight Green with red interior and grey seatbelts version. But by the time 2023 got started they had so much supply issues that depending on what day of the week it was, they would restrict and reject what you ordered. You have the base black aluminum wheels on your car. They dropped all the optional wheels except another black 5-spoke version in 2023. In 2022 you could get 5 different wheel styles. (My car was the only 2022 Octane Red/Demonic Red interior Redeye built with the Granite Pocket wheels). I tried to order 2 different 2023 Plum Crazy Redeyes (1 with hammerhead/white and 1 with Demonic red interiors) but they both got rejected in May 2023 because of supply issues. I did order a third 2023 Purple/Red interior Redeye in September '22 that actually got built but I gave it up and let a friend buy it because Dodge did a bait and switch on the engine when they advertised it as being the 807hp version versus the 797hp version. (even though we know know they are technically the same engine) And the not-so-funny part was that when my friend took delivery of the Purple/Red car with 5 miles on it, loaded it on his trailer and got it home, both fuel pumps had failed and the car was inert for 3 weeks while his dealer tried to find a replacement set and none were available at the time because they were all failing and on national backorder.