Dodge Challenger?
Discussion
Thinking of changing my Mustang Mach 1 for a Dark Horse.
But I’ve always had a soft spot for the Challenger.
I’ve not owned or driven a LHD before…
What are they like to live with?
Is insurance a problem?
Thoughts…. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025122087...
But I’ve always had a soft spot for the Challenger.
I’ve not owned or driven a LHD before…
What are they like to live with?
Is insurance a problem?
Thoughts…. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025122087...
You may have seen on here some commentary on insurance for LHD requiring experience of it. Good idea to check first, though it doesn't seem to be a common issue. My insurance was obtained no problem for a Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak.
Things that can be a minor annoyance to live with, in no particular order...
Things that can be a minor annoyance to live with, in no particular order...
- Radios don't do DAB. So it's FM or rig something via your phone.
- Radios seem to be a bit buggy, with lock ups and freezing. Seems to be associated with having a USB stick when starting up.
- Active exhausts sometimes throw the odd fault code. I also had issues with the installation on mine draining the battery till I rewired it.
- For such a lump of a car, it's really a 2 seater, unless front and rear seat occupants are dwarfs. Being 6'4" maybe I am the problem....
- C pillar blind spots are massive. Enough to hide a car in. You are basically blind fron the passenger side window right round to the back window. This makes turning left at a T junction something that requires an acquired technique, especially if the junction has swept curves. Stopping on the lines at 45 degrees means you can see nothing coming from your right. So you need to stop square on. Or carry a spotting passenger...
- The 305 section tyres do seem to find all the imperfections on the road surface and create a bit of tramlining.
Legacywr said:
Thinking of changing my Mustang Mach 1 for a Dark Horse.
But I ve always had a soft spot for the Challenger.
I ve not owned or driven a LHD before
What are they like to live with?
Is insurance a problem?
Thoughts . http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025122087...
If you're in Essex you can have a poke around mine if you want But I ve always had a soft spot for the Challenger.
I ve not owned or driven a LHD before
What are they like to live with?
Is insurance a problem?
Thoughts . http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025122087...
I owned a 2019 Wide Scat for 3 years. I'm US based so my fuel consumption experience must factor US gallons. I drove my 392 fairly hard and also bracket raced it from time to time. In the 3 years and 22k miles I owned it, it delivered 14mpg.
I did some fairly light mods to mine, mainly to beef-up the drive-line, because sticky tires and OEM half-shafts are not a good combo. These are big, heavy cars (392 is 4200lbs) so they also eat tires. I went through two sets of street tires (OEM 305 Pirelli PZero and a set of 315 Bridgestone Potenzas). In the US, these cost around $600 per corner (my Nitto drag radials were way cheaper than that).
I also installed an AfI Momentum sealed air-box, connected to the driver-side outboard light (air-catcher), because these iron motors run hot - and an oil separator/catch can between the crankcase vent and the intake. Emission controls route crankcase emissions back into the combustion cycle, via the intake, which causes oil pooling, grubby intake valves and smokey cold starts - catch can eliminates this issue.
Because of the way I drove it, I dropped the engine oil every 5k miles and after every drag strip visit. Oil starvation to hydraulic roller lifters is a known issue on both 345ci Eagle and 392ci Apache engines, causing the notorious "hemi-tick', which is a sign of serious trouble, so a very structured oil routine is essential - and steer clear of any Mopar that ticks at idle.
As others have mentioned, rear legroom is for small kids only, but they are very comfy and roomy up front and they have an enormous boot space.
I never had any issues with the active exhaust on mine - in fact I had no issues at all with the car, other than a cracked windshield, in all the time I owned it.
I think that the Widebody Scat Pack is the "Goldilocks" Challenger. The regular bodied Scat - I had one of those too, is ridiculously under-tired. The 345 R/T is underpowered and the Hellcat motor is a little bit too much for the rest of the car (just my opinion, of course).
I did some fairly light mods to mine, mainly to beef-up the drive-line, because sticky tires and OEM half-shafts are not a good combo. These are big, heavy cars (392 is 4200lbs) so they also eat tires. I went through two sets of street tires (OEM 305 Pirelli PZero and a set of 315 Bridgestone Potenzas). In the US, these cost around $600 per corner (my Nitto drag radials were way cheaper than that).
I also installed an AfI Momentum sealed air-box, connected to the driver-side outboard light (air-catcher), because these iron motors run hot - and an oil separator/catch can between the crankcase vent and the intake. Emission controls route crankcase emissions back into the combustion cycle, via the intake, which causes oil pooling, grubby intake valves and smokey cold starts - catch can eliminates this issue.
Because of the way I drove it, I dropped the engine oil every 5k miles and after every drag strip visit. Oil starvation to hydraulic roller lifters is a known issue on both 345ci Eagle and 392ci Apache engines, causing the notorious "hemi-tick', which is a sign of serious trouble, so a very structured oil routine is essential - and steer clear of any Mopar that ticks at idle.
As others have mentioned, rear legroom is for small kids only, but they are very comfy and roomy up front and they have an enormous boot space.
I never had any issues with the active exhaust on mine - in fact I had no issues at all with the car, other than a cracked windshield, in all the time I owned it.
I think that the Widebody Scat Pack is the "Goldilocks" Challenger. The regular bodied Scat - I had one of those too, is ridiculously under-tired. The 345 R/T is underpowered and the Hellcat motor is a little bit too much for the rest of the car (just my opinion, of course).
LHD is largely fine in the UK. I keep a couple of LHD cars there and just did a few thousand miles of road tripping recently, no issues nor with RHD in LHD countries.
Challengers I've had a few of, all in the US; RT (don't), SRT, Hellcat, Scat Pack Widebody and finally a Hellcat Redeye which I sold in 2022.
I like them, great cruisers, easily the most comfortable muscle car, and remarkably good steering for being big old boats. First hellcat was probably my favorite of the bunch, redeye was a prima donna because I took it way too far with tuning and drag radials. The Scat 392 is excellent too, naff all to be gained tuning them if that's a consideration. Biggest complaint across all of them was always squeaks and rattles in the interior, which is par for the course with Dodge / FCA / Stelantis in my experience.
MPG I don't bother tracking, I prefer not knowing.
Challengers I've had a few of, all in the US; RT (don't), SRT, Hellcat, Scat Pack Widebody and finally a Hellcat Redeye which I sold in 2022.
I like them, great cruisers, easily the most comfortable muscle car, and remarkably good steering for being big old boats. First hellcat was probably my favorite of the bunch, redeye was a prima donna because I took it way too far with tuning and drag radials. The Scat 392 is excellent too, naff all to be gained tuning them if that's a consideration. Biggest complaint across all of them was always squeaks and rattles in the interior, which is par for the course with Dodge / FCA / Stelantis in my experience.
MPG I don't bother tracking, I prefer not knowing.
Update, I’ve bought a Mustang Darkhorse.
I really like the Challenger, it wasn’t the prospective issues that put me, more the fact that it would be extremely hard to move on if I didn’t want to stick with it for whatever reason.
Plus it’s extremely difficult to put a market value on them, if a car’s up for £60k and it’s not selling, logic tells me that’s not where the market is.
That Swinger I linked to earlier in the thread has been reduced by £2k this week, like that’ll make a difference
I really like the Challenger, it wasn’t the prospective issues that put me, more the fact that it would be extremely hard to move on if I didn’t want to stick with it for whatever reason.
Plus it’s extremely difficult to put a market value on them, if a car’s up for £60k and it’s not selling, logic tells me that’s not where the market is.
That Swinger I linked to earlier in the thread has been reduced by £2k this week, like that’ll make a difference
Legacywr said:
Update, I ve bought a Mustang Darkhorse.
I really like the Challenger, it wasn t the prospective issues that put me, more the fact that it would be extremely hard to move on if I didn t want to stick with it for whatever reason.
Plus it s extremely difficult to put a market value on them, if a car s up for £60k and it s not selling, logic tells me that s not where the market is.
That Swinger I linked to earlier in the thread has been reduced by £2k this week, like that ll make a difference
Excellent stuff, great that V8 rumble in your life I really like the Challenger, it wasn t the prospective issues that put me, more the fact that it would be extremely hard to move on if I didn t want to stick with it for whatever reason.
Plus it s extremely difficult to put a market value on them, if a car s up for £60k and it s not selling, logic tells me that s not where the market is.
That Swinger I linked to earlier in the thread has been reduced by £2k this week, like that ll make a difference
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