My Hellcat Review

[bobby35ny]

Here is an HONEST quick review of a hellcat from a ZL1 owner.
Owned Chevys all my life, I bleed Chevy blue but not a fanboy.

My boy got a brand new Challenger Hellcat stick a few weeks ago. I have driven it quite a few times now.

The car is faster than you think, No way it's 707HP, gotta be more!!
No HUD and basic passenger seat adjustments...:(
The Stereo ROCKS for a OEM system, much better than our BA. They put 2 subs in the spare tire hole.

The car is BIG and high, The nose is long, real long. While the car is BIG, you would THINK, the inside would have alot of room, not the case. Sure the driver and passenger is more roomy than our cars but not that much more but more for sure. The rear can hold 3 but no leg room.

The car is fast!! Did I say that already? LOL. The shifting is real nice, like a short throw hurst thats dialed in. Clicks in really nice, I find our shifter a little vague. Can it corner like our cars? HELL NO, but, it does corner much better than you would think being a car thats so big. Stops pretty darn good. close to our cars, I would think it would start fading after a few top end runs. Steering feels loose, not as tight as our cars. Rides pretty good, MUCH less road noise than our cars, however the car is LOUD, real Loud! close the windows and its nice and quiet until you stomp on it...

While our cars were made with the road race track in mind, The hellcat is a street car for sure, A darn good street car at that!!

If you are never going to see a track, the hellcat is a GREAT car, surprised the hell out of me, it handles pretty good for a heavy car.

My car feels like a stick in the mud compared to a hellcat, Guys, the hellcat is the real deal, It's that friggin fast and it turns too!!

No flames please, its Chevy's turn now and guess what, 650HP is not going to do it!!...:(

-Bobby

[shawn18]

Awesome to hear! I own a ZL1 convertible and have a Hellcat M6 ordered. I can't wait to compare the 2 side by side.

[DrkPhx]

They're definitely under rated hp wise. I know of two that dyno'd in the 640-660 rwhp range bone stock. Even though it's heavier, they have massive brakes and I'm pretty sure they out brake our car.

[macwest]

When one pulls next to me we will see. So far 2014 gt500 was slow in comparison.

[GossipSquirrelJelena]

Originally Posted by bobby35ny

Here is an HONEST quick review of a hellcat from a ZL1 owner.
Owned Chevys all my life, I bleed Chevy blue but not a fanboy.

My boy got a brand new Challenger Hellcat stick a few weeks ago. I have driven it quite a few times now.

The car is faster than you think, No way it's 707HP, gotta be more!!
No HUD and basic passenger seat adjustments...:(
The Stereo ROCKS for a OEM system, much better than our BA. They put 2 subs in the spare tire hole.

The car is BIG and high, The nose is long, real long. While the car is BIG, you would THINK, the inside would have alot of room, not the case. Sure the driver and passenger is more roomy than our cars but not that much more but more for sure. The rear can hold 3 but no leg room.

The car is fast!! Did I say that already? LOL. The shifting is real nice, like a short throw hurst thats dialed in. Clicks in really nice, I find our shifter a little vague. Can it corner like our cars? HELL NO, but, it does corner much better than you would think being a car thats so big. Stops pretty darn good. close to our cars, I would think it would start fading after a few top end runs. Steering feels loose, not as tight as our cars. Rides pretty good, MUCH less road noise than our cars, however the car is LOUD, real Loud! close the windows and its nice and quiet until you stomp on it...

While our cars were made with the road race track in mind, The hellcat is a street car for sure, A darn good street car at that!!

If you are never going to see a track, the hellcat is a GREAT car, surprised the hell out of me, it handles pretty good for a heavy car.

My car feels like a stick in the mud compared to a hellcat, Guys, the hellcat is the real deal, It's that friggin fast and it turns too!!

No flames please, its Chevy's turn now and guess what, 650HP is not going to do it!!...:(

-Bobby

Good reads. Rings true.

[ZYBORG]

Originally Posted by macwest

When one pulls next to me we will see. So far 2014 gt500 was slow in comparison.

How much modding did it take to your ride to beat that shelby?

[Bad@ssCamaro]

Originally Posted by macwest

When one pulls next to me we will see. So far 2014 gt500 was slow in comparison.

Really? modded vs stock?

[SpeedIsLife]

Originally Posted by bobby35ny

While our cars were made with the road race track in mind

I really wish people would STOP repeating this lie/change of history.

When the Gen 5 came out Chevy was not touting the "road course" prowess of these cars, because they were frightfully bad. The shift to road course "focus" happened after the 5.0 started dominating the drag strip and the ZL1 was less than stellar on the drags too.

It wasn't until the 1LE option appeared that people started acting like the Camaro was always "really" intended for that. It was an adaptation due to the Camaro falling short in its traditional role.

[shawn18]

Originally Posted by SpeedIsLife

I really wish people would STOP repeating this lie/change of history.

When the Gen 5 came out Chevy was not touting the "road course" prowess of these cars, because they were frightfully bad. The shift to road course "focus" happened after the 5.0 started dominating the drag strip and the ZL1 was less than stellar on the drags too.

It wasn't until the 1LE option appeared that people started acting like the Camaro was always "really" intended for that. It was an adaptation due to the Camaro falling short in its traditional role.

Agree 100%.

[ilirg]

Originally Posted by SpeedIsLife

I really wish people would STOP repeating this lie/change of history.

When the Gen 5 came out Chevy was not touting the "road course" prowess of these cars, because they were frightfully bad. The shift to road course "focus" happened after the 5.0 started dominating the drag strip and the ZL1 was less than stellar on the drags too.

It wasn't until the 1LE option appeared that people started acting like the Camaro was always "really" intended for that. It was an adaptation due to the Camaro falling short in its traditional role.

I took "our cars" as Zl1's. The ZL1 is/was a pretty damn good track car. Not saying people on here don't fall back on tracking when the 1/4 mile comes up, but there is no denying the Zl1 is a pretty bad ass all around car.

[SpeedIsLife]

Originally Posted by ilirg

I took "our cars" as Zl1's. The ZL1 is/was a pretty damn good track car. Not saying people on here don't fall back on tracking when the 1/4 mile comes up, but there is no denying the Zl1 is a pretty bad ass all around car.

That's true, I didn't connect "our cars" to mean only ZL1's.

IMO the ZL1 is the best "over all" of the S/C cars, I agree.

[shawn18]

The hellcat is a damn good all around car as well. It really comes down to choice imo. Watch the motortrend video of the ZL1 vs Hellcat. They are very close in every comparison. These are the good ol days we are living in. Get one of these monsters while you can! Either car is awesome.

[bobby35ny]

Originally Posted by SpeedIsLife

That's true, I didn't connect "our cars" to mean only ZL1's.

IMO the ZL1 is the best "over all" of the S/C cars, I agree.

Yes, I meant our cars meaning the ZL1, it was the back pedaling of Al. O that made it a road car after he dropped the ball about how fast the car was on the strip.

[macwest]

Originally Posted by ZYBORG

How much modding did it take to your ride to beat that shelby?

I have done allot. My build thread tells more. But in brief. complete top end has redone , texas speed arp bolts ect..with a edelbrock supercharger. i am running ID850 with zl1 and booster and ADM module. I am running the 3.25 pulley and the car just goes. However off the line first 10 feet. no traction. 3.91. pfadt subframes and total height on tires being 26" makes for great torque.