Budget?
Best mods to easily increase HP on 2023 dodge charger scat pack
Ordered a 2023 Dodge Charger Scat Pack Daytona 392. Looking to get some feedback on easiest way to increase HP without compromising any long-term health of the motor.
1 - 20 of 25 Posts
The very easiest thing to do would be to sell it and buy a Hellcat....
I'm only half joking here, the 6.4 is pretty tricked out from the factory not a lot of "meat left on the bone" so to speak. It's the same thing I tell guys that want to mod the 3.6... yeah you can do it but you can spend a lot of money and still be slower than the 5.7 so why not just buy the 5.7?
If you mod a brand new 6.4 to the point where it even approaches making another 100 hp you'll likely have devalued it on the used market and you'll end up with a car less valuable then you started with that is still slower than a Hellcat and might have cost you 90% of a Hellcat unless you do all the work yourself.
I'm only half joking here, the 6.4 is pretty tricked out from the factory not a lot of "meat left on the bone" so to speak. It's the same thing I tell guys that want to mod the 3.6... yeah you can do it but you can spend a lot of money and still be slower than the 5.7 so why not just buy the 5.7?
If you mod a brand new 6.4 to the point where it even approaches making another 100 hp you'll likely have devalued it on the used market and you'll end up with a car less valuable then you started with that is still slower than a Hellcat and might have cost you 90% of a Hellcat unless you do all the work yourself.
The other 10% rounds up nicely with a factory HellCat warranty. The tune on an NA 6.4 will cost the unlocked PCM, the tune installed on it, and the driveline warranty because of the tune installed on it.... end up with a car less valuable then you started with that is still slower than a Hellcat and might have cost you 90% of a Hellcat unless you do all the work yourself.
I have no objection to someone doing all this, the personal expression of a well thought out build is priceless. Everything else though is cash or credit.
Yeah that was kinda my point... at the end of the day do what you want and you can rationalize anything I just come at it from a financial sense of why ruin your existing car value and spend all the extra money?The other 10% rounds up nicely with a factory HellCat warranty. The tune on an NA 6.4 will cost the unlocked PCM, the tune installed on it, and the driveline warranty because of the tune installed on it.
I have no objection to someone doing all this, the personal expression of a well thought out build is priceless. Everything else though is cash or credit.
People pour $100k into restomods that are worth maybe $65k when they are done.... but if it makes you feel good do it especially if you can afford it! I personally don't see the sense in forking over $50k for a nice Scat and then trickling in another $20k-30k in over the next couple years to end up with a car worth less than a bone stock Scat and questionable warranty/longevity that still underperforms a Hellcat.
Not all of our Scat builds underperform Hellcats (or Demons for that matter)Yeah that was kinda my point... at the end of the day do what you want and you can rationalize anything I just come at it from a financial sense of why ruin your existing car value and spend all the extra money?
People pour $100k into restomods that are worth maybe $65k when they are done.... but if it makes you feel good do it especially if you can afford it! I personally don't see the sense in forking over $50k for a nice Scat and then trickling in another $20k-30k in over the next couple years to end up with a car worth less than a bone stock Scat and questionable warranty/longevity that still underperforms a Hellcat.
@BigM06R/TAWT @Punisher69
IMO both perspectives are valid. Part of me wanted a HellCat Challenger, but being realistic about how I would use the car had me back off of it. ScatPack for the win in my case. Even that is more power than I need, but still satisfied what I wanted. I'm just out to tweak it a bit, things like a Barton shifter but no power adders.
My '15 5.7 Pursuit OTOH might get upgrades in the future, and I don't need a blower... But I might want one even if I never use all it has to offer. Or maybe just cam, intake, and tune. Definitely no warranty worries on this one, do still need reliability.
Whatever direction it takes, I will be wrenching it myself. I enjoy planning and wrenching. And with selected dress-up goodies, it will be all mine.
In either case, I am late enough in life to not care about resale value. I also would not care if I were younger and had lots of extra wads of cash. Most people should give consideration to resale... which opens the possibility of buying someone else's "completed" project as a base, with an allowance for sorting out possible problems; this can still be a time and money saver as long as it is not on the edge of failure.
I almost bought one of those project cars, but fortunately the seller came to his senses and paid Steve White to sort out his problems; he is now thrilled he did not sell it to me. I would have got a great deal on it.
IMO both perspectives are valid. Part of me wanted a HellCat Challenger, but being realistic about how I would use the car had me back off of it. ScatPack for the win in my case. Even that is more power than I need, but still satisfied what I wanted. I'm just out to tweak it a bit, things like a Barton shifter but no power adders.
My '15 5.7 Pursuit OTOH might get upgrades in the future, and I don't need a blower... But I might want one even if I never use all it has to offer. Or maybe just cam, intake, and tune. Definitely no warranty worries on this one, do still need reliability.
Whatever direction it takes, I will be wrenching it myself. I enjoy planning and wrenching. And with selected dress-up goodies, it will be all mine.
In either case, I am late enough in life to not care about resale value. I also would not care if I were younger and had lots of extra wads of cash. Most people should give consideration to resale... which opens the possibility of buying someone else's "completed" project as a base, with an allowance for sorting out possible problems; this can still be a time and money saver as long as it is not on the edge of failure.
I almost bought one of those project cars, but fortunately the seller came to his senses and paid Steve White to sort out his problems; he is now thrilled he did not sell it to me. I would have got a great deal on it.
There's nothing you can do that is completely risky free, these engines have failed at stock power levels. The question is can you afford to replace an engine if something goes wrong and Dodge denies your warranty claim because of the mods you have made.Looking to get some feedback on easiest way to increase HP without compromising any long-term health of the motor.
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Completely agree with you there but then the cost/reliability goes downhill. Hard to make a Scat outperform a Hellcat while also spending less than the OEM MSRP spread between the two (especially if you also need to upgrade brakes if you didn't have Dynamic package etc.)Not all of our Scat builds underperform Hellcats (or Demons for that matter)
There is no free lunch here and no easy or cheap way to get a lot more power out of the 6.4 IMO.
I am well above Demon power levels, dependably for quite a bit less than the cost of a no options Hellcat...and have no quams driving it across the country or just going to pick up groceries in it. The build/ builder has ALOT to do with reliability, and I chose a good builder.Completely agree with you there but then the cost/reliability goes downhill. Hard to make a Scat outperform a Hellcat while also spending less than the OEM MSRP spread between the two (especially if you also need to upgrade brakes if you didn't have Dynamic package etc.)
There is no free lunch here and no easy or cheap way to get a lot more power out of the 6.4 IMO.
The 4 pots stop like 2-6ft (depending on which test) longer than the 6, and weight is a consideration. I'll take the 4 pots over the 6, eat the difference in stopping power and save the money on services when it's time.
I'm a Scat Pack owner, 2020 and I enjoy Drag Racing Test N Tune at the track. You can't modify the Scat pack and not void your factory warranty But I'm gonna give you a few cool things to make very little power but fun to do. These things should help you move quicker.
1- Oil Catch can. It keeps the blow by old vapors from entering the intake. It's cheap and despite the people in here that don't believe in them, it works as it should, doesn't hurt a damn thing, doesn't void your warranty and looks cool. No Horsepower gains.
2- Hellcat lower air box and inlet tube. This should add a few HP's but I have no idea how much. It could be as little as 1 hp. But what it does do it make your intake temperatures lower , more consistently than stock. You also need to swap out your factory air filter with the Hellcat filter. It flows more air dirty than the Scat pack filter brand new. Again not sure if it actually helps anything. I will be reporting back with Track Data after I make some passes, I just installed the Hellcat setup on mine.
3- Weight reduction. You can get a lighter weight battery for your car that can save you I think 16 lbs. You can replace the front and rear bumper supports with lighter weight units saving I think around 30 lbs collectively. I heard there is a lighter Brake rotor for the Brembo's that is lighter in weight then stock so a few LBS there. Things like this doesn't increase horse power but can make the car faster than stock.
4- Better rear tires. I'm not going to suggest brands but a wider tire with better traction will help the car move forward on the street faster without adding any HP. For the Track different story, you need at least another set of wheels and a set of Drag Radials. 20's will work , I use them for now but a set of 18 inch wheels is ideal and 17's are preferred but you have to make a suspension change to use them.
So there is a few Ideas to get started but you don't own the car first. Buy it, enjoy it. Be careful with the throttle on the street especially for the first 500 miles, break the car in properly , baby it for the first 500 miles. Depending on what stock tires your car comes with , that would be my first target. I changed out all my tires at 4k miles and even got another set of factory wheels.
1- Oil Catch can. It keeps the blow by old vapors from entering the intake. It's cheap and despite the people in here that don't believe in them, it works as it should, doesn't hurt a damn thing, doesn't void your warranty and looks cool. No Horsepower gains.
2- Hellcat lower air box and inlet tube. This should add a few HP's but I have no idea how much. It could be as little as 1 hp. But what it does do it make your intake temperatures lower , more consistently than stock. You also need to swap out your factory air filter with the Hellcat filter. It flows more air dirty than the Scat pack filter brand new. Again not sure if it actually helps anything. I will be reporting back with Track Data after I make some passes, I just installed the Hellcat setup on mine.
3- Weight reduction. You can get a lighter weight battery for your car that can save you I think 16 lbs. You can replace the front and rear bumper supports with lighter weight units saving I think around 30 lbs collectively. I heard there is a lighter Brake rotor for the Brembo's that is lighter in weight then stock so a few LBS there. Things like this doesn't increase horse power but can make the car faster than stock.
4- Better rear tires. I'm not going to suggest brands but a wider tire with better traction will help the car move forward on the street faster without adding any HP. For the Track different story, you need at least another set of wheels and a set of Drag Radials. 20's will work , I use them for now but a set of 18 inch wheels is ideal and 17's are preferred but you have to make a suspension change to use them.
So there is a few Ideas to get started but you don't own the car first. Buy it, enjoy it. Be careful with the throttle on the street especially for the first 500 miles, break the car in properly , baby it for the first 500 miles. Depending on what stock tires your car comes with , that would be my first target. I changed out all my tires at 4k miles and even got another set of factory wheels.
Good luck to the OP if he can baby a 392. I couldn’t do it. But no burnouts or street takeover antics.So there is a few Ideas to get started but you don't own the car first. Buy it, enjoy it. Be careful with the throttle on the street especially for the first 500 miles, break the car in properly , baby it for the first 500 miles. Depending on what stock tires your car comes with , that would be my first target. I changed out all my tires at 4k miles and even got another set of factory wheels.
I am only doing low/no power reversible mods, no PCM or tunes, until the warranty is gone.
I've done a bit of reading on the oil catch can and seems to be a bit more good reviews than bad. Do you recommend any specific brand/model?I'm a Scat Pack owner, 2020 and I enjoy Drag Racing Test N Tune at the track. You can't modify the Scat pack and not void your factory warranty But I'm gonna give you a few cool things to make very little power but fun to do. These things should help you move quicker.
1- Oil Catch can. It keeps the blow by old vapors from entering the intake. It's cheap and despite the people in here that don't believe in them, it works as it should, doesn't hurt a damn thing, doesn't void your warranty and looks cool. No Horsepower gains.
2- Hellcat lower air box and inlet tube. This should add a few HP's but I have no idea how much. It could be as little as 1 hp. But what it does do it make your intake temperatures lower , more consistently than stock. You also need to swap out your factory air filter with the Hellcat filter. It flows more air dirty than the Scat pack filter brand new. Again not sure if it actually helps anything. I will be reporting back with Track Data after I make some passes, I just installed the Hellcat setup on mine.
3- Weight reduction. You can get a lighter weight battery for your car that can save you I think 16 lbs. You can replace the front and rear bumper supports with lighter weight units saving I think around 30 lbs collectively. I heard there is a lighter Brake rotor for the Brembo's that is lighter in weight then stock so a few LBS there. Things like this doesn't increase horse power but can make the car faster than stock.
4- Better rear tires. I'm not going to suggest brands but a wider tire with better traction will help the car move forward on the street faster without adding any HP. For the Track different story, you need at least another set of wheels and a set of Drag Radials. 20's will work , I use them for now but a set of 18 inch wheels is ideal and 17's are preferred but you have to make a suspension change to use them.
So there is a few Ideas to get started but you don't own the car first. Buy it, enjoy it. Be careful with the throttle on the street especially for the first 500 miles, break the car in properly , baby it for the first 500 miles. Depending on what stock tires your car comes with , that would be my first target. I changed out all my tires at 4k miles and even got another set of factory wheels.
After reading all these replies seems like it might be best just to leave it close to stock besides a few minor things. Hoping if I can take care of it and it being the last model year, a few years down the road might have some decent value left in. I wasn't really looking to do any major mods to make it a racer or anything. Just some quick, easy, and relatively cheap upgrades just to make the car a bit cooler.
I recommend Billet Tech, made in the USA, and they have factory colors if you want to match to the exterior paint.I've done a bit of reading on the oil catch can and seems to be a bit more good reviews than bad. Do you recommend any specific brand/model?
Look for the Memorial Day sale in the next day or so. They can take a while as they are made to order for special colors but you have some time. I have several of their “bling” covers and oil dip stick handle. Very nice.
Check their Instagram page for lots of customer order pics and engine bay details.
Billet Technology | Modern Mopar Billet Accesories
Direct link, also get the Z bracket. One screw and the whole thing is off. Plug in the old factory tube and back to stock.
Billet Technology Signature Series Catch Can For 392 HEMI (Charger, Challenger, 300)
Billet Technology Signature Series Catch Can For 392 HEMI (Charger, Challenger, 300)
I got the Billet Technology, it's solid and is what most guy at the track I see using.I've done a bit of reading on the oil catch can and seems to be a bit more good reviews than bad. Do you recommend any specific brand/model?
Here is a picture of mine.
I don't have the JLT intake anymore , I switched to the Hellcat lower and air tube.
The car is already pretty fast and with the traction issues , tires are going to be the best mod.After reading all these replies seems like it might be best just to leave it close to stock besides a few minor things. Hoping if I can take care of it and it being the last model year, a few years down the road might have some decent value left in. I wasn't really looking to do any major mods to make it a racer or anything. Just some quick, easy, and relatively cheap upgrades just to make the car a bit cooler.
I agree. Tires are the best bang for the buck. You can also go a bit wider in the rear wheels, too.The car is already pretty fast and with the traction issues , tires are going to be the best mod.
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