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What a difference an inch makes

13K views 51 replies 26 participants last post by  LT1 Iron 
#1 · (Edited)
Okay, I'll admit it, buying this car was an total impulse buy. I did little research but have loved Challengers ever since they were introduced and when I saw this one on year-end clearance I fell in love.

Having said that, it came with the standard R/T suspension and as hard as I tried to ignore it, the floaty handling became more and more of a disappointment. Almost all of my driving is on two-lane country roads and something had to change. So I hooked up with Luke at Steve White Motors (a site sponsor) and he set me up with a set of Stage-1 springs and Bilstein shocks/struts.

OMG what a difference! The inch drop and new components totally transformed the car into a tight road car. Flat corners and firm ride! Not at all choppy or stiff, just right on bendies and highway cruising is unaffected. It's a steep price to pay when the STP package is right around $600 but I'm thrilled!

Even Tuco agrees!


BEFORE:


AFTER:
 
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#4 ·
I have to do this mod. So your car didn't come with STP?

Did you have to install the offset camber angle bushings?
 
#5 ·
I have to do this mod. So your car didn't come with STP?
Did you have to install the offset camber angle bushings?
No STP and no bushings, unless they were included with the kit. I did not do the installation myself.
 
#8 ·
Looks good Bohunkman! Black and red are one of the best looking color schemes!
I have a question about the packages and suspension. You have an RT plus, which is what I have, or so the build sheet said. The sheet and Mopar owner connect say it has "performance suspension" and "performance steering". Owner connect just says RT 2 door hard top. The performance items are under standard equipment, not special or optional. So is "performance" steering and suspension standard on RT's, or what?
 
#9 ·
"Performance" suspension is what they call the standard suspension on an R/T but that's a stretch to say the least. If you do a lot of highway touring it's perfectly adequate... quite pleasant actually, but if you like going around corners it just doesn't cut it. Body lean is a real disappointment.

I can't tell you how much I love this setup, it has completely changed the character of the car. Cornering is flat and the ride is excellent, not choppy or stiff feeling, just tight. I had a close call yesterday when some dipshit decided she wanted to swing over into my lane but a quick left-right yank on the steering and a blast from my horn avoided a collision, it just zig zaged onto the paved shoulder and then back like it was on rails.

Next up is red rally stripes... as if it doesn't get enough attention already. :pimp:
 
#12 ·
I ordered my Car with the STP for an additional $500 bucks
the suspension, tire, brakes, steering upgrades and the fact I
can completely disable the ESP system it was a steal.
The only way to go and the price for that option is a steal, especially when you also get hydraulic power steering too which is another day-night improvement over electric.

STP should come standard on R/T's.
 
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#15 ·
I did the same mod , Like driving a different car. I have a plain Jane no options except 20" wheels and A5. Weight reduction of 80 lbs. No suitcase , resonators, or jack and spare.Car weighed 4020 with 3/4 tank of gas
 
#22 ·
I buy what I like and mod it the way I like.

Got a problem with that? :scratchhead:
 
#25 ·
Nice. This is a hefty car so lowering that CG did wonders for your roadholding ability I bet. An inch is a big difference, in many ways. ;)
 
#26 ·
Springs and shocks are most likely what changed the handling but The Challenger is still a HEAVY car and the laws of Physics make it hard to make it a great handling car. Center of gravity is still way high and the car weight is the biggest issue. At least they handle better than the old MoPars with torsion bars up front and leaf springs in the back.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I bought my 2014 R/T with the STP but I wanted to lower the car for just the right look and even better handling. I used H&R springs and kept the Bilstein shocks & struts. That was a mistake. The Bilstein's with the H&R are way to stiff! I'm going to be changing out the Bilstein shocks & struts for a set of Eibach Pro-Damper shocks & struts. They are designed to be used on lowered cars reducing the stiffness.

And to the guy that said if want a car the can handle you shouldn't by a Challenger, I had a 2005 C-6 Corvette I traded in for my Challenger and yes the Vette handled better, but the Challenger with the STP option handle well enough that it satisfied me and now that's lowered it handles even better.
 

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#30 ·
And to the guy that said if want a car the can handle you shouldn't by a Challenger, I had a 2005 C-6 Corvette I traded in for my Challenger and yes the Vette handled better, but the Challenger with the STP option handle well enough that it satisfied me and now that's lowered it handles even better.
Yea, who the hell is talking Vette handling from a Challenger anyway? The entire point of this thread is to let guys know that the suspension mods make the car handle much better.

That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
#31 ·
Have to agree with 3boys. The Challenger is top heavy. Parked side by side with my modded Caprice LT1, the Challenger appears to have a higher roofline!


Ordered RT from the factory with Super Track Pack. Has yellow Bilstein shocks, same as SRT. Mikey at Speedlogix told me to check for the yellow shocks when I discussed possible suspension mods with him. He said some RT's from that year got the Bilsteins, some did not. Don't know if that's accurate.


Caprice is modded with 9C1 heavy duty springs from previous generation square Caprice. Front springs are cut down 1/2 coil. Monroe Severe Service police & taxi shocks. No question whatsoever that the Challenger has much more body roll than the Caprice. Not even close.


Do not forget that the Challenger now and the Challenger from the 60s & 70s are UNIBODY cars. They will always have more flex and wheel hop than a full frame car.


After banging the chin spoiler on a few curbs, I will not be lowering the Challenger, because I drive on rural roads and want to be able to clear over a dead skunk, not hit it. The ground effects are too low as it is.
 
#33 ·
After banging the chin spoiler on a few curbs, I will not be lowering the Challenger, because I drive on rural roads and want to be able to clear over a dead skunk, not hit it. The ground effects are too low as it is.
If you have STP, it's already just about as low as the Stage 1's. You guys must live somewhere where curbs are higher than here. My air dam clears parking lot stops by about an inch and I've never bottomed my car out... and I live in the country off a gravel road. Those speed bumps that ramp up, go flat and then ramp down I go over those at 40 with no problem.

Oddly enough we don't get many squashed skunks on the roads here, but a LOT of squirrels, possums, raccoons, turtles and way too many deer.

:thumbsup:
 
#34 ·
From what I can figure out from driving around and scraping a few times, the front air dam is the lowest part of the car. That's the problem area for "bottoming out," scraping up the underside of the plastic air dam. Although I would define bottoming out as scraping the underside of the car by the engine mount.


As far as that goes, I agree the Challenger has plenty of clearance underneath for road obstacles. Last winter I had the whole car up on 4 jack stands, so the tires would hang down without touching the garage floor. Getting the front 2 stands placed was not too hard, since there is a metal reinforcing plate of about 6 inches on the subframe. I cut a square of cardboard to lay on top of the stands so as not to scrape up the paint. All good so far.


I have some old style tubular jack stands with flat heads, which I got in school back in the last century. I don't think that style is made any more, I suspect because of lawyers and liability. They can slip, more on that later. They are light and easy to handle, and will not punch a hole in the floorboard if they do slip, unlike the newer "saddle" type stands today.


Then I jacked up the rear to place stands under the rear control arms, and that's a tough thing to do, because Challenger has independent rear suspension, unlike the full frame Caprice. Each rear arm is compressing and shifting, but after lots of careful fiddling, I got it done and the car "hung" there all winter.


So this spring I get under the car to drain and change oil B4 hitting the road. All good and easy to do since the car is all jacked up. Then I lowered the front end one side at a time. No problems.

Next I lowered one side of the rear end, okay so far. When I lowered the left rear, the car shifted off the cardboard (slippery) and the head of the stand was wedged up by where the brake line came out. Oops.


Turned out to be okay after I jacked it up, but this year I placed 4 carpet remnants in front of the tires in the garage and drove onto them for winter. Then I pumped up the tires to 42 pounds to firm them up so they don't go square. I'll pull the car forward and backward a few times when I start it up in storage, and call it good. No way I'm jacking more than 2 wheels at a time off the ground with this thing.


Conclusion: this car is a prima donna and requires a LOT more babying than the full frame cars I'm used to. This type of fiddling around is what I imagine exotic car owners like Ferrari have to do. Now I'm afraid to take it anywhere other than the dealer for anything. I can imagine some Joe Six-Pack mechanic crushing the bottom of my door frame just putting it on a lift improperly.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Czechman, I also have a 14 R/T Classic with STP, A5 auto trans and Nav. Stock it sat slightly lower than R/T's without STP but not low enough for me. I added Mopar Stage I springs and after a few weeks they finally settled and the car sets the way I like it to look now. I have since added Whiteline solid adjustable front/rear sway bars. The springs tightened up the handling and the sway bars really tightened it up. Not a harsh ride, just taunt in corners. Obviously at appx. 4000 lbs. (I removed the stock exhaust and replaced it with a Flowmaster Force II cat back exhaust system and lost at least 100-125 lbs. from the stock exhaust and HUGE resonators) Challenger will not keep up with a C6 @ 3250 lbs. in the twisties, but it does handle just fine for me thank you. You might want to think about adding the Whiteline sway bars. :thumbsup: :guiness:
 
#38 ·
Mach2: where did you get the Whiteline parts and how much did you pay? Never heard of that company B4.


The Challenger is a nice cruiser, but not a sports car by any means. I agree, all mine really needs is to tighten up the cornering. Without a harsh ride, preferably.


Then the question is why do we have to go out and research, plus spend money, when we ordered STP from the factory? Price wise the Goodyear 20 inch tires are worth it w/ the Super Track Pack, but it is not really "super" in the corners. My 18 year old modded LT1 Chevy blows away the 2012 Challenger in the corners, so what's the deal with that?


Why doesn't Dodge lighten up the car with more aluminum or "plastic" panels like behind the rear wheels? Because Dodge doesn't properly promote the car or devote the resources to it that they could.


Nice retro orange color btw. Looks just like the orange on the GTO Judge.
 
#41 ·
Mach2: where did you get the Whiteline parts and how much did you pay? Never heard of that company B4.

The Challenger is a nice cruiser, but not a sports car by any means. I agree, all mine really needs is to tighten up the cornering. Without a harsh ride, preferably.

Then the question is why do we have to go out and research, plus spend money, when we ordered STP from the factory? Price wise the Goodyear 20 inch tires are worth it w/ the Super Track Pack, but it is not really "super" in the corners. My 18 year old modded LT1 Chevy blows away the 2012 Challenger in the corners, so what's the deal with that?

Why doesn't Dodge lighten up the car with more aluminum or "plastic" panels like behind the rear wheels? Because Dodge doesn't properly promote the car or devote the resources to it that they could.

Nice retro orange color btw. Looks just like the orange on the GTO Judge.
I bought them from Speedlogix. Whiteline Adjustable Front & Rear Sway Bars 05-14 Challenger, Charger, 300, Magnum $443.00 for both front & rear including shipping. Something I didn't know until I had the sway bars installed, you have to drop the rear suspension down to install the rear sway bar. :surprise: Most body shops are familiar with doing that though. The color is Header Orange that was a 2013 & 14 color. I saw it on the showroom floor and had to have it. It came with just the Super Track Pack, A5 5 speed auto trans and Uconnect 730N Navigation for options.
 
#40 ·
Just contact Luke at Steve White Motors (site sponsor) and he'll set you up with the correct parts based on your VIN.
 
#42 ·
Okay, scoped out the Whiteline sway bar listing at Speedlogix. Thanks for the link.


Product description shows Front bar at 32mm diameter, Rear at 18mm diameter. Do you know the specs for the RT w/ STP?


Do STP owners get larger diameter sway bars than standard RT?
 
#43 ·
The one thing about Whiteline sway bars are that they are solid, whereas the stock sway bars are hollow from what I understand from the research I did prior to buying and installing the Whiteline sways. The Whiteline rear sway is slightly larger in diameter and the Whiteline front sway is the same diameter or a tiny bit smaller in diameter. Being solid though makes a difference. STP owners got the gas Bilstein gas shocks, slightly stiffer springs and the sways are the same as non STP cars, I think.
 
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