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Scatpack faster than HC?!

41K views 214 replies 51 participants last post by  c26bt34c 
#1 ·
#3 ·
If you drive a 392 hard for a few weeks

.....It will no longer feel very fast. You will get used to it.
 
#9 ·
Yes, I can attest to the fact that daily-driving a car with 400+ HP / 400+ lb-ft for ten years straight has made this level of power feel commonplace, and greatly amplified the disgust I feel whenever I drive any more vanilla automobile (such as anything a rental agency might offer me on a business trip).

The basic four-cylinder Jeep Cherokee I rented on my last trip was a gutless wonder with what I was sure had to be the world's worst automatic transmission ever. All things considered I'm sure it's an adequate automobile. Just not...adequate...for me. :D
 
#10 ·
There was somebody on here with a Scat Pack and said he went to the strip and beat a Hellcat 3 out of 3 races. Guess it was 1/8th mi strip and guess getting the cat going can be difficult on stock tires.

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#11 ·
If I remember the R/T article the 392 automatic in part of first gear is actually putting more power down then a Hell cat. So yes, technically a scat pack is faster then a hellcat for a brief moment in time. I wouldn't be surprised if my 1996 Dodge 180hp diesel puts down more torque then either car for the first 2 feet. Hellcat times are all over the place because they are so hard to launch (I see this at the track frequently).
 
#13 ·
I finally realized that I'm not going to be driving my SPS (or HC) at 100+ miles an hour on public streets. Nor will I be going to a track. My rush comes from short bursts of speed (on or off a highway ramp, taking off at a green light, passing on freeway, having a clear 1/4 or 1/2 mile straightaway.) I think the author was making the case that in these situations the SP actually feels faster and performs better than the Hellcat. Make sense?
 
#17 ·
Still no. The roll on power is dramatically better in the HC. All the things you mentioned are much more impressive in my HC than they ever were in my 392. Where the I felt the 392 started to fall flat is where the HC just starts walking up. Not a knock on the 392 at all (as I've stated I loved that car) it's just that the HC is a completely different animal.


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#14 ·
I have owned some and driven them all at the track. There is NO WAY the other trims compare to the Hellcat. Nothing against the 392, I may own one in the future but to say it is or even feels faster than the Hellcat is just purely delusional.

The Hellcat is primed at all speeds and the acceleration when you step on it is right now.
 
#16 ·
I owned a '15 Scat Pack and now have a '16 Hellcat. Once the accelerator pedal is pressed halfway, there is no real comparison. The Hellcat feels much faster, and the acceleration pull is much more visceral. If I had never ridden in or driven markguitar's HC, I might still own the Scat Pack and be blissfully ignorant. Once I drove his, I had to have one.
 
#19 ·
Its more that that... its physics...The gear ratio difference more than makes up the difference of the "feel" of acceleration...( that is what I read about it) and it makes sense, the HC will do 60 in first or better while the srt and scat pack almost redlines to get to 60 in second gear. (talking sticks here) So driving around town and accelerating during street driving the actual feel you get being pushed back in the seat is what is being described...just like when the HC gets beat in the 1/8 mile....its doesn't get to lets its breath out. ;)


No need for HC insecurities lol...its still the beast.
 
#20 ·
For way under what a HC cost you can beef up the SP to drag all the HCs you want. Id rather build then buy, but that's just me....Nothing against a HC, they are faster for sure stock vs stock....supercharged vs N/A....but I went the beefed up 392 route and I'm way faster for a lot less coin.
 
#21 ·
To be fair.. Faster cars lose all the time. Doesn't matter how fast the car is, if you can't drive it!

But beyond your average Jo Schmoes.... Line both up with pro drivers at the strip and we know
the outcome, every single time! :D
 
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#26 ·
To add to my woes...the mother of one of the boys who goes to day camp with my kids (10 years old range) has a Scat Pack Shaker. It' s a nice looking car (and she has a nice looking rear end) but sure enough I have my kids coming telling me her son runs around telling everyone that that a Scat Pack is better than an SRT......here we go again lol.

I wish I could just pull her aside and say something like "They're both good cars. How about we dump off the kids then drive the cars to a nice, clean hotel and park together and I'll make sure the only ding you get is in your rear end?" I just haven't pieced that one together yet. But I'm working on it.
 
#30 ·
There's not question that the HC is faster then the SP 392! I purchased the SPS simply because it was more practical for my daily driver. I had the opportunity to purchase the HC and if it was my weekend car or if I had a second car but that's my MO. I like to drive what I buy. Coming form the RT the 392 was hellafast for the first few months. Now I feel it's manageable. I think what the article is trying to relay is that from a practically street use the Scat Pack 392 is more enjoyable simply because you can't put the HC muscle in those short burst. I've driven the HC and to be honest it's scary fast when you floor it so to be around town and in short distance you don't get to open it up without lighting up the tires or getting it out of control. Even on the 392 when that beast opens up you better have enough road to enjoy it. There's been plenty of time I want to open it up but just as the car starts getting in the sweet range it's almost time to slow down or else. I can see this even more amplified on the HC. I have a friend that has an older supercharged SRT and it's ridiculous fast and way out of control for the street. But to end my comment regarding this post, the HELLCAT feels and is way faster then the 392 SP.
 
#31 ·
I think what the article is trying to relay is that from a practically street use the Scat Pack 392 is more enjoyable simply because you can't put the HC muscle in those short burst. I've driven the HC and to be honest it's scary fast when you floor it so to be around town and in short distance you don't get to open it up without lighting up the tires or getting it out of control.
I am going to disagree with all this.

Run a good set of 305 Drag Radials on the rear stock wheels, learn to roll into the power rather than stabbing the pedal, and you can manage the Hellcat power very well on the street.

With my Drag Radials on a warm day, I have pulled a 3.5 0-60 and 11.5 1/4 mile on unprepped roads, and I have only had this car for 5 months.

I am sure there are better Hellcat drivers that can beat these numbers easily on the street.

Sticky tires and learning to drive the car are the key.
 
#32 ·
Of course the HC is faster than the SP. What the author of the article is saying is that for a *very* brief period at the bottom of each gear, the SP pulls harder because of the torque multiplication of the lower gear ratios. That is simple physics and hard to refute. All that means is that for a moment (probably a tenth of a second or less) at the start of each gear, the SP feels like it's pulling harder until the torque of the HC catches up (and then massively overtakes it) with the taller gear setup. If the HC had the Scat's gearing, traction would be even more of a problem than it is now...

This exercise means little, and doesn't change much if anything. If you can feel it, then your butt dyno is just hyper-sensitive to that kind of thing.
 
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#33 ·
Everyone here knows the Scat Pack is the true "cats meow". I don't even know how Dodge has managed to sell a single Hellcat. I pity the fools that bought Hellcats! That's why I bought a Scat Pack. Wait a minute,,,,what the? Honey we need to go back to the dealer. I screwed up and bought an SRT by mistake.:notallthere:
 
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#34 · (Edited)
The V6 Challenger is faster than a Scat

....according to some of the logic here (Because it won't spin tires). I suppose it feels faster to actually be moving vice sitting still while spinning tires.
Likewise, the A8 SXT should be MUCH faster than an M6 Scat because the power delta is only 180 HP, vice the 222 HP delta between a HC and a Scat.



A tractor FEELS faster (for the first 3 feet) because of torque. Maybe I'll get one of those. I suppose that Dodge should reduce power in all trims so we can all be faster! Or better yet, only make V6 A8 cars as they will not spin tires, and the drivers won't have to shift. A8 SXT's must be the fastest Challengers. A magazine article with some "selective" physics/math problems will prove it so.


Could it be? :


The M6 is slow because many drivers suck ...No...Blame the car! Afterall, the GT500 is slow because it never had an auto tranny (not).


I guess no one gets wider/better tires anymore....or practices shifting.
 
#36 ·
....according to some of the logic here (Because it won't spin tires). I suppose it feels faster to actually be moving vice sitting still while spinning tires.
The A8 SXT should be MUCH faster than an M6 Scat because the power delta is only 180 HP, vice the 222 HP delta between a HC and a Scat.

A tractor FEELS faster f(or the first 3 feet) because of torque. Maybe I'll get one of those. I suppose that Dodge should reduce power in all trims so we can all be faster!
The whole point was feel, not reality. Nobody has claimed that the 392 cars are faster than a Hellcat. So what you have written is what's called a straw man argument, arguing a point nobody has suggested.
 
#37 · (Edited)
I watched several HC and SP videos last night... Clearly, when there is room-to roam nothing beats the Alpha Cat. Drool!!! However - all egos aside - I was surprised that in "short burst" situations, drivers' smiles/comments equaled - if not beat - the HCs.

Still, I am seriously thinking about the upgrade. The only other pull for me is the Shaker which, hands down, is the baddest looking Challenger on the road. Period.
 
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