So what type of Mods?

[shodanusmc]

A lot of useful info is available on the Jeep and Charger forums, as we have had ours for 2 years now. Lots of folks learned the hard way what not to do, and now more products are on the market that can be done cost effectively. Just remember the dealers are getting smarter, and will pretty much refuse warranty repair if they can prove that an aftermarket part caused the damage. Do a search on GSM and Hennessy....and think long and hard before you go that route. CAI's and Catbacks offer a little in the way of performance increases. Several Tunes are now available and there are some wild claims, and some reasonable claims. Some Turbos, some Superchargers, etc, but also some blown engines. Watch out for a few CAI's that will suck in water that will destroy your engine. Initial problems were leaking O Rings, bad gunk that formed in the AntiFreeze, weak axels, door, fender and hood panels not aligned, poor paint quality, ie fisheye, heavy orange peel, dirt and bubbles in paint. As with any purchase, pick it up in the daylight, and go over the entire car before you sign and drive. Get it in writing what needs to be repaired. Get ready for the Mother load of all brake dust, or go to an aftermarket pad. Lots of complaints of squeeky brakes. You are paying around $2,000-$10,000 more than a sililar equiped Charger SRT, Bee, or Plum Crazy...basically the same vehicle, so take the extra time to really check it out.

They are fast, but they are very beatable now. The new CTS-V, AMG's, M's, new C06's, GT500's will all take it. The Jeep will take it in a dig....I wish Dodge/Jeep would put of a Turbo as an option with a warranty. But you will get the most looks and the most thumbs up.....it really is a beauty of a car. I hope the run goes longer than 2 model years.

[RoostKing]

Nothing too crazy for awhile. I will do exhaust(MUST NOT DRONE!!!), hopefully some headers for the 6 speed will be available soon after release. Some sort of tune.. I think the Diablo or is it Predator? I dont know, i need to get back over to the Charger forums and see what those guys are doing. Maybe a 100 hp shot of Nitrous...

Wheels and tires will come a few months after purchase, if I can hold on that long LOL. Cam, heads, stroker motor in a couple of years.

[425hpChargerSRT8]

The Diablo Predator is the name and thats the tuner you will want. As far as exhaust, the only thing that will do is change the sound. No really change in performance. the best bang for the buck mods IMO were the diablo, and long tube headers. That was a very noticeable difference for a fraction of the cost

[bulldggs]

Good post for thought. Warranty and aftermarket products and should you NOW or should you LATER....

It's so easy to get carried away with all the great modifications/custom stuff that's available now and soon to be available.

At first I was like I've got to lower this car- it would be so cool and it would set it apart. Then I'm thinking why mess with the finely tuned suspension on a new car right now and screw up the warranty too.

I'm thinking headers for the sound, but I know without a cat back exhaust it's really not going to give you that much extra hp. Again, that warranty and why not see how it handles right off the line.

I'm going to go with the cold air intake up front though.

I want to go with the Diablo but that's way down the line.

I kept my Grand National stock all those years so this is going to be my first and long awaited car which I am going to modify (but not for racing!) and make my project car - since I didn't happen to marry a man who's into cars as much as I am!

Here's my problem, so can you guys help a girl out?

I've got the hemi orange 09 on order - no sunroof, no hoodstipe, perf tires, the kicker soundsystem and the katzen seats. So I've got the body of the car looking as I want to further customize. The interior - no problems there, lots offered there to choose from.

What should I hold off buying engine wise with the warranty? Any suggestions on how I can get a bit more hp out of it from the beginning other than the intake and filters?

I just want to up the hp little by little. By no means will I be messing with major engine overhauls here!! After all, I'm just your average woman.

Seriously, any suggestions as to how I can start slowly, little by little modifying the engine while it's still under warranty? Again, I probably won't be needing ANY of these modifications in first place, it's just that I've wanted this car since I was 10 and you'd better believe I'm going to have fun with it!

If any body can help me out with some suggestions that is a MUST for the engine (within my limits of not trying to out-perform anyone), please let me know. I just want to know what I CAN and SHOULD do while it's under warranty that will keep me covered if I run into any problems the first couple of years.

My forte is definately with the exterior - I've always had ground effects packages, unique bodies, custom wheels and tires on my cars to set them apart. I just need a little direction in the engine department - just enough to make me happy, not so much as to go overboard.

Thanks for listening and if you can point me in the right direction...it would be greatly appreciated.

[ChallyRafter]

N00b ALERT! I am N00b!

This might be the wrong place for this discussion but...

So this Predator Tuner adjusts the computer's power band for higher performance engine output.

This is the same technology as what Ive known as having your motor "chipped"?

I assume this works only on automatic transmissions?

[Kelsey73]

I'm having the mopar CAI installed right from the start and will probably go for a whole exhaust system next. Next I would look at a new tune, but I don't know how that warranty will hold up. Hopefully mopar will have one!

As far as the warranty goes I think as long as you stay with the Mopar parts things should be ok. I know that's what I'll be sticking with the whole way through. it's just much easier. I'm being really careful on both this and my Shelby. That's why I'm gonna hold off on the S/C for the stang until the warranty is gone. I had the turbo on my SRT4 seize at 33K miles. They replaced it, but I'm really glad I didn't have to pay for it.

ChallyRafter-yup basically the same thing. Sometimes you have to install an actual chip that will piggyback on the engines computer. But now it's usually just a tune. You can tune a manual trans as well. My Shelby is a manual and has a new tune on it.