Logic behind the 5.7
Any one have a logic on why Dodge would refresh the Challenger for 2015, but continue to leave the HP at a sad 372? i mean, simple shorties , better exhaust, a cam reprofile and tune, your at 420 or so. I mean it's well know the exhaust manis are crap. I mean dodge wants me to pay top dollar for this "Muscle Car" but doesn't want to provide the muscle, wants to leave it up to me and my ingenuity and wallet. They just want to provide the looks. Or charge $7 more for a real motor. :surprise::surprise:
I agree that better exhaust manifolds and mids would make for an inexpensive upgrade to the 5.7, drawing from the parts bin while not hurting fuel economy, emissions or durability. On the other items, there are some valid reasons to leave the 5.7 as is.
1. Even today, 372 hp is far from "sad", especially with the excellent torque provided by the 5.7. Even in a heavy Challenger, this provides easy mid-13 second 1/4 mile and low 5 second 0-60 mph. Yes, in the horsepower wars that is relatively "slow", but on an absolute basis a stock Challenger RT is still a fast car that satisfies a good share of the market. 13 second cars are only slow when compared to 12 or 11 second cars. They are still 13 second cars, not a Prius.
2. Dodge has limited R&D resources, both $$$ and people. SRT has been busy working on the Viper and Hellcat. They should be focusing on their halo cars, not tweaking the 5.7.
3. Cam and tune makes more power, but creates potential fuel economy, emissions and longevity issues. Given Dodge already has the excellent 392 for those wanting more, why spend a lot of time and money on making a 5.7 that will get worse gas mileage? Dodge, like all the automakers other than Tesla, has its hands full trying to meet tighter CAFE standards. Zero incentive for Dodge to add a bigger cam or more aggressive tune to the 5.7 that hurts fuel economy.
4. You are not paying "top dollar" for the entry level 5.7 V8. The 5.7 provides relatively inexpensive and respectable performance. If you were paying top dollar for the 5.7 it would be priced the same or close to the 392. Instead, you are getting a significant discount on the 5.7 vs the 6.4.
5. The Scat Pack is about $6,700 more than a 5.7 with the track pack. However, that includes the Brembo brakes up front, which is a significant performance improvement. Looking at the Mustang GT, where the Brembo brakes are optional without an engine upgrade, it looks like Ford is charging around $2,000 for the Brembos. (Ford's Performance Pack is the brembos + equivalent of Dodge's track pack, so I backed the Track Pack price out of Ford's PP). So the incremental cost of the 6.4 over the 5.7 is about $4,700. That is a reasonable amount of money for an extra 100 horsepower and lots more torque, especially below 3,000 rpm.
I don't see any way to add 6.4 power to the 5.7 for less money, even if Dodge had unlimited R&D resources---which they don't have. Those engineering resources are stretched to the limit trying to meet the upcoming CAFE standards.