[Comfy vroom]

Hi everyone,
I am looking at getting a challenger rt. I'm in the market to get a new car and after along time and a lot of research I got off track. I have test driven 3 mustangs and 2 challenger srt8s.

I don't feel like getting a big car loan again so I think the srt8 is out of the search unless I can get one at 20000-25000. The srt8 was awesome to drive and was comfy. I want a cruiser that sounds amazing and is really comfy. I want it to put in my seat when I ask it to, but I mostly likely will not track or drag it.
The mustang was awesome as well but the ride and seats were not as comfy and that's huge. The manual however was so much more chill. Easy SMOOTH short shifts unlike the challenger I know I'm picky but it's a huge decision for me.
So back to business. I want an everyday driver that sounds amazing deep and mesmerizing. Not the loud that sounds like an impact gun. Its to be like the muscles of the 60s but modern. Vroom vroom. I love beastly noise just not teeth chattering noise. No drone of course. With upgrading the car I.e. super/turbo charger and more if it matters if I get a 2008-2010 challenger rt or a 2011-2014...or if I'm better off getting an srt8 to upgrade. Wondering if most upgrades can be done on all stock internals besides the direct parts you are upgrading up to 500-550 hp/tq.

Of course there are more questions but I don't want to overwhelm any one.

Again I'm looking for a daily driver that is super comfy, sounds amazing, puts me in my seat when I floor it, and those are my main goals with this car.

Thank you in advance

 

[huggytree]

did you get to test a Mustang with the recaro seats??? if not try that before you decide on the Challenger

did you notice the difference getting into the Mustang vs the Challenger??? the Mustang you need to contort yourself to get under the steering wheel...while the Challenger is just a normal car, you just get in

the 5.0 is going to be your best bang for the buck, but the Challenger looks better....

ive gone on long rides with my Mustang and have had no issues with comfort...even on a 10 hour drive...it is bumpier true, but the recaro seats cradle you perfectly(if your not fat)

 

[Comfy vroom]

It's hard to find recaro seats to test drive but more importantly the comfort I want is like a lazy boy not stuff or hard. I like plush and absorbing like a pillow top tepurpedic, of course neither is like that but the challenger is closer. Are challenger manuals just clunky and stiff at first? The mustangs shift just seemed so smooth.

Are hp/tq/speed feel gains for mustang cheaper than challenger and can they both gain 500-600 w/o forged internals? I'm looking to upgrade what ever I get to a turbo/super charger.

 

[huggytree]

I test drove a Challenger SRT manual 6.1 a while back...I found the shifting to be great.


the 5.0 uses a Chinese manual from what ive heard which has issues

if you want a softer ride then a RT is for you...

parts for increasing power are going to be significantly easier to find for a 5.0....there are just 10x more mustangs on the road than Challengers, so there are going to be more parts manufacturers because of this

putting a SC on either will get you close to 500hp, but then you will have an engine that will be trashed at 50,000-100,000 miles.....if you want more power id look for a 392 Core for around $39k

 

[MuscleCarProf]

It's hard to find recaro seats to test drive but more importantly the comfort I want is like a lazy boy not stuff or hard. I like plush and absorbing like a pillow top tepurpedic, of course neither is like that but the challenger is closer. Are challenger manuals just clunky and stiff at first? The mustangs shift just seemed so smooth.

Are hp/tq/speed feel gains for mustang cheaper than challenger and can they both gain 500-600 w/o forged internals? I'm looking to upgrade what ever I get to a turbo/super charger.

If you're and average to bigger guy the recaros aren't great. I'm 6'4" 220 and not a fat guy or anything and I found the recaros to be tight and uncomfortable. Plus, they will wear much faster than the standard buckets in a premium or cloth Mustang interior because of the aggressive side bolsters. I've owned two Coyote powered Mustang GTs and prefer my Challenger R/T to them. Throw on a cat back system to a 6 spd R/T and you'll never regret your Challenger purchase. MUCH more comfortable than a Mustang and it's just a "tougher" car, more muscle car than sports car. The 5.7 Hemi responds well to mods (392 is based off the 5.7) and there are plenty of guys on this forum that have modded theirs for large gains. I would recommend Arrington based off of what I've heard from other Challenger owners. My $.02.

 

[Yellow Jacket 2012]

did you get to test a Mustang with the recaro seats??? if not try that before you decide on the Challenger

did you notice the difference getting into the Mustang vs the Challenger??? the Mustang you need to contort yourself to get under the steering wheel...while the Challenger is just a normal car, you just get in

the 5.0 is going to be your best bang for the buck, but the Challenger looks better....

ive gone on long rides with my Mustang and have had no issues with comfort...even on a 10 hour drive...it is bumpier true, but the recaro seats cradle you perfectly(if your not fat)

I am far from fat, actually built well and those seats were one of the reasons I didn't buy the boss 302. I don't like the confined feeling of sitting in them. My last two mustangs were premium GT's and skipped them.

 

[Comfy vroom]

@huggytree. 15-20k increase for srt8 is not something I want to do. If I could get the stang to be as comfy as the challenger then I would go stang.

@musclecarprof your two cents were great appreciated. I'm 5'11" 190lbs. Lazy boy or bust

 

[Comfy vroom]

@yellow jacket 2012. When you were referring to the mustang premiums and you said "skipped them" what do you mean?

 

[ceri]

On the exhaust side of things, the hemi doesn't have a deep tone due to the two plugs per cylinder. It stays relatively high in pitch compared to the old motorboat style V8s and there's not much you can do to fix that. It's still a V8 sound, but not a low rumble. The manuals are slightly deeper than the autos from the factory due to less restrictive exhaust.

Mustangs are going to be much cheaper to mod because there are so many more of them. More competition for mod dollars. The Dodge 5.7L base (5.7, 6.1, 6.4) has been around for 10 years now though so it has developed an aftermarket. Putting a 6.4L cam into a 5.7 R/T is worth around 40-50 hp with accompanying valvetrain upgrades with most of the gains up high the rpm band. That's about a $1k upgrade with tuning if you can do the install yourself. If you get to the level of a supercharger you'll regret not buying the SRT to begin with. I'd love to go FI on my R/T, but I know it would be more practical to trade in for a 392 first.

Dodge wins in comfort, but it's heavier than the Mustang or Camaro. It also wins in looks, though that's more personal opinion. The new stangs are finally starting to look good, but they're still a dime a dozen. If you're concerned about being fastest, then go Mustang. If you're concerned about getting looks, then the Challenger wins hands down.

 

[Comfy vroom]

Thank you ceri. I like the look of both and stock for stock I like the challenger more including the sound but not the stick shift for its rough shifts like my bmw 128i aftermarket short shifter. Not rough but not smooth like the stang. Maybe I'm being too picky with that though. Realistically I won't do forced induction for a year due to cost but I would like to make it (challenger or stang) sound better and minor hp/tq gains 1000 doll-hairs or less per item. Forced induction is a lot and it would take a long while to save up for that.

 

[Comfy vroom]

Most likely see if a muffler will get me the sound I want then maybe a resonator/cat delete as long as it doesn't start to get nasty sounding and of course no drone. Then move on to intake if needed or if it would make it sound better then throttle body and headers. This list is not all inclusive since don't know all that much in detail.

 

[Comfy vroom]

Of course when it comes to power and torque increases I'm only looking for if I can feel the difference I'm not tracking or dragging it.

 

[Yellow Jacket 2012]

@yellow jacket 2012. When you were referring to the mustang premiums and you said "skipped them" what do you mean?

I didn't buy the Recaro optional seats, I took the standard seats.

 

[MuscleCarProf]

Most likely see if a muffler will get me the sound I want then maybe a resonator/cat delete as long as it doesn't start to get nasty sounding and of course no drone. Then move on to intake if needed or if it would make it sound better then throttle body and headers. This list is not all inclusive since don't know all that much in detail.

If you want bigger gains but don't want to go forced induction, a lot of guys are going with 6.4 cam swaps, tunes, CAI, and exhaust. Great power without spending 10s of thousands of dollars.

 

[Comfy vroom]

I wish I could rent a challenger rt and stang gt for a week or two then it would be easier to decide

 

[MuscleCarProf]

I wish I could rent a challenger rt and stang gt for a week or two then it would be easier to decide

If it's better looks and overall comfort and ride quality, the Challenger wins. If it's cheap speed you want go with the Mustang. Both sides have value when buying a modern Muscle Car. Do I wish my R/T was faster? Yes, and I can fix that. As far as the Mustang goes, not much you can do to change the overall look of the design or the ride comfort (most suspension mods will make the ride harsher for handing). R/T and SRT seats are far superior to any of the seat options available for the new Mustangs. There is zero room in the back seat of a Mustang for a human of any size. It's literally an upholstered shelf.