In this video, Racer X discusses the practicality of modding the 3.6L engine.
Only a sith deals in absolutes.. I wish people didn't deal in absolutes so often.
I live in Idaho and weather was also a consideration of mine. My 2018 SXT is RWD but with dedicated snow tires (and more years than I care to admit driving RWD cars in the snow} I get around just fine and don't regret it at all. And you are right, it looks and sounds great and doesn't break the bank.As a relatively new challenger owner (just got my 2020 GT in June) I'll throw in a consideration I had that wasn't mentioned yet.
Location - I live in New England and a good chunk of the year isn't very friendly to high HP rear-wheel drive vehicles. AWD was pretty non-negotiable for me. And until there is an AWD V8 (a guy can dream right?) it narrowed down my options quickly.
Location also accounts for my daily commute. 36 miles each way is no joke, so MPG was also kind of in the back of my mind.
Since this is also really my first foray into muscle cars and customization the V6 made a whole lot of sense. I recognize I don't get some of the cool V8 toys like superchargers and shaker packs but that's ok for now. I think my car looks rad, sounds rad and drives like a dream, it's fast enough for me. And I'm not blowing up my budget to get a lot of value.
I think there's a big value proposition to be made for the Pentastar.
What was in your Grand National? I had a 1984 with the 200 horsepower, turbocharged 3.8 liter, and it was a 15.9 - 16.0 car.My Grand National ran 13.6 stock spinning the tires all the way down the track basically and with just a set of tires and a downpipes it went right into the 12's.
Interesting note about 1980 being the cutoff. In my eyes, depreciation has done its final damage well before the 30 year mark. I have a 5 year old dart that is basically worthless. Worth less than half what I paid, which was already a steep steep discount from MSRP, and I bought new. MSRP $24-25ish, pd $17ish new, worth $8ish.I roll my eyes at videos and articles like that... especially when he talks about “headers” on an engine that has a single exhaust port on each head 🤣🙄🤪
There’s no single answer as to whether its “right“ or “makes sense” to modify an engine. certainly It is going to cost more to get 450 halfway reliable horsepower (IOW not “spray and pray”) out of a 3.6 than to just sell and buy a car with a stock 485 hp 6.4... but are you doing it for the dyno number, or for the challenge of being different.? Is it a GT and you want to keep AWD and have more power? Are you a real, skilled, car guy who can figure things out and fabricate, or do you just bolt stuff on (if the latter, you’d better go buy a generic motors LS)? There’s not a lot of aftermarket for the 3.6, its pretty much considered an excellent, reliable, but utilitarian engine. But for a lot of people, that’s the fun. I’d rather spend hours sorting out how to modify an interesting and unusual engine than even look at a Chevy 350 or LS where you can just order out of a catalog.
Personally, I don’t really get why people invest a lot in “modding” anything newer than 1980, anyway, (with a few exceptions like a GN or Viper) because they’re still depreciating and mostly plastic to start with. I have a 12 SRT8 daily driver and LOVE IT, but it’ll never get much beyond a Barton shifter, tower brace, and some urethane bushings (functional upgrades). if I’m going crazy, I’ll find a classic (car or pickup) and either G3 Hemi swap it, or modify its original engine if it’s something interesting like a Buick nailhead, Mopar RB or Gen 1 Hemi, Ford 385 series, etc. But that’s just me... I know it’s not for everyone else.
I've only hit 5.2. I think they refer to that as "driver" problems?Good 0-60 times
A Guy
I don't understand why those that bought a 3.6 didn't just go with the 5.7, mpg is about the same and the prices is not that much difference either🤷♂️I think most people who want to mod the 3.6L for more performance are looking to realize some added oomph on a daily driver, and the vast majority will likely never go to the track with their 3.6L.
Nitrous’ major limitation, in my view, is its impracticality for stop light to stop light WOT driving, and that’s where most of the folks modding their 3.6L will be spending their time.