Many things we do in life are based on impulse. Whether we buy a new T.V., a set of golf clubs or more tools we don’t really need, but justify anyway, we are an impulse species. However, most of us do not impulse buy a 707-horsepower sports car. Nevertheless, that is exactly how I acquired my 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat.
It was a gorgeous November day and I had been working in the garage, preparing for the winter ahead. Suddenly I received a phone call from my father. He was on his return trip from the hardware store and was distracted by a 2015 Challenger 392. My dad had a ’68 RT Charger himself and always had a spot for Mopars. He asked if I wanted to come check it out as it wasn’t horribly priced and was a 6-speed. I head to the dealer and took it for a drive. If I am being honest, I was horribly underwhelmed by the car. We did the usual pleasantries with the salesperson when they asked what we thought and if we were ready to take it home. I gave him my honest review; he was surprised to hear it. He wrapped up his spiel with, “I was surprised to get 4 of these in this week on trades.” I took a quick survey and noticed there was only three, being curious I asked where the fourth car was. “I have a Hellcat in back, getting a PDI done right now.” Well you could have led with that one, sir. He took us to the back, I was instantly in love, I tried not to outwardly show this but my dad could already tell I was leaving with a deal made.
Being that it was cold, wet and November they were not too keen on us taking the car out. With only 7500 miles on it the rear tires were destroyed, the previous owner clearly had their fun with the car. I was able to convince the manager to take me for a quick ride to make sure it went through gears like it should. It was a M6 car as opposed to the 8-speed torqueflight they also came with. It took about 600 feet before I told him to turn around and that I would take a car that was not officially for sale. The ultimate impulse buy.
I picked up the car that following Tuesday as I penciled the deal on a Saturday. My first stop was to Andrew’s house. Andrew’s favorite thing to do is tell me all the things I won’t do, essentially guaranteeing that I will do them. This car was no different. I had been wanting a Hellcat, to me it was one of the “obtainable dream cars” that I had on my list. He was excited for the new project as this had replaced my 2003 Evo. Most people would be content with a factory 707-horsepower car, I quickly discovered I was not most people.
Fast forward to January 2019. I sent the car to our friends at Endless Performance. I had compiled a bunch of bolt-on upgrades for the Hellcat. I knew I wanted to add a little more power to the car but still have it be reliable. I started with a JLT intake to help the car breathe a little bit better. From there I went with Kooks 1 7/8 inch headers, Kooks Catless mids, and completed the exhaust with a Corsa Extreme catback system. Personally, I have not heard a more enjoyable exhaust combination for this platform. Start up is loud, but at idle it is relatively tame. At WOT it is ear shattering but only to the people on the outside of the car which was perfect for me. Went to a 3.10 Metco Upper Pulley and a 10% percent lower. The car was tuned on 93 pump by Peitz Performance out of Houston. When the car came in we dyno’d it for comparison. Stock the car made 591 wheel horsepower and 589 wheel torque. With the bolt-ons the car now made 710 wheel horsepower and 716 wheel torque on the same dyno. Good numbers for what would be my summer cruiser. We dropped it on Eibach Prokits and added a Wicker Bill from ZL1 Add-ons to give it a little distinction from other Challengers in the area. All the sudden changes has been just right for this car.
So far the Hellcat has been an absolute blast to own. It has made multiple 300+ mile trips with ease. It has been the most enjoyable, all around car I have owned up until this point. It was meant to be a fun summer car and I can say with certainty it has checked all those boxes. The looks people give this car are unreal, whether they love it or hate it, the car turns heads wherever it goes. This isn’t the end of the story for this thing. I plan to do some fuel upgrades and drop down in pulley size to see what she still has left in her. As far as impulse buys go, this is one I do not regret.
– Stephen
