2017 Dodge Charger
Large, luxurious, and loud, the 2017 Dodge Charger blends a four doors with modern muscle. This full-size sedan offers plenty of room while still remembering it’s stock-car roots. Not only is the Daytona trim available for the first time since 2013, this year’s Dodge Charger lineup boasts no less than eight different models, ranging from 292-horsepower in the SE and SXT to the all-powerful 707-horsepower SRT Hellcat.
- 3.6L Pentastar V6, 292 hp
- SE: Available in all-wheel drive
- SXT: Available in all-wheel drive
- 5.7L Hemi V8, 370 hp, 395lb-ft.
- R/T
- Daytona
- 6.4L 392 Hemi V8, 485hp, 475lb-ft
- R/T Scatpack:
- Daytona 392
- SRT 392
- 6.2L Hellcat Hemi V8, 707hp, 650lb-ft
- SRT Hellcat
Full Throttle
Though the omnipotent SRT Hellcat can hit 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds, the rest of the 2017 Charger lineup takes anywhere from 4 to 7 seconds. An easy modifications to help boost acceleration is through the use of an aftermarket Chargerengine tuner. This tuner, or programmer, (can be purchased either pre-loaded or custom) attaches to the computer system of the car to override the factory output settings of the engine such as injection timing, valve timing, and throttle sensitivity among other things. Depending on the aggressiveness of the tune, owners can net an easy 15-30 horsepower for their car. Further, a lot of the handheld tuning devices also work as an OBDII diagnostic tool.
All Around Performance
Large engines, rear wheel drive - the power behind the 2017 Dodge Charger can make your tires squeal. Though the SE and SXT are offered in AWD, the other models only come with rear-wheel drive so you might want to consider upgrading your tires for better traction. Rear wheel drive Chargers have less drive train loss, they are less dependable in slippery conditions even with a limited slip rear end and traction control. Performance and high performance tires use a specialty compound that softens as they heat up, making them better adhere to the asphalt. Acceleration, braking and cornering will all improve with a good set of tires. On the downside, these sticky high performance tires will wear quicker than a traditional all-season tire. Depending on your environment, high performance summer tires offer good handling in dry and moderately wet locales. In areas that experience more wetness or a full-blown winter, all-season tires produce decent handling and traction all-year round.
Primary Tube Power
Getting air into the engine is important, and so is getting it out. The exhaust headers are integral in this, as they are the first piece in the exhaust extraction puzzle. Outfitting your 2017 Dodge Charger with well engineered exhaust headers will help scavenge the exhaust charge out of the cylinder head and then channel it downstream without major interference with other cylinders. Headers with long primary tubes (called long tube headers) excel at this, as they provide a much longer individual path for the exhaust pulse to flow before dumping into the collector. In terms of performance, long tube headers are the king. It is not unheard of to gain nearly 30 horsepower. The downside is due to their size, they are more demanding to install and more costly to purchase. Short tube (or shorty) headers still provide a unique exhaust path for each cylinder, with a lengthened primary tube as compared to the stock manifolds. Shorty headers fit well and cost less than the long tube variety, provide better power and torque over the stock manifolds (expect a gain in the neighborhood of 15 horsepower), but still less than a long tube header.
