I know very little about cars but am tired of the sewing machines I could only afford up to now. I want some real power and the most I've driven is the 260HP Altima during a test drive at the dealership. I was still left wanting and so the SRT 8 looks pretty good for the $$. I have not tested one, but would guess that I'm headed in the right direction. I'm hoping that there are a few out there who can give me a better idea of what the difference in power compared to the Altima is considering the SRT 8 is much heavier. I would also like to add a supercharger if it's worth the extra $$. Any insight would be appreciated.
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I've done some looking today, and it appears that there is a supercharger for the 5.7 but I have not seen one for the 6.1 L. I would imagine that the aftermarket crowd will be pretty quick putting something together. Any idea what a safe increase would look like? I'm just going by the little that I've read, but I would guess that 8 psi would give me about another 50-70 HP ??? Do you have any idea if an 8 cylinder can take higher pressure increases than what a 6 can? I understand that on a 6 cyl, 8-10 is about all you can get, maybee 12, but then you would be at the brink of needing to change pistons, pushrods, etc to take the additional stresses. Sorry if I'm way out to lunch here, but I'm just looking for some good info on what the limits would be, and I don't know any mechanics.
Thanks for the info, but I already had a pretty good idea about this kind of comparison. I guess what I was really looking for was a perspective from someone who has experienced big horsepower. The difference between my sewing machine (127 Hp) and the Altima (260Hp) was good. The thing is, I want to be amazed, so I'm hoping 425 Hp will do the trick. However, the car is HEAVY .......... I guess I'll just have to wait till it comes out and take one for a spin to really know.
Well, I'm not a mechanic but I am a senior year Mechanical Engineering student specializing in Automotive Engineering, and I can tell you that if you're looking for punch here's the best way to look at it:
Nissan Altima: 3300 lbs / 260 hp = 12.7 pounds per hp
Dodge Charger SRT-8: 4000 lbs / 425 hp = 9.5 pounds per hp
In other words if speed and that whole "throw me back in my seat" feeling is what you're looking for, the Charger SRT-8 is by far the way to go.
Also I would advise against supercharging the 6.1L, I had heard that Dodge had to a lot of torque management in the torque converter because the tranny and other drivetrain parts were nearing their limits as far as durability goes. So in other words, if you do supercharge it and nothing else, don't be surprised if stuff in the drivetrain starts breaking. I, through the luck of my internship, have driven in a 6.1L Magnum and it is more than fast enough.
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-Bob T-
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"Alright brain, you don't like me and I don't like you, so let's just get through this so I can go back to killing you with beer."
-Homer J. Simpson-
425 HP in a 4000 lb car is nothing to sneeze at. I have a Ram 2500 diesel that has 325 hp and that's plenty for a 7k+ truck.
You got to remember the cummins diesel puts out 610 lbs of TORQUE and possibly you got at least 4.xx gear ratios.
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