[Alain]

I didn’t want to say anything so as to not start a war here but I’m glad to read others are having trouble believing that a Zl1 will beat a Hellcat on a roll race.

[ZX-10R]

Originally Posted by freddyfcs

The Hellcat is much more friendly with the kids and wife.

Why not just get an M5 or E class Mercedes - way better cars. The Challenger chassis is a completely antiquated boat anchor

See comments by geese (hardly a pro driver) 16:30 in - this is why I would never even consider it.

[stevel664]

In this case antiquated is best for comfort and speed all day long.

[passwords]

Too many variables and factors go into car buying decisions. I considered both the (used) M5 and E-class but they would just blend in with all the other cars in my neighborhood. For those of us who like cars, certain cars evoke our emotions and that has a huge impact on our buying decisions. My neighbors are obviously NOT car people...they brought home matching Hyundai Elantras. We no longer speak.

While I don’t own a Hellcat, I do have a GT350R and a ZLE. I drive the ZLE more (so far), but I like the GT350R more. There are others on this forum who would vehemently disagree with me based on their own personal experience and cannot stand the GT350R. We can trade pros and cons all day, but that’s how I feel right now, and it could all change in an instance if the R craps out on me. I can see the appeal of the Hellcat, even this late in the Challenger and Charger lifecycle. Its just not for me.

[Alain]

I don’t know why some people get so hung up on how old the chassis on the Hellcat is.

Who cares if it’s a million years old as long as it gives the car the ability to do what the car is built to do....... that’s the story of the Hellcat’s chassis.

[CW3SF]

I stepped over from Viper to ZL1 for a change of pace. If I buy Dodge again it’ll be another Viper. Go big or go home LOL.

[passwords]

Viper ACR would be AWESOME!!! Sorry, is that too far off topic?

[Alain]

I’d love to own a Viper ACR Too!!!! That’s one of the few cars that would force me to think about getting rid of One of the cars i currently own.

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by ZX-10R

One dimensional boat vs true sports car

/thread

That one dimension is amazing though. Coming from a 892whp SAE Hellcat that traps over 140mph in the 1/4, the stock ZL1 is quite boring but I'm hoping Vengeance Racing is going to fix that in November. I think if I can get the ZL1 to around 800whp, it should be close but I'm really not trying to match my Hellcat, it is VERY good at going fast in a straight line.

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by Alain

I don’t know why some people get so hung up on how old the chassis on the Hellcat is.

Who cares if it’s a million years old as long as it gives the car the ability to do what the car is built to do....... that’s the story of the Hellcat’s chassis.

Yep.

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by ZX-10R

Why not just get an M5 or E class Mercedes - way better cars. The Challenger chassis is a completely antiquated boat anchor

See comments by geese (hardly a pro driver) 16:30 in - this is why I would never even consider it.

I'll assume you've never driven one based on your comments. Stop letting someone else decide what you should drive and drive one for yourself. My wife had a Charger Hellcat and its one of the best driving 4 door cars I've ever been in. Its amazing for the money and a LOT of fun.

[Tank22]

Originally Posted by Maro_89

Curious to know if any of you guys had a Hellcat and traded it in for the ZL1 or ZL1 1LE and why? Any reason you liked the ZL1s better than the Hellcat? Also which of these three cars has more of a fun factor/ more entertaining to drive on the street?

I've owned the Challenger, S550 Mustang and currently a 2020 ZL1 1LE.

I'll start with the Challenger. 1st of all it was constantly in Service for electrical, transmission and other software issues..... So bad I lemon law'd it and got my money back. When I could actually drive it... The road manners and ride quality were great. The driver ergonomics were great... for a road car. On the road course it was like trying to drive the titanic in a hail storm on Mt Everest. No grip, tons of body roll, horrible balance. In a straight line it was fun, but again, it's the Titanic.

S550 Mustang. This car was totally reliable. I used a Roush Phase 2 supercharger (727 HP), modded the suspension, replaced all suspension bushings with poly, swapped front and rear roll bars, added areo, gutted and caged it... really turned it into a track car. While it was stock the road manners were decent. Interior was cheap and not great ergonomically. The car drove nice on the street, was fun at the drag strip, but ultimately no matter what I did it just didn't have the speed I wanted on a road course. Stock they plow like a dump truck in Minnesota's winter. The brakes are ok but not great even with the Brembos. All in all its fun and reliable... but not amazing.

The ZL1 1LE is the finest out of the box car I've ever owned. Sure the ride quality isn't as good as the Challenger but its also not a land yacht. It's by no means as bad as people make it out to be. On stock tires and car I set my fastest lap ever on the road course. There simply is not a better out of the box car for road racing. I routinely pass GT350R's, Mclaren's, GT3 Porsche's, BMW M4's... pretty much everything. I love it so much I have a new 2021 ZL1 1LE that just came in this week and I'll be picking it up shortly.

[ZRacerLE]

Originally Posted by Tank22

I've owned the Challenger, S550 Mustang and currently a 2020 ZL1 1LE.

I'll start with the Challenger. 1st of all it was constantly in Service for electrical, transmission and other software issues..... So bad I lemon law'd it and got my money back. When I could actually drive it... The road manners and ride quality were great. The driver ergonomics were great... for a road car. On the road course it was like trying to drive the titanic in a hail storm on Mt Everest. No grip, tons of body roll, horrible balance. In a straight line it was fun, but again, it's the Titanic.

S550 Mustang. This car was totally reliable. I used a Roush Phase 2 supercharger (727 HP), modded the suspension, replaced all suspension bushings with poly, swapped front and rear roll bars, added areo, gutted and caged it... really turned it into a track car. While it was stock the road manners were decent. Interior was cheap and not great ergonomically. The car drove nice on the street, was fun at the drag strip, but ultimately no matter what I did it just didn't have the speed I wanted on a road course. Stock they plow like a dump truck in Minnesota's winter. The brakes are ok but not great even with the Brembos. All in all its fun and reliable... but not amazing.

The ZL1 1LE is the finest out of the box car I've ever owned. Sure the ride quality isn't as good as the Challenger but its also not a land yacht. It's by no means as bad as people make it out to be. On stock tires and car I set my fastest lap ever on the road course. There simply is not a better out of the box car for road racing. I routinely pass GT350R's, Mclaren's, GT3 Porsche's, BMW M4's... pretty much everything. I love it so much I have a new 2021 ZL1 1LE that just came in this week and I'll be picking it up shortly.

What's different about your incoming 2021 than your 2020?

[Maro_89]

Originally Posted by Z OH 6

That one dimension is amazing though. Coming from a 892whp SAE Hellcat that traps over 140mph in the 1/4, the stock ZL1 is quite boring but I'm hoping Vengeance Racing is going to fix that in November. I think if I can get the ZL1 to around 800whp, it should be close but I'm really not trying to match my Hellcat, it is VERY good at going fast in a straight line.

I agree it is a great car. I started this thread as I was torn between these two cars. I ended up with a 2019 Hellcat Challenger. I love the car. It’s beautiful and menacing looking. Very comfortable daily driver/ road trip car. The whine and exhaust sound awesome and it’s funny when that whine grabs people’s attention through downtown or people on sidewalks. People or even little kids stare at the car when they hear the wine and I have the stock intake and can only imagine how it would sound with a Leg maker intake.

The handling isn’t so bad for what it is but it’s not sports car handling. When the car is put in track mode it will surprise you but again it’s not sports car handling. You just have to get to know the cars limits. Sometimes I question the Hellcats performance if it’s really fast enough but it’s because the power delivery is very smooth and linear and camouflages that feel of how fast you’re going especially in my A8.

I’ll admit sometimes I wonder what if I would have gone with the ZL1. Since you came from a Hellcat and now to the ZL1 do the ZL1’s brakes have much better stopping power than the Hellcat? Does your Hellcat seem faster than the ZL1 stock for stock as I’m curious how these two cars would do in a race? And why does the ZL1 seem boring?