[L99BEN]

Originally Posted by boosedep3

Has anyone come from a Hellcat to a ZL1? I recently ordered a ZL1 and my previous car was a Charger Hellcat. Just wondering what your thoughts are.

Originally Posted by boosedep3

I'm coming over. The order should be with Chevy now for production. I am not sure how long the build and shipping should take.

I had sold my Hellcat after owning it for 3 years and decided to try the ZL1 A10 for something different.

Here is my unbiased opinion after owning both:

The ZL1 is a great car with superior handling capability, chassis and is an overall more balanced performance machine. You can pretty much take it right from the showroom floor to the race track, especially the 1LE.

Straight-line is a drivers race against the Hellcat and the hellcat will quickly fall behind if it's unable to put he power down (drag radials is an easy fix for that). That said, the ZL1 felt underwhelming to me from a sotp standpoint. Everyone that rode in my zl1 would be like "this is as fast as the Hellcat?!" It's one of those cars that moves quick but you don't really feel it.
What's weird is the ZL1 actually doesn't feel much faster than the SS even though its clearly WAY faster. The difference between the scatpack/392 and the Hellcat is night and day, especially once it hooks.
The Hellcat feels more violent and thrilling in a straight line, the twin screw has a broader torque-band. The Lt4 1.7L roots style blower is strong in the low to mid rpms but falls flat at higher rpm.
The a10 is a great transmission but the shifts after 3rd gear felt too smooth and unsatisfying.

Everyone talks about how big the Hellcat is inside but to me the Camaro is too small and claustrophobic inside. The Recaro seats look good and are really comfortable but they hardly recline without modification. Visibility is terrible but really wasn't an issue to me.

I'm sure the ZL1 modded is a beast but I just didn't like it enough mod it an forgo the warranty.

Like I said the ZL1 is a great car but it isn't my cup of tea. Same goes for the Hellcat; different strokes for different folks...

I'll admit I'm more into straight-line acceleration and highway pulls and not taking corners, especially on the street.

The Hellcat is big, heavy and archaic, but it's also comfortable, more practical, fast and sounds great. Much easier to build for big power too.
Btw, I'm not a big dude at 5'11 180 for those that mentioned the hellcat is only for big fat dudes.

I found myself never driving my ZL1 (becoming a $60k piece of metal), missing the Hellcat and bought a new Redeye. I haven't looked back and don't miss the ZL1 AT ALL.

I recommend a thorough test drive before pulling the trigger and making the switch.

To sum it up - underwhelming boring feeling acceleration and the small claustrophobic interior was what I couldn't get over.

The only way id go with another ZL1 would be maybe a manual convertible.
Longer gears to enjoy the lt4 low-mid torque and the top down opens up the interior.

[Alain]

Originally Posted by boosedep3

I'm mainly looking for better handling. The Charger really lacked the handling I was looking for on the back roads and twisties. The Charger was tons of fun straight line, but I decided I wanted handling and get back in a manual.

This says it all !! If this is truly why you made the change then you will be happy.

I own a Challenger Hellcat and a ZLE. Two completely different worlds. Two completely different ways to have fun.

Like I said, if you came looking for better handling in the back roads, you will be very happy.

[L99BEN]

Originally Posted by Alain

This says it all !! If this is truly why you made the change then you will be happy.

I own a Challenger Hellcat and a ZLE. Two completely different worlds. Two completely different ways to have fun.

Like I said, if you came looking for better handling in the back roads, you will be very happy.

Agreed if handling in the back roads is the priority, the ZL1 or ZLE manual should be perfect!
I still recommend a test drive it first. Some cars sound perfect on paper but are much different in reality. If I had completed a long test drive I would have passed on the ZL1 a10. This is all very subjective of course.

[boosedep3]

I have test driven a few 2ss before and liked those. I honestly was planning to buy a 2ss but last minute ordered a Hellcat blind. I had had a Charger Scat pack in the past and liked, but I truly miss the manual and handling.

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by L99BEN

I had sold my Hellcat after owning it for 3 years and decided to try the ZL1 A10 for something different.

Here is my unbiased opinion after owning both:

The ZL1 is a great car with superior handling capability, chassis and is an overall more balanced performance machine. You can pretty much take it right from the showroom floor to the race track, especially the 1LE.

Straight-line is a drivers race against the Hellcat and the hellcat will quickly fall behind if it's unable to put he power down (drag radials is an easy fix for that). That said, the ZL1 felt underwhelming to me from a sotp standpoint. Everyone that rode in my zl1 would be like "this is as fast as the Hellcat?!" It's one of those cars that moves quick but you don't really feel it.
What's weird is the ZL1 actually doesn't feel much faster than the SS even though its clearly WAY faster. The difference between the scatpack/392 and the Hellcat is night and day, especially once it hooks.
The Hellcat feels more violent and thrilling in a straight line, the twin screw has a broader torque-band. The Lt4 1.7L roots style blower is strong in the low to mid rpms but falls flat at higher rpm.
The a10 is a great transmission but the shifts after 3rd gear felt too smooth and unsatisfying.

Everyone talks about how big the Hellcat is inside but to me the Camaro is too small and claustrophobic inside. The Recaro seats look good and are really comfortable but they hardly recline without modification. Visibility is terrible but really wasn't an issue to me.

I'm sure the ZL1 modded is a beast but I just didn't like it enough mod it an forgo the warranty.

Like I said the ZL1 is a great car but it isn't my cup of tea. Same goes for the Hellcat; different strokes for different folks...

I'll admit I'm more into straight-line acceleration and highway pulls and not taking corners, especially on the street.

The Hellcat is big, heavy and archaic, but it's also comfortable, more practical, fast and sounds great. Much easier to build for big power too.
Btw, I'm not a big dude at 5'11 180 for those that mentioned the hellcat is only for big fat dudes.

I found myself never driving my ZL1 (becoming a $60k piece of metal), missing the Hellcat and bought a new Redeye. I haven't looked back and don't miss the ZL1 AT ALL.

I recommend a thorough test drive before pulling the trigger and making the switch.

To sum it up - underwhelming boring feeling acceleration and the small claustrophobic interior was what I couldn't get over.

The only way id go with another ZL1 would be maybe a manual convertible.
Longer gears to enjoy the lt4 low-mid torque and the top down opens up the interior.

Good summary, a lot of it similar to what I wrote in my comparison. That being said, I prefer my 800HP ZL1 to my previous 1000HP Hellcat. The ZL1 interior is tighter but that's a tradeoff I can live with for sports car handling. I always wanted my Challenger Hellcat to handle better, I lowered it, changed out the whole suspension, front and rear strut tower braces, subframe connectors and went with wider wheels and tires and it never gave me the feel I wanted. The ZL1 out of the box is just superior to the Hellcat in handling even when the Hellcat is modified and its pretty easy to make it keep up with modified Hellcats in a straight line, it just costs more to do it. I love the Challenger and Charger styling and miss the larger trunk and the blower whine, but that's it. Not to mention, I'm about sick of seeing so many Challengers and Chargers around, even if they aren't all Hellcat's the styling isn't really different. I rarely see a ZL1 and that's refreshing.

[Chutzpah]

Originally Posted by L99BEN

I had sold my Hellcat after owning it for 3 years and decided to try the ZL1 A10 for something different.

Here is my unbiased opinion after owning both:

The ZL1 is a great car with superior handling capability, chassis and is an overall more balanced performance machine. You can pretty much take it right from the showroom floor to the race track, especially the 1LE.

Straight-line is a drivers race against the Hellcat and the hellcat will quickly fall behind if it's unable to put he power down (drag radials is an easy fix for that). That said, the ZL1 felt underwhelming to me from a sotp standpoint. Everyone that rode in my zl1 would be like "this is as fast as the Hellcat?!" It's one of those cars that moves quick but you don't really feel it.
What's weird is the ZL1 actually doesn't feel much faster than the SS even though its clearly WAY faster. The difference between the scatpack/392 and the Hellcat is night and day, especially once it hooks.
The Hellcat feels more violent and thrilling in a straight line, the twin screw has a broader torque-band. The Lt4 1.7L roots style blower is strong in the low to mid rpms but falls flat at higher rpm.
The a10 is a great transmission but the shifts after 3rd gear felt too smooth and unsatisfying.

Everyone talks about how big the Hellcat is inside but to me the Camaro is too small and claustrophobic inside. The Recaro seats look good and are really comfortable but they hardly recline without modification. Visibility is terrible but really wasn't an issue to me.

I'm sure the ZL1 modded is a beast but I just didn't like it enough mod it an forgo the warranty.

Like I said the ZL1 is a great car but it isn't my cup of tea. Same goes for the Hellcat; different strokes for different folks...

I'll admit I'm more into straight-line acceleration and highway pulls and not taking corners, especially on the street.

The Hellcat is big, heavy and archaic, but it's also comfortable, more practical, fast and sounds great. Much easier to build for big power too.
Btw, I'm not a big dude at 5'11 180 for those that mentioned the hellcat is only for big fat dudes.

I found myself never driving my ZL1 (becoming a $60k piece of metal), missing the Hellcat and bought a new Redeye. I haven't looked back and don't miss the ZL1 AT ALL.

I recommend a thorough test drive before pulling the trigger and making the switch.

To sum it up - underwhelming boring feeling acceleration and the small claustrophobic interior was what I couldn't get over.

The only way id go with another ZL1 would be maybe a manual convertible.
Longer gears to enjoy the lt4 low-mid torque and the top down opens up the interior.

Good write up...I totally agree with the highlighted. I’d like to get the tranny tuned for harder shifts, if possible.

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by Chutzpah

Good write up...I totally agree with the highlighted. I’d like to get the tranny tuned for harder shifts, if possible.

This is one area that I've learned to accept with the ZL1. The Hellcat's allow you to adjust the shift firmness to your liking, even without a TCM tune, in track mode the Hellcat trans shifts lighting quick and it feels like it. I might be wrong but with the ZL1, it's still shifting quickly but I do wonder if there's some torque management going on between shifts making it feel smoother and less jerky.

[zx9rmal]

“The Lt4 1.7L roots style blower is strong in the low to mid rpms but falls flat at higher rpm.”

“ To sum it up - underwhelming boring feeling acceleration”

Perception is, of course, a subjective experience. Being a rider of a 200 hp bike capable of 9 second quarter miles, I have a sense of strong acceleration. While being nowhere near as quick as my bike, I certainly wouldn’t call my ZL1 underwhelming or boring.
Perhaps I got a strong example or yours was a bit off, but mine pulls harder and harder right up to redline.

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by zx9rmal

“The Lt4 1.7L roots style blower is strong in the low to mid rpms but falls flat at higher rpm.”

“ To sum it up - underwhelming boring feeling acceleration”

Perception is, of course, a subjective experience. Being a rider of a 200 hp bike capable of 9 second quarter miles, I have a sense of strong acceleration. While being nowhere near as quick as my bike, I certainly wouldn’t call my ZL1 underwhelming or boring.
Perhaps I got a strong example or yours was a bit off, but mine pulls harder and harder right up to redline.

In comparison though stock to stock, the Hellcat feels a LOT more exciting when accelerating compared to the ZL1. This is part of the reason I modified my ZL1, I needed more of that Hellcat feeling that I missed when I got rid of mine.

[Pupilbone]

I like nimble cars, hence the Camaro, but I would love to own both of these two. A piece of both worlds would be brilliant.

On the Hellcat - she’s definitely NOT a bargain for what you get IMO. That said, what do I know. Dudes are lined up to buy at that price.

[Maro_89]

I've driven a few ZL1s briefly each time before so I don't really know it all that well but for some reason they give me that seat of the pants feel that it might be faster than my Hellcat. I don't know if it's because they are smaller and lower to the ground to give that illusion or feel but seeing some videos and both cars seem very close. I remember seeing the Hennessey videos where they raced both automatic Hellcat and Zl1 and they were close. One would pull on the other probably due to whoever had the hit first. I've seen other videos where they would hang with each other its just for some reason the ZL1 just felt a little faster maybe not sure. It would have been cool to test it out more especially on a highway pull because the Hellcat really seems to shine upwards of 100 mph plus where it gets exciting. I'd really have to race a stock zl1 against my stock hellcat at a track or something to really truly see how my car does against it in a race.

[G61LE]

Originally Posted by Z OH 6

In comparison though stock to stock, the Hellcat feels a LOT more exciting when accelerating compared to the ZL1. This is part of the reason I modified my ZL1, I needed more of that Hellcat feeling that I missed when I got rid of mine.

I have never driven a Challenger Hellcat but I have been on a road course with one in Savannah, and the thing was a tank, I think he was even being passed by Miata's in the twisty's. I have had 19 Corvettes and a ZL1 ZLE, and the Challenger just seems huge and heavy. Call me crazy, but I feel like the reason the Hellcat seems faster is because Dodge put all their R & D into horse power, and not into durability and safety. A perfect example is the institute for highway safety crash tests. In the video you can actually see the safety cage and roof buckling in the crash, not a good scenario. Something to consider, especially after you watch the video. If you put an 800 HP motor in a golf cart, its going to feel a ton faster than anything you have ever driven, but do you want to be in that golf cart if it crashes or rolls over ???

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by G61LE

I have never driven a Challenger Hellcat but I have been on a road course with one in Savannah, and the thing was a tank, I think he was even being passed by Miata's in the twisty's. I have had 19 Corvettes and a ZL1 ZLE, and the Challenger just seems huge and heavy. Call me crazy, but I feel like the reason the Hellcat seems faster is because Dodge put all their R & D into horse power, and not into durability and safety. A perfect example is the institute for highway safety crash tests. In the video you can actually see the safety cage and roof buckling in the crash, not a good scenario. Something to consider, especially after you watch the video. If you put an 800 HP motor in a golf cart, its going to feel a ton faster than anything you have ever driven, but do you want to be in that golf cart if it crashes or rolls over ???

I don't think anyone mentioned a Hellcat as a road course vehicle. For straight line acceleration though, they feel quicker than a ZL1. I've owned both, my Hellcat for over 3 years and now my ZL1 for the last 6 months. Stock to stock, the Hellcat's feel quicker accelerating.

What exactly do you mean that Dodge didn't consider durability and safety? The Hellcat is as durable as its gets, built from the factory to take well over 1100hp on the stock block and trans. As for safety, they stop just as well as a ZL1 which is quite amazing given their weight and they're as safe any other car on the road. Plenty of people have wrecked or totaled them without serious injury.

[G61LE]

Did you watch the crash test video ? Did you see what happened to the crash test dummy? Did you see the safety cage buckle ? As far a durability, I guess I meant more towards safety. I think Dodge focused on horse power, which they achieved, no question, but as far as safety, they left allot on the table. Everyone has their opinion, mine is that the ZL1 can be just as fast in a straight line as the hellcat for a few thousand dollar investment, where as the hellcat will never be competitive on a road course, where as the ZL1 you have a "SAFER", straight line, road course, and take to Church, car. Taurus makes a good gun, but it will never compare to a Sig Sauer, or a Smith.