Welcome from the SoCal... Want to know what to do to your car? Here is your list, sort of in order...with comments: 1) 180 degree thermostat (Best is Robert Shaw part# 383-170 or part# Motorad 4128 available at most auto parts stores. HHP and some others also offer the Jet Performance 180 Tstat which is nice also. (Your car needs to run cooler to perform better it is running hotter mostly to be meet government emissions bulls**t. If you run below 180, like a 170 or 160 Tstat, you may get nuisance computer codes.) 2) Diablo Predator...handheld tuner. A way to program your PCM [Powertrain Control Module]... This is a engine control computer with a performance brain...the one your car now has is a conservative brain. (This is the hot ticket right now. Good horsepower and torque gains 20-30 or more depending on mods. This will be necessary in your life to make performance adjustments to your cars brain. Perforance tunes are available with the unit and also as "Custom Tunes" from vendors. (Superchips also makes a tuner for the 5.7L hemi but it is not a good as the Diablo.) 3) CAI (Cold Air Industion)....Actually should just be called just an AI....Cold is a matter of debate. Whose CAI you ask? Good luck in this department great for debates. I wouldd just build my own. Search for "Frankentake IV" fo rthe best. 4) Catback Exhaust System (Here you will have to listen to find the sound you like depending on filter construction. I believe that I would go with a sound cancelling type of system like Corsa instead of material packed mufflers like Magnaflow. There are many other choices in cat back mfgs so read up and listen to the clips.) 5) Stiffer Sway Bars and Coil-Over shocks.... Now it is time to stick the power to the ground better and make you feel safer at higher speeds in the turns and on the flat road. (Not much to say here... your car will feel like it is riding on rails in the turns. Ride comfort is still very good. For coil-overs, check with Tein, KW Suspensions, St Suspensions[STS], Eibach, BC Racing Coliovers, Pedders, and even Mopar. Some of the coil over people also make sway bars but Stack Performance and Hotchkis make the best. If money is an issue here, at least get the sways cause they are very reasonable for the gain.) 6) Long tube headers and high flow cats Kooks are best known and get them with the ceramic coating 7) Higher Stall Torque Converter for Transmission...Hold your foot on the brake and slowly push on the gas, the amount of rpm it takes for you to feel your car wheels really start to pull hard (or "break loose" feel) is the stall rpm. (If you are doing more drag racing than road racing, these are nice adder. You will want to get one at around 2800-3000 RPM. This range is still very street driveable but has a LOT better launch at rapid throttle.) 8) Stronger half-shafts....(rear axles for between differential and wheels) With the next high horsepower adders, the higher torque numbers are causing many to break the half-shafts. So an addition of these will make you launch in a more confident mood and more than once. 9) Quaife LSD..... (Limited Slip Differential which keeps both wheels in traction) Explains itself and Quaife is the only mfg for our cars. Note to 8 and 9..... The new 09 Challenger LSD differential and axles (half shafts) looks like a good budget start if you plane on staying below about 500HP. 10) HCI package...(Heads/Cam/Intake) CNC ported/polished Heads with Cam and Intake including upgraded valve train.... Now is time to get serious we are going inside. At this level you should definately know and be informed on what is going on. I would get the heads and cam as a complete kit, not just heads or cam only, get the bigger valves, better guides stiffer springs, etc. The complete packages are designed to work togther better. (11) Nitrous, Turbocharging, or Supercharging.....Self explanied. These are real hot ticket adders for mega horsepower. I would also start considering a forged bottom end package to handle these power mods (see #10). At this time, I would also start consider any bottom end work, like a forged bore and/or stroker package if you want more bang for the buck... while you are in the engine. Now you should be tearing asphalt off the road, straightening the corners, and looking at your contenders in your rear view mirror. Even without Item #11, you should be enjoying about 125+ more rear wheel horsepower and capable of low 12's, maybe tickling the 11's if you have bore and/or stroker package adder and/or have a very compatible combination of mods, you should be happy but... as time progresses more power mod combinations will become available. Oh yea.....don't forget to spend any extra money on some nice Billet stuff from Billet Technology to dress up your ride. ..
Welcome from a FOUR MAGNUM family in North Carolina. One of our mags is an 06 SRT! You're gonna love it!!!
