The next pieces of the puzzle which will eventually reveal the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon were rolled out this morning. This week, we are discussing the tires, gears and torque convertor of the upcoming Mopar monster – all of which work together to help the Demon put 35% more torque to the ground on launch.
We learned a few weeks back that the 2018 Challenger Demon will be fitted with 315/40R18 Nitto NT05R drag radial tires on lightweight 18X11 inch wheels. Nitto has designed and engineered these tires specifically for the new Demon, with a unique construction and composition from the regular NT05R tires measuring 12.6 inches wide and guaranteeing better stock grip than the Hellcat Challenger.
With this extra grip, Dodge has the opportunity to put more power to the wheels, and they are doing just that with a new set of 3.09 rear gears. The Hellcat Challenger with the 8-speed automatic transmission comes with 2.62 rear gears, so this new gearing setup is 18% more aggressive – leading to 18% more torque multiplication at the rear axle.
To be clear, that is an 18% torque multiplication increase, not an increase of engine torque of 18%. The Demon will transfer 18% more of the engine torque into wheel torque, which will lead to substantially quicker quarter mile times. In fact, the 3.09 gear swap has proven to be a popular one in the Hellcat community, with many of the quickest cars running that ratio in their modified Challengers.
In addition to the wide, sticky tires developed specifically for the 2018 Challenger Demon and the new 3.09 rear gears, the newest Mopar muscle car will also have a new torque convertor. The company hasn’t stated what kind of stall RPM we can expect, but we do know that the new torque convertor will also yield 18% more torque multiplication as well.
So to summarize, we learned today that the Challenger Demon tires are 12.6 inches wide, the rear gears yield 18% better torque multiplication and the new torque convertor adds 18% more torque moving through the transmission as well. The result is 35% greater launch force than the Hellcat – before power increases are factored in.
Again, those numbers are compared to the Hellcat Challenger, so not only is the Demon likely to offer more power, but it will also send more power to the rear wheels and when that power gets to the wheels – the Nitto NT05R drag radials will help make the most of that power.
Dodge also rolled out an image of the Nitto NT05R Demon tire wrinkling hard on launch. There is also a new video, but with this piece going live at the same time as the video goes live on IfYouKnowYouKnow.com, we will add the video and any information from that video after it does live on the teaser website.
*Update: the new video has been added below, offering a closer look at the new tires during launch.
Read more at: http://www.allpar.com/news/2017/02/demon-sends-35-more-launch-force-to-the-tires-36532
