[mheath]

I am thinking about buying a Nitro, I keep reading about boring CAI and JET chips.......

Isn't anybody doing anything cool?? Where are the superchargers, longtube headers, and Cams??

I have a Procharger laying in the garage .............

 

[johnandersonii]

I'm seriously thinking of turbo charging my R/T. It would be ridiculously expensive AND void the warranty, but it would be so awesomely bad assed. If I can convince my wife that we want to spend money doing this. I might put together a kit and sell them to recover my costs.

 

[acx]

well tuning for chrysler products is always interesting when going the forced induction route..

JBA is developing headers.

As for cams, 4.0 SOHC motor says you'll need 2, and I can't see anyone developing them unfortunately.

I don't disagree with you in terms of wanting mods, but the chances of high level modding are probably low.

Kenne bell HAD a 3.7 blower for the liberty as I recall, and it was cancelled for lack of interest.

 

[Waldorf]

I am thinking about buying a Nitro, I keep reading about boring CAI and JET chips.......

Isn't anybody doing anything cool?? Where are the superchargers, longtube headers, and Cams??

I have a Procharger laying in the garage .............

why don't you lead the way and show us how to do some cool mods? What is a Procharger anyway?

 

[KenCary]

I'm seriously thinking of turbo charging my R/T. It would be ridiculously expensive AND void the warranty, but it would be so awesomely bad assed. If I can convince my wife that we want to spend money doing this. I might put together a kit and sell them to recover my costs.

I have thought about many differenct things, but after searching for parts everywhere, my coclusion is that if you want a big HP boost, bolt on a universal WET nitrous system.

These systems inject gas along with the Nitrous so they don't need a change in the PCM or injector capacity.

You can dial in 150HP and the engine will probably stay together as long as you don't get a clogged fuel line or something else that will cause a lean condition. It will surely void the warranty.

Myself, I would be happy to have a set of re-worked heads and a cam that goes rump-rump at the stoplight.--- can'tfind either.

Ken

 

[acx]

why don't you lead the way and show us how to do some cool mods? What is a Procharger anyway?

a procharger is a type of centrifiugal supercharger manufactured by a company called ATI.

Our biggest hurdle for mods will be the relatively small volume of parts any vendor could potentially sell compared to say:

the chevy ls series v8s, the ford modular family.

As well we don't seem to have a widely available solid tuning platform whereas other brands do. This seems to be Chrysler not playing ball with the tuners.

Heck I'm not sure if I've seen too many actual purpose built catbacks for the R/T, let alone a turbo kit.

Ported and polished heads would be something that could work. I'm not sure if anyone does them for the 3.5s for the LX cars. Cams would be probably doe at that time again, as it is an overhead cam motor.

 

[johnandersonii]

I can find performance parts, EFI kits, heads & cams for my 400cid 1973 Newport easier than I can find performance parts for the Nitro R/T. I think if Chrysler were to do an SRT forced induction version of the Nitro, it would open up the market for performance parts a little bit. SRT owners always want more power, and those parts can be adapted to the R/T version, etc.

I'm kind of speculating that this will be case. If anyone has an R/T go out and pop open the hood. You'll see a big gap on the passenger's side of the engine where there are no components, with a direct line of sight to the exhaust junction. Looks like a prime place for a turbo charger. I'm thinking an intercooler would work nicely down in the "chin" area of the front. I really hope to see an SRT version, thought I don't know if it's going to happen.

 

[acx]

rumors abound about an SRT6 nitro.. but I personally have my doubts. don't get me wrong, I'd like nothing more but..

In this market (just bought by private equity, no clear choice for a motor, low volume, questionable as to what driveline to use in a hi po application - all while keeping prices reasonable on top of the ned to freshen up more than a few parts of their overall lineup). They can't use the srt6 from teh crossfire, as it was a hand built amg jobbie, and now that the divorce from mercedes is complete (good riddance) the german side will die.

I still miss my SRT4, and I've been very close to buying a grande cherokee srt8. The only thing stopping me is the fact that I'll have an SRT8 challenger.

 

[johnandersonii]

is the fact that I'll have an SRT8 challenger.

I'm envious. Oh the things I would do in that car....

As far as turbo charging the Nitro is concerned, I really don't see it being all that difficult to do in principle. No head work will be needed as far as I can see. I wish we could alter the cam and give it some overlap for great sound + heat siphoning, but that's not really needed. I think all one would need to do is fab turbo capable headers. Up the injectors and the fuel pump. If we can't re-map the injector pulse on the stock ECU then bolt on a mega-squirt or similar to control the injectors. Then it's plumbing the intercooler, intake & exhaust. In practice it will never be that easy. It never is.

I'm kind of skeptical about the drivetrain though. I don't really know much about this Mercedes transmission. It may not be able to handle the load, and its not like we have an alternative transmission.

 

[acx]

I'm envious. Oh the things I would do in that car....

As far as turbo charging the Nitro is concerned, I really don't see it being all that difficult to do in principle. No head work will be needed as far as I can see. I wish we could alter the cam and give it some overlap for great sound + heat siphoning, but that's not really needed. I think all one would need to do is fab turbo capable headers. Up the injectors and the fuel pump. If we can't re-map the injector pulse on the stock ECU then bolt on a mega-squirt or similar to control the injectors. Then it's plumbing the intercooler, intake & exhaust. In practice it will never be that easy. It never is.

I'm kind of skeptical about the drivetrain though. I don't really know much about this Mercedes transmission. It may not be able to handle the load, and its not like we have an alternative transmission.

yeah I put 500 down on a spot in line for a challenger last year. I'm getting it from the same dealer I bought my Nitro from in Windsor Ontario, so I'm confident all will work out.

that being the case,

In theory it all works, I agree, but in practice, it won't be easy. The tranny would hold it no issues, it actually is pretty stout.

All the while we're more or less messing with our daily drivers though which is always dicey.

I would love for a basic rear mounted turbo kit, or a whipplecharger to come out. Something which would give you a moderate boost of power without requiring a king's ransom and a new shortblock.

 

[KenCary]

I am starting to think like you about practicality. I have a Big Block Vette and some other cars if I want serious performance.

I am really after a bit more pep and a fun factor in the Nitro. At present the CAI and Jet chip has been rewarding-- hopefully by tomorrow I will have my headers and exhaust on and will have one more notch up on the list.

At least with current mods, my Nitro will not be embarassed by being blown away by a minivan.

 

[Waldorf]

so, I'm curious about the new Challenger. is there any graphics of what it will look like, or specs, or did you just say i want one no matter what it looks like?

 

[johnandersonii]

At least with current mods, my Nitro will not be embarassed by being blown away by a minivan.

Unless its one of those mid-90's turbocharged caravans

The Nitro R/T, thanks to the low end grunt, performs extremely well off the line. It does get kind of sluggish at the higher RPMs in higher gears. Its 0-35MPH performance is awesome but it doesn't perform from 40-70MPH the way I think it should. I'd like to improve that, and if the Jet chip/exhaust is what does it, then that's probably what I'll stay at.....for now.

 

[KenCary]

Unless its one of those mid-90's turbocharged caravans

The Nitro R/T, thanks to the low end grunt, performs extremely well off the line. It does get kind of sluggish at the higher RPMs in higher gears. Its 0-35MPH performance is awesome but it doesn't perform from 40-70MPH the way I think it should. I'd like to improve that, and if the Jet chip/exhaust is what does it, then that's probably what I'll stay at.....for now.

If it performs well off the line it should pull well at 40-70 if you are in the right gear. Maybe you need to manually downshift the RT at 40?

I have the 6-speed so I can't tell you about the automatic, but others tell me that the Jet 2 chip also changes the shift points.

Clearly by both the dyno sheets and my seat of pants tests, the CAI and Jet chip make the most difference in midrange power 2700-4500RPM. I think this is the range you may be seeking.

I don't have a dyno sheet on the headers, but my guess is that they also will help my mid-range.

Ken

 

[johnandersonii]

If it performs well off the line it should pull well at 40-70 if you are in the right gear. Maybe you need to manually downshift the RT at 40?

I have the 6-speed so I can't tell you about the automatic, but others tell me that the Jet 2 chip also changes the shift points.

I'd have to do some more playing with it, but it seems that from a dead stop, it pulls 40-70 just fine, but from a roll 40-70 is sluggish. That may in fact be the shift points. It does seem much better if I manually down shift manually to until I feel the rev at 37-40 before I lay on it.

 

[johnandersonii]

The tranny would hold it no issues, it actually is pretty stout.

Yeah, no kidding. A quick browse at allpar for the A580 transmission shows that its the same model that's backing the 425hp 6.1L HEMI from the '06 Charger SRT8. I can't find any documentation specifying modifications either. That doesn't necessarily mean the transmission wasn't modified, but if SRT did beef it up for the SRT8, they didn't change anything easily observable like gear ratios.

 

[KenCary]

You know, all things considered, if you go through the trouble of a home engineered Turbo setup, you could probably drop in a V8. After all if they did a Hemi Concept Nitro, somwhere there is room to do this, perhaps you may need to notch the firewall, but once you do that, you'll be able to get all the hot parts you want.

 

[nitroman577]

theres a company called Nelson engines Nelsonraceingengines.com I think it was, anywas they have a 4.3 twin turbo v6 cranking around 1072 hp with 20 lbs of boost, Ahhhh I can just see it now a 1072 hp twin turbo Nitro, Lets go kick some rice boys hineys,eat some vetts and mustangs. I know its a raceing engine but man oh man just think of the fun youd have.

 

[KenCary]

theres a company called Nelson engines Nelsonraceingengines.com I think it was, anywas they have a 4.3 twin turbo v6 cranking around 1072 hp with 20 lbs of boost, Ahhhh I can just see it now a 1072 hp twin turbo Nitro, Lets go kick some rice boys hineys,eat some vetts and mustangs. I know its a raceing engine but man oh man just think of the fun youd have.

I still say dropping in a Hemi has more bang for the buck. Let's dream on.

 

[WhiteNitroCA]

Well my current setup is a 2WD Nitro... I purchased it used, it was affordable and suits my needs for the time being.

Living in CA, I'm near allot of the companies.

I have the R/T/4.0L.

The vehicle rides like A S S, that is my main goal, otherwise I don't care how fast it can go 0-60, if it can't handle it, skip. Oddly enough Eibach did not test fit springs on a 2WD R/T, so there is no part number. I have also not found matching struts yet, but the oem r/t sports should be "ok" for now.

As for performance:

K/N: CAI - Having the kits installed 11/5/07, at K&N headquarters.
BG Chrysler Performance ECU: $450 - Long time from now, but when I have the $.
Exhaust System: Aluminized full exhaust - once again when I have the funds.

and for handling:
Eibach Test Fit schedule for mid November, but no matching struts found as of 11/3.

That alone should give one quick punchy nitro.. lets see if someone can get there before me and find out..