Dodge Demon/power figures

LOL i drove a CRX Si ('86) from '86 until '94 . It was fun to drive, i swear it got 37mpg at 75mph with the air on on the road . IIRC .32 . I think it was 1953lbs.
( i was actually in an accident . Driving down 9 N in the rain. Guy comes out of gas station and taps back left. I think i did about a 270 degree and ended up on island on right side. (And yes i was lucky. I think about 3gs worth of damage ( pre airbag era))
 
Yes, it is amazing. Just wait though... talking about fuel injection and ECU control of tuning functions... the next big thing is the elimination of the camshaft. In it's place will be solenoid operated valves with ECM control over lift and duration for each valve for each cycle of the piston. The ultimate variable valve control. That will provide a huge improvement in power and efficiency. It will be for the valve train what electronic fuel injection is for carburation.
I'd welcome that. Toss in Direct Injection and we're talkin business.
 
I'd welcome that. Toss in Direct Injection and we're talkin business.

Oh yeah.. gasoline direct injection.. becoming very popular. Extreme high pressure engine driven final fuel pump. At some point I imagine they will stage the injection holes and modulate them to control the spray pattern for maximum efficiency. Makes one wonder how far this ICE technology will go before something entirely different takes it place. Electronics and motors can do everything, all that's required is the fuel cell.. conversion of fuel directly to electricity, large amounts of it.
 
Oh yeah.. gasoline direct injection.. becoming very popular. Extreme high pressure engine driven final fuel pump. At some point I imagine they will stage the injection holes and modulate them to control the spray pattern for maximum efficiency. Makes one wonder how far this ICE technology will go before something entirely different takes it place. Electronics and motors can do everything, all that's required is the fuel cell.. conversion of fuel directly to electricity, large amounts of it.
Mr Fusion ...
 
I find that a great many crotch rocket drivers are not really capable of really extracting the top level of performance.

Personally, I can drive mine decently for the most part. But, I am not good at a strong launch. So, unless the power is fairly disproportionate the drag race is lost at the starting line.

One of the keys to a strong launch is to build the bike correctly for drag. Unfortunately, doing that makes it much less fun to drive on the street. At my age though, it is kind of a moot point. The bikes are way too uncomfortable for me to ride for any length of time. 1/4 mile at a time is plenty. The GSXR 1000 and possibly the 750 with the same mods can take it in the 1/8 due to weight differences, but I can take them in the 1/4 with my 2011 Hayabusa.

The front end has been lowered 2" and the forks should be adjusted to quickest travel position. Add an 8" extended swingarm to keep the front end from coming up too quick. A 240mm Pirelli Diablo helps it stick to the pavement, and still works well on the street so it can be driven to the strip. Mine is still limited to 186 in 6th gear, but it can be reached in the 1/4 a fairly consistent 9.7

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LOL i drove a CRX Si ('86) from '86 until '94 . It was fun to drive, i swear it got 37mpg at 75mph with the air on on the road . IIRC .32 . I think it was 1953lbs.
( i was actually in an accident . Driving down 9 N in the rain. Guy comes out of gas station and taps back left. I think i did about a 270 degree and ended up on island on right side. (And yes i was lucky. I think about 3gs worth of damage ( pre airbag era))

I put 100k miles on an '85 CRX Si bought new. Most entertaining car ever. I've owned far more powerful and faster cars but was never entertained in the same way. The Si on dinky 175 13's cornered on rails and didn't wear out tires when doing so. Manual shift was awesome, easy to heel and toe, and easy to slot gears fast. Sychromesh was very good, I could cheat on the clutch and not grind gears. Rev'd the heck out of the motor at every opportunity and it took it and asked for more. Never did get 37 mpg but I never tried. Still managed high 20's.
 
I put 100k miles on an '85 CRX Si bought new. Most entertaining car ever. I've owned far more powerful and faster cars but was never entertained in the same way. The Si on dinky 175 13's cornered on rails and didn't wear out tires when doing so. Manual shift was awesome, easy to heel and toe, and easy to slot gears fast. Sychromesh was very good, I could cheat on the clutch and not grind gears. Rev'd the heck out of the motor at every opportunity and it took it and asked for more. Never did get 37 mpg but I never tried. Still managed high 20's.

Yep, there was definitely magic in those little CRXs....they were like half econobox, half Ferrari....great fun. We need more cars like that !
 
I put 100k miles on an '85 CRX Si bought new. Most entertaining car ever. I've owned far more powerful and faster cars but was never entertained in the same way. The Si on dinky 175 13's cornered on rails and didn't wear out tires when doing so. Manual shift was awesome, easy to heel and toe, and easy to slot gears fast. Sychromesh was very good, I could cheat on the clutch and not grind gears. Rev'd the heck out of the motor at every opportunity and it took it and asked for more. Never did get 37 mpg but I never tried. Still managed high 20's.

Yep, there was definitely magic in those little CRXs....they were like half econobox, half Ferrari....great fun. We need more cars like that !

I've pontificated many times on these boards about the magic those little cars had, even stock.

I had an '87 as recent as 2014, it had a built D16 twin overhead cam, .395 lift Jackson racing cams, shaved head, 10.5 to 1 domed pistons, LS differential, Koni's all around, 195/50 15's.....and a 75 hp squirt of laughing gas. That car nickel and dimed me to death with repairs, but MAN, what a rush when both of the front tires were clawing away at the curves!

It was a far faster and better car than my driving skills. Beat a BMW M3 off the line once and pulled about 3 carl lengths ahead, dude about had his eyeballs pop out of his head. Sitting at the light, I offered a race to the next light.

His reply was classic....

"In THAT? What IS that?"

Goofy millenial had no idea. And yes, he did catch me.

This thing also had an Accord 5th gear. It got 37 mpg.

obligatory pic.

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No doubt some do, but there are plenty of "got away from me" type videos on YouTube to demonstrate that is not a safe assumption.

Just one example.

Well, in all fairness the newer Vetts are well documented widow makers, even the pro's complain about the road manners of those.
 
Cool video of the Demon motor screamin' on the dyno.

I believe those numbers, I have been pulling numbers higher than those for almost three years now with a mod 392, no supercharger, just NOS and meth. My engines are street legal but not one of my customers including myself would ever think of going full dump on a public road with street tires, pretty much suicide. What I like about the Demon is they fixed one of the weakest links. Tire width. The newer Dodge Challenger/Charger chassis use a Mercedes performance chassis and there was not enough room to go as wide as they needed to hold the power to the road without a JC Whitney looking fender flare job. OK, I admit, they still look a little "Whitneyish on the Demon. The Demon has front tires wider than the last years SRT rear tires (street version), and they are the same size front and rear!
We are talking street drag rated tires 315/40R18 at all four corners! That is 10mm wider than the widest front tire ever put on a street car which was the Z28 I think. Good luck finding any variety, Nitto makes them, just for the Demon, soft as hell, might last 10k if your lucky and they can't even be run below 15 degrees F.
 
My 3 cylinder, stick shift Ecoboost Fiesta makes only 124 HP and 148 torque but than it's only 60 cubic inches. I find that impressive.

Mileage is excellent by the way, averaging 40+. The first Ecoboost with eco and boost at the same time.
 
The big three can lead or die a painful death.

You may be right but it won't be in our lifetime. Volvo is already a two-time loser and going electric is a last gasp. Tesla is highly valued but has yet to make any money. (Musk is the recipient of more tax dollars than any other person in the country.) The US is not Europe and never will be. China is Buick's biggest market.
 
Well, in all fairness the newer Vetts are well documented widow makers, even the pro's complain about the road manners of those.

I don't closely follow the 'Vette scene because I don't have one. OTOH, I don't recall hearing anything except what great performance is available. Most of the problem crashing these cars seems to be limited, or maybe nonexistent performance driving skillset.
 
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My 3 cylinder, stick shift Ecoboost Fiesta makes only 124 HP and 148 torque but than it's only 60 cubic inches. I find that impressive.

Mileage is excellent by the way, averaging 40+. The first Ecoboost with eco and boost at the same time.

I agree, the same goes for small engines. It is not unheard of to buy a 200hp 4 cylinder...and a 350hp six cylinder and excellent gas mileage at the same time. All due to computer technology and direct injection. It is all impressive, especially when you think back to the first gen eco cars that you were lucky if they made 40hp and got around 25 mpg. I keep reading that we have reached the limit of what we can do with piston engines and every few years someone figures out how to take them a little farther. I am sure the limit will be reached but we are not there yet.
 
I don't closely follow the 'Vette scene because I don't have one. OTOH, I don't recall hearing anything except what great performance is available. Most of the problem crashing these cars seems to be limited, or maybe nonexistent performance driving skillset.

Being in the performance industry, I follow information like that closely, the handling problems started once the 600hp level was crossed. Lots of steering issues, this review is from 2015 (I think). When a professional driver says "it is a handful", imagine what it would do with a regular retired guy with no real experience.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...iew&id=2&vid=f55217c70797e658dd3bd1bd7990c4cc
 
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I do love the Challenger. It doesn't pretend to be clever at all. Just a big lot of power you can't handle.. because the car can barely handle it. I'd prefer a hellcat or a demon over a Ferrari or McLaren any day...

Might love a Lamborghini a little more....
 
There is a fun future in electric motors for sure. They are very torquey compared to their horsepower so they can be quick off the line which is most of the fun anyway.

That and the fact there's very few moving parts will make them very reliable except the battery. I dont know which will win. Hydrogen or electric the next five years will decide. On the surface it seems electric but I wouldn't rule out hydrogen.
 
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