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Sedans Dodge Charger Dodge Charger 2006+
1087 messages, Last post on Sep 28, 2008 at 10:38 PM
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Hi Everyone - I just bought a Charger06 R/T. I love it so far. The best car I have ever bought! anyway, I wanted to do just a few small tweaks to it to boost the performance a little without impacting my gas millage or my warrenty. Anyone have any thoughts?
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Hi, everyone. I'm new and don't know nearly as much about car mechanics as you folks all seem to (but I sure love to drive). 2 questions: (1) Real world mpg in city and hwy is what (for RT w/ road and track option); and (2) I've heard that Dodge historically amkes among least reliable and worst quality cars -- how do the Chargers and Magnums fare on quality and reliability? Am particularly interested in hearing from owners who bought early and have decent miles on car. Thanks! |
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Replying to: craves (Jun 20, 2006 7:16 am) |
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Replying to: steir (Jun 20, 2006 1:10 pm) I get 19 MPG with "combo-driving" (mostly city, with a bit of Hwy mixed in). I still have not had a chance to do a tank on the hwy for true hwy mpg. I have only had one issue with the car. When driving with the windows down at higher speeds (above 40), the headliner in the back would flap in the wind. Dealer fixed it, and no other issues... FWIW...
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Replying to: discgolfer99 (Jun 22, 2006 10:10 am)
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Hi All, I've joined this forum in an attempt to determine if my experiences are unique, or if others are having similar issues. Nineteen days ago, I left my beloved 2002 Magnetic Red Corvette Coupe at the Dodge dealership, and picked up a 2006 Dodge Charger R/T "Daytona" in the "Top Banana" trim, to replace it (lease ended with equity in the 'Vette). The car is wonderful to drive in, as it has countless creature comforts, and a quiet but firm ride that almost lulls one to sleep in the plush suede/leather covered seats. The car is loaded, with no option omitted, as the XM, satellite navigation, and BlueTooth voice link are all things I sorely wanted in any new car that I purchased. To top it off, I get countless stares and many thumbs up as I drive around town, as the car has a striking look in yellow, with the hood, trunk, spoiler, air dam, and rear quarter panel all blacked out. Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends. I was determined to give this car a good break-in, so I decided to drive the car gently for the first 600 miles, rather than 300 as stated in the owner's manual. The owners manual says that this vehicle does not require a long break-in period, but just to be sure, I let the car go double the recommended distance before I put my foot more than even 1/3 of the way down. In the meantime, the car was getting very poor fuel economy. On the highway, I was lucky if I could average 19 mpg under "normal" driving conditions, and if I drove as if I were walking on egg shells, I could squeeze 21-22 mpg out of the motor at 60 mph, playing feather-foot (the cruise control actually degraded fuel economy). Around town, the gas mileage was atrocious; 9 mpg was average, and if I concentrated on nothing but my throttle position, I could squeeze 11 mpg out of the car. These figures were a complete shock to me; my 'Vette normally yielded about 28 mpg on the highway with the air running, and over 31 with it off. Around town, the car could easily average out to 19 mpg, unless I drove like a jerk, which is not something I did often. To be fair, the 'Vette had significant advantages over the Charger. Around town, the fact that it weighed 900 lbs less made a big difference in stop and go traffic, and on the highway, its Cd of .29 allowed it to knife through the air with a minimum of losses to parasitic drag. Still, I am amazed that the Charger is performing so poorly in the economy category, as I would have hoped that it could at least hit the EPA numbers posted on the sticker. Unfortunately, things didn't go much better in the power department. When I finally allowed myself to push the accelerator a bit further down, I was completely disappointed with the results. The car is lethargic as all hell, and has terrible pull at low speeds. Once you get the car moving, and the RPMs up, then it seems to want to redeem itself, but the end result is pitiful, to say the least. Not to mention the fact that a power band so high up in the RPM range is not very practical for a daily driver, and even less so when one considers that the motor eventually sees a 2.88:1 rear axle ratio. To sum things up, here are my observations / questions / remarks; First, does anyone have any information to indicate that Dodge is off base with the 300-mile break-in figure that it publishes in the owner's manual? Obviously, excessive internal friction could easily cause all of the stated symptoms, and 300 miles just doesn't seem to be enough of a break-in period for a V-8 designed to last 100,000 miles or more. Secondly, break-in periods aside, does anyone have any general data about how these cars are doing in the economy department? I would be truly saddened to discover that the figures Dodge posts on the sticker are just fantasy. Next, does anyone have any experience with aftermarket exhaust/intake systems to try to unload this motor a bit? I was thinking of going with a well-tuned set of long tube headers, and possibly some air box or intake work. I would appreciate any feedback on this. Well, there you have it. I really like the car, but mechanically, it is leaving much to be desired. I knew that the Charger would never hang with my 'Vette, but I hoped that it could at least give a respectable account of itself, mechanically, and it is *FAR* from doing so. It did not help to discover today that Dodge's "Hemis" are not really hemi-heads, but rather, more like a modified bathtub design rotated 90 degrees, thereby losing much of the advantage that a true Hemi enjoys when supercharged. Further, if one must sacrifice performance or power, they hope that they can at least gain fuel economy in a natural physical trade-off, but in this case, not only does one experience luke-warm performance, but they also get to watch the needle in the gas gauge very quickly sweep to empty. In my 27 years of swinging wrenches, I have never seen such a lop-sided mechanical relationship; something is just not right here........ Thanks for listening and answering. used2befast |
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Replying to: used2bfast (Jun 22, 2006 11:36 pm)
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Replying to: used2bfast (Jun 22, 2006 11:36 pm) 300c Hemi.There are some getting 18 city which I think would be great ,but some like you with a mpg problem.I'm wondering if there is a MDS problem,and its not shutting down the cylinders.That would give you the bad mileage.Ask the dealer to check the MDS and make sure its working.I have the SXT with the 3.5 and on my last tank I got 20 mpg all city driving.No complaint with my MPGs.
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Replying to: batista (Jun 23, 2006 8:25 am) |
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