The 6th teaser video for the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon was introduced this morning on IfYouKnowYouKnow.com along with a short accompanying press release which details the tires, the torque convertor and the rear gears of the new Mopar muscle car.
The new Demon video is called “Multiplication”, and it is a short one – simply showing the 2018 Challenger Demon driver’s side rear tire on launch. We see the wheel and tires where it contacts the ground, we hear the engine rev, the tire wrinkles and away it goes. We don’t learn anything from this video, but it is a cool clip, showing how the drag radial tires wrinkle up to help transfer energy to the track surface.
Fortunately, the press release – while short – has far more information on the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon, including information on the Demon-specific Nitto tires, a new set of rear gears and a new torque convertor.
First up, we learn that the Nitto NT05R drag radial tires, which have a unique construction and composition specifically for the Demon, will measure 12.6 inches wide, allowing the newest Challenger to get 25% better grip on launch when compared to the Hellcat.
Next, Dodge wanted to make the most of that extra grip, so the Demon features 3.09 rear gears rather than the 2.62 gears in the Hellcat. This 18% increase in gearing leads to an 18% increase of torque multiplication at the wheels.
Those new gears are coupled with a new torque convertor with a higher stall RPM, and while we don’t learn the stall RPM, we do learn that this new convertor will offer 18% better torque multiplication from the engine.
In total, the new gears and torque convertor combine to give the 2018 Demon more than 35% better launch torque, while the Nitto tires help put that power to the ground for the hardest launches possible. Realistically, these tires, gears and torque convertor will almost certainly make the SRT Demon the hardest launching production road car of all time.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
