A cold air intake on the Hellcat Hemi allows the supercharger to announce its presence with far more authority than a stock Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
A cold air intake is a popular modification for all sorts of vehicles, as these allow any engine to breathe a little easier than they could with the stock air box setup. In the case of the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, a cold air intake allows the supercharger to draw in copious amounts of air more easily – thus adding power – but it also makes the familiar whine of IHI supercharger to be much, much louder.
This particular Hellcat Challenger is owned by Sam Chapa, who has added a cold air intake setup from the folks at BWoody and while Sam hasn’t offered up power gain numbers from his new CAI just yet – he did put together this video to display how much blower sound is added with the freer-breathing intake system. It should be noted that his Challenger is also fitted with JBA shorty headers, JBA high flow mid pipes, a Borla Atak catback setup, a BWoody heat exchanger, Deatchworks 1000 fuel injectors, BWoody Anti slip pulley, a Metco 2.5″ pulley, and a Mishimoto 180° – so this Mopar muscle car is louder and more powerful than stock – making the whole video even better.
The video begins with a close-up look at the Air Catcher headlight of this B5 Blue Hellcat Challenger, with a few quick revs of the 6.2L Hemi engine giving us a chance to hear the blower whine at lower RPM. That is followed up by a short clip from inside of Sam’s Hellcat Challenger as he makes a hard pull through the gears, with the camera focusing on that dyno gauge in the Performance Pages system. While we could only get a clear screen shot of 670hp, if you watch carefully, you can see the horsepower gauge hit 700-something during the pull.
Finally, we get to watch this B5 Blue Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat make a pull from the outside, giving us a chance to hear the blower whine as the car races towards us – and a great exhaust sample as he races off into the distance to end the video.
"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.
