The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will run on 100-octane race fuel, thanks to a second PCM and a revamped fuel system.
The final teaser video of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon came online today along with a press release explaining that the newest Mopar muscle car will be the first ever production road car to be designed to run on 100 octane unleaded race gas. Mind you, the Demon will still run on normal “pump gas”, but to unlock the full potential of the new Demon, owners will have to fill the tank with 100+ octane gasoline.
This is capable because in the Demon Crate is a specially tuned Powertrain Control Module which is programmed to advance the engine parameters to make the most of the high octane race gas. The Demon Crate also comes with a new switch panel for the center stack, which as you can see in the image above, includes a High Octane race gas button.
For normal daily driving, owners of the 2018 Challenger Demon can run 91 or 93 octane (depending on what is available in their area) and they can make lots of power, but for a day at the track, they will want to run the tank as low as possible and replace the normal pump gas with high octane (100+) unleaded racing fuel. Once that high octane fuel is in the tank, the driver pushes the High Octane button on the center stack and the supercharged Hemi automatically adjusts to make peak power. In the event that you fill the tank with 100 octane, but there was enough lower octane fuel in the tank to bring the total octane rating below the required 100 – the system will automatically shift back to the non-race gas mode to protect the engine internals from the harmful impact of detonation.
Unfortunately, we don’t know the power numbers, but we can expect that the new Demon will offer significantly more power than the Hellcat – especially with the race gas mode engaged.
Finally, in addition to the specially programmed PCM and the race gas button on the dash, the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon will come equipped with dual fuel pumps, larger injectors than what is found in the Hellcat and higher volume/higher pressure fuel rails – all of which will work together to keep this hungry Hemi well fed when it is chewing up the competition.
"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.
