Yokohama Advan APEX V601 on a Hellcat: Cheat Mode Activated
Straight Line Acceleration
When I bought my Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, I did so because it was one of the quickest stock quarter-mile cars in the world. I have been drag racing since I started driving, so for me, the most important aspect of a muscle car is how well it covers a long, straight stretch of pavement.
The key issue with the Hellcat Challenger is getting traction on a hard launch, but with stock tires, the big Dodge can get into the high-three-second range on a 0-60 pull. My personal best with the stock Pirelli tires was a 3.9, but even with drag radials, you can’t just mash the throttle to the floor and expect to do anything but make smoke.
In stock form, a hard launch with the Hellcat Challenger begins with easing the car through first gear, then easing the car through the bottom half of second gear. Once you get into the higher end of second, you can use the full range of the accelerator. Earlier on in the launch, you spend most of your time well below full throttle.
When launching with the Yokohama ADVAN APEX V601 tires, I still have to ease the car through first gear, but I have yet to see a street tire that will grip on a hard first gear launch in a Hellcat car. Where the advantage of the Yokohamas became evident was in second gear. I could climb to full throttle much earlier in second. In fact, when I put the hammer to the floor right after the first-to-second shift, the tires chattered a little, but they kept moving the car forward. The stock tires in the same situation would have just turned to smoke at full throttle in second gear.
My best 0-to-60 time with the Yokohama tires is 3.8 seconds, but I have been able to hit that number more consistently. With the stock tires, there was far more variance in 0-to-60 times due to the fact that they struggled to grip in second gear. Also, since the ADVAN APEX V601 tires went on my car, it has either been well into the 90s or raining. In cooler conditions, when the car is making better power, I expect that the Yokohama tires will yield slightly better acceleration numbers.
One last place where traction was tested was on a low roll in second gear. A hard second gear pull was still tricky with the stock Pirelli tires, but with the Yokohamas, the Hellcat Challenger is able to use almost all of its power immediately on a 25 mile-per-hour hit. Depending on the surface, there is still a bit of tire spin, but as was the case with launching from a stop, a hard hit on a roll yields far better results with the ADVAN APEX V601 tires.
Great in the Rain
My Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is my actual daily driver, meaning that I drive it in the rain. Some high performance tires with solid ribs can run into traction issues in the rain. I spent several hours driving around in hard rain without any issue. In areas where there was standing water on the road, I had no issues accelerating, braking or turning.
When the rain lightened-up and I found myself away from other cars, I was able to do a few hard(ish) pulls from a stop. On a wet road, I was still able to get to 60 miles-per-hour in the mid-five-second range. Most people don’t really care how well their car accelerates in the rain, but being able to get to 60 in the five-second range with a 700-plus horsepower, rear-drive car shows that these tires don’t struggle on wet roads.
If you have a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, or any trim level of the modern Mopar muscle car, the Yokohama ADVAN APEX V601 is an excellent option for daily driving tires. They offer excellent grip on a hard launch and in the corners without compromising traction in rainy weather. Best of all, these tires offer superior performance to the factory tires at roughly the same price, while costing far less than other high performance tires.
Patrick Rall images for DodgeForum
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