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Dodge’s latest Challenger Demon preview is here—the sixth of fourteen total. This time, it’s a peek at the Demon’s standard-fitment 315/40R-18 Nitto NT05R drag radials folding under the forces of a launch.
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Today’s teaser includes the image you see above and an attendant video (below). Unless you’re some sort of rubber fetishist, the preview is not a particularly sexy image, and yet it and some tidbits Dodge also released are highly revealing.
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Take a close look at this zoomed-in version of the same tire photo. See that demon tail on the lip of the 11.0-by-18-inch wheel? That’s a little mark to let Demon drivers know if the rear tire is slipping relative to the wheel during a hard launch. Leave a small mark on the tire beneath that little tail etching, and if the two are still aligned at the end of a quarter-mile run, then all is well. Most drag racers use the valve stem as an indicator; this is just another sign that no detail was overlooked on the Demon. Should the tail and tire mark no longer line up, it’ll show the driver that the Demon’s rear tires may be underinflated, resulting in a bit of lost time on that last hole shot.
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While Dodge still won’t reveal the power and torque figures put down by the Demon’s supercharged V-8 engine, the brand has announced that the top-dog Challenger‘s torque converter boasts a higher stall speed than the unit found in the SRT Hellcat model. That’s right, the Demon will have an automatic transmission, and its torque converter provides approximately 18 percent more torque multiplication than the Hellcat’s automatic. Meanwhile, a shorter 3.09:1 final-drive ratio replaces the automatic Hellcat‘s 2.62 gearing. All told, Dodge claims that the Demon’s combination of grippy rubber and excessive twist work together to provide the single-seat muscle car with a launch force some 35 percent higher than the Hellcat’s. For all we know, the Demon may well be able to go plaid (a.k.a. in the nine-second elapsed-time range on the drag strip).
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- Here’s How Much Horsepower We Think the Dodge Challenger Demon Will Make
- Second Dodge SRT Demon Teaser Released! [Video]
- Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Research: Reviews, Photos, and More
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Although Dodge continues to impress us with small factoids about the Demon, the brand’s seemingly nonstop teasers are beginning to fold our patience. Fear not, for the car’s reveal—and an end to these teasers—is growing nearer, since the Demon will debut in April at the 2017 New York auto show.
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