Supercharged Underdog: A V6 Charger with Attitude

Car Build

More is better, right? The stigma that more power and more boost and more horsepower is the ultimate goal among car builds can wear down your wallet and patience. Let's try an alternative route. Chris’s 2016 Dodge Charger is a showcase to balance. It is not set up for drag racing or set to kill. It is set up to be the perfect daily driver while maintaining an aggressive stance and some respectable power to keep him high on the food chain. 

Let's get the obvious out of the way first. There is no v8 thoroughbred under the hood of this Charger. In fact, what we do have is a 3.6 v6 Pentastar engine found in everything from the Mopar dodge commuter line to the soccer mom vans. If this is a touchy subject for your fragile ego, you can spend the time more efficiently looking up therapists instead. Great, moving on. 

The 3.6 in this Charger isn’t a built engine, it sports completely factory internals as nature intended. The monoport exhaust design retains the factory catalytic converters as well, keeping the nanny state of New York happy when inspection time comes around the corner. Things get interesting on the intake side of things however. Featuring a Vortech v3 Ti Headunit to cram massive amounts of air down this Pentastars throat, it then flows through a large air to air intercooler hidden behind the bumper. Chris states he typically sees 10 - 12 PSI of boost on the street but has seen upwards of 13-14 PSI when set to kill and stretching the redline. Easily believable considering I’ve seen fruit loops with larger diameters when compared to this supercharger pulley.  60 pound FIC injectors keep the fuel flowing using a stock fuel pump on this build. The engine parameters are then managed on the factory ECU with the help of HPtuners and countless hours of trial and error for a stable tune. 

Chargers have their reputation for being boats. A new Hellcat will weigh in typically at almost 4600 lbs depending on models and features, this v6 Charger is 350lbs less. Keeping that big body planted are BC Racing Coilovers at all 4 corners. Custom powder coated Velgen Wheels 20x10 in the front and 20x12 in the rear are wrapped in Nitto 555r’s for grip. If you’re scratching your head trying to relocate a v6 Charger trim that came with Brembos, they didn’t. Chris with the help of some friends was able to secure a blown up SRT challenger’s setup. The new calipers are custom powder coated and are paired up with new 15” rotors in the front and 13” rotors in the rear. 

Leading to the most obvious, the exterior. Chris had the Charger completely wrapped in a custom designed camouflage wrap thanks to Stav at SoFresh Wraps in New Jersey. A factory Hellcat hood adorns the top of the engine bay for maximum heat dissipation. The one-off carbon fiber front lip and rear diffuser were hand made and shipped around the world by Abaza Carbon in Dubai. To complete the look with the “Ricky Bobby” type nascar wing, Chris went with ZL1 add-ons Wicker Bill wing. 

A perfect cruiser, a weekend warrior, and a blast at the track. Chris’s Charger encapsulates a well rounded machine without sparing the creature comforts and amenities all while achieving 20+ miles to the gallon. It may not be for everyone, but we respect the dedication to the build.  █

Build Data

2016 Dodge Charger Track Pack

3.6 Supercharged v6

Horsepower: 460WHP

Torque: 380 ft/lbs

• FIC Injectors

• HpTuners Engine Management

• Vortech/RIPP Supercharger

• BC Racing Coilovers

• Velgen Racing Wheels

• Nitto 555R Tires

• Retrofitted Brembo Brakes

• Hellcat Hood

• Hellcat Red Seatbelts

• Abaza Carbon Front Lip and Diffuser

• Custom Wrap by SoFresh Wraps

• Powdercoating by EZ Powdercoating