Dodge Gets a Serious Horsepower Boost

(Narrator)>> Our supercharged Challenger makes 480 horsepower at the tires. It's gonna take some quality upgrades to handle the extra horses. Today on Engine Power we install high performance suspension, brakes, and tires, along with an oil separator to keep the engine running clean.

(Mike)>> Hey everybody. Pat and I are here with our 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T. Now we picked this up at our local Dodge dealership brand spanking new, brought it back to the shop, and the transformation started. Now this car is for the Permatex Sweepstakes Giveaway. You can actually win this thing. Now the appearance has changed, the power has definitely changed, and that's all thanks to a Procharger HO kit. Pat tell'em a little bit about the power difference.

(Pat)>> Well the power difference was pretty amazing. These car, they're good from the factory. This is a five-seven car, not even the six-four. So it's a little bit more on the economical side to pick up. So we got it out the door for a great price, but the big thing is with the Procharger on it now this thing makes 480 at the tire, and I don't care what you drive that's pretty spicy.

(Mike)>> Now when we add that kind of power to a car we want to go ahead and touch on some of the other parts of it. So we're gonna add some coil overs, some better brakes, better tires, and even show you a little trick that you can do to the p-c-v system that helps the oil consumption of the car. You may have noticed that the car's appearance has changed a little bit. We started off with a really cool color. It's called Indigo Blue, and our designers came up with a scheme for the Permatex giveaway car, and it is subtle but very effective. We really like it.

(Mike)>> from a basic Indigo Blue Challenger to a Challenger with eye appeal, attitude, and a look unlike any other around, this is what some vinyl and the crew from the Wrap Lab can do to a vehicle in just a couple of hours. After some careful prep work using isopropyl alcohol and soft cloths the car was wiped down to promote the best adhesion possible for the vinyl graphics. Applying it is not as easy as it looks. This job takes skill and lots of experience to know how and where to stretch it, heat it, and even cut the material.

(Pat)>> The vehicle's contours can introduce challenging areas to get the vinyl to lay down as flat as possible. If there are any dents, paint chips, or imperfections in the surface they will show up. The vinyl used on the Permatex Challenger is u/v resistant and can stand up to the occasional fuel spill. It also has excellent resistance to water. The decals are the last thing to go on. These are the companies that participated in the build, and they add a race car look with a subtle ghosted effect.

(Mike)>> With this being the Permatex Sweepstakes it's always nice to have someone from the source come in and give us a hand, especially when they want to actually work on the vehicle. In a little bit Paco from Permatex is gonna come in and show us some of the new products they have to offer.

(Pat)>> He's also a car guy, and asked if he could work on the car that they are giving away to one of you lucky viewers. Well you know what our answer was, but until then Mike and I are gonna get the car ready for the parts that are on the table. Let's check them out.

(Mike)>> For a better ride, lower stance, and improved cornering ability these KW coil overs compliment every corner of the car. More power and speed is great. So is a better brake setup. For that EBC sent us a set of GD Sport rotors that are drilled and slotted, as well as yellow stuff pads to drastically reduce the Challenger's stopping distance. New tires will also increase the grip in cornering thanks to General Tire, and a JLT air/oil separator will help control oil missed from the p-c-v system.

(Pat)>> Paco Agrafojo is the Permatex director of marketing. He is the proud owner of a '71 Corvette that is a factory big block car. He also likes the off road scene and rolls down the trails in a lifted 2014 Jeep JK. For the suspension and brakes to be removed the first thing to do is to pull the wheels and tires from all four corners of the car. The calipers are next. Two fasteners hold them to the caliper bracket. Since they are being reused we will use zip ties to secure the calipers. Do not let them hang from the lines. It could damage them. Now the caliper brackets are pulled off. This will allow the rotors to be removed. The front ones are 13.6 in diameter and are a vented design. The rears are 12.6 inches and have the integrated emergency brake.

(Mike)>> The front suspension on the Challengers is a short long arm design also known as an unequal length A-arm. It's an independent setup that allows either wheel to react to road imperfections with minimal effect on the opposite wheel. The rear suspension is referred to as a multi-link setup. This type is commonly used on independent rear suspensions using three or more lateral arms and one or more longitudinal arms.

(Narrator)>> Up next race ready coil overs and strong stoppers on all four corners. Plus we check out the latest development in high strength thread locker.

(Mike)>> KW suspension components are easily identified by their trademarked yellow-purple color scheme. Now from street car suspensions all the way up to ones that put cars on the podium at the Nurburgring, KW has the largest suspension program worldwide. This is the V-two coil over kit for 2000 and up Dodge Challengers without electronic suspension. They have adjustable rebound and dampening that allows you to adjust the pitch and the roll of the car to fine tune the system for your driving preference. Now if you want to lower the vehicle these adjustors will let you do that and set the car at whatever ride height you want. Removing the factory struts is super simple. A jack supports the lower control arm, the sway bar end link is unbolted from the strut body, and the large bolt that attaches the strut to the lower control arm is removed. On top of the strut tower three fasteners are removed that free up the strut. The upper ball joint has to be disconnected from the control arm as well. This will allow the lower arm to swing down enough to remove the assembly.

(Pat)>> Thread locker is an important component to almost any part of a high performance vehicle, and we're working on the suspension. So it's especially important. Now you all have developed a really new exciting project. Tell me a little bit about it.

(Paco)>> Okay it's called Orange High Strength Removable Thread Locker. There's a lot of applications on a car that call for a red thread locker, which is considered permanent strength, and there's a lot of applications where you don't want to have to have heat to remove the red thread locker, like a suspension components where there's lots of plastic parts around. And so we developed the orange thread locker, which actually gives you the strength of a red thread locker but it's removable with hand tools. There's two things that we measure when we're working with thread lockers. One is called break and one is called prevail. Break is the amount of force that it takes to break that bolt initially. Prevail is how much force it takes to remove that bolt afterwards. Most thread lockers the break is harder than the prevail is. So you break it and then it's easier to back it out. The orange thread locker, the prevail is actually harder than the break. So once you crack that thing loose, even if that bolt starts to come out it's not gonna back out because the prevail actually gets harder to remove after that, but you can still remove it with hand tools.

(Pat)>> With the factory upper mount from the original strut installed on the new KW coil over we can put it in place. Thread locker is needed before any of the fasteners are tightened.

(Mike)>> A coating of anti-seize is brushed onto the rear spring adjustor to protect the threads from corrosion, making future adjustments easier. Once the suspension is installed we're ready for the brakes. We're going to start off with EBC's Yellow Stuff fastest street race and drift racing brake pads. This material is great for fast driving. You won't experience any brake fade with them. Now they're capable of repeated heavy braking use without brake fall off. They're suitable for shorter track events and race use. They also have the red break in surface coating for instant safe braking after installing them. These are EBC's GD sport rotors. They are drilled and slotted. Now the drill dimples allow the pads to de-gas. They do not through drill the rotors because when that is done they are prone to crackling. Now the wide slots draw in cool air under the pads in between the pad and the actual rotor surface. This helps cool the pad's contact area, which can spike to temperatures well over 1,000 degrees. The black coating is a long lasting corrosion resistant finish called thermic black. Up front the GD Sport rotor can slip over the wheel studs. Now orange thread locker is placed on the threads of the caliper bracket bolts. The factory caliper bracket is re-installed, and the bolts are tightened down. Next Permatex silicone ceramic extreme brake parts lubricant is placed on the brake pad retaining clips. It's environmentally friendly and will eliminate irritating brake noise. It's even chemical and corrosion resistant. Our yellow stuff pads can slide into the bracket now, followed by the factory caliper. Its hardware also gets orange thread locker. We are moving on to the rear brakes. The matching rotor goes on, followed by the caliper bracket and yellow stuff pads. They are an aramid fiber based compound with high brake effect from cold, and could possibly be the first ever compound to be used for street and track driving.

(Narrator)>> Up next the five point seven is a clean machine. We'll keep it that way with an oil separator.

(Pat)>> Welcome back. Now that the brakes and suspension are wrapped up it's time to move on to the next modification on the Permatex Challenger. Now if you've ever had your air inlet off or the throttle body itself you may have seen a little bit of oil accumulate behind your throttle blade in the intake manifold. This is caused by the vehicle's p-c-v system. As crank case pressure exits it's redirected back into the intake tract via a little bit of air and oil vapor.

(Mike)>> The vapor solidified due to heat and built up on the intake manifold's floor and its runners. It will also cause deposits to build up on the valves, and it will dilute fuel causing the octane rating to drop as it enters the combustion chamber. Now there is a fairly easy fix to all of this and it's really inexpensive.

(Pat)>> For less than $140 bucks you can solve all of that with this JLT Performance three point zero oil separator. A fine mesh stainless steel screen filter traps fine oil vapors and release them when the buildup gets heavy enough. Then the vapors pass through a honeycomb filter where the vapor builds up even more, and finally it falls into the bottom of the can. Now when the oil is in the bottom of the can it's too heavy to be passed into the intake manifold. That means clean filtered air is going back into the intake tract instead of air full of oil vapor in the form of a mist. The can is made out of billet aluminum and will hold three ounces. That may not sound like a lot but it is adequate enough to only have to empty every 3,000 miles. The kit comes with fittings, hoses, and a mounting bracket. Well this one's made for Challengers but they do have universal setups as well.

(Mike)>> The JLT kit we ordered is specifically for the Dodge Challenger, and it's supposed to mount just in front of the fuel rail right here, but since the Procharger coolant tank has been mounted we have to find an alternate spot, and it's gonna be right here on the strut tower. The two supplied bind thread screws will secure the oil separator to the bracket. It needs to be mounted so the separator's filter is on the right side as you are looking at it. To help you install the hoses a little easier use a little oil in the ends since they will fit tight onto all the fittings. The longer of the two hoses will attach to the p-c-v valve. Then to the filter side of the separator. Make sure this hose is in the correct location. The shorter hose attaches to the intake manifold. Then to the other side of the separator. Now a light coat of anti-seize is placed on the threads of the catch can and a light coat of oil on the O-ring area. This will keep it from locking up on the housing, and the oil will allow the can to be removed easier when it needs to be emptied. There are several benefits of this catch can. They include a cleaner intake tract, less deposit buildups on the intake valves, and your fuel will have a more accurate octane rating as it enters the combustion chamber. If you have a direct injected engine I highly recommend getting an air/oil separator whether the engine has any modifications or not. On a non-direct injected engine the fuel sprays right at the back side of the intake valve and that fuel actually acts as a cleaning agent keeping the buildup in check. On a direct injected engine the fuel is sprayed directly into the combustion chamber bypassing the intake valve, and that's why there's so much buildup seen on intake valves of direct injected engines.

(Narrator)>> Up next the Challenger gets sticky rubber designed for maximum grip on wet and dry asphalt.

(Pat)>> When you install a supercharger to have more power, suspension to have a better handling car, and exhaust to have that aggressive muscle car tone there is still one thing that stands between you and the road that can be drastically improved on and that is tires. This is the General Tire GMax RS. It's an ultra-performance tire that is designed to have maximum grip on wet and dry surfaces. They are loaded with advance technologies, like smart grip that ensures a sure footed grip on dry and wet roads. Stabila-tread technology means a larger foot print for maximum grip. They do have a directional tread design for high speed stability and outstanding traction on wet roads. They even have a tire replacement monitor built into the tire. It lets you know when it's time for a replacement.

(Mike)>> The stock tires we are removing will work well on the street for normal driving in wet and dry conditions. They are not the tires we want to use for any type of track use. We will store them. You never know when a set will be needed around this place.

(Pat)>> The specs on these new tires are 270-40 Z/R-20. They have a 28.7 outer diameter and weigh in at 30.3 pounds, 10.9 inch overall section width, and are made for rims that are between nine and 11 inches wide. Tread wear is 360, and they have a speed rating of "W". That means these are approved for speeds up to 168 miles per hour.

(Mike)>> Our tire machine is a top of the line unit from Coats. It's the APX-90 rim clamp tire changer. Designed for the latest tire systems on the road, it can handle rim diameters from nine to 30 inches, and rim widths up to 16 inches. Max tire diameter is 44. Changing the tires is one part of the job. The other is balancing them. Luckily for us we have a very accurate and easy to use balancer also from Coats. This is the 1,600 wheel balancer that utilizes a touch screen for operation. It's powered by a direct drive motor, has a laser guided operation system, and l-e-d barrel lighting. The stop, lock, and index feature automatically positions the wheel at the weight placement location and locks the spindle in place for easy, accurate weight application. Once we get these new tires mounted this Procharged Challenger is ready to hit the road and track. It has more power, will handle better, stop better, and it definitely sounds better, and you have to admit that wrap added a little attitude. For more information on any of the parts or equipment you saw on today's show check out Powernation TV dot com.

Exhaust system components and kits flood the performance aftermarket. They range in price, size, sound, and material used. Now no matter if you're looking for a kit specific for your vehicle or something you can build your own out of components there is one company that has everything you need for exhaust, and that is Magnaflow. If you're looking for clamps, whether the regular style or V-band, they have covered. Hanger kits and OTwo bungs, you can find them at Magnaflow. Now as far as mufflers go they have all kinds of different shapes and sizes, as well as inlet and outlet configurations. If you're the type that likes to do stuff your own check out their builder kits that you can put together with your imagination and have anything you want. For more information on any of these products or to see what else Magnaflow offers check out Magnaflow dot com.

(Pat)>> If you need to get your vehicle quickly on the road after working on it then Permatex's The Right Stuff 90 minute gasket maker is what you're looking for. Instead of taking 24 hours like other gasket makers this one cures in just one and a half hours. It's rated from negative 65 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit intermittent, and it resists aging, weathering, thermal cycling and blowouts. It also provides excellent adhesion and flexibility, and now it's available in this convenient squeeze tube. To find out more visit Permatex dot com.

(Mike)>> Getting as many miles as possible out of your engine means you have to maintain it. That includes changing the oil, servicing the p-c-v system, and swapping out the air filter and spark plugs, but what about keeping your engine's internals clean. You obviously can't get to the intake runners, valves, tops of the pistons, or anything in the crank case without physically disassembling the engine.

(Pat)>> Keeping it clean does improve its efficiency. The engine will make more power, get better fuel mileage, and will have much more longevity than a dirty one, and keeping your engine clean does not take that much effort, and today we're gonna show you how on this old shop truck of ours. It's a 2000 four wheel drive F-250 with a six point eight liter V-10. This engine has a reputation for being poor on fuel mileage but great on power. It has 168,000 miles and most of them were pulling a loaded trailer. So it's been rode hard.

(Mike)>> So the question is how do we keep the engine's internals clean? Or if you have a lot of miles on your vehicle and the engine has heavy deposits built up on the inside how do we address that? Well Pat has the answers.

(Pat)>> It's as simple as using a product that's been around since 1942. It's proven, it's effective, it's safe, and I bet anyone watching knows what I'm talking about. Sea Foam motor treatment only contains petroleum based cleaners and lubrication ingredients that can't harm your engine or fuel system. It can be used with any type of oil both conventional and synthetic, and even in gas and diesel engines.

(Mike)>> This one can has so many benefits. When used in the fuel system it cleans fuel injectors or carburetor passages. It cleans the intake runners and finally hits the intake valve and combustion chamber deposits minimizing them. It even lubricates the upper cylinders.

(Pat)>> When used in the crank case it is recommended to use one ounce for each quart of oil. That is enough to clean residues and deposits that can restrict oil flow and engine lubrication. We're using high mileage blend since we have over 75,000 miles on this truck. The intake manifold will also get oil residue and buildup on its floor and inlet. Since the injectors are downstream of these areas Sea Foam introduced a spray. Simple remove the air inlet tube, open the throttle blade, and spray directly into the intake.

(Mike)>> Now you know how to use Sea Foam in your fuel system and your crank case. It's a super inexpensive way to maintain your vehicle and it's simple to do. Now they also offer Bugs Be Gone multi-use cleaner and for stubborn nuts and bolts Deep Creep penetrating lubricant. If you want any more information on any of these products just log on to Sea Foam Sales dot com.