Rob Faranda fully built his 6.4-liter Hemi and slapped a supercharger on top. He monitors that boost with a PSB-1. Check out the feature on his car!
When Dodge unveiled the significantly refreshed 2015 Challenger lineup, the lion’s share of attention was directed toward the new SRT Hellcat variant and its supercharged, 707hp 6.4-liter power plant, which in turn allowed the company to proclaim this new SRT model as the most powerful production muscle car built to date. While that’s certainly cause for celebration and warranted the attention of enthusiasts, another newcomer to the Challenger lineup was unveiled at the same time in the form of the R/T Scat Pack.
To learn moure about the PSB-1 PowerSafe Boost Gauge in Rob’s Scat Pack, click here.
Cribbing its name from a performance treatment launched by Chrysler in 1968, the Scat Pack was a group of Dodge vehicles that offered the highest echelons of Mopar performance. The Scat Pack initially included the Charger R/T, Coronet R/T, Coronet SuperBee, Dart GTS, and Dart Swinger 340, and in 1970 the Scat Pack lineup expanded to include the Challenger and Charger Daytona models.
Today it serves as a high performance package for the Challenger and Charger that was formerly offered as the SRT Core model, the latter of which was sold in limited quantities in the 2013 and 2014 model years. Packing Brembo four-piston brakes, Bilstein dampers, an active exhaust system, a 485 horsepower 6.4-liter Hemi V8 and plenty of muscle car style, the Scat Pack is arguably the best bang-for-the-buck performance model currently available from Dodge.
“The price point on the Scat Pack made it a no brainer for me, it’s an incredible platform to build from,” says Rob Faranda, the owner of the Whipple-supercharged Mopar you see here. “My thinking was “anyone can buy a Hellcat” – I wanted something that was mine, something that stood out.”
Known as “Big Mamma” and dressed in a heritage-inspired Plum Crazy Purple paint hue, Faranda’s R/T Scat Pack certainly isn’t striving for anonymity. And when it comes to performance, it sounds like he’s not content for middling capability either. “As of now I’m getting 700+ rear-wheel horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque,” he explains. “We’re still working on the tune though, and the timing is retarded for the engine break in.”
Those numbers trump what the Hellcat puts out from the factory no matter whose numbers you compare them to. So how’d he get there? Perhaps the star of the equation is the Whipple 2.9-liter twin screw supercharger with 90lb injectors that’s bolted atop the Hemi, but Faranda’s mods go deeper than just adding forced induction.
To bolster strength required to reliably handle the additional power, the 6.4 was torn down by Calibrated Speed and Performance in Pell City, Alabama and the stock pistons were swapped for forged versions, along with Molnar connecting rods, upgraded bearings, and additional uprated internal hardware odds and ends to ensure durability. Kooks long tube headers send the exhaust out the factory mufflers through catless mid pipes to allow the blown Hemi to breathe easier.
Those numbers trump
A Diablosport Trinity tuner and custom PCM with tuning from Hemituner Performanceoversees the communication behind the power train and the electronics, while an Innovate Motorsports PSB-1 multi-function gauge provides vital real-time data from the motor. “I didn’t want multiple gauges – I wanted one that could give me all the information I needed, was easy to see and was – most importantly – accurate,” Faranda says. “The PSB-1 does that and does it well, providing AFR, Boost, Peak Boost information and an analog output. I have mine setup in a Razors Edge single pod pillar, with the analog output connected to my Diablosport Trinity, which is then connected to my laptop for logging.”
While roughly 800 horsepower at the crank might be enough for some, Faranda says even more performance is in store for Big Mamma. “I’m planning to add the Snow Performance Stage 3 Meth kit before the final dyno/tune,” he tells us. “Hoping for upwards of 800 at the wheels.”
Demon who?
