2009 Challenger RT Retro Styling Upgrades

No matter what you think about the economy, the proposed Fiat merger, or the recent Chapter eleven filing by the Chrysler Corporation, one thing is certain: The new Dodge Challenger is a cool car. Unlike the newest rendition of the Dodge Charger, which received mixed reviews upon its debut, the Challenger's retro good looks, exceptional handling, and available 5.7 or 6.1 liter Hemi engine, all add up to a well-rounded, and well-received, performance vehicle. We've put about 5,000 miles on our R/T model since we purchased it, and regularly get thumbs up while on the road, and approving inquiries while we're at the gas station. Several non-enthusiasts have actually even asked if it's a new car or an old car that we've restored, a testament to Chrysler's tough achievement of making an LX platform vehicle look like a Challenger muscle car from the early '70s.

We must admit that this car is a blast to drive, likely more fun and certainly more accommodating than Challengers of old. With satellite radio, a well-designed cabin, an extremely smooth and quiet ride, responsive suspension, great brakes, and power to spare, the Challenger mixes the best of modern convenience and pure muscle, so it's no wonder the Challenger is selling well despite the adversarial economy and marginal performance of the company as a whole. Aside from the above mentioned accolades, another reason the Challenger is likely selling well is because it inspires thoughts of cruising the strip, drive-in movies, and restaurants, racing at the local drag strip, and wanting to have the coolest car around, just like the '60s and '70s when Mopars first ruled the streets.

Back then, you could purchase a hot Mopar new from the dealership, modify it with a few performance and appearance items, and have a respectable and unique car. Today, for the first time in many years, the same is possible thanks to the new Dodge Challenger and a supportive aftermarket. With much credit going to modern engineering and materials, the new Challenger is already quite a good performer right from the factory. Like most gearheads, however, we can't leave any vehicle we drive, new or old, stock for very long. Wanting to set our car apart from others on the road, and wanting to gain a performance advantage as well, we're ready to start modifying our car with a few minor items that will make a major difference.

Although we've affectionately named this car "Project Voided Warranty" around the office, the truth is there are many ways you can modify your new car without affecting the warranty at all. The first and most logical modification for the engine, and the one we'll perform this month, is installing a cold air induction kit. This is an easy job and provides the Hemi engine with a shot of cool air that you can hear through the induction system at wide open throttle, feel in the seat of your pants, and see on the dyno or at the drag strip. Despite what you may have heard, or what a dealer service adviser may tell you, installing a cold air system-like the K&N we used, won't affect your warranty at all. In fact K&N has personnel on staff specially trained to deal with car manufacturers and dealerships who argue the point, and their new warranty ensures you won't be denied a manufacturer's warranty claim simply for having installed their product. Wanting to check this fact, we called our friends at Citrus Dodge in Dade City, Florida, the dealership where we purchased the car, and they quickly verified that they couldn't speak for other dealerships, but that in their experience Chrysler wouldn't deny a warranty claim based on a K&N filter, or certain other performance items, being installed on a car.

This extra assurance prompted us to install their kit on our Challenger, and we were very pleased with the results. Not only is this kit easy to install, it also makes the engine bay look cleaner as well as improving horsepower by a K&N claimed 20 or so horsepower. While this sounds like a big gain for a cold air kit, looking at the factory unit, with its multi-chambers to quiet induction roar, we can certainly deduce how it could be possible. As you'll see later in the article, we installed the kit in about an hour, and then verified K&N's claims with before-and-after testing at the drag strip.

To complement our Challenger's improved performance, we decided the car should have some kind of stripes. Since the silver color of our car lends itself well to black accents, we contacted Graphic Express to see what stripes were available for the new Challenger, but were told they were still waiting for a car on which they could design the decals. Wanting to help out, we quickly volunteered our car, giving us the chance to see multiple stripe applications before choosing the '71 R/T-style double stripe for our Challenger. Additionally, Graphic Express designed a hood blackout which is on our car, and a variety of other stripes for the Challenger that can be seen on their website or in their ads. We like the idea of vinyl decals when striping a car. Not only are the decals inexpensive and relatively easy to install, if you grow tired of a certain look the decals can be removed without damaging the paint and replaced with a different style. Since the hood and sides of our Challenger were accented in black, we felt the car would look better with a black spoiler as well. Although the extra-strong double sided tape holding the spoiler in place fought hard, the crew at JD's Paint and Body removed the spoiler without damage and prepped and painted it satin black to match the stripes.

Adding even more contrast to the car, we decided to tint the windows of our Challenger next so we called friend Scott Kowalski of Kowalski's Glass Tinting in Lakeland, Florida. There are many reasons to tint the glass of a car, and the first being somewhat obvious as we live in Florida and the hot sun really cooks the inside of cars, making them uncomfortable and damaging the interior. Since window tint can lower temperatures substantially, it makes sense given that we're located in a tropical climate. Second, we simply like the way the car looks with dark windows. The Challenger has high sides, and we think it just looks better broken up with contrasting stripes and dark glass. Third, while the new Challenger draws attention, and we do appreciate all the thumbs-up gestures, the tint will actually give us some privacy at times when we don't want to be on display. Fortunately, Scott has a computer program that quickly cut sheets of 3M tinting into individual pieces for each window. Scott recommended the darkest legal tint we could apply, then cut and installed the tint right from his truck in just a couple of hours. This is another modification that doesn't cost much, but really makes a difference in the look and comfort of the vehicle.

While we've certainly enjoyed our new Challenger R/T in stock form, we must say that we now like the way it looks, and the way it runs, even better. As we move forward with this project, we look forward to improving both the show and the go, so stay tuned to future issues. And for more photographs of this project be sure to visit moparmusclemagazine.com.