When you’re stepping into the shoes of one of the most iconic muscle cars of all time, you’d better be up to the task. The LX platform Dodge Challenger roared onto the scene almost a decade ago now and the platform remains a popular choice for late model muscle. You know, the letters “R/T” on the grille of the Challenger is supposed to stand for “Road/Track” – a trackable daily driver for the road. The problem is that the Challenger’s suspension is more set up for a “Grand Touring” kind of ride, leaving you with as much wallow and roll as a muddy field full of hogs.
The Challenger actually isn’t a stranger to carving corners (though most people think of drag racing, it’d be folly to forget SCCA Trans-Am class Racing, which created the LEGENDARY ‘Cuda AAR (the Challenger’s sister E-Body), Chevy Camaro Z/28 and Ford Mustang Boss 302. Though you might find some ignorant knuckledragger unaware of the car’s intended use out drag racing these cars today, these cars were purpose built with going around a corner quickly in mind. So with that said, when the owner of this Challenger R/T ScatPak Shaker 392 reached out to the Mod Experts to make the Challenger as competitive as it was designed to be, we knew just what to do to get the most out of the LX-platform 2-door.
Lowering the car is a great place to start, but we’re going to be taking it a bit farther than just a set of lowering springs.
We replaced the rubberier-than-an-adult-toy-store stock suspension with a set of BC Racing Coilovers for Dodge Challenger, which not only drops the Challenger’s ride height to a more sporting level, but also adds 30-way adjustments for damping, ride height and so on.
Here’s how the BC Racing Coilovers look installed into the Mercedes Benz-derived rear end of the LX platform.
The Challenger R/T ScatPak 392 cat-back exhaust has been modified with a custom set of Magnaflow Mufflers, giving the 392 cubic inch Hemi V8 a beefy, aggressive exhaust note.
Here’s how the custom Magnaflow Exhaust looks underneath the Challenger – from this angle we can also see the BC Coilovers.
Of course, when you drop a car, a set of good looking wheels is a necessity as well.
The owner of this ScatPak 392 went with a set of BC Forged HB-05 Wheels for Dodge Challenger. BC Forged Wheels aren’t exactly the most budget friendly option on the market, but they do look positively badass on the Challenger’s color combo.
BC Racing HB-05 Forged Wheels / BC Coilovers for Challenger
With the car off the lift, all we had to do was step back and appreciate the fruits of our labor.
BC Racing HB-05 Forged Wheels / BC Coilovers for Challenger
The BC Coilovers for Challenger drop the Challenger suspension just enough that there’s a little bit of wheelgap left to allow for clearance (if you go too low, daily driving can become an “adventure”) while still making the car look incredible, and the much lower center of gravity and superior performance shocks and springs means this beast will bite in the corners rather than rolling around and wallowing about like a pig.
BC Racing HB-05 Forged Wheels / BC Coilovers for Challenger
The stance of the car front to rear is great, since this isn’t the 70s anymore, the jacked up “raked” look is never as pronounced these days.
A set of Brembo Brake calipers peeks out from behind the BC Forged Wheels.
BC Racing HB-05 Forged Wheels / BC Coilovers for Challenger
While you typically think of Quad Tips for european cars, the Magnaflow Quad Exhaust for Dodge Challenger tips looks much better on the car than the factory wide-mouth dual tips.
The R/T ScatPak 392 package includes a 70’s racing inspired front air dam, which really dials up the aggression of the car’s appearance and ties in beautifully with the shaker blister on the hood.
BC Racing HB-05 Forged Wheels / BC Coilovers for Challenger
All in all, this LC Challenger rolled off the lot a much better car than it came in – we really enjoyed wrenching on something we don’t see every day here, and we hope you enjoyed the photos.
Interested in getting a set of wheels for your Challenger? Talk to our team of Mod Experts – call us at 714-582-3330, chat live at ModBargains.com or just stop by the ModAuto showroom in La Habra, CA, any day during business hours.
Thanks for joining us, we’ll see you next time!
Story & Photos Nick Gregson