2006 Dodge Magnum SRT8

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2006 Dodge Magnum SRT8
A Mightier Magnum: The SRT8 means you can get the groceries RIGHT NOW!
MARK VAUGHN
Published Date: 6/27/05
2006 DODGE MAGNUM SRT8
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $37,995
POWERTRAIN: 6.1-liter, 425-hp, 420-lb-ft V8; rwd, five-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 4260 lbs
0 TO 60 MPH: 5.3 seconds (est.)

If you?re making a performance anything, it?s always good to start with a sound foundation. The Dodge Magnum SRT8 starts off as a Magnum RT with a 5.7-liter 340-hp V8 powering the rear wheels. Couldn?t ask for a better starting point.

SRT (Street and Racing Technology) engineers upgraded enough of the suspension to make the SRT8 into a real muscle car or, muscle wagon. SRT?the group responsible for everything from Mopar Performance Parts to the Viper, as well as all those cars and trucks you see going in circles in NASCAR?you could say, likes horsepower. Not surprisingly then, the most significant changes are under the hood.

The block is new, a separate casting made around an extra 3.5 mm of bore that takes the V8 out to 6.1 liters. Every part of the airflow and combustion processes has been tuned in this engine, from the oil squirters under the pistons to the internal sleeve pipes in the nearly equal-length exhaust manifold (equal enough anyway that they eliminate any power-sucking backpressure), taking horsepower to 425.

The compression ratio is up from 9.6:1 to 10.3:1. Pistons and pins are unique to the SRT8, rods are powdered metal, the crank is forged instead of cast, the bearings are tri-metal, and the bottom of the block has a full windage tray and unique oil pan.


The cylinder head is new with its own casting, allowing the valves to be 2.0 mm bigger on the intake side and 1.0 mm bigger on the exhaust, increasing flow by 11 percent to the intake side and 13 percent out the exhaust. All valves are sodium-filled for better cooling. The camshafts are billet and offer a higher lift and longer duration; fuel injectors are 14 percent bigger and the runners are long-er for a flatter torque curve.

That?s just the engine.

Attached to it is the same Mercedes A580 five-speed automatic AMG uses. The differential is up one size with a 3.06 ratio over the RT?s 2.88. Tires and wheels go from 225/60R-18s on the RT to 245/45s front, 255/45s rear on 20-inch wheels under the SRT8.

To help channel the performance, the SRT8 gets special Bilstein dampers in front and Sachs in back with stiffer anti?roll bars at both ends. Brakes are four-piston Brembos, 14.2 inches front, 13.8 rear. The threshold at which the ESP system kicks in is also raised.

All of this leads company officials to brag a bit about the wagon?s on-track prowess, claiming it lapped Nelson Ledges only three seconds a lap behind the Viper (1:21 to 1:24).

Perhaps if we had had a chance to lap the wide, fast loops of Nelson Ledges ourselves, we would have been more impressed. Our driving was at Firebird Raceway?s 1.1-mile 11-turn west track, almost as herky-jerky as the old Formula One street course through downtown Detroit. Needless to say, in that environment the Magnum SRT8 is no Viper SRT-10, the latter of which we drove that same day at the same track.

But considering the SRT8 weighs 4260 pounds, the engineers did a fine job reeling it all in. While the new wagon does lean, pitch and squat way more than a Viper, it is remarkably well-heeled by SUV standards, and especially so by the standards of the golden age of muscle cars.

Like all great muscle cars, it shines in a straight line. Dodge says to expect 0-to-60-mph times in the low-fives and quarter-miles in the high-13s.

On a drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles, the wagon cruised superbly at 100 mph all day. We could have hauled all three of our friends and their luggage, too, and had just as smooth and fast a drive. If the world is turning away from big honking SUVs, it might consider this SRT8 the perfect alternative.

[Raza]

Nice.  I won't hold my breath for someone over there to give me a Magnum/Charger SRT-10 with a 6 speed Viper trans, but this is a start.