New Charger Weight

[440 Fanatic]

I was talking to a guy that has an '06 Charger on order and said that he drove one first and knows that it weighs "4200" lbs, I laughed, and said "you must be talking GVWR #s"

Does anyone know what the actual weight of the '06 Charger is?
Also, does anyone here know what the GVWR of a 68-70 Charger is?

Thanks,

440 Fanatic

[Brock Samson]

nope, that's what it weighs.. 4,200 Lbs. 

[Troy]

Curb Weight:

Automotive.com lists it at 3800 (standard?)
http://www.automotive.com/2006/43/dodge/charger/reviews/summary-specifications/index.html

About.com says the R/T is over 4000 pounds
http://cars.about.com/od/dodg1/fr/bj_06charger.htm

Edmunds.com says 4160 for the SRT-8
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=107369/pageNumber=2

Troy

[TheGhost]

They list the weight of each model on Dodges website.  Hold on and I'll look it up.



SXT - 3800
Daytona - 4031
SE - 3727
R/T - 4031
SRT-8 - 4160

[Nacho-RT74]

NO WAY !!!! so we have similar weight cars that new ones with similar power under hood. And ours are bigger.

thanks God, our Chargers sure are a better looking "weight"

[Ghoste]

If it's a 6.1, it's quite a bit more power than ours (stock for stock).  Of course, it's still saddled with being in a family car.

[Brock Samson]

  My fully loaded R/T SE (sans Driver) is exactly 3,800 Lbs.
  I figgure if they made the '06 a two door and dropped the rear seat DVD player etc.. it would be alot more nimble and a bit quicker...

[ITSA426]

It's quick enough for a street luxury ride!

[Mike DC]

Yep, the new Charger is probably at least as heavy as the vintage ones.

That's the fallacy of modern car building:  25 years of research into making cars lighter & cheaper to produce, and the end results are heavier & more expensive than ever before.

.

[Ghoste]

In all fairness (and I can't believe I'm sticking up for that four door pig), the new ones are saddled with an incredible amount of federally regulated features our cars never were.  They are also much more insulated and loaded down with lots and lots of options.  Then there are the miles of wiring and electronic sensors our cars don't need to worry about.
Of course, last but not least, our cars were made as two doors.  The family sedans always outweighed the two doors. 

[440 Fanatic]

So, it's true? They actually weigh in as much or more?
That amazes me, knowing their engine is mostly aluminum and small and my 440 engine alone weighs in the range of 750 lbs by itself.
But , I can see where all the options start to add up in weight and copper(heavy) wiring, but damned If I can really see over what should be 1000-1200 lbs difference.

440 Fanatic

[440 Fanatic]

NO WAY !!!! so we have similar weight cars that new ones with similar power under hood. And ours are bigger.

thanks God, our Chargers sure are a better looking "weight"

That's the way I see it too bro,,,

The best way to make 5 lbs of fat look good is to put a nipple on it! 

440 Fanatic

[Mike DC]

In all fairness (and I can't believe I'm sticking up for that four door pig), the new ones are saddled with an incredible amount of federally regulated features our cars never were.  They are also much more insulated and loaded down with lots and lots of options.  Then there are the miles of wiring and electronic sensors our cars don't need to worry about.

Some of the federally-regulated stuff is a valid point, but I don't think that's the whole story by any stretch. 

Take a '69 Charger. Add catalytic converters, electronic engine controls, airbags, and side-impact beams in the doors.  I'll bet it still doesn't weigh anywhere NEAR what a modern Charger weighs. 

In terms of Federally-mandated additional stuff, that's about it.  (There's a lot more work in the chassis design, but most of that knowledge causes them to take frame weight OUT in various places, not add it.)  Antilock brakes are nice but it's another 25-pound issue, not 250 pounds.
And the noise/vibration/harshmess gains in modern cars are real, but that's nothing Federally-mandated.  (Detriot can dump hundreds of millions into researching NVH issues if they want to, but they could also just use an extra $150 in Dynamat per car and probably get the same gains.  Or go back to full body-on-frame construction on cars that are supposed to ride smoothly.  It's not really much heavier.)

And all that stuff is not including the fact that every inch of the modern Charger's parts & materials is already wrung out for weight savings.  Plastic EVERYTHING, urethane bumpers, tinfoil body panels, aluminum steering boxes & master cylinders, etc. 

.

[Ghoste]

So what do you think accounts for it?

[Mike DC]

Honestly, I don't know.  I think it's just the crap everywhere.  Nothing on these new cars is simple. 

Example:

They can't just let the power brakes use a vacuum-operated booster alone. They have to also make sure there's a vacuum canister hidden somewhere (with the assorted vacuum lines to & from it) so that the driver doesn't EVER step on the brakes when entering the car and feel the lack of assist for three seconds before the motor starts.  I mean, think of how small that problem is, versus what parts & design & labor they've invested in getting rid of it.

On my father's 90's Toyota Camry, they've gone to the trouble to muffle the clicking sound of the emergency brake pedal being set.  How much money & design-time was spent on this?  Has it ever occurred to Toyota that their customers might not give a rat's ass whether or not they hear the clicking sound, much less they would want to pay money in added design-time & vehicle weight to "fix" this?


These are tiny things I'm naming, but it gives an insight into the mindset that produces modern cars.

.

[bull]

I think 'ugly' weighs a lot.

[Ghoste]

I think you may have misunderstood my post Mike (and maybe I misunderstood yours at first too).  I think we are both trying to say exactly the same thing.  I didn't mean to imply that it was all the fed-reg equipment and I agree 100% that it is all the little extras adding up.  I should have listed a few more examples maybe.

[Silver R/T]

thats a big heavy turd, are they unibody cars or frame?

[Troy]

thats a big heavy turd, are they unibody cars or frame?

When is the last time you saw a car with a frame?

Troy

[Silver R/T]

Arent some cadillacs still built on frame?

[TheGhost]

thats a big heavy turd, are they unibody cars or frame?

You resurrected a thread that was damn near a month old, just to say THAT?  Good god, son....

[The Ghoul]

soooo
for all the people that want a fast daily driver that looks hot... buy your self a decent bodied 68-74 charger and swap a new charger drive train into it. after all there will be enough of them in junk yards soon, with the rate of tools wrecking the things.
why not pre 68 you say?
simple....
Im a bastard when it comes to swaps but even I have my limits

[Ghoste]

Thank God.  Foose boogering one up was enough.  Although I seem to be in the minority on that.  Most 1st gen owners seem to like the Foose creation so I guess they are a lot more open minded than I am.

[Silver R/T]

thats a big heavy turd, are they unibody cars or frame?

hey, a qustion for you. Why dont you buy one if you like them so much?


You resurrected a thread that was damn near a month old, just to say THAT? Good god, son....

[TheGhost]

hey, a qustion for you. Why dont you buy one if you like them so much?

Can't afford a new car, otherwise I'd have already bought one.