[mopar4life]

The summer is fast approaching for me. Gas is about to get insane and I need somethin a little better on gas than my trucks(8 on my 383 truck and 12 on my 4x4 highway maybe) but Im not sacrificing the V8 powa. My budget is about 9 grand. Im going to buy a salvage titled car and have my body man rebuild it. Now the problem is, I dont know which one to get. I love the luxo brawler the 300C is but equally adore the Chargers styling. If I do the 300C, its gonna have 22" TIS 07s or black powder coated 300C SRT8 wheels, tinted windows, and possibly the SRT8 front bumper for starters. With the Charger, powder coated stock wheels, lowered, programmer and the SRT8 body kit. Now Im not real sure which way to go, Im leaning more towards the 300C right now. I have until about May to decide on what I want. What are you guys thoughts? I have asked in other places and not got any responses, surely the 300 community is better right?

 

[HornedWildebeast]

The Charger is more of a sports car. The 300 is more of a luxury car. If you want sporty, Charger all the way. If you want something more refined and luxurious, go with the 300. I'd take the Charger, but I'm biased.

 

[GoofyTimL]

The R/T should have about 10 more HP than the nominal 300C due to a slightly more free flowing exhaust from what I understand. Other than that it's as has been described to you already. If you want a little more refinement, particularly in the interior, then 300C. If you want the sporty, more agressive look of the Charger... that that's your ride.

 

[4u2nv]

I can give a little bit of insight. I raced an R/T charger last year. I had a Zoomers exhaust and FlashPaq. I know my very heavy 22" wheels slow me down greatly, but I did beat the charger. He also had 22"s (I'm sure mine are heavier) and an exhaust, but thats all I can be sure of. It wasn't a walk in the park, but I did take him. It was a 55MPH rolling start. I love the look of the charger but I love having the luxury car and still spanking other people that think they are fast. Especially them 350Z's and 2 door infinity's. Oh and that mustang.......but I sprayed on that race. shhhhhh

 

[kevenj]

The R/T should have about 10 more HP than the nominal 300C due to a slightly more free flowing exhaust from what I understand. Other than that it's as has been described to you already. If you want a little more refinement, particularly in the interior, then 300C. If you want the sporty, more agressive look of the Charger... that that's your ride.

This is kind of confusing, but the Charger R/T has the same 340 hp as the regular 300c.... but the Charger R/T with the Road & Track package has 350 hp, as does the Charger Daytona from what I understand.
All R/T's do not have the "Road & Track" package despite what the initials "R/T" would logically suggest.

As far as which one to buy? From the styling alone it should be obvious..... 300C of course!

 

[mopar4life]

Yeah, I read about that before. But the 10 hp doesnt matter to me, besides, I want the stock exhaust, Im sick of loud exhaust, cant mess around intown with being heard lol. Ill probably do a E-Cutout if I want to get loud hehehe. Thanks for the input guys, keep it coming.

 

[srt8man]

The Charger is a little bit heavier than the 300C. These cars are so closely matched performance wise that it is difficult to call a winner, but I would have to give a slight edge to the 300C in a drag race due to it's lower curb weight. The 300C has a slightly more supple ride than the Charger, but the Charger may handle a little bit better. The performance comparison is really to close to call, so you should go for the one with the styling you like best.

The 300C also has a better looking interior, IMO. Some may disagree, but for me this is what made my decision easier. In addition, when I bought my 300C SRT8, it had more standard features than the Charger. I also love the Charger, but the 300C suited me better. I'm not a big fan of the hood scoop on the Charger SRT8 either.

If you install 22" TIS wheels on the 300C, it will definitely hurt your gas mileage and performance. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because you said you want something a little better on gas than your trucks. I'm sure you will do better than your trucks regardless of your wheel choice, but I would recommend your other choice (20" SRT wheels). I personally love the stock 300 SRT wheels, and think they look great on the 300C. I'm leaving my stock wheels on for this very reason.

My final recommendation is to decide which styling you like better and then go and actually sit inside each car and take them for test drives. You really can't go wrong with either choice. My twin brother is probably getting a Charger because he prefers it's exterior styling. I'm glad that he is probably getting something different from what I got. It's cool having a twin brother, but I would rather his car look different, especially since we look so much alike

The summer is fast approaching for me. Gas is about to get insane and I need somethin a little better on gas than my trucks(8 on my 383 truck and 12 on my 4x4 highway maybe) but Im not sacrificing the V8 powa. My budget is about 9 grand. Im going to buy a salvage titled car and have my body man rebuild it. Now the problem is, I dont know which one to get. I love the luxo brawler the 300C is but equally adore the Chargers styling. If I do the 300C, its gonna have 22" TIS 07s or black powder coated 300C SRT8 wheels, tinted windows, and possibly the SRT8 front bumper for starters. With the Charger, powder coated stock wheels, lowered, programmer and the SRT8 body kit. Now Im not real sure which way to go, Im leaning more towards the 300C right now. I have until about May to decide on what I want. What are you guys thoughts? I have asked in other places and not got any responses, surely the 300 community is better right?

 

[jasonb20]

If you install 22" TIS wheels on the 300C, it will definitely hurt your gas mileage and performance.

So, how much performance would you say we're losing with 22's??
and the mileage?? anyone.

 

[LSCto300C]

The 300c is just plain beautiful... and it's still a beast.
Easy one to call IMO

 

[bigsnake]

Here's a comparison of the weight of the Charger R/T and 300C.
Both cars have there own attributes and you really can't go wrong either way! The 300C is 56 lb's heavier!

2008 Dodge Charger 4dr Sdn R/T RWD Exterior Features and Specifications

General

Base Curb Weight (lbs)3990 Length, Overall (in)200.1Min Ground Clearance (in)5.1Keyless Entry RemoteStandardSpoiler - RearOptionalUniversal Garage Door OpenerOptional




2008 Chrysler 300C



Compare Trims
Trim InformationMSRPInvoiceEngineFuel Econ.Hemi 4dr Rear-wheel Drive Sedan
Horsepower: 340 @ 5,000 rpm
Torque: 390 @ 4,000 rpm
Transmission: 5-spd w/OD
Curb Weight: 4,046 lbs.
Fuel Type: regular unleaded

 

[kevenj]

Any difference in weight between a 300C and a Charger RT would almost certainly be due to differences in equipment. A 300C has more stuff "standard" (and a few things you can't even get on a Charger such as the power tilt/telescope wheel) so a 300C with no options would logically be heavier than a Charger RT with no options. Once you start getting into Optional equipment like Sunroof vs. No sunroof, side airbags vs no side airbags (optional on 300c.....are they available on a Charger??) then it is conceivable that either one could have a weight advantage. Not really worth considering really as they are so close.

To me the Charger looks like any number of cars on the road; not ugly but nothing that grabs me. The 300C on the other hand looks like nothing else, and the style just grabs your attention. Plus in my area they are not that common (I live in 4x4 truck country.... everyone and his dog has a Dodge Ram just like mine but my 300C is still unique in this area).

 

[bigsnake]

My wife's R/T came with a tilt/telescoping steering wheel and sunroof which I believe is standard on the R/T package! I will agree that the weight is close and I like the different looks of both!

 

[PerfRacer]

With the budget you have planned, why not see which car you find a better deal on. Both cars have their positive points. When I bought mine, I would have taken either an SRT8 300, or Charger, because they both have aspects I like. But, the bottom line was I was buying the same car for the most part, so which ever car I could find the best deal on was it for my money. Well, the Charger won out with a great deal, and I'm happy. Do I still think about the positive points of the 300 every now and then? Yeah. But if I owned a 300, I would be at the same point and have thought of what I was missing in the Charger sometimes.
$9K is not a big budget, so you might just want to find a deal that will give you the best LX-car for your dollar and go from there.
Good luck on the search, though, as it's part of the fun for sure...

 

[mopar4life]

Thats what I was thinking. The Charger is #2 for me though, the 300C has me on looks alone. I do agree the Charger looks rather "bland". If I dont find a 300C by July, Ill probably be rollin a Charger. So, would the Diablo hand held be the best tuner to get?

 

[PerfRacer]

Thats what I was thinking. The Charger is #2 for me though, the 300C has me on looks alone. I do agree the Charger looks rather "bland". If I dont find a 300C by July, Ill probably be rollin a Charger. So, would the Diablo hand held be the best tuner to get?

Well, both cars have their visual appeals. I like things about both cars, as do so many. What appeals to one person, may not to another. But, there's no one on God's green earth that's going to tell me my Charger looks "bland" lol :biggrin:



Yeah, yeah. I know the pics are horrible, but I just ran out to take 'em. lol

As far as programmers go, yeah, the Predator is the best. Don't waste your money on anything else, because all you will be doing is just that; wasting your money. most "other" programmers/chips don't produce any performance gain. And, many actually cost power. With the tuning and adjustability of the Predator you can't go wrong at all. The performance difference is night and day..

 

[srt8man]

In previous model years, I recall that there was a bigger difference in weight (over 100 lbs.), but I just checked a couple of different sites and it looks like the base curb weight of the 2008 Charger SRT8 (4160 lbs.) and 2008 300C SRT8 (4178 lbs.) are nearly identical now. I compared the SRT8 models because they both come with lots of standard stuff. You are right. Few people get the base model anyway, and the sunroof and Kicker audio upgrade add even more weight.

Any difference in weight between a 300C and a Charger RT would almost certainly be due to differences in equipment. A 300C has more stuff "standard" (and a few things you can't even get on a Charger such as the power tilt/telescope wheel) so a 300C with no options would logically be heavier than a Charger RT with no options. Once you start getting into Optional equipment like Sunroof vs. No sunroof, side airbags vs no side airbags (optional on 300c.....are they available on a Charger??) then it is conceivable that either one could have a weight advantage. Not really worth considering really as they are so close.

To me the Charger looks like any number of cars on the road; not ugly but nothing that grabs me. The 300C on the other hand looks like nothing else, and the style just grabs your attention. Plus in my area they are not that common (I live in 4x4 truck country.... everyone and his dog has a Dodge Ram just like mine but my 300C is still unique in this area).

 

[mopar4life]

I always figured the 300C weighed more. Despite the extra 50-150lbs of the 300, itll be more than enough to outrun any street car in my hick town excluding a friend of mines C6 and 409 72 Chevy truck and still be luxo crusier hehehe.

 

[bac n black]

YEah the 300C is just too refined to look sporty....Not!

 

[srt8man]

I always figured the 300C weighed more. Despite the extra 50-150lbs of the 300, itll be more than enough to outrun any street car in my hick town excluding a friend of mines C6 and 409 72 Chevy truck and still be luxo crusier hehehe.

You are right about that 300C, especially the SRT8, being able to outrun most cars. I surprised and embarassed a Mustang GT last week with my large 4-door sedan! LOL

So, how much performance would you say we're losing with 22's??
and the mileage?? anyone.

I don't have any first-hand track comparison experience, and I don't know the weight difference of the wheels. I'm not going to get into the physics principles involved with larger and heavier wheels, but I will say that if the 22s are substantially heavier, then the extra unsprung weight will impact braking, acceleration (due to rotational inertia), and handling. I know the OEM SRT8 20" wheels are relatively light in comparison to some of the larger diameter aftermarket wheels on the market today, but this may not be true for all aftermarket wheels. It's also important to note that larger and heavier wheels will put additional stress on the steering and shocks. I recommend that anyone contemplating 22s read this thread (I take issue with it's title):

http://www.300cforums.com/forums/wheel-tire-discussion/12729-okay-bs-22-myths.html

Compare the weight of the OEM wheels with the weight of the aftermarket wheels, and I think the weight, not just the looks, should be a factor in the purchase decision. Any wheel change should be thoroughly researched, IMO.

 

[mhmank]

I would go with the 300. I don't like the looks of the Charger at all. I wish they would have made the Charger look more retro like the new Challenger.