Worked 10-speed Mustang GT Outruns Manual Hellcat Challenger

Quick-shifting transmission gives the Mustang the clear advantage in the quarter mile battles.

In stock form, it is hard to compare a newer Ford Mustang GT to a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. The Mustang comes with “just” 460 horsepower while the supercharged Challenger packs 707 horsepower. However, this video from  YouTuber Mod2Fame Vlog shows what happens when a modified Mustang with the new 10-speed automatic transmission takes on a stock Challenger with the six-speed manual.

The video begins with Mod2Fame host Stefan Williams talking about his day at the track. He is swapping out his custom stock wheels and low profile tires for a set of drag radials from a friend’s new Demon. His hope that he can run quicker than his previous best time of 11.7 with the stickier tires while running against the Ford Mustang of YouTuber StangMode at the Maple Grove YouTube callout racing event.

Combatants

The video above showcases three races between a 2018 Ford Mustang GT and a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.

StangMode’s Mustang GT has an intake, headers and a tune that come together to yield 510 rear wheel horsepower. It also has the quick-shifting 10-speed automatic transmission, drag radials, custom front and rear wheels and it is “gutted”, likely meaning that the interior is stripped bare.

The Challenger has stock power and a six-speed manual transmission, but it is lowered with custom front wheels along with 18-inch wheels and Nitto drag radial tires from the SRT Demon. Figure that this Dodge should be making around 650 rear wheel horsepower.

In other words, the Challenger has far more power, but it weighs more and is at a disadvantage with the manual transmission. The Mustang has less power but it is considerably lighter and has the 10-speed transmission. This video shows what a difference the transmission makes.

Racing Action

Mod2Fame and StangMode make three head-to-head runs and we watch from a rear-facing camera mounted in the Challenger. We can only see the Mustang through the passenger’s side window and in the first race, the Ford gets off of the line so quickly that we don’t get to see it during the race, but we know that it wins. Unfortunately, there are no times announced for this run.

On the second run, the Hellcat is right with the Mustang on the launch, but the Ford inches away as the 10-speed gets through the gears more quickly while the Challenger driver over-revs second gear. Once again, the Ford gets the win, running an 11.311 to the Dodge’s 11.554.

Finally, on the last run, the Challenger driver launches harder and takes an early lead. Even though the Hellcat has far more power, we can watch how the Mustang closes in and passes with each of the manual shifts from the Dodge and once again, the Ford wins the race. We don’t get to see any numbers for this run, but we know that the Hellcat went slower than the run before in losing its third-straight race.

In the end, this shows that a lightly worked 2018 Mustang GT with the 10-speed automatic transmission can outrun a stock Hellcat Challenger with a manual transmission and a driver who struggles to get through the gears cleanly.

Crank up your speakers and enjoy.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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