The Upgrade Guide for the Charger Hellcat Intake. The Charger Hellcat is currently one of Mopar’s major beasts. The Hellcat is capable of 203 mph and an 11.9 second quarter mile time at 124 mph, thanks to a 6.2L Hemi V8 producing 717 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque for the 2023 model year. And that’s only the beginning. The Redeye Charger Hellcat approaches 800 horsepower, while the Hellcat Jailbreak Charger surpasses it. In terms of performance, the Hellcat Charger is one of the world’s quickest sedans.
Most of the time, you’ll only be able to use that kind of power on the drag strip. If you want to drag race your 6.2L Hemi beast, every tenth of a second counts. To get the most out of your Hellcat, make sure your 6.2L Hemi is breathing as effectively as possible. That’s where a Hellcat Charger intake comes in handy. An upgraded SRT Hellcat intake is designed to improve the breathability of your 6.2L Hemi. Increased airflow leads to marginally greater performance and faster quarter mile timings.
This post discusses enhanced SRT Charger Hellcat cold air intakes, how they can improve performance, and some tips if you want to install this simple modification.
Benefits of the 6.2L Hemi SRT Charger Hellcat Intake
- 5-15+whp
- 5-15+wtq
- improved fuel economy
- enhanced throttle response
- Engine/induction sounds that are louder
At the end of the day, the advantages of an improved SRT Hellcat intake are very obvious. The three primary advantages are increased horsepower and torque, marginally improved fuel economy, and louder induction sounds. As with most performance parts, the actual performance of 6.2L Hemi cold air intakes can vary greatly. That is true for all three of the aforementioned factors.
Gains in Hemi Intake Power
In terms of power improvements, it is unlikely that you will achieve the claims made by the intake manufacturer. That is specifically with a stock SRT Charger Hellcat. In general, improved intake performance scales with other improvements that benefit from higher airflow. High-boost Charger Hellcats with optimized tunes might benefit much more from a cold air intake than stock models.
Increased Gas Mileage
Another benefit of upgrading the intake on your 6.2L supercharged Hemi is slightly increased gas mileage. Most likely, if you bought an SRT Hellcat, gas mileage was not a top priority in your decision. However, you can recover a couple of MPGs by installing an intake that reduces intake air temperatures. Lower temperature air entering the engine can cause your Hemi to burn fuel more effectively, increasing gas mileage by 2-5 MPG.
Whine of a louder Hemi Supercharger
One of the most popular motivations for upgrading the intake, particularly on forced induction engines like the supercharged Hemi, is to increase the amount of induction sound heard within the cabin. The stock closed-box intake muffles supercharger and intake noise significantly. That could be advantageous for those who prefer a low-profile daily driver. But, let’s face it, that 2.4L supercharger weep is a fan’s orchestra. The loudest supercharger whine is produced by open air Hellcat intakes, but closed air intakes boost the sound as well.
SRT Charger Hellcat Intakes: Open vs. Closed
When it comes to SRT Hellcat intakes, there are usually a couple of options. In general, you can choose between a closed box intake and an open air intake. It is critical to analyze how each intake impacts performance and improves other aspects of your 6.2L Hemi engine.
An open-air intake is one in which the air filter is not enclosed by an air box. This type of design has both advantages and disadvantages. While open-air systems are less restrictive to incoming airflow, they also expose the engine bay to the elements. As a result, intake air temperatures are typically higher than in a closed box design. Furthermore, an open intake is your best bet if you want the most pronounced supercharger noises.
The other type of Hemi intake is a closed box design, which contains the air filter within its own airbox structure. Closed air intakes, like open air intakes, have advantages and disadvantages. The volume of incoming air is less than that of an open-air filter since the air filter is confined within a structure. The closed structure, however, prevents hot air from the engine compartment from entering the intake. This reduces intake air temperatures and should result in improved performance.
Intakes for the Dodge Charger Hellcat
Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of intake, and only the fundamentals, it’s time to make some recommendations. The list of recommendations below contains a decent mix of closed and open intakes from various manufacturers. While some names may appear more frequently than others in the Hellcat intake scene, all of the intakes listed below are of high quality and have been tested.
Hellcat Intake for the Livernois Charger
Price: $489.99
Livernois Motorsports, situated in Michigan, is a prominent American parts company that specializes in specialist components for late model Ford, GM, and Mopar automobiles. Livernois has been focused on race-oriented components and services for the local community since its inception in 1949. Their in-house construction and manufacturing process is unrivaled, supplying only the best parts to the Mopar aftermarket community. Furthermore, if you live in Michigan, they install all of the parts that they sell.
The intake system on the Livernois Charger Hellcat is a closed-box system, which means that the intake filter is not exposed to the interior of the engine bay. There are several reasons why this is a good design. The air temperatures entering the engine are significantly reduced by shutting the intake filter from the hot air trapped within the engine bay. This is beneficial for overall combustion and engine health. The intake for the 6.2L Hemi is made of mandrel bent steel, which makes it highly sturdy and internally smooth.
The Livernois intake significantly increases the intake tubing size over the stock system. The stock intake tube is 3.5″ in diameter, but the Livernois system increases it to 5.” This boosts the volume of air entering your supercharged 6.2L Hemi. The Charger Hellcat intake from Livernois has been race-tested on Hellcats with over 1,250 horsepower with positive results. In addition to the improved performance, the increased induction noise and supercharger whining are pleasant byproducts.
LMI Hellcat Charger Intake
Price: $474.95
LegMaker Intakes has been a major intake maker in the LX/LC area for over 3 years. They specialize in carbon fiber intakes of the highest quality. LegMaker’s main engineer has over 20 years of experience working with composite materials, notably carbon fiber. The primary reason LegMaker chose carbon fiber is because of its excellent heat dispersion properties. Carbon fiber absorbs less heat than other metal composites, lowering the possibility of heat soak. The LegMaker Hellcat intake, like the factory design, is a closed-box design. This is done to reduce the amount of hot air entering the intake from the engine bay.
The LegMaker SRT Hellcat intake system is built with superior airflow characteristics in mind. LegMaker Hellcat intakes have an incredibly smooth inside surface to maximize airflow and reduce turbulence as a consequence of their significant knowledge with carbon fiber. The LegMaker intake has a 6″ S&B cone filter that transitions smoothly into a 4.5″ intake tube. The intake tube is an inch wider than the factory tube, allowing for more air to enter the throttle body. The kit also includes a high-quality silicone coupler to make the transition to the throttle body as smooth as possible.
Most Hellcat and Hellcat Redeye owners who have installed the LegMaker 6.2L Hemi intake claim that it has not only marginally increased performance but also significantly increased supercharger induction noise. While the 18-20 horsepower gain claimed by LMI may not be realistic, it may yield a couple.
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Typhoon Charger Hellcat Intake System by K&N
Price: $479.99
If you haven’t heard of K&N, you haven’t been around the muscle car scene long. K&N has been at the forefront of high-quality filter technology for more than 50 years, and there’s no doubt that they know what they’re doing. The K&N Typhoon SRT Charger Hellcat intake system is a Hellcat fan favorite, especially if increased induction noise is high on your priority list.
The K&N 6.2L Hemi intake system, unlike the preceding filters on this list, is an open-air system. That is, rather than being enclosed in an airbox, the large cone filter is visible. While there are some drawbacks to this type of intake system, K&N has engineered solutions to the most common issues with open-air intakes. Hot air trapped in the engine bay is a major open-air hazard. K&N designed a heat shield to keep hot air out of the intake to prevent it from entering. The K&N SRT Charger Intake makes use of the factory Hellcat lower airbox, which receives cool air through the grill inlet.
Another frequently raised issue about open airboxes is the possibility of pollutants entering the system; K&N has you covered there as well. The intake includes a gigantic 7.5″ cone filter (the biggest on the list) composed of ISO 5011-approved oiled cotton. The innovative cotton filter design developed by K&N is particularly successful at keeping pollutants out. It’s also machine washable and reusable.
Summary of the Charger Hellcat Intake Upgrade Guide
Upgraded cold air intakes are one of the most popular and widely used automotive upgrades. They are reasonably priced, have numerous potential benefits, and are simple to install. This also applies to Charger Hellcat intakes. While the Chager Hellcat comes standard with a pretty solid intake that is fed by cool air coming through the grill inlet, you can gain some performance and a lot of noise by combining an aftermarket intake with the stock lower airbox.
There are numerous good options for a Charger Hellcat intake available, many of which are high quality and produced by respected manufacturers. The Livernois SRT Hellcat intake is our overall choice for a Charger intake that blends quality, pricing, and performance. The Livernois intake, with its closed box design, keeps hot air out of the engine compartment while also boosting the intake pipework to allow more cold air into your 6.2L Hemi.
The same is true for the LegMaker Hellcat intake. The LegMaker Hellcat intake also has the advantage of being made of carbon fiber, which has higher thermal qualities than typical aluminum. The K&N Typhoon is another good option for your Charger Hellcat. While it is an open intake, K&N has avoided the common problems associated with open-air designs.
