Ownership Verified: BCS and the Angry Wagon - Dodge Magnum R/T

:lmao: Hey man, that rubber was getting burnt one way or another.

You're not wrong! GDPO doesn't appear to have ever rotated the tires at any point so the rears are waaay lower tread than the fronts. Guess I'll just have to even them up. :lol:


In other news, I've discovered that a set of adjustable front coilovers and adjustable rear spings/shocks are only $500, which is cheaper than the Eibach spring kit I was looking at. Hopefully the CAD-USD exchagne rate sucks less come next spring when I'm ready to do suspension work.
 
Last edited:
Good news, everyone! The Tranzformer controller arrived recently and I installed it on Sunday. Installation is 6 screws and 8 wires, under an hour from start to finish.

I haven't had the chance to hook it up to the laptop Paul Walker-style to make adjustments while driving around (danger to manifold!) but even just using the stock settings is a massive improvement in shift quality. In normal Drive operation, shifts are firm and crisp and no longer vague and soft. Downshifts are hair harsher than I'd like but I'll dial those back a notch when I dig into the software. Autostick mode has gone from being slow, soft, and useless to grin-inducing fun - shifts are very quick and hard and there's no longer a squishy delay when you hit the shifter. I know I can dial shift strength up to chirp-the-tires hard but that seems excessive.

Being able to use the steering wheel volume controls to shift is almost as good as having flappy paddles - nice to shift while keeping both hands on the wheel.


One (fairly minor) annoyance with the vehicle I've run into (unrelated to the Tranzformer) is that the PCM's throttle management adaptives are pretty annoying. My commute involves a lot of octogenarian-style driving (having a live fuel economy readout is a curse), so the computer is pretty convinced that it's owned by an old person and maps the drive-by-wire to suit that. So naturally, when I do decide to romp on the thing, it goes "Gosh, Mildred, are you really sure you want that much throttle?" and there's a noticeable delay as the torque management system struggles to reconcile my previous hypermiling with my current need for speed. I really need to find a way to kill that system (the Tranzformer kills the transmission adaptives but can't mess with throttle adaptives) as I'm perfectly capable of managing my right foot without computer interference. There's a key-button-fuse trick I can do to reset things but that's a temporary measure. A couple of full-throttle launches seems to wake it back up but again, it eventually re-adapts.
 
Last edited:
So not much to tell, I've thus far managed to keep it from becoming a project vehicle - I haven't even bought an engine tuner in an effort to keep myself from buying performance parts to go with it. :lol:

No complaints about the vehicle, it's tons of fun to drive and the power is keeping me happy enough for now. Suspension could be stiffened up, but no point doing that in the winter.

About all I've had to do lately is replace a cracked fog light assembly. Aftermarket ones are ~$40/each, but some part number searching determined that the lamp is a parts-bin unit and I managed to find a set of low-miles housings for $20 off a Wrangler somebody was putting a winch bumper on. Success!

FhIheBJ.jpg
 
jkG1aNl.jpg


Look, ma! No fender!

Finally got around to replacing the backed-into fender with a replacement unit.

(And before anyone asks, yes, the car is on a jack stand. I usually keep the jack underneath and snugged up if it's not in the road of what I'm working on.)
 
Last edited:
A new thing appeared! I was having a bunch of racecar stuff shipped to the border for pickup, so I ordered a 22mm police-package rear sway bar and bushings to replace the 16mm stock R/T bar. Nice and beefy, and at $88 way cheaper than an aftermarket bar of the same size. That should make the handling more neutral as she tends to understeer at the limit. (Not really a surprise for a passenger car.) I've got a line on a 30mm SRT front bar locally (stock is 27mm) and will probably install them both at the same time.

EETQ3ZW.jpg
 
Last edited:
How's the throttle by wire on your magnum? Being a mid 2000's Chrysler product, is throttle response noticeably delayed?
 
How's the throttle by wire on your magnum? Being a mid 2000's Chrysler product, is throttle response noticeably delayed?

If I have been driving very frugally for a while, there's a very slight delay the first time I romp on it due to the throttle adaptives. If I've been driving spiritedly, there's no delay.

Edit: For clarity, by a "slight delay" its not a hesitation, there's no split-second where you get nothing after hitting the throttle. Rather, the throttle press just gets you a bit less throttle than you would expect as the adaptives try to react to your driving style. That's only to a point though - if you stand on it, it throws the adaptives out the window and gives you everything.
 
Last edited:
if you stand on it, it throws the adaptives out the window and gives you everything.

^ That is the appropriate solution. Always. ;) Its what I do in my Charger. Oh, and Sport mode helps... I can thank the Tazer for that.
 
Sport mode disables adaptive throttle?
 
Sport mode disables adaptive throttle?

That I'm not sure of. I mainly meant Sport mode reduces some of the throttle lag, at least on my Charger it does.
 
Yeah on the later cars ('09+ I would assume) they have some programs like Sport that allow you to adjust the adaptives to a point. No such options on the older cars, but a $300 Diablosport tuner lets you mess about with things to you heart's content and is invaluable if you plan to make any engine modifications. I'll have to get one at some point.
 
I now have a collection of swaybars.

jG0xrmX.jpg


30mm SRT front, 22mm Mopar/Police rear, 18mm SRT rear. Going to start with 30mm/22mm but if it's too tail-happy (which I doubt) I'll swap down to the 18mm rear.
 
Behold, parts!

ndUNIVN.jpg


A quasi-local chap had a set of ST X (basically KW V1 with zinc bodies instead of stainless) coilovers that he'd never installed and was forced to sell the car they were intended for. Picked them up for $600 under retail. I'll install them in the spring along with the bigger sways, if I lowered this thing now I wouldn't be able to drive down my alleyway with it due to all the snow. I'm shopping for a set of summer wheels and tires in the meantime.
 
Wow. Nice!
 
BerserkerCatSplat;n3547192 said:
Behold, parts!

A quasi-local chap had a set of ST X (basically KW V1 with zinc bodies instead of stainless) coilovers that he'd never installed and was forced to sell the car they were intended for. Picked them up for $600 under retail. I'll install them in the spring along with the bigger sways, if I lowered this thing now I wouldn't be able to drive down my alleyway with it due to all the snow. I'm shopping for a set of summer wheels and tires in the meantime.

Oh, those look like fun! :D
 
Wheels and tires finally all installed! Tires are 275/40R20 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s, ~320TW. Loads of grip! Front tires baaaarely fit inside the knuckle.

KYs1H9e.jpg


Still 4x4 styles, haven't had a chance to install the suspension parts with wedding stuff taking up the bulk of my time. Will look much better with a bit of drop.



Also, snagged a good deal on a Diablosport tuner from a local on eBay, should be nice if I want to run premium gas and can also kill the throttle adaptives.

4TAqd0Y.jpg
 
Finally, all my parts are on. Coilovers, sways, and couple of splash shields to replace damaged ones. 4x4 no more! Handling and ride improvement is immense, they should have left the factory this firm instead of floaty and soft. Cornering improved massively over the stock suspension and the Firehawks grip like mad. So much more fun to drive now!


Up in the air, setting the coilovers.
g3ztZuu.jpg



Stock (25mm) vs SRT (30mm) front sway.
enDq2wY.jpg



Installing the rears is a bit more involved and I opted to drop the diff cradle rather than dick around with removing the lower control arm. Correct choice, the cradle was way easier to deal with then I had expected.
eA9VpSx.jpg



Comically small rear sway vs the biggest one Mopar stocks.
oVW5xNk.jpg



Glamour shots! Needs a clean but I was running out of light.
QQdcJxm.jpg


v4n6PwF.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: TC
Looks really good. I don't normally like lowered cars, but this looks better than before.
 
Top