Dodge Magnum SRT8 Quick Review [Extra Throttle House]

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SecretAntWorshiper@reddit

That station wagon that r/cars wants but doesn't know about

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vchengap@reddit

We know about it. We just don’t want it as much as we want a CTS-V wagon.

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This. I was actually looking at a SRT8 Magnum so years ago, but a Mercury Marauder was listed for a lot less, so I went with that. For me, the desirable stock wagons that sold in the US are: CTS-V wagon Mercedes E 63 AMG wagon Audi RS6 Dodge Magnum R/T or SRT8 BMW E46 or E39 Touring Volvo 850 R Buick Roadmaster or other older American, body-on-frame Family Truckster

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Zappiticas@reddit

IMO the old Volvo 240 and 7/940 turbo wagons belong on your list. They are a riot for what they are and had bulletproof engines.

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fireinthesky7@reddit

One of my friends in high school had a 240 wagon, and that thing was an absolute riot in the winter.

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peanutbuttahcups@reddit

Good point, I forgot about those.

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su1ac0@reddit

Bruh. You missed one.

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peanutbuttahcups@reddit

You right, my b.

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apandya277@reddit

E60 535xi (N54+6spd) and Audi A6 Avant with the supercharged V6 are fun options too

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peanutbuttahcups@reddit

Thanks, I didn't know about those!

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V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit

Car enthusiasts so want CTS-V wagon, the most reason is its MT setting. It was only muscle wagon with MT that you could buy in America.

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stakoverflo@reddit

You look at the specs and say, "Fuck yea" then you look at the interior and go, "Oh, right"

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FoundryCove@reddit

The interior looks like my family's 3rd gen Ram, which has generally held up fine and is perfectly serviceable. However, the fanciest thing I've gotten to drive regularly is a 2017 Beetle, so I guess my standards are just low.

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Captain_Alaska@reddit

I mean is it? It's a V8 wagon sure but it's also 4400lb, no manual and has the fantastic-plastic early-00's interior that you gotta live with. The car is pretty dated but not in an old enough to be cool sort of way yet. There are a handful of Magnums/Chargers that have been merged to create a [modernised Magnum](https://i.imgur.com/g1bh4Xh.jpeg) and those are better received.

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daver456@reddit

The interiors of these were criminal.

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lifegoeson2702@reddit

90s interior in a not cheap mid 2000s car. Seriously there are plenty of 90s cars with more modern looking interiors, let alone better quality.

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daver456@reddit

Different price bracket of course but I had a 2000 M5 and despite the 4:3 ratio nav screen that had a really nice interior. Leather everywhere and clean and simple design with no gimmicks.

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BlackTed@reddit

They know, they just don't actually want a wagon

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Zappiticas@reddit

I just really don’t want a Chrysler product

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Michelanvalo@reddit

We know, we also know it's shit.

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red_simplex@reddit

Only if it's brown.

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daleygibson@reddit

That Magnum is a beast! Love the modern muscle wagon look. Would take it over an SUV any day.

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R_V_Z@reddit

There was also a 300C version of this, but it wasn't available in the US.

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PiratedTuba@reddit

Front ends of this gen 300/Charger/Magnum are a direct swap though if ya really want to.

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Drzhivago138@reddit

Even a newer 300/Charger or Challenger front clip can be swapped with enough body work.

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Aberk20@reddit

Yeah, I had a 300c swap on my Magnum paired with air suspension. I miss that car.

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RunninOnMT@reddit

Somebody really needs to make a chart of these cars with the different body styles and what engines were available in them.

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peanutbuttahcups@reddit

Someone's uncle in 2005 probably made such a list and uploaded it to Photobucket before linking it on some Mopar forum. Ancient knowledge lost to time.

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SecretAntWorshiper@reddit

I remember seeing it in Europe when I went on vacation there lol

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VampyreLust@reddit

Love it, want it, would probably do that [charger conversion to the front end](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fsfulzfq10yl21.jpg) I've seen on these, really modernizes the styling.

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Blackraider700@reddit

This with a modern ZF8 would be fucking sick

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sc0lm00@reddit

The handicap in all the pre15 mopars is that trans. It's bound to go. They mention he has the AMG solenoids in it so maybe it was already beefed up.

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Nitrothacat@reddit

My Dad has that 6 speed (really a 5 speed with a weird passing gear) in his 2013 Ram with the 5.7. Such a dog of a transmission. Geared so long and shifts so slowly. I recently drove it and on a full throttle upshift it jolted horribly going from 2-3. It only has 36k miles lol.

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NCC-72381@reddit

I’m guessing this is the same transmission in my ‘15 Hemi Ram?

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hoggzwow@reddit

The cars have a 5 speed, trucks are a different trans all together

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Nitrothacat@reddit

The way I understand it is the 545rfe and 65rfe are the same transmission. The 65 in the trucks uses a different torque converter and uses the kick down gear (2nd 2nd gear only for kick down to pass in the 545) as forward gear, 3rd gear.

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hoggzwow@reddit

The cars have the nag1 or W5A 580 which is the same just a different name. The ones you mentioned are for the SUVs or trucks. Overall it's a pretty stout tranny though. I think it gets a bit of hate on the reddit train

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Sneakystrong86@reddit

100%, I just commented above before I read this. Not sure why Reddit hates the nag1 but I've noticed the same thing.

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Nitrothacat@reddit

Ahh gotcha. Makes sense why you rarely hear about 5 speed failures in the cars but the trucks had issues. The nag1 is pretty shout from what I just read.

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Captain_Alaska@reddit

Aren't you talking about different transmissions? The Magnum has the W5A Merc 5G-Tronic (5 speed + 2 reverse), you're talking about the 545RFE (5 speed with two 2nd gears)/65RFE (6 speed variant).

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Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

2 reverse?

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Captain_Alaska@reddit

Yeah, two reverse ratios. On M-B cars the transmission would use the 2nd reverse ratio if it was put into snow mode (it would also skip 1st in drive).

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Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

How do I use the 2nd reverse ratio in my Chrysler?

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Nitrothacat@reddit

Yep. Just cleared the confusion up with another commenter. I was confusing the 545rfe in the Rams with the nag1 in the cars.

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Sneakystrong86@reddit

The nag1 is actually a very good transmission. It's a stout unit and has very few problems. They can also handle a ton of power with very minor modifications to the valve body and TCM tuning.

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sc0lm00@reddit

Interesting. I've known a handful of people who had major issues with them prior to 100k. Clutch packs and torque converters seem to be the most common.

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Sneakystrong86@reddit

Clutch packs can go bad but it's not the transmission's fault, it's the TCM programming Chrysler used. I have a modified valve body and TCM tune in mine and it takes a beating with my current h/c/I 6.1 and should have no problem supporting the stroker I'm building. There are guys running 900whp with the same valve body and that's it. That's not to say the 8sp isn't a superior trans because it definitely is. I've considered swapping to the zf8 but it's really not worth the cost for me.

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Multifaceted-Simp@reddit

It's at 150k miles so it's not unreasonable to go

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Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

The NAG1 is a solid transmission.

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

AMG solenoids doesn't mean much, that trans is really letting the rest of the car down. Even on the older amg auto's you have to work with the tuning instead of going ham.

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Beekatiebee@reddit

There's a guy on TikTok who turned a Hellcat charger into an AWD Hellcat Magnum. Things absolutely fucking wicked.

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skidsareforkids@reddit

I’m pretty sure Chip Foose and the gang did a front end swap years ago on the Overhauling show too

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vexedsinik@reddit

I had the 2.7. The whole car was junk. Paint pitted. Interior was cheap. Mechanically fucked. Visability was gatbage. Cargo space was shit for a wagon. Rear space was shit. Fuck everything about that car expect how it looks. Best looking wagon imo.

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HiTork@reddit

I'm not sure if I missed it in the video, but is this actually a 2008 model? The Magnum received a facelift for that model year, but since it was discontinued after it, the design became a single year one. Unless this particular car was intentionally modified to be fitted with the pre-facelift body work, [this is what a 2008 is supposed to look like](https://www.edmunds.com/assets/m/dodge/magnum/2008/oem/2008_dodge_magnum_wagon_rt_fq_oem_1_500.jpg). As you can see, the tops of the headlights are now more flush with the top of the grille, nor do they stretch up as far up as before.

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PoopSlinger23@reddit

My neighbor had one of these. Like 6000 miles on the clock. It’s like showroom new.

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TowJammer212@reddit

Sadly it's still a Chrysler product and thus still shit.

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yougotmetoreply@reddit

I rememeber when I was looking to buy my first car in 2012 my friend talked me out of buying one of these. Went with an IS300 Sportcross instead. Different end of the wagon spectrum.

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EloeOmoe@reddit

I had one of these and I absolutely loved it and was rock solid reliable. I put 225k miles on it! Transmission started to cause problems by the end of it all but I'd probably still have it had I not been rear ended two weeks after moving to Austin TX. Insurance totaled it immediately. Didn't even send out an adjuster.

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freetoseeu@reddit

Those things were so damn cool

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thejohncarlson@reddit

I did the SRT Track Experience in 2008 and the last thing of the day was hot laps in the passenger seat of a Stage 1 Magnum SRT 8 with a professional sprint car driver. We went sideways through every corner.

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peakdecline@reddit

Calling anything with that era of Charger/Magnum a "sleeper" is ironic to me. I get the point with regard to performance. But those cars have a massive stigma.

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RunninOnMT@reddit

V8, 400+ hp RWD wagon is...pretty good? Color me SHOCKED!!

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Nitrothacat@reddit

Ahh the 6.1L Hemi. No cylinder deactivation garbage, forged crank and stronger connecting rods over the 5.7. Also doesn’t fall completely flat at high rpms like the 5.7. The 392 is much better stock for stock but these can handle a lot of power. Pretty sad this engine seems to have been mostly forgotten about.

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