300 C Hemi vs 2002 Boxster S
 

My friend just traded his 300 on a brand new one with a Hemi over the weekend. Of course we had to go to lunch today in the new car.

He was giving me crap saying he was sure he would take my Boxster S. He did not have much concern over the weight of the 300, saying the difference in HP, torque and more cubic inches would more than make up for it.

Any thoughts?

IN NO WAY DO I APPROVE OF STREET RACING, However, I have run up against one of these on Interstate 5 around the Irvine, CA area.

The 300C may have lots of HP and Torque but it's just not a quick car. My Boxster kept a steady pace ahead of it but I could not lose it. It was about 1.5 car Lengths in distance. I would suspect your S model should have no trouble. Not too sure about how the two would do from a dead stop, but highway the Boxster wins hands down.

This story maybe different if faced with a 300 SRT-8. NOW that's a Monster.

his lunch will be eaten...

I say, take it to the track! Then you'll show him.

What does he mean by "take".. stoplight drag?

BTW.. Hemi Charger - 340hp.. 390ft-lb of torque... 4,000lbs ~ 11.7 lb/hp

Boxster S - 252hp.. no torque ;) 2900lb ~ 11.5 lb/hp

From a stoplight.. well.. do you like your clutch? That damn hemi is fast, but its also pretty darn heavy. I wouldn't sweat it, especially if you make it go through some turns :)

let us know how it plays out

He was talking off a light.

I agree, I'm pass the street racing days. I didn't drive it and he only got into it when we were moving, not from a standstill so it's hard to tell just how fast it is.

It growls, and is very quick for a car that size, but it was hard for me to believe he could take me in the quarter or eight mile. He seemed pretty confident though.

Mine has yet to make a appearance it work, so he hasn't ridden in mine. We are meeting up at a friends to help move a spa Saturday, might just have to drive the S :D

what do the factory 1/4 miles say for both cars?

Most likely he'll eat you in straight line, but not by far. Of course driving skills is another factor.

I say take it to track to those curvy roads and see how far you'll leave him behind :D

My dad can beat up your dad..... I think that your friend is jealous, cause he owns a boat, and you own a sports car.

a quick look up shows the 300C hemi as 5.9 and 14.4 compared to an '02S at what 5.5 13.9 I think? Since his is an auto how good are you with the stick? LOL Could be close if you are not perfect.

This is comparing apples to bricks, and yes, the 300c is the brick.


Anyways, the higher hp car will generally always pull away at higher speeds. (110+)

Especially w/ a difference that large.



However, I am almost CERTAIN that his car is electronically governed and yours is not. Therefore, in a straight line race, stock for stock, you would eventually out-top his top speed and win :)


I'm not suggesting you try it, either!

^ I totally agree. The non SRT 300C isn't exactly what I'd call a quick car. It's decent but a boxster S should handle it if the driver knows how to drive.

This is absolutely not the case. Horsepower is only part of the equation. Aerodynamics, however, dictates how much power is needed achieve higher speeds.

A Boxster has a much smaller frontal area and probably (though not definetely) a better coefficient of drag than the 300C.

This is why bullets are shaped like bullets and not like, well you know, bricks.

Exactly, areodynamics is just as much as a factor as hp especially at higher speeds. That has allowed me to show my tailights to higher horse cars.

Just about all newer cars will be able to fight the resistance until the 100s, so that isn't really as much of an issue until very, very high speeds.


Fact is: At highway speeds (75-115), the 300c should pull pretty hard on the Boxster S.

Okay, this is actually starting to annoy me. You are ignoring physics altogether. The chrysler is MUCH heavier

F = M * A (force = mass * acceleration). Therefore the 300 requires about 25% more force to accelerate at the same rate as the boxster.

The 300C has at least 30% larger aerodynamic cross section which means that the air is acting like a 360 lb weight on the 300C at 100MPH (given a reasonable drag coefficient) where the Boxster would be pushing about 240lb.

Now, if you're talking about the 425HP $50k SRT-8, yes, that car will pull on a Boxster S for a while. The standard Hemi just doesn't have that much in the way of performance.

--BTW: Member of Tau Beta Pi and Magna Cum Laude Engineering BS here--

There's a lot of cars faster than the Boxster on a 0-60 or 1/4 mile run. Thing is, there's not many that I'd really want to own. He may be really hopped up about his new purchase and all, but at the end of the day, it's just a boring family sedan with a big engine. IMHO, how boring.

Tell him to take your car for a drive one day when the weather is nice out....tell him to press the button to see the top drop down to let the sun shine in....let him wind out the engine to full revs to hear the wonderful sound of the flat 6 and take some fun curves. Let him see all the people in boring family sedan cars at stoplights look over at him with smiling faces and looks of envy, and then tell him, "yeah...I bet you want to "take" my car...take my car HOME that is!" After that drive, betcha he wont' be so hopped up about his Chrysler anymore. Instead, he'll start coveting yours ;)

I couldn't give a flying you-know-what whether a 300C is "faster" than a Boxster S. Somehow, given the state of the world, I don't like it when people ignore facts for pre-conceptions.

Very well said. I couldn't agree more.