The Scat Pack is already a powerful trim level made by Dodge for both the Charger and Challenger, but some people still wonder if you can install a supercharger on it.
Furthermore, is this hunt for more power from the Scat Pack even worth it? Or maybe you should go for a Hellcat instead?
If you’re asking the same questions, then we’ll be answering all of them and a lot more in this guide dedicated to supercharging the Scat Pack!
Can you supercharge a Scat Pack?
Yes, the Scat Pack trim can be supercharged to produce more power out of its 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine.
The presence of brands such as Procharger, Whipple Superchargers, and Magnuson Superchargers makes it possible for the Scat Pack to be supercharged with the right parts.
From the factory, the Dodge Scat Pack trim level does not come with a supercharger or even any kind of forced induction, unlike the supercharged Hellcat trim.
Instead, the scat pack is equipped with a naturally-aspirated 6.4-liter 392 HEMI V8 engine with 485 hp.
While the Scat Pack’s engine has a slightly bigger displacement compared to the 6.2-liter engine of the Hellcat, it still falls short of the latter’s 707 supercharged horses.
This sometimes leads to some Scat Pack owners turning to superchargers for their vehicles, but is it even worth it? Let’s find out in the next part.
Is it worth supercharging a Scat Pack?
Supercharging a Scat Pack trim may not be the best value for money, especially if you’re aiming for power levels comparable to that of a Hellcat.
Due to today’s rising prices of aftermarket parts and reliability concerns, most people opt to buy a Hellcat instead of supercharging a Scat Pack.
Whether or not it’s worth supercharging a Scat Pack will depend on your goals and how deep your pocket is. Though if you have deep enough pockets to buy a Hellcat anyway, then you should go for that instead.
While supercharging a Scat Pack used to be more reasonably priced several years ago, today’s rising prices of aftermarket parts led to some Scat Pack owners spending as much as a Hellcat’s worth on their vehicle in total.
Not to mention that a Scat Pack with an aftermarket supercharger would not be as reliable as a Hellcat with a factory supercharger, to begin with.
But despite mentioning these things, a lot of people find that supercharging the Scat Pack, albeit expensive, can still yield impressive results if done right.
However, aiming for more power over a Hellcat is where things start to demand another level of effort and commitment from you and your wallet.
Is it expensive to supercharge a Scat Pack?
You can expect to spend around $7,000 to $10,000 for a good Scat Pack supercharger kit, making it already very expensive right off the bat.
This cost can be a few grand more if you factor in labor and if you plan on upgrading the engine to handle more power reliably.
Simply put, supercharging any car, let alone a Dodge Scat Pack, is an endeavor that doesn’t come cheap at all.
If you were to aim for the kind of power a Hellcat trim makes, which is about 707 hp to the crank, then over $10,000 worth of supercharger and even engine modifications is pretty much to be expected.
Also, even if you were to run a conservative supercharger setup on a Scat Pack with around 6 psi of boost and proper tuning, you’ll still be spending five figures to get around 550 hp to the wheels.
At that power level, you’ll still be down by about 50 whp (wheel horsepower) compared to that of a Hellcat with 707 crank hp (around 600 whp).
Cons of Supercharging a Scat Pack
The cons that come with supercharging a Scat Pack are that it’s very expensive, can cause issues regarding the warranty, can affect the reliability of the engine, and can lower its resale value.
Supercharging a Scat Pack is expensive.
It’s no surprise that putting a supercharger kit on a performance car such as a Dodge Scat Pack would be expensive.
However, it seems even more jaw-dropping when you actually see the full list of costs needed in order to make the entire system work reliably.
While the actual list may vary depending on the supercharger brand and your power goals, it’s very common (and necessary) to upgrade the Scat Pack engine’s pistons, rods, and heads for higher boost applications.
After talking to Scat Pack owners, the total cost to supercharge their cars is typically upwards of $10,000, with some of them even spending as much as $20,000 for more serious builds.
Concerns Regarding Warranty
Even though installing a supercharger kit doesn’t immediately void your Scat Pack’s warranty, it can still cause the dealership to refuse to fix something that breaks because of it.
For instance, if a drivetrain component were to break because of the extra power from the supercharger, then that may be grounds for voiding the drivetrain warranty.
This kind of incidence is covered in the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302 (C)), which states that an automobile manufacturer cannot void your car’s warranty just because you’ve installed aftermarket parts on it.
But as we’ve said, if the aftermarket part, the supercharger in this case, has been proven to have caused or contributed damage to a component under the manufacturer’s warranty, then there will be no liability on their part to fix it.
Reliability Concerns Once Supercharged
Even with the right setup and tune, a supercharged Scat Pack will obviously not be as reliable as a completely stock one, let alone a Hellcat that was built to have a supercharger from the factory in the first place.
This is because you’ll be naturally putting more stress on an engine that originally didn’t come with any kind of forced induction.
The only way to maintain a considerable amount of reliability while supercharging a Scat Pack is to either stay at a maximum of 6 psi of boost or spend more and build the engine with forged parts.
According to anecdotal reports by owners, the stock pistons on the Scat Pack’s 6.4-liter engine are one of its main weak points, so replacing them with lower-compression forged pistons will allow you to achieve higher power levels.
However, another concern at higher power levels is the reliability of the transmission itself, which is quite a costly mechanism to upgrade or repair when something breaks.
Lower Resale Value
It’s quite common to hear that modifying your car doesn’t really increase its resale value, and this is true when you put something as major as a supercharger kit on a Scat Pack.
This is because performance modifications on a vehicle will limit the market that’s actually willing to buy it, as most likely, people would think that you have been driving the vehicle harder than they would like.
Thus, if you were to compare it to a Hellcat that already has a supercharger in stock form, a Scat Pack will have a lower resale value once you put a supercharger on it.
How much horsepower can you add to a Scat Pack?
A Scat Pack can get an additional 100 to 150 whp with a supercharger kit on 6 psi of boost pressure and proper tuning.
However, this amount can be higher with built engine internals and transmission that can handle higher boost levels.
The exact amount of horsepower that you can add to a Scat Pack can actually depend on a lot of variables, such as the parts you choose, the dyno you used to measure the horsepower, and how optimal the tuning was performed.
However, if you were to run a conservative supercharger setup on just 6 psi, as a lot of people have tried, you can expect to get an average of 100 to 150 hp to the wheels.
Of course, the gains can be higher if you’re willing to spend even more to make the engine internals and even the transmission bulletproof.
With more modifications like these, some owners have been able to achieve as much as 850whp. But do take note that this is already a serious build for the dragstrip that would require you to have even deeper pockets.
How can you make a Scat Pack faster?
Ways to make a Scat Pack faster can include getting an ECU tune, installing both a cold air intake and an exhaust system, and swapping to grippier tires.
More expensive options that yield more power can include installing forged internals, installing a supercharger, and installing full bolt-on parts.
While it’s quite a common decision to go big by installing an expensive supercharger kit on the Scat Pack, it can still make relatively decent power gains without resorting to any kind of forced induction at all for relatively cheap.
This is assuming you don’t go the full bolt-ons route, which will take a lot more than just an intake, an exhaust, and a tune.
With full bolt-on parts (FBO) and an ECU tune specifically for E85 fuel, a Scat Pack will be able to put out around 450 whp from the 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine.
As for what the bolt-on parts are, they can include a cold air intake, a full exhaust, new injectors, an upgraded fuel pump, an upgraded throttle body, a ported intake manifold, a flex-fuel kit to accept the E85 fuel, and the list goes on.
At that point, you will be paying very similarly to what a supercharger setup will cost while making less power than with the supercharger.
Thus, it’s very important to know what your power goals are and what kind of performance application you’re going to be using your Scat Pack for. Otherwise, you may be putting yourself into an unnecessary money pit.
What’s the fastest a Scat Pack can go?
Assuming that the Scat Pack is still in stock form and has been tested under the most favorable conditions, it is capable of doing the standing quarter-mile in 12.4 seconds.
It has a top speed of 174 mph (280 km/h) and can go from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 4.3 seconds.
In reality, there can be many different variables that can affect these figures by even the slightest of margins, one of those being the driver itself.
It gets even more tricky to measure performance figures when you start modifying the Scat Pack with performance parts such as a supercharger kit and better tires.
But of course, you should expect to get better performance figures compared to stock by installing such mods unless you’ve made a mistake somewhere in the process.
To give you a better idea of what a modified Scat Pack can do, we recommend watching this video of a black supercharged Dodge Charger Scat Pack on the dragstrip.
Can a Scat Pack beat a Hellcat?
Stock for stock, a 485-hp Scat Pack will not be enough to beat a 707-hp Hellcat in terms of acceleration and top speed due to the sheer difference in power alone.
A modified Scat Pack, on the other hand, is capable of beating a stock Hellcat with enough power modifications and the right tire setup.
| Trim Level | Acceleration (0 to 60 mph) | Top Speed | 1/4-Mile Time |
| Scat Pack | 4.3 seconds | 174 mph (280 km/h) | 12.4 seconds |
| Hellcat | 3.4 seconds | 203 mph | 10.8 seconds |
As the lower and less powerful trim level, the Scat Pack is no match for the supercharged Hellcat trim level in terms of acceleration, top speed, and quarter-mile times.
In order to beat a stock Hellcat, you need to at least get the Scat Pack to similar Hellcat power levels, which is around 707 hp (717 hp for 2019 and newer models).
Also, it’s a good idea to swap to wider and grippier performance tires on the Scat Pack, especially if you plan on going for better quarter-mile drag times.
Can you upgrade a Scat Pack?
A Scat Pack can be upgraded in many different ways depending on your goals, such as power upgrades for more speed, suspension upgrades for better handling, body kits and wheels for a better look, and many more.
Can a 6.4 Hemi handle a supercharger?
The 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine can handle being supercharged. However, if you’re aiming for over 6 psi of boost pressure, you need to replace the stock engine internals, such as the pistons, with forged ones for more durability.
