The Challenger Demon 170's 'Skinny' Front Tires Are Wider Than a V6 Challenger SXT's

Last night, Dodge took the wraps off the most outrageous Challenger yet: The SRT Demon 170, making 1,025 horsepower on E85 and capable of 0-60 in 1.66 seconds and an 8.91-second quarter-mile (on a prepped drag strip, with a real hot-shoe at the wheel). Beyond just the horsepower, a lot of that acceleration power is down to the tires, Mickey Thompson ET Street R drag radials, which are barely street-legal and designed for drag-strip performance. The Demon 170 accentuates its skinny-front-fat-rear staggered tire setup by ditching the Widebody flares up front, but a closer look reveals that those “skinny” front tires aren’t so skinny. In fact, they’re incrementally larger than the stock tires you get on a base-model V6-powered Challenger SXT.

The Demon 170's front tires measure 245/55R-18, mounted to a lightweight 18-by-8-inch wheel that’s either fully aluminum or, optionally, aluminum and carbon fiber. The rear tires, of course, are monstrous, 315/50R-17s on 17-by-11-inch wheels. Dodge had to modify the Challenger’s rear suspension to fit those meaty almost-slicks, but let’s focus on that front tire for a sec, because a no-option Challenger SXT rolls off the dealership lot wearing 235/55R-18 all-seasons.

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