The new Dart has plenty of power and agility, compliments of its Alfa Romeo heritage. The 2013 Dart uses high-tech materials along with state of the art technology to provide first class safety and convenience features. Only three advanced technology engines are now offered compared to the old school’s 11. Dodge used the Dart to compete in the pony wars of the 1960s and ’70s with engine options ranging from the lowly 101 hp, 170 CID (cubic inch displacement) “Slant Six” up to the killer 400-plus hp, 440 CID V8. These new Dart High-Tech engines might not have the cubic inches of the past, but the new technology they pack more than makes up for loss.
Shown is the new front exhaust design for the base engine. Moving the exhaust to the front of the engine improved emissions over the older designs. Courtesy Chrysler Group LLC.
The Dart is offered in five trim levels: SE, SXT, Aero, Limited and a more conservative GT over the concept RT model. Dodge also tossed around a Rallye model, but changed it to an option package, the ones with the eye catching, hard to miss stripes. The Dart’s LED rear lighting resembles the Dodge Charger giving it a distinctive look. Dodge loaded the Dart with technology, everything from driver interface to safety controls. The stance and handling comes from the four wheels pushed out to the corners giving it almost a 62-inch track and legs stretched more than 106 inches to the rear with just an overall body length around 184 inches.
The Dart is not sporting the front end of olden days either. The sleek design gives it a very low 0.285 coefficient of drag (Cd). Dodge added active grill shutters and insulated belly pans covering 90 percent of the underbody to cut drag and lower interior noise levels. The shutters cut 10 percent of air drag by closing off the airflow through the lower part of the grill, redirecting the air around the car. Active refers to the computer’s ability to open or close the shutters according to coolant temperature, speed, and load inputs.
The intake piping is hid under the engine cover. The baffle on the right nestled between the cam cover humps help control noise. From the outside the All-Aluminum engine hides the MultiAir system located under the rear half of the cover.
Technology
Chrysler’s Uconnect voice command system is optional on most vehicles including the Dart. The Uconnect system gives the driver access to a navigation system, smart phone connect, multimedia center, satellite entertainment and more by simply pressing a steering wheel mounted button and talking. Uconnect can handle phone or conference calls, stream audio from Bluetooth connectivity, give directions, and change climate controls all at the same time from voice commands. The 8.4-inch touchscreen has a large screen for viewing the backup camera or driving routes. The Uconnect multimedia center can talk to electronic devices via a USB port or wirelessly through Bluetooth.
Dart owners can choose options like keyless Enter-n-Go, allowing the driver to simply touch the door handle to unlock, enter the car, press brake pedal, push the start button and take off. The remote start allows starting the engine from inside their home or other places and with the right options the system can thaw out the car on those cold days, even toasting your buns with the seat warmers, or keep you from cooking on hot days by turning on the A/C.
The Dart can help the driver with normal driving tasks. It uses Smartbeam headlamps for auto dimming, and Rain Sensing wipers to automatically turn on the wipers. The inside rearview mirror is the key player housing a mini camera for sensing light levels and oncoming traffic for auto-on lighting and automatic headlight dimming. It hides the windshield glass mounted infrared sensor used for detecting raindrops to turn the wipers on and set the wiper’s speed. The Ultrasonic Park Assist system located in the rear bumper helps the driver determine rear distances when backing, plus rear cross path detection for avoiding unwanted parking lot meetings.
Notice the cam does not touch the intake valves? The pump is operated by the cam. The pressure in stored in the accumulator located between the pump and the solenoids. The ECM operates the solenoids to apply oil pressure to the actuators, pushing down to open the valves the desired amount, making the throttle plates unnecessary. Courtesy Chrysler Group LLC.
The Dart is loaded to the gills with safety and handling technology to help keep the driver safe and help them maintain control in some situations. The Dart uses ultrasonic waves to protect itself from unwanted entry or sounds the alarm if it is tipped (stealing tires or being towed). The interior is stuffed with 10 airbags to wrap you up in the event of a collision. As expected, airbags are in the dash and knee bolsters, but you also will find them in the sides of the front and rear seats long with both roof rails. Plus they added front seatbelt pre-tensioners and reactive front headrests. The body itself is designed to disperse energy from an impact over the whole body and sub-frame to help minimize passenger compartment injuries. They used about 70 percent high strength steel in the construction of the body to lighten the vehicle while giving it greater impact control.
Handling for the Dart comes from electronically controlled electric power steering (EPS) for better road feel and improved fuel economy. EPS is coupled with several active systems to improve handling and avoid crashes. The engineers added 305 mm diameter vented front brake rotors clamped by 60 mm piston calipers while 38 mm rear caliper pistons squeeze 264 mm solid discs. They coupled the brakes to an Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system that thinks for itself and even tries to anticipate events. The ESC is an active four-channel advanced handling system that coordinates braking with throttle control to help stop or control the vehicle before it gets away from the driver. The system looks at all the wheel speed sensors, steering wheel angle sensor, brake pressure and yaw/ lateral accelerometers to know the forces on the car.
This cut-away highlights the intake air manifold’s shape to increase velocity for better air-fuel mixing and increased flow. The exhaust valves are directly operated in the conventional manner, cam lobe pushing down on the valve lash adjuster to open valves. Courtesy Chrysler Group LLC.
The Electronic Brake Force Distribution system balances the front to rear according to loading for shorter straight line stopping. The ESC has the ability to do traction control, plus the Brake Lock Differential software applies braking to a spinning wheel under all road and weather conditions. More controls to help avoid collisions show up in the form of a Panic Brake Assist, which looks for fast brake pedal movement, then boosts braking pressure and activates the Antilock Braking System (ABS) for shorter stopping distances.
The Ready Alert Braking technology looks for the driver to let up on the accelerator and then applies just enough brake pressure to tighten the pads up against the rotors to shorten the actual apply time. The Hill Start system knows if the vehicle is stopped on an incline and applies the brakes for two seconds while the driver’s foot moves between pedals to prevent vehicle roll-back. The ESC leaps into action if the Dart is susceptible to roll over by using its Electronic Roll Mitigation program to selectively apply the brakes and cut throttle to help the driver maintain control. The system also has a Trailer Sway Control to prevent the Dart’s rear from wiggling from towing or crosswinds by applying counteracting brake force to straighten its path. The Rainy Brake Support, activated by turning on the wipers, cuts stopping distance in wet weather by slightly pulsing the brakes to keep them dry.
The 8.4-inch Uconnect screen in the center of the dash. It allows the driver to interface several devices through either USB or Bluetooth connections such as smart phones. It displays everything from the Sirius Satellite Radio to Navigation with weather and controls multiple interior functions from climate control to seat warmers. You also set most of vehicle convenience option using the touch screen. Courtesy Chrysler Group LLC.
Engine Technology
The Dart is available with three different all-aluminum 16-valve inline 4-cylinder engines. The smallest displacement is a 1.4 L Single Overhead Cam (SOHC) sporting a Turbocharger with MultiAir technology. The 2.0 L Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) with Variable Valve Timing (VVT) is the base engine for most trim levels. The biggest engine offered is a 2.4 L SOHC MultiAir Inline 4 cylinder.
2.0 liter Tigershark I The Tigershark I is not the “World Gas Engine” we all know. This torquey little engine twists out 148 foot-pounds at 4,800 rpm and spins up to 6,400 rpm to deliver 160 hp, gaining 5 to 9 percent torque and 1 to 2 percent increase in mpg over previous engines. Unseen upgrades over previous engines include thicker cylinder liners, 36 mm intake valves and a shortened stroke forge steel crank with machine-matched bearings for improved fit. The engineers went the extra steps and incorporated new automation processes like a special cylinder-to-piston machining process for closer tolerances and less break-in wear.
The new Dart shares a distinctive bright rear LED tail lighting look with its big brother the Dodge Charger. Courtesy Chrysler Group LLC.
Opening the hood, you will be greeted with noticeable changes from the normal Chrysler engine configurations including a rear mounted intake and front mounted exhaust. To lower friction and increase mpgs, Dodge added roller rockers, a two-stage oil pump relief valve and polymer-coated pistons with low-pressure rings. A Powertrain Control Module (PCM) controlled thermostat and revised intake ports/chambers were added to improve emissions, power and mpgs. This DOHC 16-valve engine features Dual Cam Phasers for Variable Valve Timing (VVT). This means that each cam can be independently advanced or retarded for a total of 60 degrees of crankshaft rotation. The VVT fully advances the intake cam for a sewing machine-like idle or adjusts to pull hard over most of the rpm band putting some fun back into driving. The VVT closes the exhaust valve late to re-breathe some exhaust gas for NOx control to replace EGRs of old.
Dodge redesigned the engine to lower Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH). A nearly silent inverted tooth timing chain (similar to a transmission drive chain) was added to reduce front timing case noise. They added a 360° engine to transmission attachment, improved the oil pan design and added an internal balance shaft to make it hard to feel the engine run. The all-aluminum block and head reduce weight and to make it rev quietly they added lighter pistons, floating piston pins, and piston oilers which also lower emissions and increase engine life.
Notice the large 12-inch vented rotors nestled inside the 17-inch wheels. These are the foundation for all the various stability controls, plus they will bring you to a halt in a hurry using the advanced braking system features. 2.4-inch diameter caliper piston deliver the clamping force. The rears are solid 10.4-inch disc with a 1.5-inch caliper.
Dodge adopted dual spray fuel injectors for better fuel atomization to improve cold starts and lower emissions while improving MPGs. The spark plugs were upgraded to a platinum center and iridium ground electrodes for longer life and better spark for improved combustion. The PCM can push fuel metering and timing to the maximum limits without engine knock plus adapt to various fuel grades for better performance. This smart PCM has a limp-in strategy to protect the engine even with a complete loss of coolant. It also has a more complete oil life monitor to better predict oil change intervals.
1.4 L FIRE MultiAir Turbocharged Standard for the Aero and optional on others, this Fiat-built little monster packs 160 hp at 5,500 rpm, but the best spec is the flat torque output. It hits a staggering 184 foot-pound of torque at 2,500 rpm and holds it all the way to 4,000. FIRE stands for Fully Integrated Robotised Engine, meaning the engines are built by robots. Fuel economy is excellent ranging from 37 to 41 mpg highway depending on model and transmission choice.
A cut-away view of Chrysler’s DDCT showing the stacked shafts for a compact design and the dry clutch plate assembly. Solenoids on right are part of the controls for automated shifting. Courtesy Chrysler Group LLC.
It owes the performance to Fiat’s MultiAir intake air control system coupled to a low inertia intercooled turbocharger. The MultiAir alone adds 10 percent power, 15 percent torque and 10 percent mpg while lowering HC/CO2 emissions 40 percent and NOx 60 percent. MultiAir is an advanced form of variable valve timing coupled with variable lift, which can adapt to any situation immediately giving a smooth idle with instantaneous revving.
This system uses oil pressure controlled actuators between the cam lobes and the intake valves to vary lift. The fast response solenoids control intake valve lift per-cylinder per-stroke to control cylinder air charge making throttle plates irrelevant. A camshaft lobe drives a piston pump to develop the oil pressure storing it in a small reservoir located under the cam cover for operation. This technology allows the little engine to rev like a Ferrari, well maybe that good. The 1.4 L uses a timing belt (150,000 mile change interval) for quiet operation of the cam and shares much the same of its internal designs with the 2.0L. Don’t be surprised if you hear an after-run coolant pump running for up to 10 minutes after key off. This cools the turbo down to prevent high temperature damage.
2.4 L MultiAir II Tigershark Is this the modern day equivalent to the old Demon 340 CID V8 engine? Currently available only in the GT model, it also uses the MultiAir system to produce an eye opening 184 hp at 6,250 rpm from an all-aluminum design. The 174 foot-pounds of torque at 4,800 rpm will push you back in the seat and keep you there. The approximately 3,200-pound curb weight gives the Dart a good power to weight ratio no matter which engine. The 2.4 L engine shares most of the internal engine design enhancements of the other engines, but is not turbocharged so it uses a glass filled nylon intake manifold to enhance air flow and limit heat transfer to the charge air. The 2.4 L does incorporate several shields and covers to lower NVH.
Transmission Technology
The Dart has three transmission options starting with the Fiat-designed C635 six-speed manual transaxle The unique DDCT (dry dual clutch transmission) six-speed automatically shifted manual trans (no clutch pedal) and the more mundane six speed 6F24 Powertech automatic transmission are also offered.
The Active grill shutters are located in the lower section of the grill. They block incoming air from reaching the engine compartment thus lowering drag. Their position is controlled by the ECM through a small motor attached to rack and determines their position based on engine load, temperature and vehicle speed.
The C635 transaxle is a sporty shifting compact 3-shaft constant-mesh gear changer capable of handling 258 foot-pounds of torque. The output shaft is the third one in this stacked, compact design reducing the length so it can be installed in small areas and handle more torque. The uniqueness is in having gears 2, 4, 5 and Reverse on one output shaft while gears 1, 3 and 6 spin on the second shaft allowing each output shaft to have a different final drive ratio. Dodge uses a four-plane cable shift mechanism for quick, smooth shifting with a pull-up ring on the shaft handle to prevent unwanted reverse engagements.
The C635 DDCT weighs in under 180 pounds, handles 258 foot-pounds of torque and shifts without interrupting power transfer to the ground. The DDCT is available only as an option on the Aero Dart. This is a sporty shifting automatic giving manual trans-type positive shifts, adding to the fun factor while delivering near manual transmission fuel economy. The DDCT uses two clutches for power transfer from the engine. The concept is that of parallel gearboxes aligning even and odd gears on their own shafts connected by a single clutch. This system gives the feel of the old time power shifts without any let up in power. An electro-hydraulic actuator controlled by a dedicated electronic controller does all the hard work while the driver just presses on the gas pedal.
The 6F24 is a fully automatic electronically controlled overdrive transaxle also capable of handling the same torque as the others and is offered with the 2.0L or the 2.4L engines on all models but the Aero.
The New Dart packs plenty of punch in its own way. It’s sporty, quick, and full of big boy technology to interest the younger generation.
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