Anyone that knows me saw my Blue 04 SRT-4 and knew I spent time on that sucker getting it just the way i liked it. After the accident i waited another year before buying another.
This time I got an 05 and things seem to differ from the 04 quite a bit. In anycase i dont work too far from home, (maybe a mile) I am starting to notice I am getting pretty shitty MPG on this sucker. It looks like I am only getting about 15-17mpg. I don't run my car that hard at all, I don't race, and my turbo timer isnt set for that long.
As gas prices get higher and higher it pains me to fill up my tank at 50 bucks every 150 miles or so. I would rather drive to work in my bike and spend 12 dollars for the same amount of mileage.
Iv'e had the dealer check it out and all seems well, so now comes the time when I am thinking about another mode of transportation. I have my bike but with all the dumb shits around I am bound to get killed on it.
VW is coming back out with a Clean Diesel which is suppose to get 50MPG, Iv'e never really liked the Jetta's but damn 50MPG. If they were going to put that powerplant in the Golf GTI I think I would have to switch.
Any thoughts?
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Disclaimer: All DaimlerChrysler employees, dealerships, service personnel or employees family, friends, or acquaintances: This Post or any other post by CHUBZ in no way constitutes an admission of tampering, modification, usage, or alteration of his/her SRT-4 in such a fashion as to void, deny or otherwise refuse service on any service contracts or warrantees. Dildo! My Space
dude i feel you....im getting about 180-230 miles per tank. i have a few mods but i drive mostly freeway. im doing like 2 fill ups a week, but im in a carpool and i dont pay for my gas.
dude i feel you....im getting about 180-230 miles per tank. i have a few mods but i drive mostly freeway. im doing like 2 fill ups a week, but im in a carpool and i dont pay for my gas.
tommy
The best I have gotten on a tank was 220 and that was with the red light pegged for a LONG time. I mostly get 140-170. Like I said I don't drive that far at all. My womans Avalanche seems to get better mileage than my car.
So far the only mods I did that would affect the MPG was an Intake and a exhaust. I don't believe that can cause that drop in MPG. I love my car but shit, I gots bills to pay
get all the flow mods. keep s1 injectors. or if you run bigger injectors keep your FP low.
big turbo helps as well.
on stock turbo, id get about 170miles per tank before id have to refill.
on big turbo now im netting about 230-240.
the big turbo will pay for itself w/in a few months of driving alone...
if i dont boost i could net 260 EASY. a mix of freeway/city driving i see about 75-80 per 1/8th of a tank.
on highway i see as high as 100 and avg. 80-90
How many gallons are you putting in when you fill the car up? Topping up the car, resetting the trip odometer, driving, top up again, and repeat and log that cycle a few times should give you a real measurement of what you're getting. At the current California prices for premium $50 should be around 10-11.5 gallons (out of a 12.5 gallon tank) so that would be pretty bad, but it's best to measure exactly to see what you're getting.
A couple things you might try before giving up on the SRT-4. First, you mentioned it's an '05. The early cars that model year had some emission system issues with the calibration in the computer and a lot of them reported really crappy mileage. This was corrected by a reflash from Chrysler. You might check at your dealer and see if the recall was performed.
Second thing you could try is replacing the upstream O2 sensor. At light load and cruising it can cause a big difference in how the car runs if it goes bad. Stick with either a Mopar unit or an NTK sensor (the Bosch narrowband sensors are sluggish and don't work as well in turbo cars). Also check all of the basic stuff like vacuum leaks, dirty air filter, proper tire inflation, etc. If you're staying completely out of boost the entire tank and still getting bad mileage it's probably not that type of simple stuff, but more than likely something wrong. Going along with that, if you have access to a scan tool or scan gauge you might check to make sure the engine is seeing that it's getting up to proper temp, no other sensors are reading way off, etc.
As to a diesel you really should sit down and run the numbers. That's about the only way to figure out if it is worth it for you. I know for me I ran the numbers a while back and the cost doesn't outweigh the expense to buy into one and I drive a lot. Just to give you an idea, let say "theoretically" I drive 5k miles a month. My best mileage car I have is my Fiero that can run on regular unleaded and gets 33mpg in my mixed driving commute. The SRT-4 consistently does about 26. The new VW TDI's supposedly are going to be a little more powerful but not quite as efficient in the mileage department since the car has grown, but lets say you could squeeze out 45 mpg. I'll use some average figures I've seen over the last couple months (the prices have dropped a little recently but it can always fluctuate. The math:
As you can see, a smaller car that can get mid-30's on regular unleaded may not be much more in fuel costs per month than a diesel if you have higher diesel prices like in SoCal. For someone in other parts of the country that have diesel cheaper than regular unleaded that might alter the numbers quite a bit which is why it's good not to make blanket statements about what's best for everyone.
Now also with these numbers you should consider what the VW's will actually do in your commute. If you're shopping a brand new one you might wait to see what they do in the real world since the government numbers went down quite a bit (even if you factored out the new ratings for '08+). If you're looking at the older cars you might want to jump on the VW forums and see what people with similar commutes and driving styles are getting. If you could only get upper 30's out of one and at high diesel costs it works out to nearly the same as an economy car on regular unleaded.
It sounds like you have something mechanically wrong with your SRT-4 so try fixing that first. You might also consider clipping the turbine wheel and maybe doing some exhaust work to the manifold and adding a 3" O2 housing. The turbo alone should yield a few more miles per gallon and reduce backpressure for better top end power when you do get on the car. My SRT-4 is running pretty rich right now with my fueling but if I sorted it out and installed one of my turbo/manifolds I have lying around I bet I'd be bumping 30's, but that's a lot of highway mixed with city driving.
How many gallons are you putting in when you fill the car up? Topping up the car, resetting the trip odometer, driving, top up again, and repeat and log that cycle a few times should give you a real measurement of what you're getting. At the current California prices for premium $50 should be around 10-11.5 gallons (out of a 12.5 gallon tank) so that would be pretty bad, but it's best to measure exactly to see what you're getting.
A couple things you might try before giving up on the SRT-4. First, you mentioned it's an '05. The early cars that model year had some emission system issues with the calibration in the computer and a lot of them reported really crappy mileage. This was corrected by a reflash from Chrysler. You might check at your dealer and see if the recall was performed.
Second thing you could try is replacing the upstream O2 sensor. At light load and cruising it can cause a big difference in how the car runs if it goes bad. Stick with either a Mopar unit or an NTK sensor (the Bosch narrowband sensors are sluggish and don't work as well in turbo cars). Also check all of the basic stuff like vacuum leaks, dirty air filter, proper tire inflation, etc. If you're staying completely out of boost the entire tank and still getting bad mileage it's probably not that type of simple stuff, but more than likely something wrong. Going along with that, if you have access to a scan tool or scan gauge you might check to make sure the engine is seeing that it's getting up to proper temp, no other sensors are reading way off, etc.
As to a diesel you really should sit down and run the numbers. That's about the only way to figure out if it is worth it for you. I know for me I ran the numbers a while back and the cost doesn't outweigh the expense to buy into one and I drive a lot. Just to give you an idea, let say "theoretically" I drive 5k miles a month. My best mileage car I have is my Fiero that can run on regular unleaded and gets 33mpg in my mixed driving commute. The SRT-4 consistently does about 26. The new VW TDI's supposedly are going to be a little more powerful but not quite as efficient in the mileage department since the car has grown, but lets say you could squeeze out 45 mpg. I'll use some average figures I've seen over the last couple months (the prices have dropped a little recently but it can always fluctuate. The math:
As you can see, a smaller car that can get mid-30's on regular unleaded may not be much more in fuel costs per month than a diesel if you have higher diesel prices like in SoCal. For someone in other parts of the country that have diesel cheaper than regular unleaded that might alter the numbers quite a bit which is why it's good not to make blanket statements about what's best for everyone.
Now also with these numbers you should consider what the VW's will actually do in your commute. If you're shopping a brand new one you might wait to see what they do in the real world since the government numbers went down quite a bit (even if you factored out the new ratings for '08+). If you're looking at the older cars you might want to jump on the VW forums and see what people with similar commutes and driving styles are getting. If you could only get upper 30's out of one and at high diesel costs it works out to nearly the same as an economy car on regular unleaded.
It sounds like you have something mechanically wrong with your SRT-4 so try fixing that first. You might also consider clipping the turbine wheel and maybe doing some exhaust work to the manifold and adding a 3" O2 housing. The turbo alone should yield a few more miles per gallon and reduce backpressure for better top end power when you do get on the car. My SRT-4 is running pretty rich right now with my fueling but if I sorted it out and installed one of my turbo/manifolds I have lying around I bet I'd be bumping 30's, but that's a lot of highway mixed with city driving.
My 04 ran pretty damn rich, on the Dyno it never went passed 10.0 on stage 2 and full turbo back exhaust. With all the mods I did short of any turbo/manifold modifications it still netted a better MPG than this bastard.
I will have to do some more thinking. I wanted to avoid pouring more money in Mods only to have the same issue if not worse.
Lastly, do you have a link fo that service bulliten on the 05's?
Why are you complaining about poor fuel economy from driving your SRT-4 less than a mile to work and back every day? Don't you realize it can take 4-5 miles for a car to properly warm up after a cold start? Your motor oil has probably not even reached normal operating temperature so it's unlikely your motor can burn off any water vapor contaminants. Wouldn't it be better for you and the car to walk that mile to work?
Last edited by Simon.Starkie : 07-25-2008 at 08:49 PM.
Why are you complaining about poor fuel economy from driving your SRT-4 less than a mile to work and back every day? Don't you realize it can take 4-5 miles for a car to properly warm up after a cold start? Your motor oil has probably not even reached normal operating temperature so it's unlikely your motor can burn off any water vapor contaminants. Wouldn't it be better for you and the car to walk that mile to work?
x2 on all the above.
if you honestly only work a mile away from work, buy a vespa or a goped.
gopeds a few yrs ago would max out at 35-40mph...from what i understand the new motors on the gopeds go about 45-50.
if all youre really doing is a mile, id definately consider one.
Lol, I wouldn't recommend a Vespa.
Still got the scars from the one I had.
Both brake cables snapped which coming down a hill in rush-hour traffic.
Coming home from Royces in Derby in 68.
Ended up using my mug as a brake!
Poor maintenance so the fault was mine.
Last edited by Simon.Starkie : 07-25-2008 at 09:04 PM.
Lol, I wouldn't recommend a Vespa.
Still got the scars from the one I had.
Both brake cables snapped which coming down a hill in rush-hour traffic.
Coming home from Royces in Derby in 68.
Ended up using my mug as a brake!
Poor maintenance so the fault was mine.
To the OP.. if you're only getting 17mpg something is very wrong with your car. There's no way your car should be getting that shitty of gas mileage. Big turbos with 400 HP are gettnig at least 25 and some even higher. I've got some mods and I'm around 290HP and I'm still getting 28mpg beating the crap out of my car.. that's just around town. Have someone look at your car before you decide to waste money on financing/paying on a new one. Listen to blackbird RT .. dude knows what he's talking about
Why are you complaining about poor fuel economy from driving your SRT-4 less than a mile to work and back every day? Don't you realize it can take 4-5 miles for a car to properly warm up after a cold start? Your motor oil has probably not even reached normal operating temperature so it's unlikely your motor can burn off any water vapor contaminants. Wouldn't it be better for you and the car to walk that mile to work?
Walking to work ins't an option. You are right about the car heating up I get to maybe 100 degrees or so, however I drive extremely slow so it shouldn't be an issue. I don't beat on my car as I did my old one.
I think I will try a few upgrades first and see. Like I said I took the car to the dealer and they said its running under specs.
I do have a bike, but with all the asswipes out here its just too dangerous. I have almost been hit several times, short of the gas savings its just not worth it.
^^^
Not sure why walking to work isn't an option.
I used to live down in that neck of the woods...Artesia Blvd in Manhattan Beach and later 180th Place in Torrance...I don't recall it being as dangerous Olympic and Central but I guess anywhere can be a worry at 2AM.
And driving slow has nothing to do with how the oil reaches normal operating temperature so it can burn off any moisture which can become acidic and lead to premature engine wear.
If I were you, I'd keep the SRT-4 rather than spending all that money on a new car and paying $5+ for diesel (why is diesel so much more than even Premium...?). But I would suggest a couple of changes including more frequent oil changes, using 0w-30 Mobil 1 from Walmart, fresh RE14MCC5 plugs gapped to .050" and replaced every 6K miles, clean the air filter (the PCM will contol how rich the car runs, but it can't control how efficiently it runs with a dirty or clogged filter). Also, these cars will run quite well on 87-octane as long as you take it easy. In fact, they seem to get better MPG on 87-octane. My S3R consistently gets 32MPG on 87-octane. And last but not least, take your car for a decent, long ride at least once a week if you can - to keep everything "clean".
Cheers.
Last edited by Simon.Starkie : 07-26-2008 at 01:16 PM.
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MPG is Ghay Thinking TDI
Dildo! 
but I guess anywhere can be a worry at 2AM. 
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