[McRat]

Not a flame. Just opinions:

Price - 19,099-19,400 depending on dealer. Although window stickers are 24,990-25,495, it wasn't hard to get them down below the 19,995 MSRP.

Fit and finish - Very Good. Interior looks more expensive than most cars in it's price range, paint very good, spoiler a little excessive. Doors, hood, trunk fit well.

Roominess - ARRGGH!!!! I fit better in the back seat than the front!!!! DAMN!! Back seats very good for a car this size, easy to get in and out.
Front seat??? Does NOT belong in this car. Too high, excessive leg bolsters, no helmet clearance. Trunk is large. I would have to replace the front seat to race it. Or cut a whole in the roof.

Performance - Not bad, redline seems low for a 2.4l 4-cyl. Probably should be moved up to 6500. Noticeable lag on a 1-2 speed shift, reving higher would probably fix it. After that, boost seems pretty constant.

Shifter - Not bad for stock, a little vague, shifter has a very long shaft, but is mounted low in the chassis. A shorter shaft would help, but unless you lower the front seat, it would probably make things worse.

Handling - Couldn't determine on city streets. At legal speeds, it's very stable with a soft ride, yet no noticeable body roll.

Observations - Large aluminum intake manifold near the radiator probably will suffer heat soak. Intake tract before intercooler looks restrictive. Hood scoop apparently vents rear of engine compartment. Car is mostly steel, should have at least done the hood and trunk in plastic. Exhaust should be single and larger dia. Bet a cut-out would work wonders. Why have power windows on a race car??? Or a big stereo (didn't test it), should be options. Factory tires are 205/50-17's Michelin Pilot Sports, and squeal nicely, but don't go up in smoke easily. Nice tires.

I believe Chrysler should have offered a "Full Race" version without the luxury stuff, and made it optional.

Will I buy one? I need to slept on it. Wish it had the stock Neon seats. (Wonder if a Vette seat will fit???)

 

[Adrenaline Rush]

If you don't like the seats, you can always order the side airbag option. You get the "regular" seats with the side airbags.

 

[spcforker]

Good,Unbiased opinion. thanx

 

[el_jefe]

Remember, this is a long stroke engine, piston speeds are close to a Type R Integra at redline. That being said, Phatridez revs theirs to 9500 rpm, with mostly stock internals. I would expect a redline bump with the Mopar upgrades. My guess would be 6500 -7000.

 

[slow4dr]

McRat your car is very nice. I have seen you at Fontucky before. I believe someone on ls1 is going to be dynoing their wifes srt-4 soon. I would like to see your car as well as SS imposters cars dynoed. He lives right by me. When is the Extreme dyno day? I saw a 415 hp Z28 pull the other night at sleeper motorsports in berdoo. Very nice open header!

 

[1sweet00SS]

McRat your car is very nice. I have seen you at Fontucky before. I believe someone on ls1 is going to be dynoing their wifes srt-4 soon. I would like to see your car as well as SS imposters cars dynoed. He lives right by me. When is the Extreme dyno day? I saw a 415 hp Z28 pull the other night at sleeper motorsports in berdoo. Very nice open header!

That's gonna be me who is going to dyno my wife's SRT . I can't wait to see what kind of number's it puts down. I also might dyno my SS just to make sure it's still making good power. I believe dyno day is on Sat. May 17th, I'm going to have to re-check it on ls1.com in the Western section.

See you guys there,

Mike

 

[slow4dr]

My car made 221hp & 233tq on AEM's dyno. Pretty average yours should do just fine. Do you plan on moding her car?

 

[McRat]

Hey dude! I'll be at dyno day for fun on May 17th. Maybe I'll bring an SRT-4... Don't know yet. If not, I'll be there with the Z06.

I'm about 50%/50% on the SRT at this point. It sounds like a lot of fun, but I just didn't fit in it very well. I barely fit in the Corvette, and the SS was tight too on headroom. 9,000mi on the Vette and the tires and the clutch are shot already. Need to get a backup car. I wonder why they wear out so fast...

 

[1sweet00SS]

My car made 221hp & 233tq on AEM's dyno. Pretty average yours should do just fine. Do you plan on moding her car?

I hope my car does as good as yours :shock: ! I probably won't mod it for at least a year. I'm getting married within a month and I want to put a lift and bigger tires on my truck later this year, buuuuuut then again, I told myself I was going to keep my SS stock for a year also, and six months later I got bitten by the mod bug :twisted: . We'll have to wait and see .

Later,

Mike

 

[1sweet00SS]

Hey dude! I'll be at dyno day for fun on May 17th. Maybe I'll bring an SRT-4... Don't know yet. If not, I'll be there with the Z06.

I'm about 50%/50% on the SRT at this point. It sounds like a lot of fun, but I just didn't fit in it very well. I barely fit in the Corvette, and the SS was tight too on headroom. 9,000mi on the Vette and the tires and the clutch are shot already. Need to get a backup car. I wonder why they wear out so fast...

I too first thought the seats were very odd :? ? Now, they've grown on me, and I don't even notice them. I too was looking for another car, decent on gas, to give my SS a break (Burnt up 1 clutch in 5 months) . Just like your Z06, it's seen a lot of track time .

Initially, I didn't think much of it's performance. But then I thought I was being a little unfair, because I was comparing it to my SS. The next day, I test drove a Spec-V, Honda Si, and a WRX, then went back and test drove the SRT-4. I was blown away as to how much faster it was compared to the other cars. This sold me, and I bought it right there. I haven't looked back since then.

If you do get one, I can pm you where I bought mine (if your not sure where your going to buy it). They gave it to me between the prices you mentioned and they did not play any games. I e-mailed the G.M. once for a price (no haggling), went back to the dealership twice to test drive it without being pressured to buy, I was in and out of there within an hour once I decided to buy it. They were honest with me and told me they did not know much about the car and were humble enough to ask me what I knew about it instead of B.S.ing me.

Two other G.M.'s at other dealerships wanted 21995-24995 and B.S.'d me how this car was faster than newer Z28's and beat corvettes on a road track:roll: . I hate dealerships who have no idea what their talking about. This was by far my best buying experience.

Let me know and I'll see you soon at Dyno day ,

Mike

 

[kadishack63]

Hey dude! I'll be at dyno day for fun on May 17th. Maybe I'll bring an SRT-4... Don't know yet. If not, I'll be there with the Z06.

I'm about 50%/50% on the SRT at this point. It sounds like a lot of fun, but I just didn't fit in it very well. I barely fit in the Corvette, and the SS was tight too on headroom. 9,000mi on the Vette and the tires and the clutch are shot already. Need to get a backup car. I wonder why they wear out so fast...

why didnt you fit well? you a big guy? i got a 2k es and i got plenty of headroom and im 6'3. i also weigh about 280 and i can fit in a z06 no prob, except getting out because it is so low.

 

[McRat]

I should have noted that in the original post. I'm 6'1" 275" and have a fat head. How fat is my head? I went up to a hooker and asked her for a "little head", and she said, "TOO LATE! You've already got a big fat one!"

Without a helmet, I fit in pretty much any car, but with a helmet my head hits the roof on some cars.

Example:

But the if you look at the seat in the SRT-4, it's seat height from the floor of the car is very tall. It should be easy to put in a standard racing seat and reduce the height 2-3".

 

[McRat]

BTW - I complained about the same thing when I got the Z06, it lacks headroom as well.

Here were my complaints with the Z06:

Lack of head room. Not the seat, just the roof is low. A lot of engine mechanical noise. Steering wheel is too far forward. Fit and finish were poor, hood is difficult to close and the trunk does not release completely. Excessive heat from the trans tunnel when cruising over 100mph. If you put a cellphone or digital tire gauge in the center console, it gets so hot, that the display does not show. Excessive gearshift travel.

No car is perfect, and we haven't ruled out the SRT-4 yet. I can replace the seat for $200.

 

[slow4dr]

I should have noted that in the original post. I'm 6'1" 275" and have a fat head. How fat is my head? I went up to a hooker and asked her for a "little head", and she said, "TOO LATE! You've already got a big fat one!"

Without a helmet, I fit in pretty much any car, but with a helmet my head hits the roof on some cars.

You shouldn't worry about wearing a helmet the car will never run 13's

LOL

By the way how can you still make passes at Cal Drag without a cage?

 

[McRat]

Carlsbad lets me and Kathy run a few 11's and they never say anything. California Speedway keeps kicking us out. Last three times there, we got the boot.

I've been running at LACR (2710') and it keeps the ET down to 12.1-12.2.

I think I can push a SRT-4 into the 13's. Maybe. Given the HP/Weight, I feel traction will be the only thing stopping it. Don't know though.

 

[axe]

Heavy gas pedal?

I test drove a SRT-4 last week. The gas pedal felt kind of heavy to me, are all of them like that?

 

[my65bug]

I drove the SRT-4 the other day as well. It was a blast, I loved watching that boost guage move all over the place. The only thing was it was hard to get it into 2nd. Oh well, very nice car.

 

[hemidakota]

My car made 221hp & 233tq on AEM's dyno. Pretty average yours should do just fine. Do you plan on moding her car?

What mods?

 

[iNice]

I should have noted that in the original post. I'm 6'1" 275" and have a fat head.

soo have u lost any weight since then?

 

[stowaway]

hey look, a 3 year old thread!