I checked out an SRT-4

[JoeJoe]

Comparisons

SVO_dave has a good point about the Neon being a better performer out of the box......BUT you're not comparing apples to apples.....its turbo charged and costs more. If it was the same price as the SVT, then we'd have bought the wrong car if performance is your ultimate decision..

Is the SVT motor a better motor than the Dodge? The only way you could compare the 2 is if you put the same size turbo and tune like the Neon and see how the SVT performs...then you could compare the 2 cars.

As far as autocrossing goes, the driver does make the difference. If you've spent much time doing this kind of racing its amazing how the driver can make a good car fast.....

Joe

:burnout:

 

[1stSVT]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you guys are saying numbers like 228whp and and 248whp. Isn't the SRT-4 rated at 230hp stock? Which would mean it really isn't hitting 230hp at the wheels stock. Or is Dodge snowballing their numbers?

 

[svo_dave]

Dodge was underrating them big time. The 04 is rated at 245 i thing and it puts 248 to the wheels.

 

[1stSVT]

WOW--where did you find that out?:??:

 

[svo_dave]

On a srt-4 forum.

 

[Kenosha Chris]

I just would have a hard time buying a MOPAR. They have had quality problems since the 60's. One of my drivers has had 2 new Ram pickups and they spent a ton of time trying to fix them both.

 

[Street Racer]

Originally posted by svo_dave
On a srt-4 forum.

Did you see a dyno (and if you did how can you be sure it was a stock dyno)? I find it really hard to believe that they would under rate the HP. Besides insurance what reason would they have to under rate it? It would not do them any justice, thats why most manufacturers post the HP at the flywheel because its a higher number. Thats like a porsch dealer saying a 911 has 50HP, who the hell would even go and look at it then? This was just my .02. The SRT has F/I and the Foci doesnt..........period. Turbo Toms kit would kill an SRT, and I am willing to bet that when Vortech is completly done with its tuning we will have the SRT boys running to buy upgrades!! My wife owned a regular neon and it blew the head gasket with about 17,000 miles on it. Now she owns a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited and it uses oil almost as much as gas! A friend at work just lemon lawed his Ram truck. And my best friend is a mechanic and he said you wouldnt believe how many Dodge/Chrysler vechicles he works on in a week. So unless Dodge has stepped it up, they are going to have some angry SRT owners before its all over. Dont get me wrong, I know there are plenty of problems with certain SVTF's, as to be expected with a 2nd model year car! All I know is that my wife's Jeep will be the last Chrysler product I will ever own. Just my .02. :rockon:

 

[JoeJoe]

Dodge quaility

Since this is turning into a Dodge vs Ford thread. My dad bought a new Dodge ram 1500 pickup a few years back. He likes to go out and buys cars without his expert car buying son (me) and he paid for it this time. After 40K miles on the pickup it started going through oil like 1 qt per 2k mi. He took it on a fishing trip to Canada and came back saying that it went through tons of oil. So he took me for a ride and the thing was detonating like no tomorrow. I told him he'd better have someone look at it soon or bail on the thing and he had just run out of waranty on it, so he ended up at the Ford dealer, where he should have started in the first place and traded the Dodge for a F250 powerstroke.....

The Powerstroke is so freakin nice with that turbo.....gotta love the turbo whistle...needless to say, we won't be buying Dodge anymore either.


Joe

True Blue.......
:bowdown: :bowdown:

 

[Street Racer]

Joe,
yeah my wifes Jeep (mentioned before) uses oil bad. Right after we bought it we had the oil changed and I never gave it any thought untill it needed changed again......so I pulled the dipstick and it was bone dry!!!! I thought it was a fluke and still didnt pay it much attention (plus I told her to keep an eye on it........but thats like telling a 2 year old something) And low and behold I pull the dipstick and it was dry again!!! Now I try to check it once a week...........what a pain in the a$$. Its a 98' by the way, and both front CV joints need to be replaced along with a shock on the drivers side (since its a 4X4 the CV joints are expensive). I just flushed the transmission (and replaced the filter) because it was shifting like $hit (its an automatic 4 those who dont know). It seems to be shifting better now, but we will see how long that lasts! Sorry about the rant!!!! :burn:


Joe, you said True Blue............my thoughts exactly :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :rockon:

 

[1stSVT]

You know come to think of it when I was 17 my mom gave me her 86' LeBaron and the engine started knocking on me a couple of months after I got it. When we took it in they said we would have to drop a new engine in it.:kaboom: My dad was pissed.
Then he turns around and buys a 93' Dodge Dakota with the V-8 Magnum. Well that was 10 years ago and that truck is still going strong.:shrug:

I used to say I would never buy a Ford, but here I am the proud owner of an SVTF. I think it just goes to show you could buy a fricken Honda and it could have problems too. The likelyhood of that happening is just smaller thats all.

Long live the F irst O n R ace D ay!!:rockon: :beer:

 

[path914]

Originally posted by Street Racer
Did you see a dyno (and if you did how can you be sure it was a stock dyno)? I find it really hard to believe that they would under rate the HP. Besides insurance what reason would they have to under rate it? It would not do them any justice, thats why most manufacturers post the HP at the flywheel because its a higher number. Thats like a porsch dealer saying a 911 has 50HP, who the hell would even go and look at it then? This was just my .02.

It's been shown all over the internet that the SRT-4 dynos more at the wheel than they're rated at the crank. Also, insurance is a big reason when 90% of the target market is under 25 years old. Maybe they figured that being a sport compact with a turbo, many owners would be dynoing their cars and they would rather look good by over-performing than come up short like some other cars recently (rx8, 99 cobra, miata, etc.). Who knows, the fact is they are extremely underrated and are probably closer to 280hp than the 215 they were originally rated at.

 

[93 COBRA]

These are the reasons I chose a SVTF over a SRT-4:
1. The Dodge dealers in my area were gouging prices
(some were as high as $3,000).
2. 0% interest on SVTF.
3. Free 100,000 warranty on SVTF.
4. Dodge dealer wouldn't give me near what I owed on
my 2001 Focus S2, The Ford dealer paid off the car.
5. I'm only eligible for the Ford employee discount.

I would have rather had the Dodge just because of the turbo (and seeing a stock one running low 14s). But since I'm a Ford guy and I was able to get a loaded 03 SVTF Euro for under $20,000 w/ tax I think I'll just look at the aftermarket for some forced induction.

 

[Primaris]

Originally posted by svo_dave
Dodge was underrating them big time. The 04 is rated at 245 i thing and it puts 248 to the wheels.

Believe what you want but the number I have read in "Sport Compact Car," October 2003 Volume 15 No. 10 page 117, was 223 hp at the wheels. So while I agree it was being under rated it is not off by as much as others are claiming. The article also goes on to describe why dodge was rating it at 215 and how different testing conditions can affect this car. Also, according to the same article the '04 SRT-4 is rated at 230.

Plus, our engine is a 2.0 while the dodge is a 2.4. Now using our output per liter if our engine was a 2.4 we would have 204 hp. Not such a big difference all of a sudden.

 

[1stSVT]

Good post Primaris! I seen that same article and that seems to be more on par with other mags.

Did you guys notice in Muscle Mustang's and Fast Fords October issue had a write up about some SVTF's spied in broad daylight with either turbo or supercharger's in them? They had the 93' Cobra type hoods on them to accomodate for the engine work.:burnout:

 

[svo_dave]

2004 stock srt-4 dyno

I have no reason to lie, or make up numbers. Just go to focal jet and you will see huge post about srt-4, and the 04's are monsters compared to 02 and 03's. Sport Compact Car is a junk magazine, and I never take anything they say seriously. If you remember almost a year ago, maybe 8-10 months they were talking up the svtf project car they were doing, never heard anything about it again. Anyways, if that post is not enough proof forum you, just go to a srt-4 forum, or shit, the road kill forum here and see what srt-4's are running. Like I said, I hate the car, but I have to respect the numbers.

 

[svo_dave]

I don't know were i saw 245 to the wheels, but I saw it, dodge site says 230, so I'll believe them. Either way 248whp is 248 whp. Here is some interesting readin about them. Keep in mind the first is at a focus forum, and the other is in a general forum. You will see that I do talk alot shit about srt-4's, and I love svtf's, so don't hound me like I hate the svtf.

What focaljet says about srt-4

What omaha racing had to say about srt-4

See, Its not like I love them or something. By the way, for people saying that they'll fall apart and what not, there nothing like the old turbo dodges or neons, they are built for super strength, I don't know the details, but maybe on this site or the focaljet post some engine savy guy posted all the stuff they had, and it was compared as built like the cobra, we know nowere near as strong, but pretty much bullitproof.

 

[ZX2Down]

i remember the stock bottom end can take 450+hp [i wanna say it was 600 but i dont think that it was really that high]

 

[03CobraBro]

Originally posted by 1stSVT
Well my Foci friends I checked out an SRT-4 today and here are my findings:
1. The engine note is awesome.
2. The engine bay is stuffed.
3. The seats are really good.
4. The clutch felt good, but the boot and the knob felt and looked cheap. (stay with me here, feel and look cheap will come up often)
5. $21,500 sticker----Then it had a sticker beside it in the window with the letters "LOA" and $3,000. I asked what that was for-"Lack of availability". So, $24,500 for this thing.
6. Power windows up front but, manual windows in the rear. WTF
7. The dash was cheap looking-real "plasticky" feeling.
8. Rear seats didn't have 60/40
9. The emergency brake lever didn't have leather grip or a leather bag. It was cheap and plastic feeling.
10. Big sunroof, but the button looked out of place and cheap looking.
11. No cruise control!!! WTF

Overall it was a cool car. Obviously all the money was put into the engine and suspension, nothing else. Well the boost gauge was cool looking. The wheel package was ok. The wheels looked dull, but the tires were grippy!!
I just think for the money I would still buy the SVTF. We have more for the money. Cruise, 4 power windows, HID lights, 6 disc in dash, radio and cruise buttons on the wheel, 60/40 rear seats, so on and so on. Like the car but I was a little disapointed with some of the ammenities.

Let me know if you guys have looked at one.
Also, who would win---WRX vs SRT-4 in the quarter and SVTF vs SRT-4 in the twisties??

Thanks DS:-D

You really cant complain for 21 thousand though... Thats a real bargain for turbocharged intercooled engine.

 

[03CobraBro]

Originally posted by ZX2Down
your a dick and an ignorant ass hole u dont see me bitching, and his definition of rice is anyone who would rather make a low 1/4 i4 than buy a low 1/4 v8

Its not that... its just your attitude sometimes... The "Why buy anything over 10,000 dollars" attitude...

 

[03CobraBro]

Originally posted by svo_dave
Dodge was underrating them big time. The 04 is rated at 245 i thing and it puts 248 to the wheels.

The torque is whats really impressive... upwards of 270lbs and thats out of an I4