Got to examine an SRT-4 up close
06-27-2003, 01:53 AM
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Got to examine an SRT-4 up close
My friend just picked up his SRT-4 at a bit over 28k out the door, absolutely non-negotiable he says. It was a silver one and I couldn't help but notice the difference in the profile of the car. He used to have a '00 Neon, dropped with wheels/tires and exhaust but it's quite different.
Here are my impressions....
1. I'm very short at 5'5" and 150lbs. and the seats put me really deep with those side bolsters and hip supports. Lateral support felt good but not so stiff as to be uncomfortable. I would think a person who's bigger (height and weight) would not like the bucket-like effect.
2. The interior was a bit bland with a stick and polished chrome ball shifter, much like the one in my IS300 with a longer shaft coming from between the seats. The shifter doesn't feel anywhere near as good as the S2000's with those longer throws. (and the gate movement didn't feel as precise)
3. The cool autometer boost gauge was something nice to see.
4. The pedals were a bit close together but not unmanagable with my size 10 feet.
5. No muffler. That's right, after the cat is a long resonator and it branches out to the dual exhaust tips. This played a big role with the blurbs and pops that came from the exhaust when you decelerated... it's quite strange to hear an exhaust sound this way in stock form.
6. Out of every 4 banger in stock form, the exhaust sounded great... a nice growl with absolutely no tin-can sounds anywhere. Possibly the best sounding stock exhaust for any 4 cylinder car IMHO.
7. The engine's got some power man... definitely more powerful than a normal WRX, and a lot more torque than even a 4th gen Prelude. It felt similar to the kick of the new VR6's. The turbo has no real lag to mention of.
8. Too easy to spin the tires. No LSD, FWD and that much torque in a light chassis on Michelin Pilots. I'd imagine that if Quaife came out with an aftermarket LSD for the SRT-4, and with better tires and perhaps suspension, the car would launch quite nicely, even for a FWD.
9. Steering wheel felt ghey compared to the S2000. Crisp steering is what the SRT-4 lacks IMHO.
Although I wasn't able to open it up because it needed a few hundred more miles 'til the break in, I really believe that Dodge did something right with this Neon. It's fun to drive versus the anemic Neon of before, the engine responds very well at street driven speeds, the turbo spools up quickly and the exhaust sounds great during even mild acceleration. You wouldn't expect any Neon to sound that way if you heard it. From what I've seen initially, it doesn't appear to take much to boost the SRT-4's performance to higher levels, but that's the benefit of a boosted car... more gains are available on blown cars.
If I were seriously looking at a domestic compact car, I'd probably look into an SRT-4 before I'd go with a Ford Focus... but after the stupid markup at the dealership here (because they said only 13 are allocated for Hawaii), they want close to 30k for it and to me, that's BS... SRT-4 or otherwise.
Speed wise, I think the S2000 and SRT-4 are close in different ways since they generate power differently, but from an engineering standpoint, the S2000 looks and feels like it was bred for performance from the ground up to include every square inch of the car. This would mean that the S2000 has a more complete performance platform. Dodge appeared to have engineered performance only at certain key points, like the engine, suspension and exhaust just to name a few. The rest of it is like a Neon but you have to actually look inside one to understand what I really mean by this.
All in all, interesting car... good buy if you can get it anywhere close to 20k (good luck in Hawaii).
Here are my impressions....
1. I'm very short at 5'5" and 150lbs. and the seats put me really deep with those side bolsters and hip supports. Lateral support felt good but not so stiff as to be uncomfortable. I would think a person who's bigger (height and weight) would not like the bucket-like effect.
2. The interior was a bit bland with a stick and polished chrome ball shifter, much like the one in my IS300 with a longer shaft coming from between the seats. The shifter doesn't feel anywhere near as good as the S2000's with those longer throws. (and the gate movement didn't feel as precise)
3. The cool autometer boost gauge was something nice to see.
4. The pedals were a bit close together but not unmanagable with my size 10 feet.
5. No muffler. That's right, after the cat is a long resonator and it branches out to the dual exhaust tips. This played a big role with the blurbs and pops that came from the exhaust when you decelerated... it's quite strange to hear an exhaust sound this way in stock form.
6. Out of every 4 banger in stock form, the exhaust sounded great... a nice growl with absolutely no tin-can sounds anywhere. Possibly the best sounding stock exhaust for any 4 cylinder car IMHO.
7. The engine's got some power man... definitely more powerful than a normal WRX, and a lot more torque than even a 4th gen Prelude. It felt similar to the kick of the new VR6's. The turbo has no real lag to mention of.
8. Too easy to spin the tires. No LSD, FWD and that much torque in a light chassis on Michelin Pilots. I'd imagine that if Quaife came out with an aftermarket LSD for the SRT-4, and with better tires and perhaps suspension, the car would launch quite nicely, even for a FWD.
9. Steering wheel felt ghey compared to the S2000. Crisp steering is what the SRT-4 lacks IMHO.
Although I wasn't able to open it up because it needed a few hundred more miles 'til the break in, I really believe that Dodge did something right with this Neon. It's fun to drive versus the anemic Neon of before, the engine responds very well at street driven speeds, the turbo spools up quickly and the exhaust sounds great during even mild acceleration. You wouldn't expect any Neon to sound that way if you heard it. From what I've seen initially, it doesn't appear to take much to boost the SRT-4's performance to higher levels, but that's the benefit of a boosted car... more gains are available on blown cars.
If I were seriously looking at a domestic compact car, I'd probably look into an SRT-4 before I'd go with a Ford Focus... but after the stupid markup at the dealership here (because they said only 13 are allocated for Hawaii), they want close to 30k for it and to me, that's BS... SRT-4 or otherwise.
Speed wise, I think the S2000 and SRT-4 are close in different ways since they generate power differently, but from an engineering standpoint, the S2000 looks and feels like it was bred for performance from the ground up to include every square inch of the car. This would mean that the S2000 has a more complete performance platform. Dodge appeared to have engineered performance only at certain key points, like the engine, suspension and exhaust just to name a few. The rest of it is like a Neon but you have to actually look inside one to understand what I really mean by this.
All in all, interesting car... good buy if you can get it anywhere close to 20k (good luck in Hawaii).
06-27-2003, 02:01 AM
#2
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Good write up, Jimmy.
There was a black SRT-4 at the autocross last time. Still had the paper plates on it. Although I didn't get to ride in it or even hear it under power, I would think that for around the MSRP of $20k, it is a good deal. For nearly $30k... forget it. I'd save up a little more and get the STi.
There was a black SRT-4 at the autocross last time. Still had the paper plates on it. Although I didn't get to ride in it or even hear it under power, I would think that for around the MSRP of $20k, it is a good deal. For nearly $30k... forget it. I'd save up a little more and get the STi.
06-27-2003, 02:59 AM
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Haha, I know how that is.
However, speaking objectively... if you mean the SRT-4 is an anemic, underpowered, soft-suspension, rent-a-car kind of car, then the SRT-4 is nothing like that. Funny thing is the SRT has no Neon labeling on the exterior that I could find.
I respect all cars for their strengths and try to remember each of it's unique weaknesses also, irregardless of if it's a Geo Metro to a Lotus Elise.
The SRT-4 is to me, kind of like what my Rabbit GTI was back in 1983... a true pocket rocket that opens eyes to non-believers. No Honda made car back then could take out the GTI from a stop light to the next stop light in stock form even with the VW's weak 90hp motor and that's what excited me about it. Yes, I had to sit through the comments like "well, a GTI is still a Rabbit", my Rabbit was having lunch on the account of even the "GTI killers" of the time like the 4AG-powered Toyota FX16 which still couldn't edge it out.
I puke at the thought of when my butt is going to get handed to me by a mildly modded SRT-4, but (enter sigh here) I know it will have to happen eventually. I wouldn't go out and replace my S2000 with any other car just because it's faster than my present ride. I just feel proud to own such a precision product of race-inspired engineering to show off what a 2.0L unboosted ultra-high revving engine can do in a masterpiece of a open-top chassis.
The best part was I let my friend drive my car around on the street and took a spin on the freeway. He shifted at 4k and I told him to let it rev to the limit. Once the VTEC hit in 1st, then 2nd... I sat through a very long "H-O-L-Y S-H-I-E-T-T-T-T!!!" so if it impressed him, I'm sure I was able to "educate" another person who may think he could edge out an S2000 with little effort.
To call an SRT-4 a Neon IMO is like calling an S2000 a topless Civic with a higher redline.
However, speaking objectively... if you mean the SRT-4 is an anemic, underpowered, soft-suspension, rent-a-car kind of car, then the SRT-4 is nothing like that. Funny thing is the SRT has no Neon labeling on the exterior that I could find.
I respect all cars for their strengths and try to remember each of it's unique weaknesses also, irregardless of if it's a Geo Metro to a Lotus Elise.
The SRT-4 is to me, kind of like what my Rabbit GTI was back in 1983... a true pocket rocket that opens eyes to non-believers. No Honda made car back then could take out the GTI from a stop light to the next stop light in stock form even with the VW's weak 90hp motor and that's what excited me about it. Yes, I had to sit through the comments like "well, a GTI is still a Rabbit", my Rabbit was having lunch on the account of even the "GTI killers" of the time like the 4AG-powered Toyota FX16 which still couldn't edge it out.
I puke at the thought of when my butt is going to get handed to me by a mildly modded SRT-4, but (enter sigh here) I know it will have to happen eventually. I wouldn't go out and replace my S2000 with any other car just because it's faster than my present ride. I just feel proud to own such a precision product of race-inspired engineering to show off what a 2.0L unboosted ultra-high revving engine can do in a masterpiece of a open-top chassis.
The best part was I let my friend drive my car around on the street and took a spin on the freeway. He shifted at 4k and I told him to let it rev to the limit. Once the VTEC hit in 1st, then 2nd... I sat through a very long "H-O-L-Y S-H-I-E-T-T-T-T!!!" so if it impressed him, I'm sure I was able to "educate" another person who may think he could edge out an S2000 with little effort.
To call an SRT-4 a Neon IMO is like calling an S2000 a topless Civic with a higher redline.
06-27-2003, 04:05 AM
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I'm kind of glad to see the price is highly marked up on this car. If not, it would put some serious power into a lot of young drivers that aren't ready for that kind of power.
06-27-2003, 11:18 AM
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Originally posted by Hyper-X
I just feel proud to own such a precision product of race-inspired engineering to show off what a 2.0L unboosted ultra-high revving engine can do in a masterpiece of a open-top chassis.
I just feel proud to own such a precision product of race-inspired engineering to show off what a 2.0L unboosted ultra-high revving engine can do in a masterpiece of a open-top chassis.
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