strong bad

This guy I know (OBNOXIOUS AS EVER!!) with his precious little srt-4 acts like any car on the road is trash compared to his ride. He thinks because he has a turbo charger and can basically outrun the majority of everyday cars on the road, that he's superior. He's even trashed the 8, because it's "a torque-less clunker, that's not designed to be like a real sports car...and doesn't compare to the SRT-4 as far as 'hardcore' driving/shifting."

Can I get comparisons that range from practical to technical; including: cost, comfort, features, performance, design...etc whatever else I've missed.

Let's use the Sports Package Manual 8 for the sake of fairness.

Thank you.

wakeech

did ya search?? plenty on here about the SRT-4.

long story short: SRT is just a hopped up Neon. a yet questionable motor (is the block Mitsu derived, or is it a modified Mopar unit?). i cannot comment on the ride or gearbox. suspension is archaic next to the RX-8. awful weight distribution and generally inferior chassis. aesthetics designed by a blind ricer with a chainsaw (note the NON-FUNCTIONAL hood scoop: suxor). last but not least, it's wrong wheel drive.

edit: whoops, forgot brakes. RX-8 probably eats it for breakfast. the list, obviously, goes on and on...

BRx8

i don't think it's even worth anyone's time to compare and contrast...how bout this...next time he speaks, just remind him that he's driving a Neon! yes, no matter how you dress it up, it's still, eh, a Neon...

fishsauce

The RX8 will lose in straight line acceleration and price.
The SRT-4 will lose in handling, creature comforts, cool factor...etc.

IIIseries

Sit down with him, and calmly and gently as possible, tell him that yes, his car is pretty fast in a straight line and yes, he will probably win a lot of stoplight races, but, at the end of the day, when he parks it in his garage, it's STILL just a Dodge Neon.

P00Man

lol
c'mon guys, you dont want to make him feel that bad do you?

although he might deserve it after all his mouth-running...

strong bad

Thanks, keech!

I always enjoy your posts, as they're so well articulated...not to mention very well-informed...in short, you're a smart one! But, anyway...I just wish I could see the two of you square off in a debate over which is the better car, because you know a lot. He's also a mod in some srt-4 and he seems to know a lot about his...awesome....neon :D

The past two months I've heard nothing but him ranting and raving about how awesome his car is, and how everything, including G35, 350Z, several BMWs, etc don't compare to his car. I guess he's just really ignorant/stupid and i should let him talk...but it's just really gotten to me lately, and felt I'd need some help from you all to point out some technical advantages our 8s got over his non-japanese ricemobile.

R32

The only thing that Neon has is motor. It's claimed 215hp fell short of what was dynoed in Road and Track June 2003.

It was listed 222bhp with 246lb./ft., and that was running rich to keep temp in check.

Then they used a coast-down test and noted drivetrain loss at 16bhp, which had the SRT-4 noted at 238bhp at the crank.

Car is all engine.

dragula53

Actually, I don't really have anything against neons. And as far as bang for the buck goes, you don't get too much better than the srt-4. People who say that it is getting LESS power are wrong. it is showing more at the wheels (actually, wheel, heh, no limited slip diff) than dodge is advertising at the crank. a peppy little thing.

it's not perfect (see above about differential). And I've heard that the transmission is pretty sloppy feeling. And the body lines look like somebody slapped together a baloney sandwich.

It's a screaming fast little car though. You are paying for a little torquey 4-banger. (the 250 ft lbs is pretty smoking too).

If you want performance at the cost of all else, you could do worse than look in the direction of the srt-4.

But that's exactly what it is. performance at the cost of all else.

I'd much prefer an rx-8, just for the sheer style, cool factor, and all around beautiful car.

Blah blah, my .02 is done

rxphink

It has an open diff, who the hell builds a "sporty car" with an open diff.

Not Mazda

RomanoM

In the 1960's the Air Force, Navy and Marines began recieving the F4 Phantom II jet fighter. The Air Force pilots quickly characterized the aircraft such:

"The F4 proves that if you put a big enough engine on a brick it will fly"

To paraphase:

The SRT-4 proves that if you put a big enough turbo, stiff enough suspension and sticky enough tires on a car you can make a brick fast.

BUT, in the end it's still a brick!

eccles

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

Invite your friend out to an autocross and let's see who goes home laughing.

Lethalchem

It sounds like your friend is taking some pretty big leaps with his generalizations. Yes, his car is faster. But speed alone doesn't put it into the RX-8's catagory.

Go to the race track sometime. I've seen rusted out station wagons stuffed with big blocks put a hurting on some majorly expensive cars...but that certainly doesn't make that junk wagon equal to them as an overall vehicle.

Personally, I think the RX-8 could be powered by a gerbil running in place on a wheel beneath the hood, and it would STILL outsell the neon.

Red Devil

For what it is, the SRT-4 is fast, but RomanoM explains that perfectly. As an overall vehicle, the RX-8 is clearly superior.

And if all this guy is concerned with is straghtline acceleration, the SRT-4 is not the best place to begin. The engine, similar to WRX engines, is probably all but tapped out from the factory.

jonalan

Sounds like this guy's got a very small...er...uh...foot. Yeah, that's it! He has very small feet. :D

zoom44

yeah but the F-4 will go supersonic without the afterburners. the srt-4 would need a much bigger turbo to do that and it would still be a neon!!

and would he really keep his neon srt4 over a 3 or 5 series bmw? doubt it.

Hercules

I would encourage him to race as many people as possible and even, if he wants... to up the boost on his Neon.

Then when he blows his POS motor you can just laugh at him.

But hey... that's just me

strong bad

What's funny is, he's paying about 12% finance, and by the time he's done paying it off, he'll definitely be around the 30k range. So, he COULD have purchased something the likes of a 3 series, Z, 8 or whatever.

My guess is he knows he got screwed, but instead of keepin his mouth shut, he's taking the other extreme and being stupid about it.

Oh, yeah, he has raced everybody. The 1st day he got the ride he put 400 miles on it and pushed it over 120mph going after everything in sight. Another stupid thing IMO, but i guess that's what warranties are for. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts honking three times at bicyclists on the sidewalk (sigh).

Hercules

I'm glad I don't have friends as stupid as that

castrol

Oh yeah, this makes a heap of sense. So on a bimmer he could have
gotten 1%? He would have paid 12% on a bimmer and ended up
paying $40,000.00 Geez.

As far as the motor lasting, I will let you know, as I have owned
SEVEN rotaries, and have never driven a car that blows engines
more easily than those. (well, my 1980 model actually went 230,000
but all the rest blew up dammit.)

~castrol

dirtylude

i dont understand why everyone has to hate on the SRT...is it jealousy? if your happy with your car, then be happy w/ it. yea, this guy sounds like he is a complete jackass and needs to be put in his place....but not all SRT owners are like that. i know a couple who are REALLY cool and respect other cars including the RX8. sure it looks like a neon. but if you only had $20K to spend on a car, would you not consider it too? and if you want to get technical...it's not a neon. nowhere on the vehicle does it say neon, supposedly no where in the manual does it say neon, and insurance companies recognize it as a SRT 4. and i've seen a lot of false information given on this thread.

the motor is not a regular neon 2.0L motor, it's a 2.4L out of the PT cruiser modified by dodge's PVO team (performance vehicles operations, much like ford's SVT). the motor comes w/ forged rods and hypereutectic aluminum pistons. the team mopar SRT is running something like 900hp on the stock block, water pump, oil pump, and a few other components....i want to say the crank is stock, but im not positive.


the struts are actually revalved Tokicos, complimented by stiff springs. i know Eibach already has a set of springs out for it. as far as weight distribution, i'm not sure what the exact numbers are...but its not bad. but it's not a bad handling car. i've seen one at Kershaw, NC pulling better lap times than many "superior" cars....INCLUDING a stock RX7, an M3, a RSX type S, and a few others that surprised me.

the hood scoop IS FUNCTIONAL....it directs air back over the turbo to keep it cool at speed. it also has a way to cut out a piece of the hood that goes over the air box. cut out a hole in the air box and you get a ram air effect.

the WRX motor is tapped out from the factory????? what are you smoking? i have a friend w/ a WRX pushing 500 whp, and still have more to go. and i hope you know that a WRX motor is a horizontally opposed motor and the SRT is an inline, so how are they similar? and the SRT is far from "tapped out" too. mopar has already released it's Stage 1 upgrade that includes a reprogrammed ECU and bigger injectors for under $400 and adds about 20 more hp/tq to the wheels. mopar will also be releasing 3 more stages....a stage 2, stage 3 that comes w/ a bigger turbo, and a stage 3R, taking the SRT to the 300+whp range....and thats w/o any other bolt-ons. also, still remaining under factory warranty up to the stage 3 upgrade. there is a guy over on SRT forums that has a T4 turbo, stage 1 upgrade, custom intake manifold, and a 75 shot and is hitting 400whp and 400 ft/lbs. tapped out?? i think not.

fell short my ***. Dodge claims 215bhp...but look at the dyno sheets many SRT owners are coming up w/. 215 whp is LOW on a stock SRT....most SRT's are bringing out 220-225 whp.

it's coming w/ a LSD made by Quailfe standard in '04

so there are your facts...look it up before you start spitting jibberish. if you can't respect another car that has set the standard for sport compact performance...then you shouldnt be considered an enthusiast. many SRT owners are running consistent 14.0 all day long w/ a few stock SRT's hitting high 13's....and for $20K....how can you not respect that. and no i am not an SRT owner, i own a Honda Prelude....but i'm not ignorant enough to bash another car that can beat mine on the track. i just tend learn more about cars that spark an interest in me. thank you.

dirtylude

ohhhhhh, yall call the SRT motor a piece of ****?? i guess the Rotary motor is the best thing to happen in the automotive industry since the Model T huh? my uncle use to own a FD and i dont think i've ever heard of a car being in the shop as much as his. i think my friend who owns a '97 RX7 said it best..."owning a 3rd gen RX7 is like dating a supermodel w/ a cocaine problem....although she looks good, she's got some bad problems"

eccles

Sure, if that was my budget, I'd certainly consider it.Since you ask - yes. Do yourself a favour and do some research before shooting your mouth off - the Renesis 13B is an entirely different animal from the highly-stressed turbo 13B of the 3rd Gen RX-7.

Only time will tell whether the SRT-4 motor or the Renesis will have fewer problems, but my money's on the rotary.

R32

Dirtylude, next time finish reading what people post.

The only thing that Neon has is motor. It's claimed 215hp fell short of what was dynoed in Road and Track June 2003.

It was listed 222bhp with 246lb./ft., and that was running rich to keep temp in check.

Then they used a coast-down test and noted drivetrain loss at 16bhp, which had the SRT-4 noted at 238bhp at the crank.


Someone sounds defensive.

Keshav

Instead of bashing the SRT-4, we need to praise Dam-Chrys for having the guts to make a small car fast.

Yes, its easy to dislike the Neon. It's a HS girl's car, bought by daddy and given to her for her 16th, or for graduating. It's "cute" and it's cheap and its FWD. Don't be that guy that disrespects an automobile simply because it appeals to a group he doesn't want to be associated with. It's kind of like that moped/fat girl joke ... :D


Call a fast car a fast car. The SRT-4 is a fast car. If I were in a race, I would choose it over a lot of much more expensive cars. The fact that this car is on the market is huge. GM could answer with a 250hp Cavalier and Ford could finally bring the cosworth Focus to our shore. The SRT-4 is, hopefully, the tip of the iceburg of small-displacement/small car domestic hotrods.

I pray for the day when a small car is no longer referred to as an "economy" model.

less > more

I'll take mine with a 1.3 wankel, please.