80LS1T Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 My service writer at work (Dodge Dealership) let me dirve an SRT-4 Neon today. So I jumped in and took a spin down the road with it. The road conditions were not favorable due to it being really cold and some snow flurries which turn into slick roads. Not to metion there was no way I was going to be able to warm those tires up. So I pull out of the parking lot an punch it.....I was smoking the tires in first, shifted to second still smoken the tires....then I hit third at about 55 and then she grabbed. 1st and sencond are fun and third is ok once you get back into the 3000-5000 RPM range. I would say this is a good daily driver for a guy who isnt too crazy about having tons of power but for most of us here the power would get old real fast. I got bored with it and I only drove it like 5 miles. I think it would be a good beginners car for someone who wants to learn how to drive a car with "some" power. My girlfriend would have a blast in this car and never get sick of the power it has. Just thought I would share this info incase someone was thinking about buying one! Now if I can just convince my boss to let me drive the Viper or the SRT-10! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 2k in mods, and the thing can be putting down 260-270 to the wheels. wrong wheel drive tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 7, 2004 Author Share Posted January 7, 2004 I thought they were already putting down 245 to the wheels? Atleast thats what I heard/rumors. So if thats true you get 15-20HP for 2K? LOL Actually I just remembered something... I was reading an article in some MOPAR magazine at work and some guy took a mid to late 90's Neon and put about $10,000 worth of work and parts into and he got 33HP!!!!!! He had intake work done, full 2.5" exhaust(madrel bent) and it was coated all the way back, 3 angle valve job, compression raised to 10.5:1 and a bunch of other stuff. He also added a NOS system (100HP shot) I am not kidding about this....$10K for 33HP? What a joke! I hope he build that for show and not go! I thin the SRT-4 has some potential but I for one am not willing to find out, just not my "cup of tea" Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 I have yet to see a fwd driver be able to drive their car right, drag racing I mean. I dont care if they make a ton of hp, the laws of physics give me a great handicap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 There is a guy locally that runs 12.9's in his. So I don't know if that is considered "right" or not, but I can't talk smack until I can go faster. -Forrest Wait, yes I can, FF sucks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 well, the problem is that out of the 2k, the exhaust is 900 bucks for the top quality 3" unit. as far as neons and 10k of work, that's useless. My friend Don dynoed 197whp, ran 13.5 on slicks with 150lbs of tools in hte trunk, and he hasn't spent over 20k on the car, including buying it new for 12.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moridin Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 Sport Compact Car pulled a little over 224 (I don't think it was 240) to the front wheels when they first dyno'ed one. Of course, that was with 93 octane, so the knock sensor wasn't at work. The SRT-4's can be make some pretty damn good power with just basic mods. I believe to motor is a Mitsubishi with a Dodge head (May be the opposite). Oh...and the new models have a LSD that really lets the cars get some much needed traction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 Two buddies of mine at work have an SRT-4 and an S2000. Talk about two different approaches to performance! The SRT-4 was impressive to drive (I felt 1st gear was a waste of time) and made the S2000 feel anemic when I drove in next, but the S2000 was nimble and tight in the corners, which couldn't be said for the SRT-4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brianglawson Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 its dodge motor with a dodge head but the head very closely replicates a 4g63 head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moridin Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 I knew I was a little off with what I said. I couldn't find the SCC tech article, so I wasn't quite sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted January 7, 2004 Share Posted January 7, 2004 My son lost to a Neon SRT-4 down at Ennis a few months ago. It ran a 13.2. He was driving my 280Z28 and should have taken him but had a slow 2-3 shift and completely missed the 3-4 shift. It was only the second time he had even driven the car. That same night a Honda Civic ran a 10.6. I think the FWD guys are doing pretty well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 8, 2004 Author Share Posted January 8, 2004 Oh dont get me wrong for a hair shy of $20K you cant go wrong but I dont care for FWD as a performance car. Another thing that I didnt like was the exhaust, since its a turbo they decided to keep the muffler off for better flowing exhaust so has a very annoying drone when coasting down from pretty much any RPM range. Too loud for me I guess? I mean its ok to have loud pipes but make sure they sound good and not like a big fart! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted January 9, 2004 Share Posted January 9, 2004 SRT-4's are sweet... I keep thinking of getting my fiancee to get one, and 'borrowing' it for the drive to work on those nights when an actual working heater might be nice They can be making great power by just letting the dealership install one of up to 3 stage performance packages, which are priced very reasonably (the first stage costs less than $400 and nets you about 20 more hp and ft lbs, and consists of a new ECU, new injectors, and some other part I forget what). I personally think they really are one of the best bang-for-the-buck new cars you can get in the econo car price range. The new ones will come stock with a limited slip and a little more power... even as FWD I think they can be good performance cars. Thing I dont understand is how everyone gets these things to burn out in 1st and 2nd... and not only/always in 'less than ideal' conditions. I keep reading in mags, or hearing from people on here, how easy it is to burn the tires in 1st and 2nd... well, I dynoed my 240 turbo recently, put down 194rwhp and 236ft lbs, very very close to the SRT, with a very good, broad torque curve that comes on real quick, and my car weighs quite a bit less... I can RARELY get the tires to spin in first from a standstill, and am lucky to even get a chirp going into second (I do have a good clutch, btw). Now... if I'm driving in 'less than ideal' conditions, which in SoCal is pretty much only if it rains, then I have traction problems in the first three gears when boost comes on. And this is on cheap, hard compound bargain tires that have like zero grip. After seeing my dyno #'s and seeing how they stack up to other 'powerful' cars... I just can't get why I'm not able to spin the tires at will... at least in first gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 the '04 models equipped with lsd and stage 1 kit from factory dyno 235-240 to teh wheels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 10, 2004 Author Share Posted January 10, 2004 Thing I dont understand is how everyone gets these things to burn out in 1st and 2nd... and not only/always in 'less than ideal' conditions. Its called weight transfer. The Neon being a FWD car ha no weight transfer to the front wheels. When you gun it all the weight comes off the front tires and goes to the back which in turn makes it a lot easier to spin the tires. Your car is actually putting the power on the ground where as the Neon is just burning rubber!(I can't beleive I said "Neon" and "burning rubber" in the same sentance! ) Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted January 10, 2004 Share Posted January 10, 2004 Cant believe you have a hard time burning rubber in your 240z b525 I have trouble not burning rubber in first on a hard takeoff, if I floor the car from a standstill, sometimes I get a long scratch when the boost hits! I too, have a good clutch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Thing I dont understand is how everyone gets these things to burn out in 1st and 2nd... and not only/always in 'less than ideal' conditions. Its called weight transfer. The Neon being a FWD car ha no weight transfer to the front wheels. When you gun it all the weight comes off the front tires and goes to the back which in turn makes it a lot easier to spin the tires. Your car is actually putting the power on the ground where as the Neon is just burning rubber!(I can't beleive I said "Neon" and "burning rubber" in the same sentance! ) Guy You know... oddly I have never even considered that!! That makes perfect sense and makes me feel better Thanks dude! fl327 - yeah I mean it depends how I launch the car. If I'm really trying to launch it, like slipping the clutch and building boost before it really gets moving, then yeah I'll get wheelspin, for sure. I was talking more about flooring the car from a standstill or from a slow roll (5mph or so). Sometimes if I floor it like this it will start to spin briefly when boost hits, like 1/2 the time. I dunno I guess it's not really anything to worry about really... I already know how much power it's putting down, but I just woulda thought that that amount of power would have equated to lots of tire spin at will in first... I know spinning them isn't a good thing from the perspective of going fast, but it sure is fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Thing I dont understand is how everyone gets these things to burn out in 1st and 2nd... and not only/always in 'less than ideal' conditions. Its called weight transfer. The Neon being a FWD car ha no weight transfer to the front wheels. When you gun it all the weight comes off the front tires and goes to the back which in turn makes it a lot easier to spin the tires. Your car is actually putting the power on the ground where as the Neon is just burning rubber!(I can't beleive I said "Neon" and "burning rubber" in the same sentance! ) Guy You know... oddly I have never even considered that!! That makes perfect sense and makes me feel better Thanks dude! fl327 - yeah I mean it depends how I launch the car. If I'm really trying to launch it, like slipping the clutch and building boost before it really gets moving, then yeah I'll get wheelspin, for sure. I was talking more about flooring the car from a standstill or from a slow roll (5mph or so). Sometimes if I floor it like this it will start to spin briefly when boost hits, like 1/2 the time. I dunno I guess it's not really anything to worry about really... I already know how much power it's putting down, but I just woulda thought that that amount of power would have equated to lots of tire spin at will in first... I know spinning them isn't a good thing from the perspective of going fast, but it sure is fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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