Test drove an SRT-4 today...

[Turbo Matty P]

Lsd will be nice, but what kind aree they using? Is it a disk type or locking diff? The disk type in the MSP is weak for high power drag racing. I felt it give out several times. The viscous fluid style lsd's are made more for handling....as is the rest of the car I guess. Ok nevermind, it made sense!

 

[LouisianaMP3]

His response....


Douche: "Sure, you can test drive it. You can test drive it for 5 years."

Me: (more puzzled than ever) "Huh?"

Douche: "yeaaaaah... once you buy it, you can test drive it all you want!"



The assistant fire chief in my volunteer department is a manager at a local dodge dealer and he knows i'm interested in the srt-4. Being the natural born salesman that he is, he drove one to the meeting last night, tossed me the key, and said, "come back when you're done." After

I was quite impressed with it. for $20,000 it's a great car w/ a powerful punch and some glue on the tires. It handled every curve i threw at it beautifully. and i have some major curves near my house. i wish the shifter was a little tighter. and being a big man, i appreciated not having the viper seats. still, i could stand a little more leg room.

the 2004 i drove last night had 37 miles on it. it had 2 when he left the dealership to take it home for the night. i know the local dealership isn't letting anyone drive these things before they buy them. my roommate tried a few weeks ago and was told the same thing about a test drive. "you can test drive it as soon as you buy it." boy was he pissed when i showed up at home w/ it at 9:00 last night. he thought i bought one, but i told him i was just out joy riding. LOL.

The salespeople must be trained to say that because this is not the first time i've heard or read about them saying that. my assistant chief even told me he said that to a guy yesterday. I'm working on getting him to let me take it to the next autocross in november. he didn't exactly say no. here's hoping.

anyway, i thought it was a great car. i thought it handled as well as my MP3. of course it's time to get the bushings changed again. the interior could be a little less cheap feeling (though it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be). i wish the shift throws were a bit more precise and a shorter. the back seat was comfortable, and i liked the deeper trunk. the wheels would also have to be changed. they're not bad, but i couldn't live with them. i also wish it came in BLUE. everything i've ever owned has been blue.

this guy knows all about the car, including what the magazines say about it. i guess i lucked out in having an assistant chief who has the job he has. anyway, having driven a regular neon as a rental car (I'LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN), i can understand why dodge doesn't want to associate the neon name with the srt-4. they may have started the same, but man are they as different as night and day. I really am considering selling the MP3.

sorry to ramble, but i really wanted to share this experience. come to south LA if you want a salesman who knows his stuff. LOL.

 

[loj68]

Lsd will be nice, but what kind aree they using? Is it a disk type or locking diff? The disk type in the MSP is weak for high power drag racing. I felt it give out several times. The viscous fluid style lsd's are made more for handling....as is the rest of the car I guess. Ok nevermind, it made sense!

It's got a Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing (ATB) differential. Here's really good link I found on the Quaife website explaining their ATB diffs and how they behave in drag racing applications as well as cornering applications......it's a really good read.....I found out lots about diffs that I never knew.

http://www.quaifeamerica.com/differentials/diffs.htm

 

[CHICO2003]

This might sound a bit "mean" to say... but the reason why most car salespeople AREN'T cool guys who actually know a lot about the cars they're selling has to do with the quality of people the job itself attracts. Unless we're talking about a high-end car dealership, most of the people working there will be bottom of the barrel types. I don't think there are any car salesman on this board... if there are, please don't take any offense to this for you probabaly represent the exception to the rule. For the rest of you... ask yourself why you're not selling cars for a living. It's certainly not because you're not passionate about cars!!! Afterall, you belond to a freakin message board!! It's definitely not because you lack knowledge... or would hate to be around cars on a regular basis. If you're like me, you feel it's a degrading type of job that doesn't exactly require any actual (legitamate) skill. (unless sheisting people is a skill) You also probably aren't too thrilled about getting paid 35 grand a year (what a typical salesguy makes) -mind you, there are lots of weekends and holidays mixed in there!! The point is... can you blame these guys for being douche bags??? I mean... in a weird way... they're supposed to be!! Next time your trash gets picked up at your house... go meet the garbage men and see if they can hold a conversation about something reasonably intellegent. Maybe they can... hate to stereotype here. But come on!! what you do for a living definitely reflects (at least somewhat) the type of person you are. Can't blame a piece of s*** for being a piece of s***. And... I guess you can't really blame a car salesman for being a douche bag!! LOL

On a side note: the salesguy I bought my MSP from is awesome!! I mean... we have the same freakin birthday AND wedding anniversary!! (how weird is that?) we even hang out sometimes so... they're not ALL bad!! But I can tell this guy's goin places... won't be sellin Mazda's too much longer.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

It blows air across the turbo behind the engine from what I have read although never varified it, so no it is hardly functional in the traditional sense.

this is traditional on turbo chrysler cars. the laser I am trying to sell has a hood scoop/vent that directs air onto the turbo behind the engine bay. I believe many of the K-cars did this as well.

 

[Turbo Matty P]

I popped the hood on the SRT-4 and the hood scoop is not open. It's sealed off just like it is on the new mustangs. It CAN be opened up, but is not from the factory.

 

[4001]

I felt differently when I was in one, the turbo lag was noticably apparent and the handling.... I just wont even start on that, the seats were the only thing I liked

 

[loj68]

I felt differently when I was in one, the turbo lag was noticably apparent and the handling.... I just wont even start on that, the seats were the only thing I liked

turbo lag? I hardly notice it all.....of all the turbo cars I've driven it's probably got the least noticeable lag.......unless you're comparing to 911's and 300z twin turbo's which basically have no lag........

the handling is good though.....just not nearly as good as the MSP. As I've said before I've taken both cars back to back in the twisty roads and could push just as hard with the SRT although I felt like I was barely under control with the SRT and the MSP was solid as a rock.

A set of coilovers and mounts do the trick from what the SRT guys say on the forums....turns it into an Auto-X beast !

 

[4001]

turbo lag? I hardly notice it all.....of all the turbo cars I've driven it's probably got the least noticeable lag.......unless you're comparing to 911's and 300z twin turbo's which basically have no lag........

the handling is good though.....just not nearly as good as the MSP. As I've said before I've taken both cars back to back in the twisty roads and could push just as hard with the SRT although I felt like I was barely under control with the SRT and the MSP was solid as a rock.

A set of coilovers and mounts do the trick from what the SRT guys say on the forums....turns it into an Auto-X beast !

The SRT's turbo lag next to the MSP's is noticable, the wheels broke lose at 25 mph going through a turn....thats all I have to say about that, the handling on the SRT isnt confidence inspiring like the MSP's

 

[loj68]

the wheels broke lose at 25 mph going through a turn

that's just cuz it's hella fast j/k

but seriously, I'm hoping the LSD on my 2004 helps that.....I've had barely a squeal from the tires plowing through turns.

 

[Turbo Matty P]

The SRT-s are made fast, but I still have a lingering doubt to how long they'll last. I also know I will never buy a used SRT-4. You have no idea how badly these cars have been pounded on by bad drivers. I can't believe Chrysler even offers a warranty on these. Does anyone know if theres truth behind the "buy our factory performance parts and void your warranty" buzz? I've heard from a member who purchsed the new ECU, and injectors and there's some kind of clause stating that the warranty isn't active anymore. Just curious. I'll go down to dodge today and ask.

 

[enry]

That's pretty funny, why on earth would you buy "genuine doge parts" if they are not warrantied? I can guarantee you it wouldn't be for performance, nor price...

 

[jaymode]

yea read up on srtforums.com the powertrain warranty is voided with the stage upgrades even though they are from Mopar.

 

[1sty]

Actualy i already posted a thread about the mopar having no warrenty.

On the test drive note, I took one out today.
After driving it my MP3 just felt like home again. The SRT didn't feal(although I knew it was) much faster then my MP3 but I never had a place to really go above 70 mph. That car really seams to come alive at 80. The think that pissed mt off \was the gear box was terrible. It hated to go into 3rd and 2nd. Maybe I just needed more wheel time.
Either way, the deal for it was for a 2004 with sunroof and viper seats for $22K with $10K trade in for my MP3 and I can remove the turbo kit. I will have to think about that. If they can lower the price of the car $500 and hand over a stage 1 upgrade for free I just might be in .

 

[Turbo Matty P]

yikes, I wouldn't make that trade at all!! your MP3 with stage 1 turbo kit should be plenty quick enough to pull in the straights and we all know the mazda product always wins in the turns. I wouldn't go into that deal ESPECIALLY if I was going to lose money. I've said it once and I'll say it again....I think these cars are going to be littering used car lots in a year with several blown motors and trannys. I just cannot imagine chrysler building a reliable performance car.

 

[loj68]

the service manager at my Dodge dealer said the Mopar upgrades are don't void any warranty. I think where people run into problems is that they're Auto-X'ing and drag racing and then trying to get warranty work done. Personally I don't blame the dealers for rejecting that stuff......there's a whole page telling you that stuff isn't covered right in the warranty booklet.

 

[EviLMaN]

with the sales people its just not Dodge. the guy who i bought the Mp5 was cool and all but knew nothin about cars he said that the Mazdaspeed was supercharged (in my head. " when did super chargers get B.O.V) and i thought T3/T4 was a Turbo lol. but the sales men at Mazda was nice and was str8 up and said ill tak 1k off the price and give ya all the rebates. and the honda sales men ( i was lookin around for a car) wouldnt let me and my dad leave we had to MEET the Manager i donno y me and my dad just left lol. and wen i test drove the civic he foun a 5spd and said WOW THIS ONE HAS AIRCONDITIONING. umm ya me and my dad looked at each other.

 

[Turbo Matty P]

your grammer is making my head spin. It's like a bad half ebonics / half arkansas public middle school education!! Gotta work on typing out the whole words buddy!!

 

[EviLMaN]

lol i tend to get lazy when i start to type lol

 

[1sty]

the service manager at my Dodge dealer said the Mopar upgrades are don't void any warranty. I think where people run into problems is that they're Auto-X'ing and drag racing and then trying to get warranty work done. Personally I don't blame the dealers for rejecting that stuff......there's a whole page telling you that stuff isn't covered right in the warranty booklet.

The parts are not warrentied for function right or for craftmenshoip from mopar. Once installed the mopar parts present the same warrenty void that any other parts will. Its even on the Mopar website. Salesmen are misinformed!!!
There is NO warrenty for the parts or for the car they are installed on.

Mopars site:

Mopar Performance Parts Warranty

Mopar Performance Parts are sold "as is," without any warranty whatsoever. Implied warranties, including warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, are excluded. The entire risk as to quality and performance of such parts is with the buyer. Should such parts prove defective following their purchase, the buyer and not the manufacturer, distributor or retailer, assumes the entire cost of all necessary servicing or repair.

Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicle and parts warranties are voided if the vehicle or parts are used for competition or if they fail as a result of modification.

Go to this link, scroll to the bottom and click on the warrenty link.
http://www.mopar.com/perf_srt.htm

Dodge and Mopar are making some serious misinformation attempt on these things while keeping the right to void warrenties on people.