Got left by a Charger R/T - what the?

[BrianH]

As much as that blows to lose to a charger I think you can still go home happy knowing you didnt spend your money on a worthless car that cant go anywhere fast except forward and back. And even then its not that fast.....its mildly quick.


Did i mention that its a heavy behemouth?

It's a fricken rally car bro.

[Mikie13]

Unless it's this Charger:



I got absolutely MURDERED today by a Chrysler 300 SRT8 which is pretty much the exact same thing. Granted, he had about 200hp on me lol

The SRTs are just nuts...I ran one on a highway once that had a full Magnaflow exhaust and it sounded reminiscent of something classic. It was so loud...but a good loud. I just think its a complete SIN that they don't offer these with any kind of 6-spd option, otherwise I might have gotten one at one point.

[IamCraiger]

Backroads or on some nice twisties somewhere, that's where the WRX really owns and is the reason I buy them... Im sick of big V8's with massive hp challenging me on highway straight runs... i dont even bother, but long sweeping or tight on-ramps or off-ramps, well thats another story... ive had some great fun on those...

[John M]

I'll add my input again in this 1.5yr old thread revival...

The replacement for my LGT will be a 300C SRT8 once I get the finances straight. They might be big & heavy but they put up the same numbers as a C5 in handling and braking as well as acceleration. I'll take that and enjoy the bone stock reliability. Ok, so I'll do an intake/exhaust/tune but that's all it'll take to dip into the 12s at 110-112 mph.

[Mikie13]

I'll add my input again in this 1.5yr old thread revival...

The replacement for my LGT will be a 300C SRT8 once I get the finances straight. They might be big & heavy but they put up the same numbers as a C5 in handling and braking as well as acceleration. I'll take that and enjoy the bone stock reliability. Ok, so I'll do an intake/exhaust/tune but that's all it'll take to dip into the 12s at 110-112 mph.

I'd still rather have an 05-07 CTS-V though

[jd92677]

I'll add my input again in this 1.5yr old thread revival...

The replacement for my LGT will be a 300C SRT8 once I get the finances straight. They might be big & heavy but they put up the same numbers as a C5 in handling and braking as well as acceleration. I'll take that and enjoy the bone stock reliability. Ok, so I'll do an intake/exhaust/tune but that's all it'll take to dip into the 12s at 110-112 mph.

That's all the WRX would need to be in the 12's, at half the price.

[teflon_jones]

Holy thread from the dead Batman!

[jd92677]

Holy thread from the dead Batman!

It happens

[Mikie13]

That's all the WRX would need to be in the 12's, at half the price.

+1...STI Stage 2 OTS I went 12.7...

[WillieRX]

Holy thread from the dead Batman!

Aye...

Heh, I remember when i raced my basic bolt-on, stock tuned '94 Vette against a spankin new Charger SRT8 at PMP. Its a nice feeling that my old 130k miles, 3,300 lb, 330 hp (est), 6-speed manual, $10k (price of car+mods+fresh paint included) corvette is faster then the nearly $50k new SRT8.
Of course, that feeling went away when i was beaten by a turboed acura on crack later that evening. haha.

[Mikie13]

It's a fricken rally car bro.

Can I just say how much I laugh every time I see this post?

[Stetson]

You got to remember an STI is great at some things, not so hot at others. I actually traded an '05 corvette for an '11 STI and I tell people that both cars are totally different to drive. My Vette - similar to a Mustang or Charger had tons of torque and tall gearing. My STI is geared lower and in sport sharp is an animal out of the blocks. On a tight short course with a lot of turns it would smoke my vette like a cheap cigar. On a longer course with longer straights my vette would open a speed clinic on my STI. Going toe to toe with an R/T on the highway is a good way to get worked over. Take him to a tight road course and school him.

[John M]

I'm done with new Subarus. I dropped $30k on my LGT and then another $10k+ in mods. While it was fun it wasn't everything I was looking for. I've had turbo AWD cars for the past 20 years. Now I'm old and need to be able to carry others in comfort. I'm not buying a new SRT8 either; you can get a low mileage used one for mid-low 20s.

Mikie13 -- I do like the CTS-V. I just really like the combination that the 300C brings to the table. Underneath it's all Mercedes design, from the chassis to the seat frames to the steering column. The transmission is the same one Mercedes uses behind the twin turbo v12 so the 6.1 Hemi is downright tame by comparison. The fact that it handles more like a Corvette than the Love Boat is icing on the cake. I admit that most of my fun is in a straight line these days -- you're less likely to wad up the car that way.

I'm a little turned off by the "big ballin'" image it projects but it does look nice in red. Just a quick de-badge and most people won't know it from a v6 rental 300 and I do like sleepers!

[Stetson]

That is too bad. Buy what you like, not what you don't like. If you want to cart around folks in comfort you might want to look at a used Towncar. You can get one of those at a reasonable price.

[WillieRX]

You got to remember an STI is great at some things, not so hot at others. I actually traded an '05 corvette for an '11 STI and I tell people that both cars are totally different to drive. My Vette - similar to a Mustang or Charger had tons of torque and tall gearing. My STI is geared lower and in sport sharp is an animal out of the blocks. On a tight short course with a lot of turns it would smoke my vette like a cheap cigar. On a longer course with longer straights my vette would open a speed clinic on my STI. Going toe to toe with an R/T on the highway is a good way to get worked over. Take him to a tight road course and school him.

I agree with most of what you said. However, as a vette owner myself and a frequent traveler of tight, twisty mountain roads, i found the vette to have excellent manners out there....as long as i can keep the rear end from breaking loose, haha. I feel that it is probably more driver input more then anything when it comes to handling characteristics of Vette vs STI. Put a driver who knows how to maximize the grip, plus its wide stance and super low center of gravity, i would say the vette would be at least on par with the STi in even the small twisty courses.

But then again, we are comparing apples to oranges, the vettes are made to go fast in corners, and even faster in straights. STi's are made to go fast in corners and fast in straights, that and carry 5 people too haha.