Friends 04 SRT-4: Results...

[BobbyD]

Hey...So as i promised i met my friend today. He actually came early, but i wasnt able to get with him till about 3pm, since i had to do some independent research work. Anyways, i came home and i was basically running, and i saw the black srt-4 parked in front right next to my pltnm wrx. That car was sweet, i couldnt believe how good it looked in its stock form. All it needed was some wheels and tint, and it would kick some serious ass asthetically. So Anyways...I get in the house and i tell him how sweet his car is and then he takes me out and gives mea ride in it. The car felt strong, but i couldnt compare how strong it felt to mine since i never let anyone drive my car. Then he let me drive his car, and it pulled nicely, but it didnt feel particularily fast. Then again, my car feels really slow to me since im so used to it . So then after i drive it, i asked him if he wanted to run from a roll and he agreed. (new paragraph! )

So we take them to the local highway, and i am rolling at around 45mph in 2nd gear, and he is doing the same. I let him hit it first, and he pulls an initial half a car, and then i slowly begin reeling him in. By 100 mph i am about 1 car and a half ahead of him, and i am still slowly (and i do mean slowly, inches) pulling on him and we shut down at around 130 mph, with me 1 3/4 cars ahead. We then do a roll from 80 mph and i pull about 1 and a half cars ahead of him. Then we do another 80mph run but this time i hit it first, and i pull about 3 cars on him to around 130 mph. Then the last run were going around 80 mph again, and i let him hit it, but he gets an initial 3 cars on me cause im too slow, but i cut it down to about 1 and a half cars by 125mph. It is important to note, that after 120 mph, i am BARELLY pulling on him anymore. I pull on him the strongest if we start around 50-60 mph. All in all, i was happy that i could pull on him, altho i wasnt pulling much, i would definatelly pull on him. I was also happy that when we got to high speeds there was no sign of him pulling on me, as i was still pulling away (altho inches a second). I guess i shouldnt be too proud, since his car is stock, and my car has uppipe/downpipe/mbc. But nevertheless, i feel pretty good about it . He and I both know that if we went from a stop, there would be no competition, i would easily own him by more than 6 cars. From a roll tho, i would say i can only pull around 2 cars on him on average, depending on the starting speed, and then we are basically even from around 120+. (new paragraph! )

Im very happy with the results, and hopefully this gives some of the other guys some hope, you dont need a new turbo to keep up with a stock SRT-4. Because i beat him, he is now looking into modding the car, lol, so ill let u know how bad he whips my butt once he starts modding that crazy beast. To say the least, i am very impressed with the SRT-4. It took me about 450$ of mods to barelly beat a stock 04. That says something. Also i was impressed by how his SRT-4 drives, it was very smooth and the cabin was very quiet. I also liked the transmission, it felt similar to the WRX's, very notchy, but it wasnt as jerky if you shifted quickly. I imagine that is because it has a different clutch on, his clutch was much easier to engage and disengage then my clutch. All in all, it was a lot of good fun, and we were both extremelly happy with the outcomes. I will post some pictures, and possibly a video soon, we are going to try to tape some future races.

Adios,
BobbyD

[josnroh]

Good race although i really don't think the SRT4 looks all that great.

[2004SilverWRX]

Im very happy with the results, and hopefully this gives some of the other guys some hope, you dont need a new turbo to keep up with a stock SRT-4. Because i beat him, he is now looking into modding the car...............
______________________________________________

After reading your post I knew that this was going to turn into an all out mod war between the 2 of you. Thats's good though. He who spends the most will win. I expect a just about stock WRX like mine would see a similar defeat to a stock SRT-4 from a roll......eh probably a little worse.

[Cameron]

I have to agree.. I sorta like how the SRT looks.. its just how the ass end sets high up that I don't like.

[BobbyD]

Ya, the ass i hate. It just looks like a neon butt with a big wing. The front is very nice though, i must admit i am a fan of how it looks from the front. Also i think the side of the car looks good, it sits quite a bit lower than the wrx, there isnt as much of a gap on the front tires. I dont think it will turn into much of a mod war, simply because we are both broke. If anything he will mod his car, maybe a boost controller or something similar. Once he gets his first mod on, i already know that from a roll we will be equal or he will be a little bit faster. But the way things look, none of us have the money right now to get into serious modding, the stock turbos will have to stay on for quite a while longer.

-BobbyD

[BobbyD]

and by the way, a stock wrx would not see a similar defeat. It would get smashed rather badly from a rollby the SRT-4. I have put many carlengths on a stock WRX with my current setup. Also once a stock WRX gets in 4th gear, i blow away from them, they just dont have the top end i have with the open exhaust and mbc. So a stock WRX would get walked rather badly. But a semi tuned wrx, like mine, would do ok , not great, but ok.

[zapman]

I test drove a srt-4 a couple weeks ago and it seemed like the same things you saw. I have uppipe/downpipe and my car felt like it pulled a little harder, but a stock wrx would get owned. Personally i didn't like how it rode and at highway speeds it got way to loose. I thought the speakers and the seats sucked too, but still a hell of a car for $21K.

[Beanboy]

How many miles does he have on it? A little more power will arrive after the 2000 or so mile mark...

-B

[BobbyD]

He only has 400 miles, so it is basically brand new off the show floor. I will definatelly run him again when he has more miles. Have people reported increased performance after 2000 miles, i was unaware . It is possible that it will loosen up enough to pull on me, but I kind of doubt it. The fact is everytime we raced except once, i would let him hit it first, and then i would pull. If we were both to hit it at the same time, i would get close to 3 cars on him. In about 3 weeks we are all gonna go to the track, with some locals in our college town who own some DSM's. So ill let you know the results. The only point im trying to make is that its pretty cool that without engine management I can keep up with a car that has been proven to dyno around 230 whp, weighs 200 pounds less, and is front wheel drive.

BobbyD

[B|2imstone]

what's ur boost set to?

[skyjock41]

Sorry Bobby im a non believer. Especially from a roll. Think you might have a bad driver in the SRT4.

[POLAR]

i cruise with two guys in srt4's. one is stock and one has a stage 1 with mbc and a full/catless exhaust. the two of them run about even until 4th gear then the stage one will begin to pull a little bit. this leads me to believe some are faster and slower from the factory, not sure but i run a detuned 1820 in my wrx due to stock TMIC an i pull only moderatley in 2nd an 3rd, but 4th gear i own them.

[Red2002]

Alright, personally, I don't like the SRT-4, and I can explain my reasoning in one word - Neon. I like cars that have any racing history, especially a successful history, and the Neon doesn't have any. The front is so so, the rear is ugly (does that wing do anything? It's rounded, so it can't be a picnic table), and the interior is typical Dodge. I am, however hugely biased towards Subaru, but on straight numbers alone, it looks like a stock WRX would be beaten slightly. The SRT-4 is a lot of car for the money, but I only see 16 y/o kids driving it, and whenever I do, I tend to smell quite a bit of freshly burnt transmission fluid.

[BobbyD]

My boost was set to around 16, but thats not for sure. Might have been 15 or 17, i have the stock boost gauge, and i just dont trust the accuracy on it. As far as the non believers, i dont know what to say to that . Sure its possible he just blows at driving. But then again i dont think it takes that much skill to floor a car in third gear, and then shift once. If i find access to a camcorder, then i will take a video, but dont hold your breath i could really care less if there are some people who think im full of it! Late

-BobbyD

[ebbtide]

Originally posted by Red2002
Alright, personally, I don't like the SRT-4, and I can explain my reasoning in one word - Neon. I like cars that have any racing history, especially a successful history, and the Neon doesn't have any. The front is so so, the rear is ugly (does that wing do anything? It's rounded, so it can't be a picnic table), and the interior is typical Dodge. I am, however hugely biased towards Subaru, but on straight numbers alone, it looks like a stock WRX would be beaten slightly. The SRT-4 is a lot of car for the money, but I only see 16 y/o kids driving it, and whenever I do, I tend to smell quite a bit of freshly burnt transmission fluid.

Don't hate the player, hater, hate the game

First, the Neon has a pretty successful SCCA racing history. Look it up. Course, these are showroom stock cars, not rally modified racers like the subies (i'm not knocking subies, just sayin)

I don't see how you smell tranny fluid. Our trannys take a lot less abuse than a wrx's. I launch at 1800rpm, not 5400

Of course you can have your opinion, that's cool. It would suck if we all drove the same car.

Bobby - Good races man, nice car! SRT engines tend to break in at about 1000 miles. Your friends might get a bit stronger yet. I noticed mine felt a lot stronger at 1500 miles than when I bought it at 0.