What is so special about the Neon SRT-4?

[Damkid]

But heck, if my car ran a 13.99999 1/4 mile, you'd better believe I'd be calling myself a 13 second car.

true that!!

[Deathshead]

Im thinking of getting one, yea, i really hate the neon bodystyle, but for a daily driver the following i think is where it shines.

#1 Its, turbo, cheap and fast, the most Bang for your buck car out there.
It can be a high 12 second car driven hard everyday, with the turbo toys you can turn the boost and timing up and down
along with octane to save gas, or burn gas

#2 they are pretty darn reliable.

#3 too easy to mod.

#4 aftermarket is huge.

#5 post 2003 means Free quaife!

#6 the transmissons are pretty beefy, unless you do somthing REALLY stupid.
(the main reason why i would NOT buy a used WRX is becuase the transmissions are very very weak,. even with the expensive hardened gears, the only alternative is an STI trans and they are PRICEY!)

#7 I have always hated this body style neon, but they did a decent job on the nose, the front i think looks great, and
as long as you ditch the flamboyant wing on the back, they can be made to look pretty clean.

#8 top fuel style burnouts without even trying!, Downside, not AWD.

#9 AWSOME top end pull on the highway to 150mph


they have been doing VERY well on the rally circuit, and have proven to take well to abuse,
its up in the air for me.

I really want my next car to be a rally blue STI, but they are still atleast $6-7 thousand bucks more then a clean unmolested SRT.

[Deathshead]

Plus one more thing, we have a baby coming along, I love my festiva, and "I" feel very very safe in it, but I really do not want to be carting a newborn around in a loud,cold go-kart with zombies in 10,000lb trucks on the rd all around me.

Not that a crappy srt neon is the best in a crash, but i would rather roll the dice in a neon then in my festy.

[SimonTuffGuy]

I don't think I'd want a used SRT-4 either though... Too many ricers who beat the crap out of them, mess something up and then sell it.

There's a nice burnt orange one that drives around my town. It's an older woman who owns it... I'd buy that if I had the $$.

[SnyperBob]

Wow, one of my buddies has an SRT-4 (manual) and he let me drive it. I thought it fell on it's face (it was stock at the time), compared to a normal WRX at the time.

I just saw that you guys said it runs 13's stock, and I had to look that up. From what I can tell, it's true.......not sure why the car felt so slow to me :/

[SnyperBob]

What is so special about the Neon SRT-4?

I am not getting cockey here however...
maybe because...

The Dodge SRT-4 is the second fastest current-production Chrysler vehicle, and one of the fastest Dodges ever made.

22 city, 30 highway

weighing less than 3000 pounds

the ability to push well over 20 pounds of boost

the same folks who have created beasts like the Ram SRT10, 300C SRT8, and Viper Competition Coupe made this.

You want more numbers? Try 0 to 60 mph in about five seconds flat and the quarter-mile in the mid-12s at more than 110 mph

Either way like I said I am not getting cockey however I know that they are sweet @$$ cars and they run fast. I think that I would still rather have a G8 though.
Dan

In case anyone didn't notice, the above quote it seems was pulled from here:

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/sedans/0505_dodge_neon_srt4_stage3/index.html

Please note, the info Festie posted is not for a stock SRT-4, but rather a stage 3 SRT-4.

Stage 3 kit is like over $2,000

http://www.wyckoffchryslerparts.com/st3dosrtuupk.html

Not too bad. But considering I can get a used GTO for like $15k now, and a twin turbo setup for like $5k, I'd rather have 650+ horsepower to the rear wheels. That's on the stock aluminum engine block. I think that's like 11's in the quarter mile.

Swap in an iron block, crank the boost, and easily 800 hp.

I understand the whole pocket rocket mentality of the Neon. But if you want a race car, get a freakin' race car.

BTW, stage 3 you need like 93 octane normally, and I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) to get the real drag race results, you have to run 100 octane. So a fast neon doesn't necessarily come cheap.

[SnyperBob]

Im thinking of getting one, yea, i really hate the neon bodystyle, but for a daily driver the following i think is where it shines.

#1 Its, turbo, cheap and fast, the most Bang for your buck car out there.
It can be a high 12 second car driven hard everyday, with the turbo toys you can turn the boost and timing up and down
along with octane to save gas, or burn gas

#2 they are pretty darn reliable.

#3 too easy to mod.

#4 aftermarket is huge.

#5 post 2003 means Free quaife!

#6 the transmissons are pretty beefy, unless you do somthing REALLY stupid.
(the main reason why i would NOT buy a used WRX is becuase the transmissions are very very weak,. even with the expensive hardened gears, the only alternative is an STI trans and they are PRICEY!)

#7 I have always hated this body style neon, but they did a decent job on the nose, the front i think looks great, and
as long as you ditch the flamboyant wing on the back, they can be made to look pretty clean.

#8 top fuel style burnouts without even trying!, Downside, not AWD.

#9 AWSOME top end pull on the highway to 150mph


they have been doing VERY well on the rally circuit, and have proven to take well to abuse,
its up in the air for me.

I really want my next car to be a rally blue STI, but they are still atleast $6-7 thousand bucks more then a clean unmolested SRT.

Those are some really good points. I'm in the same boat. I've wanted a WRX ever since they came back out in 2002 (And then eventually an STi). The bottom line is, you won't get as much gains on a WRX as you can get on a Neon.

I bought like every magazine since 2002 that featured a WRX in it. After a few years, I started realizing that the magazines were al excited to get like 40 horsepower after spending $1200 on some mods.

Obviously you can build a monster Subaru or Evo, but you're going to pay thru the nose for it. It seems like for substantially less money, you can mod a Neon and get very quick results.

Having said that, I don't think I would get one for a daily driver, especially if I'm planning on carting my kid around in it. I would go for the AWD Subie over the FWD Neon. Especially when we get bad winters and snow here.

Yeah the Subie is more than the Neon, but do you really want to put a price on you and your kid's safety?

[Deathshead]

Very good points indeed, I too have always wanted a wrx ever since before '02 as well!
Just worried about the trans's in them I have a co-worker with a 2.5rs 2-door and he did a wrx into,
even with the perrin hardened gear set he still lost the trans and really hasnt beaten the car.
he spent truckloads of money on the car, just to part it to buy,.. an STI.

I perfer the bugeye early wrx's style wise, I really wish they gave us the sti in those years.
Im up in the poconos of PA, and would really like the awd, but with the wrx, a 2.5k clutch dump for a donut means 2.5k outta pocket. hah

[Tekmbster]

I used to own a 98' Neon and when I was driving down the interstate, my ABS sensor decided to freak out and make my brakes lock up. So, I had to gain control of the car as I was about to go off the interstate over a cliff. I got rid of the Neon after that. I've vowed never to own another Neon and not to buy a car from the guy that sold it to me. He wouldn't replace the sensor because my friends told me that is what caused my car to flip out.

[xanthinic12]

i think the srt-4 is alot of bang for your buck, but from what i've heard alot of parts break when its pushed hard. but what i hate more is a regular neon with srt-4 body componets,my friend never understood what was wrong, i explained it to him as a sheep in wolfs clothing. looks fast, but cat-backs and bumpers only do so much

[anomoly40]

Well one of my buddies is in a money bind and it looks like I'll be picking one up for about 9k. I think it either has the Stage 2 or 3 kit on it, a larger intercooler, HKS SS BOV, MSD ign, plus a carbon fiber hood and some aftermarket suspension(forgot the name but I'm thinking KYB or Teins). And I don't want a race car. I want a fast street car that can get me to work with decent gas mileage and scare the heck out of drunk friends on dads driveway to the house. Insurance is already expensive enough for a Neon, a lot more for a GTO. Then if I choose to drag or autocross I can turn it into one with the push of a few buttons and some gas. Plus 12 seconds is quick enough to get a few dollars off the "race cars" and "ricers" at our local dragstrip. Specially with base model Neon rims and no hubcaps.

[rerhard]

BTW, stage 3 you need like 93 octane normally, and I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) to get the real drag race results, you have to run 100 octane. So a fast neon doesn't necessarily come cheap.

In California it's hard to find 93 as there's only 91 octane available.

[elcamino1]

^ Octane Boosters from parts stores,or speed shops.