srt4 neon questions

[masonhenson]

im looking at getting one and i want allllll the info on why and why not and which years/models/colors to look for thanks all will be repped

[Sammich]

get the first year/model that came out (w/o the sunroof)

best one to get..i believe its the 03 model

[1SLWPOS]

04-05 comes with stage 1. Bigger Injectors and LSD I owned an 04 with sunroof =P

[Sammich]

also comes w/ more weight...

[masonhenson]

yeah but an 03 is no lsd..

[Sammich]

all u gota do is swap trannys...u gona replace the engine soon anyway lolol

[1SLWPOS]

Yeah but how much more weight are we talking? My 04 was plenty fast for what it was and the motor ran fine with me beating on it at 23 PSI. Strong car for as long as I owned it.

[Sammich]

i'm not sure...but my friend..stock turbo w/ 'custom' stage 1 minus lsd..was beatin on the 05 srt w/ stage 2(or maybe stage 3)

[masonhenson]

how much weight is it? im looking at buying one in the next 3 or 4 months and i i want fast and reliable.. but mostly reliable ya know? i dont race....much and its gonna be my dd..

[Sammich]

im not sure ull have to chk consumer digest..but i know that the 03 is lighter...

[1SLWPOS]

i'm not sure...but my friend..stock turbo w/ 'custom' stage 1 minus lsd..was beatin on the 05 srt w/ stage 2(or maybe stage 3)

Don't think it was stage 3 B/C of the Turbo upgrade . Stage two I could see unless it was on run the race gas tune with toys.

[Sammich]

Don't think it was stage 3 B/C of the Turbo upgrade . Stage two I could see unless it was on run the race gas tune with toys.

uhh..turbo upgrade was highly possible seeing that the guy who owned it..his parents supplied him what he wanted on his car..so stage 3 was not out of the ques

[masonhenson]

dang.. i want one now anyone know of a dealer around 30045 with one?

[stillaneon]

Your honestly better off going 04/05. You dont have to get the sunroof but you are ahead of the game with the injectors and LSD

Honestly though, a few hundred pounds isnt a huge deal for the comfort. I mean, I have the sunroof, and a system in my car and its still plenty quick


You would really be better off finding something RWD

[1SLWPOS]

Why RWD =P

[stillaneon]

Why RWD =P

[masonhenson]

like what? im looking in the 13 or 14k range

[blackboi50]

DONT DO ANY 03'S!!!!! .....they were the first ones to come out and seem to have more problems!!!!

and like everyone has said no LSD.......do the 04 and up!!!!

price range!!! sometimes u can get them from 10k but they will have a lot of miles!!! best bet is to get an 04-05 in the 30-40k range!!!! hopefully it hasnt been molested yet neither!!!

PS....i wouldnt worry to much about the ACR SRT because the only difference are minor suspension tweaks!!!! ......1

[ueyedgr8tness]

get a 04-05 with a 50trim already on it for 13-14k and you should be some where in low 12's with dr's pretty easy i would think. I ran dr's on my 04 and ran 13.2@108 spiking 17 and holding 14lbs. I have found srt4 with 50trims on them for 13-14k allday long and thats the way to go.

[rrutter81]

04-05 were the best imo.

fwd ftl because of wheel hop, snapped axles, and anything else hellaciously wrong with it.

Think hyundai is coming out with a new rwd 4 banger that is supposed to turn heads. id go with that as the new up-and-coming.

[OneSlow5pt0]

for ur price range u could get something a E36 M3,T2,Trans Am,Camaro SS,300ZX TT,MR2 Turbo,Supra Turbo..........tons of nice cars

[masonhenson]

yeah but Im gonna have like a 7k trade in and finance the rest

[stillaneon]

7 K from what?

[rrutter81]

dont go in higher debt over a nicer car. Just cuz u can afford doesnt mean its "cool". Plus no car payment is teh win. srt4 04-05 and you'll like it and may even turn in to the typical srt4 douche.

j/p but yea. gl

[stillaneon]

There is a horrible stigma involved with driving a neon.....

But the are fun. And faster than Cobalts out of the box...

[rrutter81]

There is a horrible stigma involved with driving a neon.....

But the are fun. And faster than Cobalts out of the box...

how do the 08 cobalt turbos size up to the 04-05 srt4s out of the box? I know the aftermarket for the srt4 is plentiful unlike the new cobalt that will be discontinued. May even disuade aftermarket for even bothering /w it.

I took some of the times from regular people who drive it to give a "real" idea on what the TC does stock without anything done to it.

SS/TC,STOCK,THE WAY IT IS FROM THE FACTORY
1.)MARIN007,[email protected] w/2.29 60'
2.)SpotredSS,[email protected] w/2.54 60'
3.)Darcy,[email protected] w/2.26 60'
4.)PimpLay2,[email protected] w/2.37 60'

[alpine_aw11]

^I'm pretty sure stock SRT-4's ran mid to high 13's, but don't take my word for it. Just what I remember hearing.

[stillaneon]

how do the 08 cobalt turbos size up to the 04-05 srt4s out of the box? I know the aftermarket for the srt4 is plentiful unlike the new cobalt that will be discontinued. May even disuade aftermarket for even bothering /w it.

I took some of the times from regular people who drive it to give a "real" idea on what the TC does stock without anything done to it.

SS/TC,STOCK,THE WAY IT IS FROM THE FACTORY
1.)MARIN007,[email protected] w/2.29 60'
2.)SpotredSS,[email protected] w/2.54 60'
3.)Darcy,[email protected] w/2.26 60'
4.)PimpLay2,[email protected] w/2.37 60'

Your talking about the turboed SS, the '04 and '05 ss' were supercharged and a considerable amount slower than the TC'ed ones.

And the srt4 (neon) runs 14.02 stock

But the new Caliber SRT is supposed to be a little higher. So I guess it depends on which SRT you are looking at either way, I know the new SRT runs mid 13's stock

[rrutter81]

yes i was talking about the new turbo cobalts.

ok so the srt4 neon is basicly the same as the new turbo balt stock. I dont have enough research on the csrt4 (caliber) to really get an idea on.

I wouldnt go for/mention the sc'd cobalt if you were looking for power. Many other options out there and readily available.

[pinoyboy]

-shift forks are sort of a problem with srt-4s, especially if the previous owner was WOT shifting.
-wheel bearings are sometimes a problem. I had problems around 70k. I've heard thats early for wheel bearings. Anyways, it seized because the grease got really bad. Cleaned and repacked, and its fine

[ueyedgr8tness]

oh snap and 1 more thing.. Don't get 1 thats staged unless it is st3 because they all suck. i had 2tg2 with toy's and i no guy's that was taken a bone stock srt4 and safely smoking me for 1/2 the price

[Atlblkz06]

Its not about just about the extra weight, but also about where it is.

The weight is far from the center of mass of the car so it shifts the center upwards - which makes a difference in the handling. To get the "effect" of that mass, you have to multiply the weight X distance from center of mass.

The net effect of having the sunroof may be equivalent to riding around with a 100lb dumbell on floor. (Only applies when cornering)

This is the reason the new M3s have CF roof panels. Well, that and for show

[pinoyboy]

Its not about just about the extra weight, but also about where it is.

The weight is far from the center of mass of the car so it shifts the center upwards - which makes a difference in the handling. To get the "effect" of that mass, you have to multiply the weight X distance from center of mass.

The net effect of having the sunroof may be equivalent to riding around with a 100lb dumbell on floor. (Only applies when cornering)

This is the reason the new M3s have CF roof panels. Well, that and for show

Thats all true, but I think its a moot point considering the OP has no intentions of racing. Also, his car in his sig looks to have a sunroof.

[Kason23]

I say get a 04 that way you get your LSD and stg 1 injectors and also they are less likey to throw CEL's from overboost. My stock turbo bolt on 05 dynoed 291whp/360wtq and would trap 111/112mph all day with bad traction in 2nd gear. FWD FTMFL!!!!! But now my big turbo car traps 120mph all day long. Just be careful while looking for a "used" one since that means problems imo. I got mine new with 3 miles on it and NEVER have had one problem with it (knocks on wood) lol

[mmmmpsi]

04/05 are your best bets.. I would also recommend going with something that has a staged upgrade or AGP turbo kit already on it.. You will definitely want to do this over time.. You can control wheel hop to a certain degree with suspension upgrades.. solid motor mounts etc.. The cars are definitely the best bang for your buck out there.. I've had mine now for over a year and a half and I absolutely love it..

I'm having issues with my AGP 50 trim install. But it's mostly my fault and the fact that this is my first install of a turbo.. Also my first experience with a piggy back system like a SAFC II.. I'm used to mustangs where you slap on a SCT programmer and you're done.

SCT & Diablosport are out for the SRT now but they are expensive imo and not worth the extra hassles..

When I was shopping for a "daily driver", I looked at a IS300, Cobalt SS, Acura RSX, etc... For the sheer fun factor and best bang for your buck, nothing will beat a SRT-4..

I don't know if it's against the rules here or not but check out srt forums dot com for more info and it's actually where I purchased mine from.. Lots of good deals to be found there..

[Ericp]

Like everyone has already mentioned the '04 and '05 models are the best since they came with bigger injectors and LSD.

I had a SRT-4 for awhile and have been around the cars even longer so here's a little advice.
Stay away from any of the staged kits as they, in my opinion, are over priced and a waste of money. You can get more power and pay less money using aftermarket parts.
Some of the first upgrades I'd recommend before any power mods are solid motor mounts, tranny mount, and some traction bars. I had the H-brace/traction bar combo from Bwoody performance and LOVED them. SRT-4's have terrible wheel hop which can lead to snapped axles.
Then if you're looking for cheap mods for the least amount of money look into exhaust, AGP wastegate, either bigger injectors or returnline (returnline preferred), and atleast an S-AFC. Don't do a mapclamp. Also i'd recommend if in the future you decided to go bigger turbo to get any and all port work done first so that you can get way more power out of the kit, instead of restricting it. If you have any other questions about the cars I'm sure I'll have an answer or can find you one. Let us know what you decide and good luck

Also like the above poster mentioned, check out SRTforums dot com, you'll find ALL the information you need but do a search first. People have been flamed pretty hard for not doing so


Damn, talkin about this makes me miss mine

[Deke]

like what? im looking in the 13 or 14k range

I see your price range jumped up from the last thread

[J13eck]

get a subaru<3