Not even gonna post my thoughts on street racing, but don't think the Neon's coming off the showroom floor pushing 290hp for much, if at all, less than an Evo.

 

Well, I hope you are right there. The thing is that this year I got smoked from the Neon at Nationals and after seeing those things in action, you look at them with much more respect. And, I am not talking about the straight line driving here! Of course, the fact that Neon was driven by the autoX god, didn't help either!

Mr. AWD

 

Pimpson, I meant our cars (OZ) turbocharged would be killed by the SRT-4. And that Neon is not a bad handler. As it was stated before, they are damn competitive in Solo autocross. Plus the SRT-4 pulled over 69mph in the slalom, not a easy feat. Dont ask me why Im making a case for this car, lol.

 

Yeah, my friend owns/tunes an R/T. I think they're very capable cars, but I dunno...I'm still skeptical. Like trigeek said...impressive car, not my style. I don't want to own one, but it's gonna make itself known in the sport compact community and put the import companies in a tight spot. I wonder how the Mazdaspeed Protege will stack up. (Personally I think the SRT-4's gonna make a meal of it.)

 

it also pulled .85g in the skid pad with zero camber. it should pull .95 or more with some good suspension.

 

I am not comparing the SRT-4 to the Evo, that was not the point of this topic. The Evo will own the SRT-4 stock for stock accross the board - there is no competition. The 4G63 has a very strong aftermarket right now, so modding it isn't going to be a problem. But the Evo is going to be 10K more the the SRT-4, so they really aren't comparable cars. But, compare the performance between the Focus SVT, Civic Si, Hundai Tiberon V6, with the SRT-4. All of a sudden it is a fantastic deal.

 

across the board is a little strong. the srt-4 will have more hp to the wheels than the evo. be 10-20,000 less. front wheel drive cars are easier to drift. there are going to be kits right away to bring the hp up to 794hp from aftermarket companies. what about the 4g63?

 

Actually, the bulk if not all (correct me whether is it all or not) production neons in the US are produced in Belvidere (that is the correct spelling). I know because I live (well lived techincally while I am at college) there.

 

the last dyno results I saw for a production Evo7 was 243 HP at the wheels and 247 ft lbs/torque. these figures are equal to, or more then the preproduction SRT-4. These figures, combined with awd, and despite the additional bulk of the Evo will make it out accelerate the SRT-4 hands down.

I doubt the SRT-4 will have huge brembos all around: advantage Evo

and there is no way the SRT-4 will handle like the Evo. Hell road and track picked the Evo7 over the Boxster S and E46 M3.

But comparing these two cars isn't rearlly fair, as one is way more expensive then the other. sorta like comparing a Z06 and a 360 Modena. The vette is a way better bargain, but at the end of the day, which would you rather have, a Chevrolet or a Ferrari?

I am just very intreuged with the SRT-4. It is the first non traditional American performance car (traditional = Mustang, vette etc) that is really interesting.

 

well the srt-4 will come with a dealer installed option of 290 hp, and 315 ft/lbs of torque. the peak torque is from 2500-5000 rpm. drivetrain loss will be more with the evo. and the evo starts off with less crank hp and lots less crank torque. so the srt-4 will have more whp than the evo. the srt-4 weighs 2870#.
all those stats go to the srt-4.

that being said, i love the evo look more., i like the AWD more, and i know that the evo is an awesome car. we have yet to see about the srt-4, but reviews and stats so far are VERY promising. the only problem with the evo is the hugely overinflated cost.

in my opinion, the srt-4 has more potential to be a 1/4 mile killer, an auto-x annihilater, and a potential rally cross champion. they have one competing in rally races already, but im not sure of how good it does.

http://www.neons.org/srt/webthumb/kremer/index.html

 

where are you getting this info that the SRT-4 is coming with 290 hp from the dealership/factory? I have not seen that anywhere... and what is the cost of this upgrade?

 

i dont know about the cost yet. it is expected to be around $2000, but who knows? i am getting my info about the upgrade kits from various dodge spokesmen. i will try to find it again.

 

this is all i have found so far. it doesnt talk about the horespower on this one. im still looking for that one.

With it's four door configuration, the SRT-4 will be a formidable domestic competitor to the popular Subaru Impreza WRX and soon to come Lancer Evolution. Sure, it won't have the sophisticated 4wd system and world-renowned rally heritage, but SRT-4 owners won't really care with the extra 7k or so dollars they'll save for aftermarket upgrades. In fact, Dodge plans on offering their own aftermarket performance packages through Mopar. And if you want racing heritage, Crew Chief Darrell ***, Driver Mike Crawford and the rest of the Team Phatridz Neon is expected to continue on their trailblazing, edge of 8 second, ways in their second season of racing on the import circuits. If straightaway racing is not your thing, don't worry, Dodge claims to have also had road racers in mind when they were engineering the SRT-4.

 

I have no doubts that Daimler/Chrysler is capable of getting some inhouse kits to enable the SRT-4 to put out that kinda power, but they sure as hell aren't going to sell for $2000. 80 HP for $2k? There is no way Mopar could do that unless they were running No2, and I am doubtful about that. You aren't going to get a 25% HP increase w/o a turbo swap, among other upgrades and not have the car poorly under warranty.

 

Not to mention the fact that the SRT-4 uses a Mitsubishi Turbo TD05-16G thats good for up to 25 psi.

I think that it is commendable that Dodge would relase an affordable turbo car. It's 20K and over 215 HP? You really can't complain for that. I'd buy one but I just can't get over the ricer styling. I think I'll still stick with a 2004 Evolution Ralliart edition or comparable to that...