Oh man

[Jeff Jolley]

I had the chance to drive an SRT8 Challenger with the 6.1 Hemi the other day and I took it. One of my customers brought his in and all I can say is "Dude" or maybe "wow" or even "D@mn" but anyway this car definitely hit the mark. It has plenty of room inside up front, even though the rear seats are tight, and the dash which is very retro which I found a bit nostalgically comforting. Dodge has not forgotten how to do muscle cause this car runs, it's a joy to drive at any speed with plenty of torque and the auto shift tranny is spot on, you tap it into the next gear and boom it's there and solidly there. You can watch the fuel gauge move when you mash the long pedal but it sure is fun doing it. Everyone knows the bodylines on this car are nice and I also like the wheels but I was a bit turned off when I saw that Dodge not only had them stamped with SRT but also let Alcoa stamp their name on them too. Jumping back into the STA afterwards was a bit disappointing to say the least but so goes life. Still not sure I would pay the price being asked for one but I have eyed the driveway of the local dealer the last couple days.

 

[Carey Frennier]

They are pretty wild. We just got in two RTs and they are a blast to drive. The SRT is considerably better though.

 

[Bill Barber]

Did you have the owners permission to go whip his ride?

 

[Adam H]

I whooped one of them STR-8's in my Mach1. They are nice, but HEAVY!

 

[Bill Barber]

ATTA boy swoop

are an easy kill for some of us if you run um from a dig or get them in the twistys.

Just don't fiddle with them if they come up on you at say 80/90 MPH, on the flats.

With there high gears and auto trannys they will walk you bigtime.

(disclaimer: do not condone street racing, But is hella fun

 

[Alan Peters]

SRT are a waste. From Neon's to Calibers they all underperform. They through a motor in a car that can't handle the chassis. Garbage suspension systems and under performing drivetrain. Your paying for the motor. If you want to see a motor perform, I'll let you see what a 4.6L V8 supercharged pulling 485hp at crank not this garbage 6.1L 425hp. At 6.1, that motor should pull numbers in the 550hp to 650hp range. I remember reading the SRT Ram's and Jeep's were blowing up transmissions at a horrible rate on motortrend.com. Getrag manufactured those trans and they were terrible. Hence Getrag backing out of all deals with Chrysler.

 

[Travis Munday]

You can't compare a forced induction motor to a non-forced motor and call it an even fight.



A super charged 6.1 can put out about 650 HP easy.



A non supercharged 4.6 puts out 300 HP.



Gotta compare apples to apples, not apples to pineapples.



As far as chassis are concerned, very few American cars have a decent chassis. The only ones that don't fall flat on their face are the 'Vette, CTS, and Viper. Even those lack mechanical grip and sophistication. You can't fault the automakers for this, the typical American thinks "performance" means how fast the car can go in straight line, damn the curves...so the 'makers make cars that appeal to that ideal.

 

[Jeff Jolley]

Lets go from the top:



Bill: Yes he knows how I drove it, he was the one who told me to take it through the ringer and judging by how efortlessly this car performed I didn't "whip" his ride.



Swoop: I've driven the Mach1s quite a bit so unless yours is heavily modded, either the Challenger you 'whooped" wasn't a 6.1L SRT8 or the driver was really bad.



Bill: Actually the car handled really well on the road I was on which definitely wasn't straight. It didn't push through the turns and had very little roll, for the most part it kept a very flat platform. I was a bit suprised because you are right it is a heavy car.



Big Al: From reading your statement it's obvious that you've never driven one of these cars. So tell me what do you call performance? I'm thinking that your 4.6L SC didn't have 485HP off the showroom floor so I'd say you have some aftermaket items and a tune on it, this car doesn't. Let's say we put comparable equipment on the Challenger... I'd bet that "garbage" would "perform". Hell I'd line it up right now from a dead start through the 1/4 mile, would it win... I wonder



Tiger: You obviously get it, I can tell you understand what it's all about.



I am a Ford fan true and blue but I am also intelligent enough to know when someone has a hit and this car is a grand slam judging from what I saw. It never ceases to amaze me at the number of people who are so blind by brand loyalty that they believe that any vehicle not made by the manufacturer they support whether it be Ford, Chevy, Dodge or whatever then the vehicle is inferior or a POS, perhaps it's just plain jealousy or just plain ignorance.

 

[Alan Peters]

Yes I've driven the entire SRT line on the tech proving grounds about 9 months ago. Ram, Caliber, Nitro, Neon, Croosfire, 300C, Grand Cherokee, Charger, Magnum, and a SRT Caravan prototype. My dad worked with the SRT or PVO as its called, in engine OBD/Dino unit before switching to Rouch Ind. The supercharged 485 is in my Saleen Extreme. My dad was extremely disappointed at what they did with the SRT line. Tons of potential but could not pull it off.



True you can't compare forced induction to a natural aspired motor. But everytime my dad drove the saleen, he was amazed at the total package rather than just a motor. Even the newer Saleen Extremes have 620hp with 5.0 V8. My point is you have a ton of motor for nothing.



I'll add the only SRT worth buying is the Ram with the Viper motor. That's what an SRT should be, not this garbage with 6.1's tuned down to 425.