SRT-4 Stage 3R.......holly crap!

[drftk1d]

car and driver evaluate cars differently than we do.
i cant speak for all of you, but when you drive a performance car (daily), you sacrafice comfort for speed.

shit the editors of sport compact car fight eachother over the evo (they got an sti and srt too). its all about the mentality.

[chexmixa]

car and driver long-term test.

"with such a harsh suspension, many began to feel as if they'd joined a cult of flagellants"

After 25,000 miles

"The Logbook began to fill with entries complaining how tired and worn out the Evo felt. "

40,000 miles

"... when the secound and fith gear synchros (shifting into secound became difficult) were finally replaced under warrenty. while the transmission was being rebuilt, we opted to have the cluth replaced because it had slipped away into ether."

Over all in the article they were happy with the Evo they stated that they LOVED the performance and look. (they h8ed the wing, complaining about it several times). Were turned off by the ride quality (really stiff suspension and no cruise control) but understood thats what u sacrifice when u pay 30k for a street legal race car. They hoped mitsu would continue to produce vehicles like the Evo as it progressed.

[lamehonda]

I think that car and driver is geared towards regular people instead of car guys.

[Polygon]

Originally Posted by lamehonda

I think that car and driver is geared towards regular people instead of car guys.

That can be said for most mainstream car mags like Motor Trend and Raod & Track as well. I always take what they say with a grain of salt.

[Drifty]

sti's are sweet rides but u have to be very carful with its tranny. its very delicate. evo's look cool but i perfer an sti over an evo. and the srt is a definite fun daily driver. even though the clutch and tranny arent as smooth as a sti or evo. i have not raced officially an sti but ive beat an evo from a roll hands down but from a stop i caught up around top of 2nd gear(evo had bad launch?) i think u might like the srt better

[UnderEstimate Me]

I am going to pick me up a SRT4 this summer (In yellow hopefully...I know its kind of a long shot) God knows I would love an Evo but the price of it would make me drive like a grandma. And plus, with the extra money I have left over from the car Im gonna start making payments on a new Honda CBR. I just dont think the Evo is worth the extra 10k but I guess to some it is.

[street_racer_00]

IMO, Road and Track are leaps and bounds ahead of MT and C&D.

[drftk1d]

maybe i'm wrong but, isn't the base evolution around 28k (msrp)? plus you get that 10 year warranty (but i hear mitsu dealers suck idk)

http://www.mitsubishimotors.com/MMSA...&1110469514578

i've heard that the sti gearbox is the strongest subaru one yet.
but damn, the srt is cheap power!

it'd be hard to pick just one of the 3.

[TatII]

stock 04 SRt-4 beating a stock EVO from a roll is bull shit. the guys driving the evo obviously can't drive. my friend before he did a 5 speed swap on his turbo KA 240sx, he owned a 3 2004 SRT-4's from a roll and he was auto. yet when he raced my boys STi which is only 1 car faster then my boys EVO he got owned by like 6 cars and this was after he was running more boost and swapped to a 5 speed tranny.

also use your logic, the EVO traps at 102-103mph ( the 2003 ones atleast ) and a SRT-4 would trap at a similar speed. but we all know that when you get a better launch you get a slower trap speed with with a faster E.T. so a SRT-4 launches pretty crappy stock, and they trap at 102mph. the EVO launch is insane it still traps the same as a SRT-4.

i know 3 evo drivers personally. 2 of them are good drivers, one is a terrible one. the terrible one got owned on the highway by a 330ci. does that mean the 330ci is faster then a EVO from roll? nooo that means the guy in the EVO can't drive for shit and makes it look bad

as i explained earlier i have a good friend with a auto KA-T 240 that owned 3 SRT-4's from a stop and from a roll, and when the guys came back and found out he was a auto, they just shut up and left in shame. yet that 240 after it gained more firepower got completely annilated by my friends STi from roll.

edit:

also the guys from car and driver are journalist not mechanics half the complaints they had with the EVO after modding it was the fact that they got a bad tune from Vishu ( too lean of a tune ) and that the O2 sensor keeps on poping out. anyone who works on cars knows how to freaking screw in a O2 sensor. the problems they had witht eh car after it was modded was nothing. if they want to complain about driving a modded car? drive my car, or rednecks car, or any turbo charged honda. then they'll know what high strung means.

[solaris=amazing]

A couple things to consider....

Handling, even with the stiffest suspension, the srt4 will always handle like crap, mainly because of the layout of the drivetrain. Front wheel drive cars are horrible with taking turns at high speeds..god forbid you should floor a 355hp fwd car in a slight turn, say hello to the wall. The mitsu lancer is a handling dream, period. Awd will always have the jump off the line, yeah once that srt4 w/355hp grabs traction, it will slaughter the stock 276..?i believe, hp lancer. The main thing here is torque also, i do believe that the srt4's bigger 4cyl will always put out more torque, just like comparing a 4.6L to a 5.7L, the bigger, the better....generally.

Launch.... Ok, first off, i drove my old buddys 00 se maxima in which was supercharged (or was it turbo..? years ago) and had some work to it, intake, exhaust, chip...it broke 280whp on the dyno. NOW, when he told me to get on it, i did, will never...NEVER drive a powerfull FRONT wheel drive car again. They suck, they are only good for on-a-roll races, where your in 2nd so the tires don't squeal too too much. Torque steer...no traction...=garbage. What you have to remember here, is body roll. LOTS of people simply dismiss this, but for a fwd car, it's the #1 crutch in design that will always give the rwd/awd to upper hand.

Now, i say this with complete confidence. If the srt4 was rear wheel drive...and even just a stage 2 (which i believe is just shy of 300hp) it would be a V8 killer...EASILY, it would run atleast mid 12's. THAT, I WOULD BUY. BTW, don't you love the way chevy is copying dodg by making a POS cobalt..or even saturn, with its gay redline.....

In the end, it's you money....i'd rather get an LS1 98SS and supercharge her.....get new rims/good sound system..intake..exhaust...thats what....how much...$14-18grand...WORTH IT. Plus, yeah the lancer and srt4 are fast...but they are still 4 cyl engines, and without a power adder..they SUCK..they'd put out under 200hp, and would have 0 torque.

[UnderEstimate Me]

Good luck finding a 98 SS, and then buying a super charger for it...rims...intake and exhaust for under 18k

[-Jayson-]

The Cobalt SS Dynos at 205WHP. The cars are under estimated big time. Car And driver ran a 14.5 on a stock cobalt SS. Hmm crappy?

[drftk1d]

cobalt > ion

[UnderEstimate Me]

Another plus about the cobalt is that it has great two tone leather options. Super nice! But a new SS is probably gonna run you about 22k, however they are also FWD as well.

[chexmixa]

Originally Posted by solaris=amazing

A couple things to consider....

Handling, even with the stiffest suspension, the srt4 will always handle like crap, mainly because of the layout of the drivetrain. Front wheel drive cars are horrible with taking turns at high speeds..god forbid you should floor a 355hp fwd car in a slight turn, say hello to the wall. The mitsu lancer is a handling dream, period. Awd will always have the jump off the line, yeah once that srt4 w/355hp grabs traction, it will slaughter the stock 276..?i believe, hp lancer. The main thing here is torque also, i do believe that the srt4's bigger 4cyl will always put out more torque, just like comparing a 4.6L to a 5.7L, the bigger, the better....generally.

First off man u know absolutely nothing about the srt-4. The most common misconception is it handles like crap. It doesn't, It has quite a stiff suspension allowing it with the stock rubber to pull .86 G on the skid pad. Front wheel drive cars are not "horrible" at taking turns at high speeds, you brake right and excelerate through the appex and your going to at least keep up with a rwd car. Also who in thier right mind is going to take a high speed turn in any car on a city street. This is daily driver not daily auto X'er.

Here is a lil history on the srt-4, some nice lil bit of usefull info. http://www.srtforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98857 that is a very nice post on the srt-4 some very good information.