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Viper to reclaim "The Ring"


Miller

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I remember reading about dodge doing like 25 hours straight of pretty hard core laps at Nelson Ledges for the SRT Neons for testing.

 

Those were super solid cars until people started trying to run dryer vent intakes and 30lbs of boost on otherwise-stock setups. I'd daily a clean one.

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Those were super solid cars until people started trying to run dryer vent intakes and 30lbs of boost on otherwise-stock setups. I'd daily a clean one.

 

I wonder if the non SRT cars that got the same engine got the same treatment:

 

The SRT-4, PT Cruiser Turbo, Cirrus LXi [México only] and Stratus R/T [México only] use the same engine block and heads.

 

The intake manifold, reverse-rotation turbocharger, jet oil coolers, oil pump, manual transmission, special ecu tuning, intercooler size, and weight are the only differences between those cars.

 

I know I am probably going to get shit for this but I actually like the SRT-4 Caliber more than the Neon. It is a way more practical car. It was slotted as a competitor to the GTI and Mazdaspeed3 but it made more HP than either (285hp) . Also the ugly turtle looks (as my daughter likes to call it) make it a pretty good sleeper. As a not boring kid hauler it's not bad...despite the punishment of having to sit in a 2009 and earlier dodge interior.

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I know I am probably going to get shit for this but I actually like the SRT-4 Caliber more than the Neon. It is a way more practical car. It was slotted as a competitor to the GTI and Mazdaspeed3 but it made more HP than either (285hp) . Also the ugly turtle looks (as my daughter likes to call it) make it a pretty good sleeper. As a not boring kid hauler it's not bad...despite the punishment of having to sit in a 2009 and earlier dodge interior.

 

There are a couple of modded Caliber SRT-4's that show up to CC&C, so there is a fan base out there. However, Calibers are HORRIBLY engineered and packaged vehicles. You'd be better off finding a PT Cruiser Turbo for dirt cheap and modding that.

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Do the factory "street" tires really have a 20 tread wear rating?

 

The 295/25R19-inch front and 355/30R19-inch rear Kumho Ecsta V720 (Viper Edition) tires for the ACR are so radical most tire companies didn’t want to take on the project. Heuschele says Dodge talked to several manufacturers, but Kumho was the one willing to commit to a 20 treadwear tire that promises to hold up on the street like a 200 treadwear bit of rubber. “It’s not a qualifying tire that will go three laps and it’s done. We know our customers, and they like to do track days. That’s always a balance, how much grip, versus how much durability to make the customers happy. We could make the tires last half a season, but the car would be 3 seconds a lap slower.” You know a tire is special when it says the name of the car in raised rubber on the sidewall.

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Do the factory "street" tires really have a 20 tread wear rating?

 

The 295/25R19-inch front and 355/30R19-inch rear Kumho Ecsta V720 (Viper Edition) tires for the ACR are so radical most tire companies didn’t want to take on the project. Heuschele says Dodge talked to several manufacturers, but Kumho was the one willing to commit to a 20 treadwear tire that promises to hold up on the street like a 200 treadwear bit of rubber. “It’s not a qualifying tire that will go three laps and it’s done. We know our customers, and they like to do track days. That’s always a balance, how much grip, versus how much durability to make the customers happy. We could make the tires last half a season, but the car would be 3 seconds a lap slower.” You know a tire is special when it says the name of the car in raised rubber on the sidewall.

 

I think that's a typo I thought they are "200". And I quote that because they've been banned from most/almost all competitive street classes despite the legal rating. They easily outperform 100tw tires.

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There are a couple of modded Caliber SRT-4's that show up to CC&C, so there is a fan base out there. However, Calibers are HORRIBLY engineered and packaged vehicles. You'd be better off finding a PT Cruiser Turbo for dirt cheap and modding that.

 

Amen. My wife and I looked at a Caliber when they first came out. The acres of dashboard plastic make the driving experience weird.

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However, Calibers are HORRIBLY engineered and packaged vehicles.

 

I hear this all the time, but what makes them poorly engineered? Yes people complain about all the plastic in the interior (SRT seats and gauges can't hide the cheap door panels and dash), and they complain that it is bigger then a neon (no doye...it's a hatchback), and people complain about the build quality because it's Chrysler...but what makes them actually poorly engineered?

 

People who own them love them, and their value is pretty low right now (found several 2009's with 50K miles for less than $10K).

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I hear this all the time, but what makes them poorly engineered? Yes people complain about all the plastic in the interior (SRT seats and gauges can't hide the cheap door panels and dash), and they complain that it is bigger then a neon (no doye...it's a hatchback), and people complain about the build quality because it's Chrysler...but what makes them actually poorly engineered?

 

People who own them love them, and their value is pretty low right now (found several 2009's with 50K miles for less than $10K).

 

Only you would turn a viper discussion into a caliber discussion. Can we thread ban?

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I meant to ask you about that, Is that each and every car? is it done on a dyno or is there a group of people at Chryco whose whole job is to run an SRT car around a track. what's involved? I think they have sold like 35K SRT grand Cherokees so that's a lot of cars to test.

It's a validation test they do on one vehicle. It's done on a real track.

 

I wonder if the non SRT cars that got the same engine got the same treatment:

 

 

 

I know I am probably going to get shit for this but I actually like the SRT-4 Caliber more than the Neon. It is a way more practical car. It was slotted as a competitor to the GTI and Mazdaspeed3 but it made more HP than either (285hp) . Also the ugly turtle looks (as my daughter likes to call it) make it a pretty good sleeper. As a not boring kid hauler it's not bad...despite the punishment of having to sit in a 2009 and earlier dodge interior.

 

The original test cars had 300+HP and a LSD. They torque steered so bad with the LSD that they would change lanes uncontrollably when you floored it. They changed to an open diff and turned the power down.

 

The front brakes are off a 300C.

Ralph Gilles posted a ~1:31 on his Instagram today, and he was held up by a Miata.

 

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pretty impressive, hope to see them get into the 6's with more clean attempts
Yeah, in their first lap they set the fastest time for any American car, and I think everything above them has a flappy paddle/DCT-like transmission. Hopefully they can get in the 6's and beat the 918, like they did at Laguna Seca.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Rumor has the GT2 RS just posted the following times:

 

6:47 on Trofeo R - unofficial time because the car can't be optioned with that tire

 

6:53 on Pilot sport cup 2

Wow, that is impressive. The Viper team was only able to run one flying lap, but they got additional sponsors and will be back again this month. They sound confident about breaking into the 6's but who knows how deep.

 

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Wow, that is impressive. The Viper team was only able to run one flying lap, but they got additional sponsors and will be back again this month. They sound confident about breaking into the 6's but who knows how deep.

 

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I got to watch the GT2 RS test mule lapping when we were there last month and it was moving out for sure!!!

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