It seems to me like we're going to have a lot of kids in the new turbo 2003's looking to show how their 4 grand less car smokes an RSX-S. Any thoughts?

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/previ...0/article.html

 

Here's another posting with more info.

http://www.car-truck.com/chryed/buzz/b010402.htm

 

Im actually kind of impressed that they could put that out for less than $20000. I still think that the feel of the quality in the honda's and acura's will win out with many, thats why i bought mine, but i guess i will just have to drive one. In the looks department im not incredibly impressed but thats just each individuals personal taste. Its too soon for me to tell how these things will stack up.

 

You're right there are going to be lots of people bragging about how fast their SRT is, and they'd be right. I'd have a hard time spending $20K on a Neon when I can get a much better car in the RSX, Si, GTI, Celica, MR2...you get the picture. Its a neat concept that Dodge is pulling but the car needs a limited slip to be a true contender.

Really what Dodge should have done was build the Charger or Copperhead concept and had a trim level that stickers the low 20's. Sport compacts are hot right now but as sports cars go, rear wheel drive or all wheel drive is where its at. It sucks that the only decent RWD offerings in the RSX price range are the Mee-otter and MR2. The Mustang is still somewhat behind the curve in sophistication for my tastes.

At any rate the SRT will be sort of fun but Dodge seems to be going for a FWD musclecar which is a foolish mismatch of characteristics. FWD cars that are pulling 6 second 0-60's need limited slips if they're going to have good handling (for the most part), hence the lsd in the ITR.

 

I checked out MOPAR and they sell one you can add under warante. As well as bigger pistons, cams, headers, CAI, etc. etc. Stuff doesn't affect your warantee, thought that was a big selling point in it's favour.


[Modified by shion, 9:54 PM 5/20/2002]

 

A OEM LSD option is a big plus . Maybe Dodge thought this out better than one would think. This makes the car much more attractive although if I buy another FWD car it'll be an RSX-R.

See if Mopar can offer parts like this how come Honda can't do it? Honda has to realize that hundreds of millions of dollars are being made in aftermarket Honda parts and that they can get in on the game if they like. People don't like arguing with service departments over warranties, if people could get the parts from Honda they would.

 

Hrm...Dodge has a, let us say substandard reputation for reliability thus far. I highly doubt a boosted car is going to help this any. I mean hell if the wrx has a horrible interior, I'd HATE to see what the inside of this neon is going to look like.
They'll hand us our *** in a straight line, but my bet is 3/4 of them won't opt for the LSD, and the cars will handle like a cow on skates. Two years later they'll have paid $7,000 in repair costs, while our chug along, problem free.

 

I could not agree more. First off who cares 0-60 what does it do in the quarter. Also no matter what its still a neon, come on now neon or acura its a no brainer.

 

neon=gay

 

I'd still buy an RSX even if the neon is faster.

 

Agree 0-60 times sell cars. So much that manufactures adjust the gearing so that only one gear shift is required. Thats why my 2nd gear is so tall on my GSR (which tops out at 62mph)

Its nice to have domestics at least trying to enter the sports compact market. Competition is good for all Fast is fast buts its still a Neon...

 

domestic + turbo +4 banger = disaster

Domestics should stick to V6 and V8 what we are best at all 4 banger Domestic's are POS'S

 

like Muckman said: it's still a neon

 

and we're still hondas....

 

Dodge cant build an NA motor much less a motor with FI. Good luck keeping that car away from countless hrs of warranty work.

 

http://www.hahnracecraft.com ..... the 420a (and a420) is a VERY good turbo motor... it is in the non-turbo eclipses, it is very strong and very reliable... if you dont belive me read about it on that site.... you will be suprised

 

Well I used to have a car with a 420A. Talk about an anemic pile of garbage. And I used to hang out on a web site called 2gnt with people turbo'ing that 420A ... and they blow up faster than B18C5's with no engine management.

Don't think just because the body style of the RS/GS Eclipses are like the GS-T/GSX's that they are the same animal. I have seen a 420A dyno at 97hp.

And Mopar parts still void Chrysler warranties.

EDIT: Spelling.


[Modified by 95GS-R, 6:22 PM 5/31/2002]

 

Agreed, Domestics should stick to building V8's. They made a huge mistake by not releasing a new Impala SS with a V8 under the hood. And now they're bringing down the Camaro's and Firebirds? Bad choice I think. Maybe if they made them a bit more affordable...

 

Here's a little more detail for those interested:
http://www.allpar.com/neon/neon-srt-4.html

I think last I heard they got 215hp and 225 ft/lbs at the crank @ 6 or 8 psi (can't remember which) And yep, LSD is an option from the factory and any option available from the factory will not void the warranty. Adding it after you bought the car will, however. (go figure) The 2.4L puts out a lot of torque and has pretty much a flat curve. The older Stratus N/A 2.4 (no mods) in a 1st Gen Neon is a high 14 sec car. Add a turbo and the new PT 2.4 and it's even faster.

I seriously doubt it'll be for $20k after the dealer markup. And since it's a new turbo and new tranny I would wait a couple years for Dodge to work out all the bugs like w/ any new car. And looks, well, it's certainly not that great IMO. Interior isn't too bad, though. Suspension is supposed to have yellow Koni's like the ACR's have.

If a 420a dynoed at 97hp then something was seriously wrong. I dynoed my 1st Neon (which uses the same 420a w/ head flipped) DOHC stock @ 131hp. SOHC's are usually in the 118-120hp range.

The SRT-4 is a great car for raising the bar, but Dodge really doesn't have the refinement Honda, Toyota etc. has. Hopefully, we'll see faster compacts at cheaper prices coming from the other manufacturer's making all of us winners !

Laterz,
Nik


[Modified by icecreme98, 3:28 PM 6/17/2002]

 

Head gaskets blew on neons pre-mid-99 production, because they were organic POS gaskets, until they moved to the MLS ones that is on my car from the factory.
bottom end on a 420A is BUILT very strong, after running 10 psi the STOCK RODS still hold up, they are the first to go also, snap..........BOOM! oh **** whats that noise, I don't know, but I think I can make it to the dealership, only one more mile. ....I thought when the oil light went on, it was saying that I had enough oil.

 

2.4 liter, and only 205 hp with a turbo. Torque is nice. But a little 2.0 RSXs outs out 200 . Its still a neon, HI

 

I could be wrong, but I believe the turbo they're using is the 14g -- very small turbo. Considering the N/A version is rated at 150hp@5600 and 162ft/lbs@4000.

If you're comparing the N/A 2.4 to the N/A RSX 2.0 type S (Specs: 200hp@7400 and 142ft/lbs@6000) then you'd have to bump the 2.4 compression up from 9.5 to the RSX's 11 and/or put in more aggressive cams a la v-tech to make it a little more even comparison. Otherwise it's apples and oranges. The base RSX is a little more even with compression at 9.8, but again the 2 engines have two different objectives. RSX makes power by revving high and the 2.4 gives you torque.

The 2.4 isn't a high reving engine. It's a stroker engine whose main strength is torque. Hp sells cars, but torque (when you can get it to the ground) wins races. Another advantage of it is in stock trim it makes all its power below 5700.

Peak figures are great, but when you actually see the curve of HOW an engine makes its power then you can see the strengths and weaknesses of an engine.

There's no replacement for displacement (unless it's a rotary ).

 

I dont see this car lasting look at the domestic market they could not make a 4 banger make power for **** and when the do like the new focus SVT it still does not break 15's so dont worry I plan on seeing alot of these cars explode and have turbo problems because you know there is not going to be any turbo timer. AAA is going to love this car

 

Well, I don't mean this in an offensive way, but it really is just a Neon. The RSX-S will probably be slower, but the interior is so much better (as is reliability, resale value, and perhaps even the exterior depending on your taste). In a twisted sort of way, the new turbo'd Neon as the WRX's younger brother. Both cars have good performance, but they're both ugly and cheap-looking. Drive somewhere in an RSX and people will compliment the car. Drive somewhere in the Neon/WRX, and people will probably cringe. At this point in my life, I'd much rather take the RSX than either of those cars (although the WRX's versatility intrigues me). I guess I'm not a hard-core performance nut

 

OMG is it me, or does this thing redline at 6?