I gotta ion redline with stage 2 super in her and I put a stock ion hood with spoiler on it n pulled the badge so only thing to identify it is the rims and people rarely race me still. Nobody wants to get beat by a saturn ion lol
I had a 03 neon srt. Few minor upgrades. That car was phenomenal for rally. I was very impressed by that car and I miss it. I got into a high speed chase when the state police upgraded to the charger platforms. He hit the cherries and berries on me I was headed south at a stop light and he was headed north. Before he could get turned around in traffic and caught up to me I was gone. 1st-3rd tires chirping and I just kept dumping gears. I was able to get about 12 blocks ahead and cut down a side road and flew behind a house I was living at and they came flying by and never caught me. Unfortunately that car had developed a slight rod knock and instead of catching a possibly felony I paid a friend for I take it to the scrap yard the next day never to be seen again 😂
Man you can't forget the Nissan sentra SE-R and Saturn ion red line all 4 of those platforms were something else in the early 2000's back when 300hp was fast.
I have owned so many fun cars over the years sti, Evo, a lot of boosted Hondas, But these SRT4 Neon’s & Cobalt SS’s are so underrated for a 4banger front wheel drive car. Everyone puts them down because the name of the car, Just like the Type R, So when they get gapped all they can say is Well it’s still a Civic or it’s still a Neon acting like it’s the base naturally aspirated turd to make them feel better 🤷🏻♂️
In addition to all the others calling out the obvious, and nothing against that mini beast Neon, it's an SRT at heart, and SRT cars actually hit hard, but that Challenger driver made theee slowest shifts I have ever seen on a track. That cost him at least a half second. Not to mention his delayed and sluggish start. Neither of these cars could be called a slouch but this race was more about driver skill. Props to the Neon driver for not only bringing an awesome build but driving skills too. With a better driver that "tuned" Scat (tune probably brings it to 550 wheel hp) should have at least matched the Neon. It's simple physics, power to weight ratios. I'm guessing they're both around 8 lbs per hp. However, just look at the vid, the Challenger driver's shifts are excruciating to watch.
I remember a couple guys had these back when neons were everywhere. Theirs never seemed to run right. I have no doubt it had some to do with lack of information on how to work on that stuff back then. Nice to see one up and running. I know one if the ones around here is now parked broken down beside the guys garage. I'm sure he's just about to get it running again.
this dude Chris that owns that car is frikkin meticulous and it does break if you follow him, but he knows how to fix everything himself. If you don't mod them they are actually really reliable. I only ever had problems when I started getting into bigger fuel pumps and cams into the 350-400's
These little srt 4s is a duel overhead cam..So not only are they fast but there engines are tough and powerful.I know I have a 2005.And still kicks azz
Srt-4 is more of a tuner (when the body is left stock). It's when you start putting on tacky body kits, spoilers, and useless aero to make it LOOK faster than what it actually is. Same applies to all makes and models.
@@Kingswood7189 , my first experience with the SRT4, seen it blow by debadged, while I was on the freeway in a Honda Prelude SH on the way from Vegas to L.A., I was like... WtFF? That's the fastest f#$&ing Neon I've ever seen. 😆💯
@@samuelfowler2157 Its almost like they only made 20,000 of them so there isn't a massive tuner scene like other cars. Also stock its as fast as a brand new honda civic type R and its almost 20 years old hahahaha.
The PT GT was slightly detuned, and had a bit more of a restrictive airflow intake and a much smaller intercooler. They are fun though. Currently rebuilding a 2005 dream cruiser 4 convertible for my daughter. Doesn't matter much if she wrecks it, gives me another engine for my 05' srt4 I've owned since new, if I ever need it lol.
@@rooh5825 You are correct. they had to redesign the intake manifold to fit in the narrow nose of the PT Cruiser which is a bit more restrictive. I have a 2004 PT Cruise GT stick shift with everything stock that I got tuned and i'm at 250hp to the wheels. Nice to see an original owner of a Neon srt4!
I bought a later model SRT-4 and did some very minor enhancements. Stage 2 ECU, upped the boost a little, Borla/SRT exhaust and a methanol sprayer for the intercooler from Devil Doc. This car ran consistent 12.40’s back to back when hot lapped. It embarrassed a lot of “better” performance cars. I finally sold it due to an increasing number of road side conversions with polite, well groomed people with blue uniforms.
Reminds me if Mopar weekend at Bristol. The day my Son took me to 4 cylinder school. Lol. Neon Srt4 i believe it was up against a max wedge hemi Belvidere wow. For the record. Belvedere wasn't first to cross the line
Drove a base model Neon from Kelowna to Winnipeg. It was a rental so I didn't give a shit. Once I got out of the mountains I rarely went below 170 clicks all the way to Winnipeg.That shit box was Screaming 😂😅.
@@DragRacingandCarStuff Red is the fastest. Mine has gone a best ET of 9.94@147 now. I'll be at the next Car's Coffee and Drag Racing in a couple weeks. Hope to see you there.
@@andyr5389 I respect that. I’ve owed the srt 4 but now I have a 392.. from my experience I just love the neon! it’s funnier to drive and it’s a beast such a sleeper..
@@thomasdowork2522 I respect the ability of making it go fast. Let's compare two more similar eras. 1968 camaro, minitub, 396 slight mods. Or 1970 Chevy Vega wagon, minitub, turbo 4 some way. (It's still a vega wagon) you respect the power train. Just not the chassis so to speak.
Doesnt matter if its a neon, yard king, moped, put enough boost and traction to it and itll haul ass. No point in putting it next to a v8. Watched a crotch rocket outrun a Bugatti the other day. Not really a big deal
A normal bone stock 392 runs high 12s low 13s (depending on the weather) fastest tim I got in mine was Texas moterplex and it's bone stock 13.1 and it wasn't on a pro tree. Still fun to drive and they will do 180mph
Prob cost a pretty penny or two for this thing to run like this, no hate I had an ACR years back but unless you build the crap out of them theyre so hard to keep running. Wish dodge did a better job on em from the get go but they were such cool cars
Hard to keep running? No they weren't, only when dummies screwed up mods. You can talk about the transmission but the engines were bulletproof all the way out above 400 hp. VERY reliable.
@@rooh5825 the transmission issues come from abuse and poor adjustment most of the time. Also a lot of people drove them as their first stick vehicle also which didnt help.
@@atodaso1668 The NVG T850 was a subpar built transmission in which they used "soft" materials to try and protect the carbon bits. New Venture Gear is out of business, because their products were garbage. Dodge should have sourced Getrag, bulletproof transmissions that the auto SRT4 drivers are using with the 3 speeds out of minivans (no overdrive) to power their way to under 10 seconds. Yes, a lot of people can't shift, but the weak link on the SRT4 was the T850 and a lot of people who know how to shift had their transmissions go bad starting with the 3rd gear popout.
@@rooh5825 All manual transmissions break with abuse. And 3rd gear pop out is actually 3rd gear lock out, usually due to poorly adjusted or stretched shift cables. But it can be due to the pivot fork being worn out, but that effects all gears.
racing in a Dodge Neon? a wise decision! cheaper parts, cheaper rebuilds, tons of aftermarket support, can have a spare race ready second engine in your garage...the result: destroying the competition
I have several '67-'71 B bodies, a couple police package 70's Mopars, modern SRT Challenger, Little Red Express, 30's Dodge pickup project, I would love to find a STOCK mint condition SRT-4 Neon.
@@MoparRob440 I just acquired a older adult owned 2004 silver with LSD bone stock with service records every 3k miles and some extra service on top of that. I've never been more stoked to find a stock car. A true survivor.
If someone will own integras and civics, someone will want an SRT4 Neon. Civics aren’t exactly the prettiest car around either but you can tune the gah dang snot out of them.
