I have a deep appreciation for the Caliber Srt4's and community. Lots of well put together cars, 5674 globally produced, under appreciated but understandable, no one ever thinks of the calibers when it comes to thinking of the srt4 platform. I originally wanted a neon srt4 but couldn't find one for a reasonable price that wasn't rotten. Found myself a 2008 dodge caliber srt4 a year and and half ago and have fell in love with the car. I've done a complete over haul and pushing 584whp 500tq and doing some changes and pushing for 650whp+. Super capable cars that can deliver a spankin👌💪 nice to see these high hp underappreciated beasts roaming around Canada.
Have a friend here in new Mexico with a 500hp 5 cylinder Volvo 850R fwd and it's like that caliber freaking violent. It puts the biggest smile on my face and it never gets old
@@RoadsUntraveled they sound like v10s. Im using one in my Ford Focus build. Its a Ford Focus body on a shortened Chevy S10 frame. I hope to set it up so that everything works like factory, including the gauges. It will even have A/C. Im pushing for 500hp. Its going to have a Tremac T56RR and a modified miata rear subframe so i can have full independent suspension. It will ofcourse have the neccessary parts needed for that power level. There may be plans to make it All Wheel Drive some day, but i have to finish it first
Mr. Morales the man the myth and legend in the CSRT4 community. I did testing with diablosport when developing the tunes when they first came out (daily driving logs, 2 step ignition bypass testing etc) Around 2013. So good to see them still on the road and with better support.
I have those exact same carbon panels in the interior on mine. Looks so nice. I am planning on around 500 hp aswell. Darton sleeves. JE pistons, K1 rods. Wallbro 450 or 525, BWS turbo, 1000 CC injectors, And some other bolt ons i already have. And custom tune ofc. Its my winter project.
drove a new one in 2008 while car shopping with a friend who has a built integra. He laughed at the car when we walked up. When we took it for a drive he was complaining about it feeling sluggish but still quick, then I realized he was taking off in 3rd gear. He shifted to 1st and started romping. Blew our minds.
I bought a low km CSRT4 in 2015 and have loved it since. Alot of people think they look goofy., but for a fun practical car they are really fun to drive.
Very clean CSRT4 nice to see there still out there, really miss both mine, had a 2008 silver when they were first released and then had a 2009 Black one that I let DSM lights flash to start doing HP tuners to these, that one made 405hp 405tq on stock upgraded turbo
2018, FBO E85 WRX, I had no clue, it was a complete sleeper, debadged. I got SMOKED! Dude obviously had a big turbo, it was super clean very well done, he slowed down and just grinned when he saw my dropped jaw. I immediately had a huge smile while given a humbled thumbs up. I dont get mad when I loss, I get excited and happy for the guy. I love seeing cars like this! Its super cool talking to car guys and learning about peoples builds. I live for this, awesome build Brandon! Well done sir, made respect!
I understand it's not your car and therefore you're not going to beat on it like the owner would, but with that being said, one way I find that helps that lag between 2 and 3 shifts is kind of riding the limiter out a tad bit. It certainly helps with keeping your momentum. Coming from a big turbo Speed3 owner and of course a turbo civic (EG) owner. I've always been a fan of the SRT4 Caliber. Sadly I can never find a clean one for sale.
The SRT team themselves stated "the term polishing a turd comes to mind" during a chat session on SRTForums, when asked why it was taking so long to release the Caliber following the planned end of the PL platform (Neon). They quickly deleted it, but we saw it. Wrong car at the wrong time quite honestly. The 2008 financial crisis hit and Daimler Chrysler was NOT in a good spot with their lineup, the Caliber (overall not just SRT4) included.
I miss mine. I had a black 2008. Aside from basic bolt ons, it had eibach lowering springs, waste gate, motor mount inserts, lightweight crank pulley, and the MS1K ECU from RealTuned. Estimated 330whp/350wtq. The car was an absolute blast and was an awesome sleeper. I hurt a lot of feeling in the ole Black Pearl. Lowering springs and poly motor mount inserts made a huge difference with torque steer.
@@justinmckee2256 I'm not sure. I did springs first for the sake of looks when I was still stock. It helped quite a bit with torque steer. Then after getting a stage 1 ECU, the torque felt like it did when it was stock due to the added power. A while after that is when I did the motor mount inserts and they helped a lot again. FYI doing inserts will cause pretty drastic vibration in the cabin. It was worth it to me at the time, but I was quite a bit younger then. Lol. It also changed the sound of the motor under full throttle, but in a good way. Sounded mean.
Fukkin awesome ,2 of my brothers have srt4 neon's as well as ss cobalts and one wants a caliber. They are Hella cool but I'm a v8 person with a camaro and magnum wagon
@@gratus0824 I would have replaced her hemi with another hemi but she is my 4th magnum the only one that didn't have motor issues was my 3.5 I traded for my current one the other 2 rts needed head work but my fav current one has a cracked block. I wish I could afford an SRT8 magnum wagon that one I'd keep a hemi. I choose to keep my magnum and sell my Camaro I love my super sexy magnum shes porno on wheels
I drove a stock 08 Caliber SRT4 several years back at Carmax..and then got kicked off the lot when we got back from the test drive.. apparently the salesman didn't have as much fun as I did! Lol😅😂
One of the most fun Ive had in a vehicle, I will always remember my 08 fondly. Sadly, I had some electrical/ABS issues and couldnt find parts and sold mine.
I think these engines were based off that “world motor.” I think this, the Evo X, and 2.0T Hyundai Genesis share the same block and heads or something.
@@juancalderon1583 the only thing you can use from Hyundai is the rod bearings, King Black bearings are the popular choice. you can use the Evo x long block (need to modify the starter bolt holes a bit) but since people want an arm and a leg for them it's not worth it IMO.
I’ve had a thought about this car, not this exact car, but the caliber srt-4 itself. It had a sister car with the 1st gen compass, whose top of the line model had 4x4. I always wondered if that both the caliber and the compass were combined - would it of been a rally beast or something similar?
my first car ever was a 2005 dodge caliber base model but man i had fun in it i learned how to edrift it around corners until i flipped it into a field totaling it but i always wantd to look into a conversion they are cool in my opinion but i know alot of people hate them
WOW!..my uncle in Colorado has one of these..his son couldn't make the payments when he lost his job in 2019 due to Covid 19 he took over payments & gave him some cash to help him out...
I had an '04 SRT-4 modified heavily and loved it. When the Caliber came out, I hated it and still do. It's a boxy mini-SUV looking thing. Might have called it the Durango Junior. Not a fan personally.
I’m on my third Cali SRT my first two where just bolt ons.my current one is fully built big turbo on pump 93 sitting about 430-450. A lot of people under estimate them which is fun.
If a car can't hook on a roll I personally don't get the purpose or mission. It is thrilling to have to know how to drive to extract the best from a car. but that level of wheel spin I can't see why he wants a bigger turbo that might make it slower ! The car is very cool and subversive but I think he has hit a ceiling until traction limitations can be dealt with . Seems like boost by gear with the current set up and or dialed back might be an answer . Or figure out how to set up AWD which would be sick and then forged internals would be cool for safety while you make people in expensive fast cars cry . Cool car but power is useless without traction unless you just want to scare others and yourself .
Video was done right after dyno tuning was complete. Chrome 20s and low pro tires aren't helping, traction will be addressed this winter whether it's for the street or slicks at the track or both. Thanks for the watch 👍🏻
I loved my 08 CSRT4 even more then my 05 NSRT4. It was slower, but handled much better (stock to stock anyway). Only issue as very apparent in this video, its still wrong wheel drive. The CSRT should have been AWD, period. If it was I would have never sold it and built it.
That's a bizarre take, considering the Neon had better handling due to a lower center of gravity, higher speed and G forces on the skid pad, better brakes, and an actual limited slip differential. It likely FELT like it handled better, but they don't.
Nice build, always thought the Caliber was under appreciated. To help I can think of 2 resources that may be able to help with the traction. Forward Motion Inc, located in Wilmington DE, Of they are still there,, They helped with my FWD Daytona Shelby Z build,, you could also look into getting a Quaife LSD to help manage the torque steer. Had one in my Daytona and it helped, my issue was with getting it hook up in 1st and 2nd gear without roasting both front tires. It was a lot a fun.
Car has an aftermarket LSD. Big tires and low profile aren't helping. Car was just finished being tuned before this was shot. Traction is #1 on the winter list, probably boost by gear
since you used a compass 2.4L block then a compass with a 2.4L can be tuned and added a turbo to hit the same horspower? I would like to see a jeep compass with 2.4L and with a turbo hitting 500hp and is it possible?
@@brandonmagson750 well god dammit. Who needs a fucking fire wall any way lol. Crazy people can fit a hellcat motor in a Miata but this doesn't have enough room.
As someone who bought his SRT4 brand new with only about 14 miles on and now has over 386k who hasn't done any mods to it I can say that for the price there wasn't a cooler looking car during it's 2 years of production.
Had one of these in my city and i would always tell my kiddos those things move, they never believed me rofl... even though the blow off was something else
I always hated these including the srt4 neon but they really did sound good. The downfall on the srt4 was a lack of all wheel drive. It definitely should have been standard equipment.
My 2008 Caliber SRT4 is still stock, just like when I bought it in 2008. It's always been fast enough for getting to work and occasional country roads. The stock transmission is a Getrag and a dream to drive. And the ECU is a high performance Siemens controller, also something special. We also loved our PT cruiser turbo convertible. It was trendy, despite what a lot of snobs have to say. The PT was a nice little experiment, showing that retro could sell.
I have 2 Neon SRT4 and 1 Dodge Caliber SRT4. IMHO the neon is more fun and even though it's a budget car. It feels better built than the Caliber. However I love the practicality of the Caliber ans the aggressive looks. Just hate how cheap the interior feels.
The neon sounds far better which alone merits it better than the caliber. There's no one on planet earth with a brain who will deny that lol. The back of the caliber is the main thing I don't like . I also hate the electronic throttle. I hate the exhaist note , I also don't like the world engine. Had they put the neon motor in it so much would convince me its better than the neon . Sure it has creature comfort better than the neon, but that's not why we buy these ....let's be real 💯 neon>caliber
Which one has better space ? I don’t like small cars but always liked these. I can’t stand driving my friends Yaris or newer Honda Civic are they small on the inside like these cars?
