First off, we know that it actually is a Neon. It seems that about half of SRT-4 drivers will own up to this, while the other half clings desperately to the fact that the SRT-4 is vastly improved in every way over a base-model Neon, and therefore is a different car. Flawed logic in our book, but it's really a moot point at the end of the day. The fact of the matter is the SRT-4 gets a bad wrap fairly often, and it doesn't deserve it. This is a good car for the money, no matter how you slice it up.
This realization is not new. Dodge received many accolades with the release of the SRT-4, and the car was widely accepted as a great bang-for-your-buck performer right out of the box. This was years ago, though. In the early '00s there weren't a lot of good FF cars on the market. The DC2 Integra Type-R, produced from model years '97-01 for the U.S. market was (and still is, in our minds) the best all-around performing FF car of all time, so introducing anything else in the segment is a lofty goal. With cars slowly but surely gaining weight and growing in size after the turn of the millennium, many people were pleasantly surprised when the SRT-4 was announced. It looked like a fantastic car on paper and lived up to its performance figures.
The car performs aptly - very aptly, in fact. Much more so than many would expect, given the unshakable reputation that precedes anything sharing the frame of a Neon and PT Cruiser. This is due largely in part to the fact that despite sharing the very basic underlying components, the SRT-4 is essentially a different car. Please excuse the circular logic, you'll get used to things like this in the SRT-4 world.
Enough with the history lesson - what about our car? The SRT-4 has been through a lot in its life, and now it's time to move forward and finish the project that was started oh-so-many years ago. How the car sits right now is a very solid starting point. As most of us know, the car is a hand-me-down of sorts, a leftover asset from the demise of Sport Compact Car. Let's take stock of what the SCC crew did to get the project rolling.
Project SRT-4's engine bay is stock, for the most part - a Mopar Stage 1 upgrade has been installed. Consisting of 577cc fuel injectors and a reprogrammed ECU, this modest upgrade is good for 240 horses to the front wheels, according to Mopar. In the real world, this upgrade made 239 whp and 261 ft-lbs of torque with the help of a custom side-exit MagnaFlow exhaust. The sound it produces can strike fear in the hearts of many unsuspecting drivers and make anyone think twice before revving on Project SRT-4 at a stoplight.
When the time comes for us to upgrade the turbo setup, we will reestablish a baseline and work from there. The car feels like it's making a bit less than the advertised 239 whp, and after years of abuse and neglect that's not entirely surprising. We really hope the motor will hold up with the increased boost (and associated stress) of a major turbo and fuel system upgrade; based on what we've heard from reputable SRT tuners, a stock block in good condition should do just fine up to 400-500 whp, possibly higher. We don't want to push our luck, though, after all the 56,000 miles on the clock are mostly track miles. Project SRT-4 ain't no garage queen, this girl has been around the block a few times.
The car is propelled by a stock transmission, equipped with a Quaife 1.5-way LSD. For some reason, the '03 SRT-4 didn't come equipped with a LSD from the factory (Dodge corrected this mistake in the '05 model year). The clutch setup will need some attention in the form of a stronger unit and possibly a slightly lightened flywheel in the future.