Are you trying to say the engine will see 50 more hp after break in, because that is approximately what it would take to run .5 et better. I don't see that happening.

Yeah, I have a feeling if GM could say 93 is recommended, they would, but thanks to California and any other states that only run 91, I see the manufacturers giving the nod to the 91. I hear the Nissan VQ engines are like the LS1 in this respect; you can put 91 in them, but on the really hot summer days on heavy load or throttle it is probably going to ping on you.

 

Look at it this way. Brent w/ the SRT8 in the mid 12s could weigh 150lbs. He may verify that he removes excess weight and runs 1/8th tank of fuel.

Another SRT8 owner may weigh 250-300lbs, and not care that he has 1/2, 3/4 or even full tank of gas and tools, etc. etc in the car.

Just between those 2 setups can be up to 2mph difference.

Factor in weather/location. Density altitude on the east coast where Brent ran could have been -1000 or -1500'. Have someone at another track run on a mediocre day, and the DA is 2000'.

There's another 3mph in the conditions alone.

Hence, 5mph. :-)

I used to see 3mph difference in my camaro between running in May & October. Same setup, same 4 tracks, etc. DA was ~2000' in summer months, 0 to -1000' da in October.

Mike

 

In my LT1 Z28 I ran premium octane (91) and then added octane booster. Made a difference of 1 mph, consistently.

Could be attributed to the possibility that it ran retarded timing even on 91 octane, but switched to premium timing for the boosted fuel.

Yet the fact remains - there is something to be gained from going to higher octane fuel.

 

Half a second is generous. But then I again I consider 12.70 mid 12s. So 30hp? Yeah. easy on a big 6.1L V8.

So we'll give a .3sec handicap and declare the SRT a mid 12 car if GN rips a 13flat within 2 weeks.

 

http://www.300cforums.com/forums/srt...k-srt-8-a.html

Bone stock Chrysler 300 run 12.6's with video of run, and video of his engine, exhaust, etc that it is bone stock. The bottom line of this post. Where is the bone stock 435lb lighter GTO's running these numbers?

THe base price of a Charger SRT-8 is right around $35k There was a window sticker on Ebay.

What did the 04 GTO cost at a dealership when they first came out? Not a good argument to use since you all use the dealer mark up as to why the sales were a flop. Remember, its not always a good thing when your car is a blue light special. I was going to get an 04 GTO, but when GM went to 0% on Vettes you could buy a new base Corvette and have a cheaper payment. What are 2 more doors, a ton more cabin space, 25 more HP, 14.2mm Brembo brakes, 20" wheels, Goodyear eagle f1 supercar rubber

I can admit I may have been wrong on the V's having torque mgmt (did not know the C-5 Z06's had it), but either way GM has to race what it brung and in this case it did not bring enough for the SRT-8 line up.

I thought this all seemed farmiliar, It was the same damn thing back in 1985 when the 86 Buick Grand National came out and how that big luxury boat was faster than a Vette and the Vette guys could not handle it.

I'm past my 60 mile break in period. THe owners manual says to floor it periodically after 60 miles so I can go at any time.

 

That's what I'm hinting and I've made the point all along that the authors of posts from the various forums are not totally 'clean' or just plain aren't aware of what exactly was done to the vehicle(s).

Stock cars come in various forms and the difference between them can be as much as 2s. I know, I have a cammed LS1 but I can't get near some Australian LS1 unopened records... it's because we're not comparing apples with apples.

 

The SRT-8 reccomends 91 octane, and I do not beleive anyone has a programmer out for the 6.1L hemi yet.

 

It still matters more, what the real street prices are instead of what one EBay anecdote says. edmunds.com has the street price for a Charger SRT8 at $39k (I did add the AY2 pkg to get it up to the lofty level of GTO luxury, such as the 6-disk stereo ). So for the sake of being kind, I'll just ignore the anecdotes about the price premiums dealers seem to be asking for. That is STILL an awful lot of cash. It's agreed, this is apples/oranges... but for every time someone touts the extra two doors, I feel compelled to point out they add over 400 lb to the deal.

 

The Charger is a larger platform than the GTO and the car has somewhat more room inside. It also has (I think) a more sophisticated IRS. There are more airbags and probably a better safety rating, though I don't recall whether the various safety agencies have rated the GTO or what the scores were. I do know that DC thought it was important to have the cars get the top ratings. There's also those giant wheels and the iron block for the engine (which doesn't add value but does explain 100 or so extra pounds). The Charger has a much larger trunk.

I agree that for people who want a specific size or price, you wouldn't cross shop. For around 30K, it's a choice between the Charger RT and the GTO. If you want a big four door, you get the Charger. If you want a more svelte two door, you get the GTO. The GTO will also be substantially quicker.

I think they're both great cars -- I don't know which one I would buy if I were in the market now.

 

As I've pointed out... the interior dimensions comparison is a mixed bag. Neither car has a clear advantage in all dimensions. As for crashworthiness... the Aussies ran the required crash tests on the essentially identical Monaro, and it did quite well (better than the best 4gen FBody results, which were also quite good). I'll have to look that up again.

But it goes back to my point about this being an apples-oranges comparison. On performance alone, it's a horse race IMHO. On features, well it comes down really to how many DOORS you want. And speaking of four doors, if anything goes (so far that seems to be the case ) then why not compare the SRT8 with a Chevy Trailblazer SS? They start at a street price below $30k, with 400HP... four doors... you can even get AWD...

 

Because you can take an SRT8 around a race track and it'll go fast and feel comfortable doing it.

The TBSS would feel slow in comparison; it would *feel* like its down 100hp when you look at trap speeds. (from the looks of this thread, that comment is over most of your heads! )

TBSS would be way behind in handling and braking as well.

 

We just devoted entire 6 pages to the fact that SRT8 is substantially quicker than the GTO.

 

All that point does, is make it more clear that NONE of these three choices 'has it all' (low price, full-to-the-brim luxury set, and extreme performance). So it's like the old saying, "You can have it soon, cheap, or full-featured, but not all three!"

 

Huh? The debate came nowhere to making a safe conclusion. The reason is, the specs do not support such a conclusion... unless the SRT8 V8 is wildly under-rated, a remote possibility considering the new SAE rating scheme. Plus the SRT8 doesn't have enough time out on the streets and tracks in the hands of regular owners to have established its performance credibility as of today.

 

Not if it's raining

In the rain you'd be kicking yourself for not buying an AWD TBSS, for less $$ to boot