A local dealer has a charcoal 2005 SRT6 coupe on its lot and I'm thinking about upgrading from my black 2004 coupe. My car has just 12,000 km and the SRT6 has only 24,000 km so both are pretty fresh. As you know the '04 predates the Limited/Base nonsense, so I'm not hurting for any gadgetry or luxury right now.

What I think I would miss:

The 6 spd manual
The cool hideaway spoiler
The look of a clean and polished black Crossfire
The roughly $10,000 CDN it would cost to upgrade.

What I think I'll like:

The better looking wheels (would I stop looking at aftermarket rims?)
The extra power
Spending a little less time cleaning and polishing

Thoughts?

Dennis

 

Go for it if you can spare the cash.

 

That is a bad question to ask a bunch of guys that own SRT6's.... I like it so much I bought another....

as the man says... "If you can afford it.....buy it!" You will not likely every regret it....

 

The SRT6 is much quicker u will have alot more fun with it. As for rims i guess it comes down to your personality, ive always liked to get aftermarket rims for other cars ive owned but since getting the xfire im content, when clean they are very nice looking rims. The two cars may look the same but they sure dont drive alike get a 6 you wont be dissapointed

 

Drive it and then ask the question!! I'm a stick guy also, but
SRT6 has one of the best auto-sticks out there. I use auto-stick
85-90% of the time. The power is addicting. I prefer the SRT6
spoiler. I agree with Top Gear's assessment of the non-SRT6's
back end appearance.

 

LOL, I think that's exactly why I did post here!

I am curious to hear from any who have owned both types of Crossfire. I think an SRT6 test drive (at least) is in my immediate future.

Cheers,
Dennis

 

in my opinion i do not think it is worth it. Their is monetary and non monetary things to look at to decided. For $10,000 CDN which is $8200 US you can use that money to add a supercharger to your car or even drop a v8 in and still have money to beef up your suspension.

what i am saying you can do better for same or less.

tvt is soon to release a 3.8l short block which if you get the complete package it will put down 400hp. i am guessing between $3-$4k for the engine forged setup and you can choose high compression or low compression so you can run turbo or supercharger in the future to jump upto 500-600hp. now imagine that for the same price as the upgrade but you will be faster than others with srt6.

you need to decide what it is that you want since $8200 us is a lot to ask for and you can get the same forged internals, better suspension than the srt using koni adjustable shocks and eibach springs. better brakes by using mercedes c32 amg brembo 4 piston brakes with stainless lines, and 345mm rotor compared to 330mm on srt.

thanks

 

The answer to this question is complicated, depending on many factors of your life.









































YES




roadster with a stick and an SRT

 

Except he could just buy the SRT and an intake and run a 12 second quarter mile. You'd have to do everything mentioned above AND ADD A TRANSMISSION to get there.

Going to a dealership and buying a low 13/high 12 second car (that may even have a full factory warranty), or doing what amounts to a complete motor and transmission swap (don't forget getting the CPU to cooperate) isn't even a comparison. Then you suggest he take that motor swap, and go through the task of adding a blower or turbo to it?

Never mind the fact that there are maybe 1-3 V8 crossfires on the entire planet?

Motorswap, trans swap, dealing with the ECU/CPU, brakes and adding forced induction PLUS LABOR (I'd never assume someone could just do that on their own) would take months and thousands and thousands of dollars.

Should we compare reliability of the two options you propose, as well.....?

 

I did own a SSB 2004 Coupe first for about a year....then added the SSB SRT6... then traded the '04 Coupe for the Aero SRT6...

I enjoyed the '04 Coupe very much...I just enjoy the SRT6 VERY much....

 

i am not wanting to argue but there is some research that you need to do on the different options. the ecu part of it i do not argue on v8 swaps will take some work but nothing that is impossible.

if you are just going to buy the short block 3.8l that does not need much work on the ecu besides a tune since it is still a v6 motor just port, polished, bored out and other mods to get it to a 3.8l. they are shooting for 400hp now add some mods to that and you could probably squeeze it to 450hp before a power adder.

i bet you that srt6 owners will be looking for more options very soon since the amount of power you can squeeze out of these motors are getting there.

it is so so so much easier to drop $10,000 and pickup and srt6 but there are other options out there the op should consider.

i do not see why he would need to change the transmission unless he wants an auto i prefer the stick and would keep that. it would take thousands of dollars but so does upgrading to an srt6. also just looking at the auto and manual crossfire limited coupes the manual runs faster in the 1/4 miles

 

Illegal machine has hit it squarely on the nose. Makes no sense to spend $10K to attempt to modify the NA with a manual to the HP level of the SRT.

Assuming that the Pistons, rods and crank could handle it, my issue would be the Tranny. I own an NA manual shift and an SRT. This shifter is adequate at best. It is notchy and clunky and now that I have upgraded mine to a higher HP it is worse. I suspect one reason Diamler didn't offer it is that it is not the smooth, silky manual it needs to be to handle the power, and maximize the operation of the SC engine.

Aside from that, the SRT tranny is amazing. And this is from a die hard stick guy.

Finally the price difference between a good SRT and the retail on an '04 is about the same as the $10K he is budgeting. And there would be no work to achieve results and no worries about pushing the limits of the lighter built NA engine.

It doesn't make logical sense, or practical sense and it saves no money.

Find an $18,000 SRT. Buy it. Push, Go ,Grinn.


roadster with a stick

Can we make one of these constantly repeated threads a sticky?

 

...what mike said.

 

He'd need to change the transmission. If he doesn't, he might as well install a live grenade in the arm rest/storage bin. Why? Because running the "fantasy" 500hp you're claiming, he'd detonate the transmission at 1/2 throttle.

SRT-6 > Fantasy N/A Crossfire with a 3.8L Shortblock (that doesn't yet exist) with a fantasy blower or turbo (that has never been mounted to said 3.8L)

Everything you're claiming he should do, has never been done before. If there were 20 stroked N/A crossfires running around with 70mm turbos, I may sing a different tune. Until then, I'd never, ever, ever suggest someone could create a fantasy frankenstein car that doesn't exist "for the same money or less" than a SRT-6 and expect anyone to think it was a good idea.

I'm all for people pioneering and being the first to take bold steps....but it's pretty obvious to me that the thread starter isn't looking to that direction.

 

you know i agree i think the op would not be the type who might do something like that and i agree on the 6 speed issue with handling higher amounts of power. it might be wise for him to go with srt6 if he does not like to tinker around.

i think the next couple years you will be seeing a lot of modifications in the crossfire forum as more research and modding is done. Plus a lot of warranties are expiring and owners are likely to mod when warranty is over.

Heck i do not think any one has ever done a retrofit to the stock headlights and retrofit HID projectors in place of the halogen projectors. I am in the middle of that project and will be excited to see the results and I am working on getting quad projector HID retrofit instead of just the low beam using acura tl bixenon and lexus rx330.

I am the type who likes to modify and tune everything to my liking and in every modification i try to make it come out big jump in performance for a nice value. I worked on the system and now I am looking at suspension and brakes. I am leaning toward koni shocks and eibach springs with 4 pistion brembo brakes, ebc red stuff pads, and stainless lines with 345mm rotors.

 

If you can afford it, yes IMO its worth it. The SRT-6 is an amazing car. Just remember, it was a $46,000 USD car when new! This shitty market has made it one of the best bangs for the buck out there. Period!

-Chris (who wants to add another SRT-6 to the stable)

 

Perfect solution is to have both.................keep saving, you'll get there with no regrets later!

 

I'd say trade for an SRT-6 if (and only if) you crave better straight-line performance. Otherwise, in my humble opinion, the NA crossfire is just as good as the SRT-6 on public roads at sane speeds.

Aside from the engine, I don't see the SRT-6 having much of an advantage over the NA models. You get much nicer seats... and very firm suspension which could be a plus or minus depending on how you'll be driving. For me, the suspension can be jarring and annoying over rough roads, but I appreciate the stiffness when out in the twisties (maybe 10% of my driving at most).

If driving a nice, decently fast sports car makes you happy, I say don't make the switch. If you're horsepower happy, then the SRT-6 would be the way to go.

 

Well, I think I'll be sticking with my NA '04.

A test drive wasn't possible because the SRT-6 was way in the back of the indoor showroom. The sales person said it had been there for 2 years! She also said that I was one of, if not THE, first to even show interest in it.

We went through the trade/price negotiation ritual with the final agreement to be contingent on my satisfaction of the road test, which would have to be scheduled for another day.

Long story short, we were way apart on the cash difference. They wanted my cherry '04 AND $12,750 USD (I've converted from my native CDN currency for your convenience). That's about double what nadaguides.com says it would be if the deal happened 500 miles away in Minneapolis.

They didn't want to move much on the SRT-6 price because they paid a lot for it 2 years ago. And they weren't offering me much for mine, I think, because they don't want another xf on their lot ever again. They'd only go CDN wholesale book on it. I guess their plan was to hand it off to the auction house.

The SRT-6 was silver grey not charcoal, btw, and the finish wasn't great - stone chips, swirl marks, front spoiler had curb rash as did one rim.

Oh well. At least I got to remember how much I hate it when the salesperson disappears for 5 minutes to (allegedly) talk to some mysterious manager. What a ridiculous game.

 

lol wow, put in 3 grand more and you can get an srt6 and keep your 04.

i say you walk across the state and sell your car to carmax and pickup a srt6 in the USA