Hello all! I just registered for the forum after a couple of days spent reading and searching for info about the SRT6. My lease on an 08 S2000 ends in May and I'm looking for something just as fun but a little less noisy and with an automatic, hence my arrival at the Crossfire forum. I love the S2000 but my 67 mile daily round trip commute is rendered a misery by really nasty traffic. It takes me between 1:15 and 1:30 to drive 33.5 miles in the morning. So, I've come round to the idea of an automatic in self defense. But I still want a car that is fun to drive. I've always loved the looks of the SRT6 and it seems to fit my criteria.

Through the search function I've found some stuff...

Oil changes are apparently expensive @ $150. But I'm stil not sure why beyond the buckets of synthetic oil required. Anyway, that doesn't bother me.

It seems like fuel mileage is running between 20-22 mpg in mixed driving with lows in the high teens in city/traffic and maybe highs of 25 on the highway. That's fine.

A set of good tires is around $800, not bad.

Insurance is in line with the S2000.

I started out looking for a roadster but.....

• The soft top eats into already scarce trunk space.
• The unique roofline of the coupe really defines the Crossfire for me and the soft top really ruins that IMHO.
• I found the "rear window problem" searching this site. Apparently the glass can separate and drop out in extreme hot weather.
• Let's face it, only about 900 roadsters were made and the car has been out of production for several years. Finding anyone to make and install a top won't get any easier in five years.

So I think I've now grudgingly given up on the roadster and moved on to find a coupe. I'm scheduled to look at one this week. I started out wanting black, then came to my senses. Black is a love/hate thing. So, now its down to either Gray Metallic or the Silver Saphire Blue. I've never actually seen an SSB Crossfire up close and I get varied impressions from photos. Can you guys tell me if it's more blue or silver? I really have a strong dislike for blue cars like the Aero Blue. Is SSB more silver than blue?

Lastly, how do you like the Mercedes auto? Does it rev match on downshifts? Does it shift "right now" or have that slushbox slinky effect with a lag between lever movement and gear changes?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

SSB is more Silver than Blue

Many more here....The Official "Sapphire Silver Blue C-R-O-S-S-F-I-R-E s" Rule Thread







Many more here....The Official "Sapphire Silver Blue C-R-O-S-S-F-I-R-E s" Rule Thread

 

I love it. Shifts like a dream. Smooth. Tiptronic much more responsive my old 2001 Dodge was. I'm hard to please.

 

Thanks, I did browse that thread but I ended up frustrated. The first two pictures you posted do look like an almost pure silver. But the last one looks very bluish. It's probably the lighting and the snow may be reflecting blue from the sky. It's really tough looking at photos. I suppose the reality is somewhere between those three shots depending on lighting. I'm looking at a SSB this week. If it looks like the first two shots and it's in good shape, I'll probably buy it.

 

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I also found info on the dreaded cupholder in the Crossfire during my forum searches. Not a problem for me. I just spent three years with the worlds second worst cupholder in my S2000. I've learned to wait til I reach the office for my first cup of coffee.

 

You wil love the Crossfire. As far as SSB goes it depends of the light. check out my signature picures. Most people assume my car is silver.

 

Check out the thumbnail of my SSB Xfire in my signature.

In my opinion it is silver in color, and a stretch to finding any excessive blue highlighting.

When I viewed before purchase, if I was told the color was silver, rather than SSB, my tired old eyes would have had a hard time questioning it's something other than silver...

But that's just my opinion...

 

The SSB is FREQUENTLY advertised as being silver or gray..... I owned the SSB and the Aero Blue and loved them both... apparently I loved the Aero more as I sold the SSB last Nov.......

You will not regret buying an SRT..... unless it is BLACK.. (ongoing disagreement between friends)

 

You are going to love the SRT6. SSB is definitely silver with a lite blueish tinge. It does depend on the lighting and angle of the sun.

The auto is amazing. It will hold a gear and shift only to protect against self destruction (really helpful on track days.) My BMW auto stick would constantly shift up in the middle of a long tight turn, the attitude of the car changed almost as quickly as I traded it for my SRT6. A Selectable Sprint Booster will crisp up the shifting (the throttle is electronic and the sprint booster takes up some of the lag).

All colors look good on the SRT6, and I understand your love/hate thing for black, but when cared for, it sure looks stunning...

 

The auto in the crossfire is the NAG-1 which is basically the same transmission as the one from other high performance cars like the E55 AMG and SRT-8s. It also serves as the basis for the transmission in the SLR McLaren. It works pretty good for cruising as well as driving hard.

As far as the manual shift feature, it is not as responsive like driving a dual clutch GTI or Porsche. Downshifts happen on demand, but it has a tendency to hold revs higher and delay your upshift if you wanted to shift at a lower rpm.

What I'm trying to say is the gearbox senses when you're kicking *** and will start holding gears longer into the power band even though you want to upshift and settle down. It takes a few seconds for the computer to realize you've calmed down.

The gearbox also considers steering angle and will hold lower gears in turns so you can power out of the apex. (careful though, this car has brutal midrange torque and comes around quick)

That's my only negative comment about the transmission. I don't feel the gearbox or its programming holds the car back in any way as far as going fast is concerned.

The car also drives well in full auto mode and adapts to fast driving. Some members have posted videos of fast driving the car in auto in the alps (if i remember correctly) and I think mrphotoman posted some track day footage with the car running in full auto mode.

 

Here's a Bright Silver 08 normally aspirated to compare with the SSB....

 

Welcome aboard! With the prices as low as they are, the SRT-6 is definitely a best bang for the buck piece of machinery! I recently had an upgraded Eurocharged tune which seems to quicken the shift points and boy does the car now haul butt! I've owned many cars in my life and this one is by far the best I've ever owned.

 

Here's a picture of my SSB SRT6 roadster next to an Aero blue , and a graphite SRT6 for comparison

 

Get it!!

I had 2 over the years and got rid of mine last year, worst decision I ever made!

 

Go coupe. More room in the boot and easier to find.
Go SRT as you don't seem to want to row your own.

I have an SSB vert manual NA and love it.
I also have an Aero Blue SRT coupe.

Both cars have their appeal.

SSB is easier to keep clean. But that is because SSB can go faster.


roadster with a stick

BTW, have an "extra" aeroblue SRT sorta for sale. PM sent.

 

SSB is more silver than blue and hides dirt better than other colors. The front wheel brake combo is another story so you'll want to make friends with your local brushless car wash. I let the pros do a deluxe job every two weeks and do it by hand in between so I can spot any problem areas on the body. Originally wanted bright silver manual w/6 speed MT for Kleeman conversion but conversion costs and the better half prevailed.

You can slap shift it down to get the ultimate edge in passing but it will be a little slow to upshift after that. The best and (second cheapest) performance option is SRT SIX's (Karl's) sprint booster. It will speed things up a bit.

Just like choosing a girl, don't choose your SRT6 by color. Choose it by the car. One owner cars with a good history (adult driven, no mods) are tough to find, especially since only 2,016 coupes were made worldwide in the first place. Fortunately most of the SRTs are known to the board members and one comes up for sale from time to time.

You will find the SRT makes the commute feel quicker, even if your interstate turns into a pothole-filled parking lot.

Enjoy the hunt.

 

After daily driving a 2007 gti with auto dsg.... I can tell you that the srt-6 transmission shift slow. For a camry or fusion it would be acceptable. But for a sports coupe it shift slow. It does not rev match. It can take a crapload of torque and needs a tune to shift consitently at 6k. Also it would have been great if it came with an extra gear. Regardless, it can take a beating which at the end of the day is what really counts

 

Dont forget that there is also a graphite color out there. I like SSB though.

 

Thanks for all the responses and information guys.

The side by side pictures from VALKRYDERGUY, LantanaTX, and magretvet were especially helpful.

SRT Six, I hope I didn't mislead with the love/hate comment about black cars. I didn't mean that people either love em or hate em. I meant that I love em and hate em. Nearly any car looks great in black and the SRT 6 looks especially good in black. But the constant effort to keep imperfections from showing drives me nuts. That's the reason I'm looking at the metallic silver and gray. Between the color and the metal flake they hide a lot of sins.

Mimi05SRT6, yeah the value proposition is one of the compelling arguments for this car along with the completely unique looks. While I can believe the market walked away from a $50K Chrysler in 2005, it's hard to believe the way values have plummeted. The fact that you can pick up a low mileage coupe with Karman body and AMG engine that will still run with almost anything on the road today for under $20K is unbelievable. I wasn't even thinking about this car a few months ago. I was juggling keeping the S2000 or getting into a new 2011 Mustang or 370Z roadster at $37 - $43K. Somehow I remembered the Crossfire and after a little research, I can no longer justify $40K.

 

Yep, if I could find a good example of the graphite gray nearby (miles, condition, price) that would be my first choice. But I'm gonna investigate the SSB I've found. If it's more silver than blue and in good condition, I'll go ahead and buy it. The S2000 lease doesn't end for another 6 weeks but I don't mind having a 4th car around for awhile.