Hello everyone!! Been a LONG time since I've checked in, though I've been lurking a bit here and there.

As some of you remember, I sold my beloved Graphite beauty in 2014 to help put the wife through school. Since she has graduated and is now part of the workforce again (woohoo!) I have begun to consider options for the replacement "fun" vehicle

In my cross-shopping of models, one thing remains the same: the Crossfire SRT is still the undisputed champion, if you want one vehicle which has all of these qualities wrapped into it -- rarity, speed, and style.

The next closest car to consider would be the SLK 55 AMG, which is undoubtedly awesome. But, if I bought another SRT, the price difference alone would all but pay for 100% of the mods to be installed on the SRT (if it wasn't already modded upon purchase). 55 AMGs are still in the $22-28K range, unless you get one that has been thrashed. I can get a SRT-6 with reasonable mileage for HALF of that, and have 80% of the ownership experience.

So, my question to everyone -- how many of the aftermarket/replacement parts remain out there? I know body panels are practically extinct, but what about everything else? Are 181 pulleys still available? Needswings is still alive and kicking, so that rocks . This car will be a garage queen 80% of the time, but I still want to know that there are enough parts available to make the next potential ownership experience a fun one. What about the basic stuff, like floor mats, etc?

Hope everyone is doing well. I've missed you guys.

All the best,

John

 

First and foremost, welcome back! As you already pointed out Needswings is still around. In fact, they adjust just released new headers that are 1/3 the price of the MBH Performance headers so that's rather enlightening. Since buying my SRT-6 back in 2014 i've gone the custom route for alot of things. I had custom front/side splitters made, elected to go for a custom exhaust over that of an off the shelf model, etc. Ground Control also released their coilovers last year as an alternative to the KW V2's. So in short, the aftermarket....albeit very small....is still pretty sparse, but there have been a few new products released over the last year or so, so it's by no means dead.

 

Great news man!! And yes, I've been monitoring the NW headers for a while... still anxiously awaiting the numbers, but I know the customer who is receiving them, and I'm sure the outcome will be nice.

My target is to have a simple, reliable setup that gets me in the deep 12's. I learned a lot of lessons from my last SRT... I learned that supercharger pulleys can, in fact, be too small. I learned that not all fuel upgrades are "upgrades". So for my next car (if I end up with another SRT) will be very straightforward -- 181, NW Single CAI, SL55 pump, flash tune, tweaked manis -- and that's it. Since Kim is making good money, I'll have some extra cash to put towards the interior/exterior -- think "tasteful" re-freshening and some tactful use of OEM Mercedes bits.

Oddly enough, I'm eyeing Aero Blue as the next color (I've owned Alabaster and Graphite). Convertible is preferred, but I could live with a coupe if condition/mileage was right.

 

Best of luck with your plans! I went way off the beaten path with my Crossfire and the approach I have taken with it. Performance wasn't really my primary focus, but needless to say i've done a few "go fast" mods here any there. I have a few more odds and ends that I want to do it (headers, cutouts, another respray since the shop that painted my car last year didn't do such a hot job) and then I want to start putting money away to put towards my dream car - a 5th gen Lotus Esprit.

Also, might I ask why you prefer the NW single CAI over the dual? I have the single myself with the Xstream filter upgrade. I love it, but sometimes I wish I had the dual.

 

I've seen your car both here and on the Facebook group... looks amazing! And a big thumbs-up to the Esprit

Cost, cooling, and simplicity. I'm sure you're aware of the member grip grip on here. He lives close to me, and with the very simple combination of NW Single, 181 pulley, a tune, and drag radials -- he was in the 11's. When I bought my car, it had a NW single, a Eurocharged 65mm s/c pulley, and a tune. I ran 12.3 @ 113 on street tires, and after "upgrading" to the 61mm pulley, NW Dual CAI, and downpipes -- I ran 12.4 @ 116

The car "felt" strong, but the small s/c pulley created too much slip. Then I had issues getting fuel to behave. The added torque made the car harder to launch. That was right around the time I sold the car.

If you have the single, just stick with it and apply the $$$ difference to getting the valve covers coated (if you're after aesthetics) or towards the "tweaked" manis (if you want more HP). The NW Dual looks badass, but I was just as happy with the single and the X-Stream.

 

Thanks man! I've still got a long ways to go before i'm really happy with it though. I had string of back luck throughout 2014 and i'm still picking up the pieces from that whole mess. The Esprit is still a pipe dream at the moment. I want to finish what I started (no Kylo-Ren pun intended) with the Crossfire and buy a house before I take that dive. I am shooting for 2-3 years before i'm in a position where I can seriously consider buying one. I could easily afford a 4th gen right now, but I really yearn for a 5th gen. Unfortunately they're still pretty damn pricey at the moment.

Regarding your feedback on the single vs. dual CAI....makes sense. Sometimes less is more. My car had the NW single CAI on it when I bought the car. I later did the Xstream filter upgrade just for kicks. As for the manifolds, as I mentioned before i'm not really a power junkie. This is undoubtedly the fastest car I have ever owned as it sits (refer to my signature for what all is done to my car). With that being said, I do want to improve the aesthetics of my engine bay a bit. I purchased everything I need to paint my valve covers & intake manifolds myself. VHT engine primer, VHT high-temp silver engine paint, VHT high-temp clearcoat and of course lots and lots of brake cleaner....lol. But with the weather having gotten cold i'm waiting for a warmer series of days before I try to tackle this job. I chose to go with silver because it's simple, clean and will match the silver finish of my NW intake. I'm planning to paint my NW oil catch can with the VHT paint before installing it as well.

 

Nothing wrong with making long-term plans. You have to do what works for YOU and your circumstances. The same people that are eager to tell you how to spend your money, are the ones that wouldn't take advice from you on how to spend theirs

I think, based on our short exchange here, the single would be more than adequate. Sounds like you've already got the valve-cover gaskets sorted (just remember the gaskets!!). From here, there are some minor aesthetic improvements you can make that will really work well with the black/silver thing you have going on. Magnecor wires come to mind -- they're red and look awesome while the hood is open. Just make sure they *click* when you push them in... otherwise, you'll have them back off the plugs while driving down the interstate (been there, done that).

Manis can be removed and powdercoated... wouldn't recommend spray paint, even if it's "high-temp" (been there, done THAT too).

All in all, I love what you've done with your car (from what I've seen so far). I need to go back and review your build thread, and give kudos where they're due.