Hi guys,

I am going to buy a car in about a month and after a long research I have narrowed down my choice to 2 cars: scion TC and dodge SRT4.

I know that they are two completely different cars with similar prices and that the performance of the dodge is out of the question.

Anyhow, today I went to test drive the SRT4 and I was surprised by the interior: it actually looked and felt better than in the pictures. It is true that the car is pretty laud at high RPM, but on the same side, is incredibly fast.

I have only a question for the pride owners: how is your manual transmission? I know that it is supposed to be very strong but I felt that it was not too easy to go trough the gears as I expected. I hade troubles to put second gear in and I was wondering if it was my fault, the fact that the car was new, or just the way it is supposed to be?

Thanks for your help and patience,

Federico

 

I haven't heard of any issues with getting into 2nd gear. When I first got mine, I missed 3rd gear a few times, but that was part of the learning curve.

I wouldn't worry about it, it was probably a fluke.

 

I noticed that too but I felt that if it's that hard it's gonna be a while before it gets soft and feels cheap. I went ahead and put on the Short shifter and it got even stiffer. It can be a bear in traffic but when theres a chance to open it up it's worth the wait. You get used to it. In fact every time I drive another stick it always feels so worn out. Just my 2 cents

 

I am fine with mine stock, its not to hard to shift. I do have the STS, but i havent installed it yet, i don't know when i'll have time/feel up to it. Good Luck on your decision!!

 

I think that the short shifter it is going to make it even harder.
When do yI think that the short shifter it is going to make it even harder.
When do you guys change quickly from first, second, and third, do you force the gear in strongly or it goes into place by itself?
I am sorry about the questions but I just want to make sure how everybody else’s car is.

Does the Borla exhaust make the car tone deeper even inside?

 

Just about any exhaust that you put on the car makes the cabin noise louder, from riding in a bunch of them.

The only problem I have is downshifting from 2nd to 1st in excess of 20mph. THAT is very difficult to do, other than that, when I was first learning I missed 3rd, but no problems getting into 2nd. I've never had to force the gear in at all, the only time I have to force is to downshift from 2nd to 1st around 20mph +....but thats a rarity. My car's tranny behaves

 

my 2nd gear synchros are shot. this seems to be more of a problem on 03 trannys than 04, so i'm surprised to hear that you noticed that. they changed some of the parts of the tranny in the 04's to correct the problems that the 03s were having.

a sts doesn't really make a difference when it comes to grinding or anything like that. all it does is make it a shorter throw. installing the bushings with the sts will make it a little stiffer, but over time they bushings losen up so it's not quite as stiff anylonger.

these trannys are very strong, and they do take a while to brake in. dodge likes to say 10k, but it shouldn't be that long. until it brakes in, the tranny can be a little stiff and difficult. any manual is like that really.

 

When I was learning to drive, most folks had manual trannys with the shifter mounted on the steering column!!! Times change.

The only fluke with the SRT-4 tranny I have besides it being hard to shift into 1st at low speeds is the lurching you get in 1st if you try to drive any distance. Most performace cars do this, so it's not unique to the SRT-4....

 

My 2nd gear is very uncooperative till the tranny has warmed up completely (at least 20 minutes). Until then I have to wait several seconds between 1-2 shifts, and have to go slowly and double-clutch to go 3-2.

When I got the car it did this pretty much all the time. I never knew whether or not it would grind going into 2nd; it was always a dice roll. But once I read about the wiring harness that interferes with the clutch pedal travel and rerouted it, the problem went away (once the car has warmed up, that is).

I took it back to the dealer, and of course got the standard "worked fine for us", but I'll probably take it in again over the holidays when it's good and cold.

I just turned 3K on the car, BTW, and have never abused it. That is my ONLY real gripe with my SRT-4 -- and it does seem I'm in the minority on this.

 

That is exactly what I felt when I test drove it.
Going 1-2 and 3-2 was a problem.

Thanks for all your responses,

Federico