New 06 SRT8 and Couple Questions

[Jason5575]

Hello,

I bought a 2006 SRT8 today and I pick her up next Saturday. On the test drive the car was amazing. However I have never had a Chrysler Auto Stick before and had a few questions.

1. When on the highway going 60+, should the car aggressively downshift at WOT? This just up and took off smoothly

2. When attempting to light the tires the car all of a sudden bucked like it bounced off the rev limiter and the throttle seemed to cut out. Assuming that is traction control ruining the fun?

Also.....this car is missing the 6.1L HEMI valve cover covers under the hood but otherwise looks unmolested and totally stock. This a normal mod to remove them? Hopefully not too expensive to replace.

Jason
Akron, OH

[stevesrt8]

welcome.

It is normal to get a fabulous downshift at or below 60. It goes all the way down into second and can really jump!

When you want to have some wheelspin simply push the small ESP button on the dash above the radio. Some newer 06's can push and hold it for like ten seconds and turn off even more of it, but it never really goes away completely.

And I can't imagine why anyone would remove the covers, they must have a 5.7!

[marnepup]

Hammering the throttle into a downshift is VERY sensitive to your speed (well, actually, your RPMs) at the time of said hammering. If you nail it somewhere around 55-61MPH, you'll drop straight into second and your tach will slam into the powerband...just the thought of it causes a sexual response (damn you, Pavlov!!!) ...but, just a smidge faster, and she only drops into third, and below the powerband. At 65mph, you'llonly end up downshifting into third...which feels gutless by comparison....since you'd normally upshift from 2nd into 3rd under WOT around 78! You get the same effect in the 90-95mph range, but that has fewer practical applications.

I guess the bottom line is that you're not going to get a good downshift if your speed at the time of downshift is too close to a shift point. It's retarded that the "buffer" under the 2-3 shift point is more than 15mph...but there it is. For maximum fun (and "from the roll" accelleration), make sure you're going between 55 and 60mph when you hammer the gas.

Your second "problem" is indeed the ESP kicking in to correct your loss of traction. Try the third position of the ESP button. If you just hit the button, you get about a 15% reduction in electronic babysitting services. If you hold it for 7-10 seconds, you'll hear a chime, and the EVIC will display a message indicating that ESP has been disabled...which isn't quite true...it's just been reduced a great deal more, say 85%. It's more than plenty to allow for fun, though. The only way to completely disable it involves pulling a certain fuse. NOT RECOMMENDED, since this kills a few other nice-to-have services, like your antilock brakes!!!

[GoofyTimL]

And one of your first mods should be the addition of a DiabloSport Predator tuner. Even if you just use one of their canned performance tunes and firm up the shift points, it will change your whole perspective about the car... and the permagrin on your face (difficult tor remove).

[marnepup]

Yep, the predator doesn't really add much in the way of power....but it adds a whole boatload of attitude!

[EricG]

Originally Posted by marnepup

Yep, the predator doesn't really add much in the way of power....but it adds a whole boatload of attitude!

-yeah, doesn't necessairly add power, just unlocks it.

[Jason5575]

Just able to respond now to everyone's help. Thanks for the kind advice. Good to know the transmission is speed sensitive to downshifting. I will have to get used to it and learn where the spots are.

It looks like the Diablo Sport is a good thing so I will look into getting one.

Curious if guys here send out their computers or get custom tuning done for power? I know it is popular with the GM cars, but not sure in the Chrysler Hemi world?


Thanks!

Jason

[moorec614]

Nope, most everyone just goes with a canned Diablo tune, which would be similar to a mail-in flash. If you want to take it a step further, you can have your Diablo / car dyno tuned.

[srt8-in-largo]

Congrats on your purchase, I'm sure you'll be enjoying your car for a long time!

Chrysler tuning has been proprietarily inaccessible for years, and years, and years.. until the Diablosport Predator. GM and Ford tuning has been more or less open source and therefore many more tuning options exists.

1. There are a couple of "weak" dead spots. Another one is between about 25 - 30 mph; hard to get a downshift into first at these speeds.

2. TC and torque management at work. Sucks. The Predator will help.

There's no reason to remove the the valve cover cover; not sure why it would be missing(???).