Some SRT8 photos from the SEMA show in Las Vegas

9643 Views 25 Replies 12 Participants Last post by indyCoder, Dec 19, 2004

DZeckhausen

Discussion Starter · Dec 15, 2004

I only just discovered this forum recently, otherwise I would have posted these photos several weeks ago.

Last month, at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, I had a chance to get up close and personal with a pre-production model of the upcoming 425 hp Chrysler 300C SRT8. It was located in the Mopar Alley tent. One of the benefits to owning a racing shop.

At first glance, the car looked like a normal 300C with very tasteful aftermarket 20" wheels. The chrome trim was almost entirely replaced with body color trim. In silver, this didn't make a huge difference. A black SRT8, if it is offered, will look very different. The tail pipes were slightly larger and a small spoiler nicely frames the back of the car. A small badge is the biggest hint, from behind, that the car in front of you is something special.

I was impressed with the bolstering on the SRT8's seats. The seats look amazing and I'm hoping to add them to my "ordinary" 300C or else replace the whole darned car with an SRT8!

The engine bay was also impressive, with large intake runners dominating the compartment instead of being hidden underneath plastic covers.

The factory Brembos were unpainted, but a Chrysler engineer told me they would probably get a coat of silver paint before hitting the showroom floor. He also hinted that an SRT8 version of the Magnum RT might be produced and it would have red painted calipers. I learned that the front steering knuckles are unique to the SRT8, so any Brembo or StopTech aftermarket big brake kit designed for the normal 300C will not bolt on to this car. It will have to be measured and an SRT8-specific brake kit designed.

FRONT BRAKES:

REAR BRAKES:

A small brochure for the SRT8 was available and I grabbed a couple for the historical file. On one side, it shows a dramatic photo of the car and on the other, it lists some of the car's impressive specifications.

I was told to expect final pricing to be announced in a couple of weeks. And it was hinted that Chrysler is still on schedule for a February release of the SRT8. That seems to run counter to what some of you have heard in more recent weeks. I can't wait!! I want one now.

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davequick

· #20 · Dec 17, 2004

DZeckhausen said:
I realize you're teasing me. But to clarify. I said the SRT8 rear caliper is approximatly in the same location (perhaps 15 degrees CCW) of the 300C rear caliper. I didn't say that EITHER caliper was in the ideal 3:00 or 9:00 position.

Conventional yes, optimal - not necessarily. Factor in heat disipation/cooling, center of gravity, dircection of rotor spinning, ducting accessibility to brakes, etc. Why is 3 or 9 "optimal"?

Purpose built F1 racing cars have seen them placed at the conventional 3 or 9 but also at the 6 (ferrari), 7 (mclaren), and 10 (jag).

Maybe the R&D department inside of dalmier/chrysler picked up some tricks from the McLaren/Mercedes partnership that they've applied to the SRT.

Or, maybe it's just plain wierd for another reason you'll discover when you pull it apart. ;-)

Other than convention - what is the main purpose that 3 or 9 is optimal?

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davequick

· #24 · Dec 19, 2004

DZeckhausen said:
It minimizes the impact of wheel bearing deflection on the calipers. In other words, a caliper at 12:00 is more likely to suffer from pad knockback than a caliper at 3:00 following a series of turns with high lateral loads. See: http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/knockback.htm

Thanks for the pointer to an explination.

It makses sense to me on race cars but not production cars, but I'm not involved with a racing effort personally and have less than zero actual wrench time myself...

Thinking throug the problem of braking during cornering which seems to be the only time that wheel bearing deflection would occur based on the sketches at the URL you provide - if you were within proper tolerance for alignment on your caliper and pad setup) the car (i'm thinking SRT8 standard with ESP) will sense out of proportion wheelspin for input steering control and pulse that brake due to the Bosch 8.0 software inthe brake controller - the pulsing is equivalent to letting off the brake and reapplying 150 times per second. At least if the ESP is equivalent to the current Mercedes parts bin in 2005 Mercedes cars. Even with ESP "deactivated" it is stil on - just at about 20% the effectiveness as when it is fully active, again - if equivalent to current ESP in Mercedes.

Does this type of electrronic intervention help mitigate the conventional wisdom of 3 o'clock on a road going car with a brain? I mean obviously most race classes likley ban this type of electronics and I can see the 3 o'clock as a necessity for them... but what's your opinion - does the electronic smarts in a modern car like an SRT8 with ESP negate the concern of piston knockback for fixed caliper setups?

Thanks in advance for the education.

-dq

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