e55 baller

I raced my buddies...was slow but quick for an SUV...I am thinking about getting my wife this SUV. 420hp/tq. Supposedly they run low 13s and high 12s with air/exhaust/headers. Does anyone have one on this forum?

Thanks.

Hammer Down

Have you run your car since you added all of the mods? Any reason for using different tuner parts?

Bipasha493

heard one the other day, sounds niceee

BiTurboAmg

Talk to gs motor sports, I spoke with them about a jeep srt 8 with the supercharger pkg , heads, headers and it would put out 650hp and close to the same lbft so it would fly. I have a dealer in denver that can sell the jeeps at 1000.00 behind invoice and you can order in the one you want. I like the jeeps and keep going back to one as a daily driver instead of my h2 but we will see two suvs is a bit of over kill for me.

MiamiAMG

I haven't raced one, but my friend has one. It's a pretty bad a$$ looking ride. Very aggressive on the outside, a very cool looking ****pit, nice instrument dials, great seats & one hell of an engine. I think it might even be faster than the Cayenne Turbo & for half the price. Very nice for an SUV.

Vomit

I test drove one.

Pluses: Looks cool outside (subjective) especially in black. Nice sounds. Can be had for 37K base or 41K loaded. Torquey motor. AWD.

Minuses: Like most "bargain" vehicles, the price paid shines through clearly in the interior. The cargo bay is very small for the size of the vehicle. Front seats are of debatable comfort. Back seats slightly worse. Front end felt vague to me on hard acceleration. Motor feels definitely "trucky" with lots of torque, but little high-rev fun. Tow rating is very low for an SUV (3500 lb I think), and towing requires a special hitch to be installed to accomodate the center exhaust pipes. While it is AWD, vehicle is essentially useless off road. Crappy MPG (14-15).

As you may have guessed, I passed. Frankly, while more expensive, lacking the "muscle car image," and while not as quick in a straight line as the SRT, the MBZ GL450 was a lot more impressive. Way more technology. Way smoother ride. Way better interior. Way more room. Over double the tow capacity. Also, dealers here in So. Cal are doing good promo leases of roughly 6k down and 600/mo on a lightly-optioned GL450.

BIG LUV

My buddy has one. I have raced it and blew it away, but it is cool for what it is. Its faster then a Cheyene and a Trailblazer SS and is relatively inexpensive.

FlyByNight

You can't compare a GL450 to a Jeep GC SRT8! That's like comparing an E55 to an S class... totally different sizes and markets! Apples and oranges.

The SRT8 is a mid sized SUV... you're much more accurate when comparing to the Explorer, ML and TrailBlazer. The GL is an Escalade / full sized thing.

The GL is a horrible handler compared to the Jeep... The Jeep handles almost as well on the skidpad as a fricken E55! The suspension is tighter than most, and its target is clear: performance SUV. Not comfortable SUV. Not large luxury SUV. Not off road SUV. Not tow your boat SUV. They couldn't be clearer about its intention.

That said, the thing kicks ***! I love it. I was in the same situation... wife needed a car, baby on the way... nightmares of minivans and SUVs, ugh! Plus, I'd have to drive it when we did those family things... or shopping... and I didn't mind the idea of keeping the miles low on the ol' K2 in the garage... If I must have an SUV, it should be kick A$$ fun and rare. That, the Jeep is by far.

So, what car allows you to have diaper changing abilities in the back, can hold some cargo and pets and junk... has AWD for rainy weather... has side curtain airbags and rear DVD entertainment... a suspension not inducive to roll, lowered, and handles like a car... and is generally kick a$$ fun to drive and takes most cars on the road in turns and a straight line with ease, for less than $50k including tax and a 7year/100k extended warranty?

It came to me in the middle of the night... the Jeep SRT8 would fit the bill.

I put a cold air intake on mine ... my milage went up and the sound is addictive. Mileage is HORRIBLE in the car... worse than an E55 by far. 10 in the city at most. But this isn't supposed to be a long distance car....

But I didn't get it for milage. I got it for CHEAP SUV fun with big block features, AWD for both handling and adverse weather, and extra space when I need it....

I love the thing. Sure the interior isn't Benz... but it isn't bad either! It works, its a Jeep, its more fun than any other SUV on the planet, and half the cost of a bloated R63 or a typical ML55/63. It has great visual and audio backup sensors, easy navigation, auto stick for shifting (which is what you want to use coming out of those corners, by the way... you need to get it up high for it to impress you).

I may even bring it to Drag Day just for fun. Out of the hole with traction control off, AWD is a blast.



Loren

amgplayer

Reminds me of whem my garage had an Ram SRT-10 and a CLS55 together. Stealers here were asking and got $20K mark-up on the Jeep STR-8 when it first came out. The SRT interior gets old quick and the overall quality is definitely american hot-rod, everything bigger in volume but with the same lower end finish.

e55 baller

thanks for the write up. they are very informative. Loren -- that is one bad looking agent!

I have a baby coming in 5 weeks so diaper changes in the back is helpful! Right now we have a 2002 Acura MDX. We got a scare last month when the tranny went at 75K miles. Turns out that all 2002 MDX's have this issue as a bad production process in the Merryville, OH plant impacted this and Honda transmissions. We are under warranty for 3 more years and I like the size, gas mileage is good at 20, but its not fast (240hp) like the Jeep. My price point is under 45K. Her boss has the Escallade...don't want to show up her boss or else no more raises?

What scares me is 10mpg, thats bad even for what it is...thats Lamborgini bad.... With all my mods I have averaged lifetime 16.8 mph on my K2 E55. My wife's commute is 45 miles/day -- an extra $100 in gas/mo won't kill us but isn't there anyway to get 15mpg? The air intake helps mpg...how much?

FlyByNight

You know, I've only had it two weeks... and haven't done freeway driving. Around town driving nicely, I average 11.8 according to the computer. I imagine the freeway would be better, but there's no way around it... these 6.1's love gas. Doesn't matter if its a 300 SRT8 or a charger / magnum SRT8... they are capitalist pig consuming gas guzzlers. My old Hummer H2 got better gas mileage. If you're driving 45 miles a day, forget about it... get a new benz diesel or something (I love my E320 CDI... lots of low end torque and 40 mpg!).

I got this because my wife will drive some 100 miles a week at most... and when I have to drive an SUV, I'm at least driving one that is fun as heck... and it is.

I will say the Jeep interior is much better than any SVT10 I've seen... and much better than a charger / magnum unit... on par with the 300C. They put the volume controls on the BACK of the steering wheel (I keep accidentally wanting to shift with them) and the cruise controls on the front... so lots of buttons on both sides.... the symetrical NAV unit and center consol is nicely shaped, as is the whole layout. The blue rings around the guages I really like... the draw your eye to the center quickly. The seats are fine... you can adjust them just like the E55s, but no lumbar... my pregnant wife likes them, so they can't be that bad. Open the hatch in the rear, and you have a reversible cargo floor... about the size you'd change a baby in... with raised lips. You can put messy / watery / oily things on it for transport, then just pull it out and rinse it when you're done. Might make a great baby changing tray!

Go check it out and play with it... see if you like it. Sounds to me like mileage might be an issue...



Loren

newton22

I prefer this.



Fast wagons > fast SUVs.

transferred

Not in the wet- unless awd- and I wouldn't fancy parking one on a muddy field .

Vomit

Nice ride! My needs are obviously different from yours. I need to tow a 5,000# boat/trailer, and we have two Brittanies that go everywhere with us, as well as our 11-year-old son. We were trying to find something that I could use as my daily driver, but that would work as a tow/vacation/dog transporter. I thought the SRT-8 was going to work until we checked it out. The deal killer for me was the rear cargo area. There is no way that it would have worked for us. Our current 03 4Runner is barely big enough for kid, luggage, and dogs, and the inside of the SRT-8 was a lot smaller. I also formerly owned an 02 MDX, and I would say that the cargo area behind the second row seat of the SRT-8 is about 1/2 the size of the MDX cargo area. Fine for changing babies, but not feasible for a long trip with kid and dogs.

The GL450 was much closer to a perfect fit for me, and, given the MBZ lease promos (and Jeep's crappy lease deals), the cash out and lease payment would have been almost identical, even though the MBZ was $20K more expensive. I finally had a epiphany that I was tired of padding the pockets of big oil, and we decided to buy a fuel conservation third vehicle (07 Camry Hybrid) which has really shocked (no pun intended) my wife and I with its smooth ride, decent performance, and abundance of features. The 18 MPG (regular) 4Runner is now just the vacation/tow/dog mobile, the 17 MPG (premium) modded C32 is the fun/short trip vehicle, and the 38 MPG Camry is the daily long-hauler.

BTW: We also drove the 07 Escalade. Sorta liked it, but it felt very "trucky" and, like most GM vehicles, mired in decades past.

Anyways, I did not mean to imply that the SRT-8 is a bad vehicle. It just places too much emphasis on the "sport" and too little on the "utility" for my needs.

amgplayer

This is one of the best OEM audio controls ever made. I had an 05 Durango with these and changing modes/volume was so intutiive it felt like I was operating with telepathy. And the at least you can scroll through the preset stations unlike the Benz.

TopGun32

i like the SRT-8.

I like everything about it... except for 1 thing

The ride needs to be a bit softer. I test drove one, and i was really impressed, but my current family hauler 2004 Nissan Armada OFFRoad is already stiff and I could not stand another SUV with stiffer suspension.

The SRT-8 would be wonderful if only it offered an air suspension to adjust to your needs.

Believe it or not, I'm so tired of my Nissan that I'm either going to dump it off a cliff or change the shocks and tires to make it more compliant.

However the 5.6L and 5sp trans is a beauty and obviously Nissan spend their R&D capital under the hood.

The SRT8 really appealing to me and I'm still considering one. Maybe I will swap the 20's for 19's and add softer tires.

WayneE

If you need AWD to drive in the wet, you should go to a driving school.

WayneE

I read a long term test of a Titan with the offroad package and they mentioned the same thing. I have a Titan crew without the package and the ride is excellent.


Definately. I use my Titan to tow one of my cars and it performs that task very well, with lots of nice amenities inside (4dr, room for the dogs, DVD, nice nav setup, etc).

jangy

Sorry, I am definitely not a fan of the Jeep SRT-8. It barely has more power than my 5.7L Hemi and yet can not go offroad. I like my vehicles to excel at something. Where exactly is the SRT-8's advantage? On the road, any sedan with comparable power (i.e. all the SRT-8s) will use it. Don't forget it still has a solid rear axle, etc.

Off road, it just can't go since it has the airdam and the worst 4x4 system that jeep has. I just don't get it. Oddly enough, the MSRP on it was only about $5k more than my Commander.

NVR_L8

It still looks way better than a commander!

jangy

Ok, you win.

Why not get a Limited Grand Cherokee then?

MBH

I own a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with 5.7L Hemi motor. It totally sucks on Gas. I am getting at best 14mpg. I can only imagine how bad that 6.1L Hemi motor is in a Jeep on gas milage. My Hemi Cherokee is so bad I am looking to get ride of it next year for the new Mercedes Benz Diesel powered Grand Cherokee.

egxpimp

Wow Loren, that Jeep looks rock solid cool!!

FlyByNight

"barely has more power"? Are you kidding me? Have you driven an SRT8 Jeep? You won't even remember what your 5.7 engine felt like after driving it... its night and day.

Jangy, I don't know what you're smoking, but a NINETY horsepower difference in identical cars is the difference between R movies and X rated movies. Why not get a frickin' E500 instead of an E55? They have the same power difference, right? Go drive an SRT8 and then revisit your power statement. Better yet, trade your E55 in for an E500 since they are so close in power... you can get those in 4 wheel drive too, unlike an E55...

the AWD system in the SRT8 is actually really strong... they purposely did not put in 4x4 because, as noted many times, its not supposed to be an offroad vehicle... like any 2 wheel drive suv, or any ML 55... that's just not what its supposed to do. Onroad... and doing so very fast... while offering SUV type amenities is what it attempts to accomplish. I just love the thing.

And a commander is once again in a different category... the escalade / GL category. And a commander doesn't break any offroad records either. I'll take my lifted H2 over any Jeep offroad any day of the week...

So, it comes down to what you want in your car. 4 doors sedans with 500hp appease a very special and unique crowd... those who want passenger room and performance. The SRT8 is no more ridiculous than an E55... and actually offers more space, fold down seating, and AWD... for half the cost.

By the way, I drove it long range on the freeway today... average mpg was 16.8 with cruise control set at 70 for 30 miles... not that bad, actually, all things considered...



Loren

e55 baller

Will the SRT8 beat a Porsche Caynne Turbo (450hp) in the 0-60, 1/4? What about the 520hp Turbo-S Caynne. I can't performance data for ANY of these cars in the recent mags. Thanks.