Struttin' my stuff...

"doodon2whls" (doodon2whls)
03/26/2014 at 20:48 • Filed to: SRT-4, ACR, DIY, Vintage Parts

As part of my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I freshened the upper strut mounts on my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! as they were shot. In the process, I noticed that the tops of the strut rods in the rear were rusted very badly. As in - OMG, how have these not broken or punched through the upper strut mounts yet - rusted. Good thing that the rear axle weight of my car is only about 1000 lbs, and I treat my car nicely...

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I inquired with the dealer for replacements. $660 for the LR and $540 for the RR. That's right. $1200 for _two_ rear struts - not ten. Oh, and if I wanted the front struts ? They are a bargain at $374 a piece from ma MOPAR. Mind you, as their velvety white color indicates, these are not any old run-of-the mill Dodge Neon strut, but TWELVE HUNNERT DOLLAH BILLZ, Y'ALL ?

PHUCK all of that noise...

So, while I was picking my freshly shattered jaw off of the ground at the parts counter, the guy mumbled stuff about 'special parts', 'out of production', 'not in MOPAR stock', 'vintage parts', 'just get the value line parts', etceteras... My ears perked up at their source: vintageparts.com ... Home I went. Onto the interwebz I logged. You can find lots of good info "on the line", but very little about SRT-4 ACR struts for sale. With only 1174 SRT-4 ACR's produced, there isn't much of a market for them.

After creating an account, I could see that Vintage Parts had the stuts for a considerable amount less than the dealer, but I was not sure they would sell to a (non-retail) private party... I took my chances. There were less than 10 of each of these parts left in their inventory. I made the order Saturday night (because that's when car-nerds surf the interwebz for parts instead of having a social life) and prayed to no deity in particular. On Monday and Tuesday, I was checking the order status and it changed from submitted to pending. "CRAP !," I thought. They aren't going to sell them to me.. Then on Tuesday night, it happened.

The order went from pending to SHIPPED !

I took delivery of four shiny struts this evening. You would think that I won the lottery or something. We've all been there - acting like a dog on a lead that is just too short for us to reach the curb where the FedEx and UPS trucks stop... You could have played a tune on my lead when I heard the FedEx panel van pull around the neighborhood. "THERE HERE ! THERE HERE !" I proclaimed to myself because no one else gives a shit about a car-nerd getting a delivery of parts.

These are Tokico Illumina 5-way adjustable struts that were tuned by the hi-po car-nerds at SRT specifically for the SRT-4 ACR application. Due to an agreement with MOPAR, Tokico cannot sell struts of this 'flavor' (read: this valve code) of Illumina struts outside of their MOPAR agreement. Tokico sells Illumina struts for the base neon, but the damping is not adequate, and certainly not appropriate for the SRT-4 with stiffer springs and the increased front axle weight with the heavier 2.4L Turbo engine and T850 trans up front. The Illuminas that they sell for the 'base' SRT-4 have the wrong strut rod and damper tube length, and spring perch location. If you don't know what I am talking about, just know it's important, mmmkay ? I had considered aftermarket coilover kits, but all of my friends' experiences with them have been marginal at best, and anything half-decent would cost about $1500-$2000. Koni sells a Sport insert, but that would mean cutting up the struts and bolting in the koni insert which comes with it's own set of problems - not to mention Koni doesn't sell an SRT-4 ACR specific set of inserts. I would have to get the base neon inserts (to maintain proper strut rod and damper tube length for jounce/rebound travel) and they might not have enough damping adjustment range to get the car setup right.

SO.... Long story made longerer, I have some shiny new (and expensive) struts for the SRT-4 ACR to put on this wknd... YAY !

If you are still reading this, bless your soul... Thanks for reading !

DISCUSSION (14)

jkm7680 > doodon2whls
03/26/2014 at 20:54

Oooh, Looks very clean!

Brian Silvestro > doodon2whls
03/26/2014 at 20:55

This is a great post.

I have such a desire for this car for some reason, I saw one last week and flipped out, they're so cool.

Takuro Spirit > doodon2whls
03/26/2014 at 20:56

DOOD. That's awesome. I didn't know Vintage sold to non-dealers. I also didn't know they discounted parts. Basically, they buy up non-moving parts from manufacturer warehouses, then make deals with those car makers to sell them to dealers, either direct or through factory billing. I've used them for years and they're great to deal with. PLUS, they're right in my back yard here in WI.

Sn210 > doodon2whls
03/26/2014 at 20:56

Nice! The car looks nice and clean

doodon2whls > Sn210
03/26/2014 at 21:05

Thanks ! The lead image is actually right after I bought it almost 100K miles ago in 2008. It still looks just as good and pulls just as hard when I let it eat all of the boost the TD04-16GK-LR turbo can huff. :-D

doodon2whls > Takuro Spirit
03/26/2014 at 21:06

Yep - I was skeptical, too... Although, once they saw the name on the order, some quick Googling would have revealed that I was a cool dood, and deserve these struts... ;-)

Sn210 > doodon2whls
03/26/2014 at 21:08

Ugh now I want one

doodon2whls > Brian Silvestro
03/26/2014 at 21:11

It's an entertaining car, and one that I can work easily on since I know it inside and out. It's also one of the most basic "Raw/Fast/American" cars out there.

NO Traction Control.

NO Electronic Stability Control.

NO Electronic Throttle Control.

NO unnecessary bells and whistles to break when it's 10 years old.

Just a long stroke low compression ratio boosted/intercooled 2.4L mill and a chassis that just plain works. It is really a shame that the neon gained such a stigma as 'your sister's first college car' or 'rental fleet fodder'. Clearly, I don't give a shit about all of that.

doodon2whls > Sn210
03/26/2014 at 21:13

Get in line behind Brian Silvestro... Good luck finding a non-molested SRT-4, let alone a non-molested SRT-4 ACR...

Many self-proclaimed 'tuners' have destroyed these cars... More even still have been wrecked at the hands of unskilled drivers.

Sn210 > doodon2whls
03/26/2014 at 21:15

Yeah I just checked eBay real quick, only a few SRT4's and no ACR's. Prices are still $7-10k, not bad

MountainCommand > doodon2whls
03/26/2014 at 22:28

I'm still impressed by the menacing sound this thing makes. Certainly the most OEM srt i've ever seen.

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > doodon2whls
03/26/2014 at 23:02

I just about bought these (for the regular SRT-4) off of Modern Performance last week. In the cart, ready to go, with booger shifter bushings.

My SRT-4's struts are Shot, I want to know how these things feel before I plunk down $900 on them. Please do another post when you have them installed and have been driving them for a bit.

doodon2whls > TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW!
03/26/2014 at 23:30

Even though these are pricey, it's hard to go wrong with them. Tokico was the OEM supplier for the neon struts in volume production so all of the goodness designed into the strut body and clevis carry over onto the Illumina parts for the SRT-4. IOW, just the adjustable internal parts and strut rod are different from the original equipment struts. You'll get much better reliability from the Tokicos than any aftermarket parts - ESPECIALLY coilovers with threaded spring perch adjustment.

You need to know that the non-ACR SRT-4 struts and SRT-4 ACR struts are different and not interchangeable. The non-ACR SRT-4 struts have a higher spring perch and longer strut rod&damper tube than the SRT-4 ACR parts. The SRT-4 ACR has a lower ride height from both the lower spring perch and smaller diameter tires (225/45R16).

The Illuminas have only 5 different damping settings, but they are dead-nuts repeatable because the damping adjustment is accomplished via hydraulic bleed orifices rather than varying the damper shim stack compression/preload.

Since your car is 10 years old, I highly recommend you replace the upper strut mounts (and upper mount bearing up front), dust boots, and jounce bumpers.

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > doodon2whls
03/27/2014 at 10:36

I have replaced all of the upper strut mounts, and the bearings, as well as the front control arm rear mounts. My car has never seen winter, or salt, so there isn't any rust to speak of. And it is still stock, for now. I should do the dust boots, probably all of the vacuum tubes, and start upgrading some of the bushings.

I bought it right after finishing university, and it has been with me for 4 years now. I consider selling it ever so often, but I haven't yet. It is such a fun little car, and is still faster then some of today hot hatches (looking at you, ST).

I knew the about the spring heights, and while I would love to have wider tires on my car (such as came stock on yours), I really like the stock rims, and the only other rims I would buy will be too much money for me to justify on a 10 year old car. Even one with no rust.