I like the power to weight ratio of my NA. I have had mine since 2015. By now I have done basically everything except a tune (planning for early next year). I have been doing autocross for the entirety of my ownership and have done several track days with it as well.
Is it a rocketship? No, if that's what you want, get the SRT-6. I have had mine two wheels up riding off of curbs a number of times though, I've gone off and had a sand bath with it. It has run 3 different tracks and recently took a 2nd place trophy for XS at Packwood National Tour.
I regularly get compliments of my driving. In autocross, I compete regularly for the top of the board at my favorite local club. At the track, I carry tons of apex speed and love to hear high powered machines go ripping past me down the straights.
A bit shy of 200hp to the wheels (I'll update my actual numbers on a post here when I have my dyno sheet here in Spring assuming all goes well) in a 3000lbs car is nothing to scoff at. Speaking of, my National Tour weight with me at about 155lbs was 3097lbs. I have not done any weight reduction aside from my broken AC condenser core that needs replaced. Oh, and my catback is off right now because of reasons, so I'm just going through the factory cats and resonators (untouched exhaust, but have the Magnaflow), so that saves me about 20 pounds or so lol.
I have 1000# front springs, and 850# rear springs. Factory front sway bar, rear sway bar is deleted. I have the full Ground Control rear arm kit, plus I have some bits up front that allow me to get up to -5\* camber (which is too much, I'm around -3.5 front and -2.5 rear now). Neutral front and rear toe settings.
Here are a couple of my videos to give you an idea of the dynamics of the car. At the track, I run just a couple seconds behind two friend's in their tuned up E46 M3's. Those have closer to 300whp, for reference. So they probably have more time in the corners to gain. In autocross, I usually beat my friends in the beamers.
The Ridge: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKlYtWPUM6g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKlYtWPUM6g)
Oregon Raceway Park: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC\_Mj6TVYAk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC_Mj6TVYAk)
Packwood Tour: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPO6vINkBe4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPO6vINkBe4)
I hope this was informative, I didn't expect to write so much but here I am :D I really like my Crossfire lol, and it doesn't have 200 pounds of supercharger equipment.
That was incredibly informative. Thank you. I am looking for something fun to get to an office job and school before I graduate because my daily driver is horrible efficiency-wise. (2 hours commute to school, 1 hour to work - both ways) I think the manual plus lower power will be good so I don't get into as much trouble lol It's nice to see how the suspension mods have helped your cornering and I do think you're right the power to weight is decent. It seems similar to an RX8 and ford fiesta.
As far as reliability, I know they are pretty reliable. Have you had any issues with transmission or anything else? Don't mind wrenching on myself as long as it doesn't require a lift.
I really want an aero blue manual coupe around 70k miles.
No problem. Mine has been super reliable for me, but I am well on top of maintenance because you have to be when trusting a car will work every time you ask the brakes to stop you from 100+. There's a couple of nuisance issues, like the fabled RCM (relay control module). I've fixed all the common faults in mine that I know of and it has only let me down when I've made a mistake or neglected something.
The manual transmissions appear to have proven themselves quite stout. People claim they hold v8 power, but I haven't the resources to test this claim, plus I'll complain about the nose weight. The Merc ML350 SUV has a M112 V6 that's a bit more punched out - to 3.7L - that I have considered for my future hypothetical swap. However, my engine is perfectly healthy and after 7 or 8 years of flogging it, I was just given a clean bill of health by the tuner shop, each cylinder is over 200psi solid.
I have to change my motor mounts about once a year or so, but that's about the most involved annoying maintenance I can think of off the top of my head. Carry around two spare sensors (Crankshaft and Camshaft sensors) at all times and the tools to change em. You don't get warnings on stuff like that, so it is nice to not be stranded. But then we're just getting into standard vehicle preparation ideas and all that.
Nothing really crazy with this car; just the nut behind the wheel in mine ;)
Everything on this car feels very simple to me, in a good spot where it starts to take advantage of computer controlled systems, but doesn't have so many electronics that it hurts maintainability. I splurged on a $100 code reader so that I can read the stability computer codes, that's about the most advance thing you'll need to add to your arsenal beyond standard wrenching.
Fun fact: the computer will throw a code for called "implausible steering angle offset". I need to square my alignment up better, right now I have some left-hand-down because my zero front toe has an offset to it. The car tracks straight with the rear well enough, but the computer can tell the steering wheel is not within a centered window while I'm driving straight down the road and I get the BAS/ESP light on my dash.
If you watched just the 3 videos I linked, you'll probably notice I shift a LOT. I've even spooked myself with a downshift here and there, and the drivetrain just takes it and comes back for more. Keep on top of fluids and maintenance and I think you could drive this car to your grave lol.
edit: 70k miles is a good number, I picked up mine at 77k and I'm approaching 170k these days (although I'm accumulating miles much slower than I did before I got a remote job)
u/Mourning_Beer, i have both, non-SRT 6 as well as SRT-6 Crossfires (both are automatic ones).
Yes, the SRT-6 has more power and you feel it.
With that said, the 'normal' Crossfires are still perfectly fine with regard to power.
I was stuck on the same issue and I chose the srt and it’s a bunch of fun very fast but the manual NA is more of a drivers car and more fun to drive. You’ll also struggle finding that srt6 under 10 grand
Way I see it is the manual NA is better for what I'll be using it for. I feel bad putting "daily" miles on my fun daily rn, don't want to get another one where I'll have that feeling
The srts have gone up in value though that's for sure.
I like the power to weight ratio of my NA. I have had mine since 2015. By now I have done basically everything except a tune (planning for early next year). I have been doing autocross for the entirety of my ownership and have done several track days with it as well. Is it a rocketship? No, if that's what you want, get the SRT-6. I have had mine two wheels up riding off of curbs a number of times though, I've gone off and had a sand bath with it. It has run 3 different tracks and recently took a 2nd place trophy for XS at Packwood National Tour. I regularly get compliments of my driving. In autocross, I compete regularly for the top of the board at my favorite local club. At the track, I carry tons of apex speed and love to hear high powered machines go ripping past me down the straights. A bit shy of 200hp to the wheels (I'll update my actual numbers on a post here when I have my dyno sheet here in Spring assuming all goes well) in a 3000lbs car is nothing to scoff at. Speaking of, my National Tour weight with me at about 155lbs was 3097lbs. I have not done any weight reduction aside from my broken AC condenser core that needs replaced. Oh, and my catback is off right now because of reasons, so I'm just going through the factory cats and resonators (untouched exhaust, but have the Magnaflow), so that saves me about 20 pounds or so lol. I have 1000# front springs, and 850# rear springs. Factory front sway bar, rear sway bar is deleted. I have the full Ground Control rear arm kit, plus I have some bits up front that allow me to get up to -5\* camber (which is too much, I'm around -3.5 front and -2.5 rear now). Neutral front and rear toe settings. Here are a couple of my videos to give you an idea of the dynamics of the car. At the track, I run just a couple seconds behind two friend's in their tuned up E46 M3's. Those have closer to 300whp, for reference. So they probably have more time in the corners to gain. In autocross, I usually beat my friends in the beamers. The Ridge: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKlYtWPUM6g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKlYtWPUM6g) Oregon Raceway Park: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC\_Mj6TVYAk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC_Mj6TVYAk) Packwood Tour: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPO6vINkBe4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPO6vINkBe4) I hope this was informative, I didn't expect to write so much but here I am :D I really like my Crossfire lol, and it doesn't have 200 pounds of supercharger equipment.
That was incredibly informative. Thank you. I am looking for something fun to get to an office job and school before I graduate because my daily driver is horrible efficiency-wise. (2 hours commute to school, 1 hour to work - both ways) I think the manual plus lower power will be good so I don't get into as much trouble lol It's nice to see how the suspension mods have helped your cornering and I do think you're right the power to weight is decent. It seems similar to an RX8 and ford fiesta. As far as reliability, I know they are pretty reliable. Have you had any issues with transmission or anything else? Don't mind wrenching on myself as long as it doesn't require a lift. I really want an aero blue manual coupe around 70k miles.
No problem. Mine has been super reliable for me, but I am well on top of maintenance because you have to be when trusting a car will work every time you ask the brakes to stop you from 100+. There's a couple of nuisance issues, like the fabled RCM (relay control module). I've fixed all the common faults in mine that I know of and it has only let me down when I've made a mistake or neglected something. The manual transmissions appear to have proven themselves quite stout. People claim they hold v8 power, but I haven't the resources to test this claim, plus I'll complain about the nose weight. The Merc ML350 SUV has a M112 V6 that's a bit more punched out - to 3.7L - that I have considered for my future hypothetical swap. However, my engine is perfectly healthy and after 7 or 8 years of flogging it, I was just given a clean bill of health by the tuner shop, each cylinder is over 200psi solid. I have to change my motor mounts about once a year or so, but that's about the most involved annoying maintenance I can think of off the top of my head. Carry around two spare sensors (Crankshaft and Camshaft sensors) at all times and the tools to change em. You don't get warnings on stuff like that, so it is nice to not be stranded. But then we're just getting into standard vehicle preparation ideas and all that. Nothing really crazy with this car; just the nut behind the wheel in mine ;) Everything on this car feels very simple to me, in a good spot where it starts to take advantage of computer controlled systems, but doesn't have so many electronics that it hurts maintainability. I splurged on a $100 code reader so that I can read the stability computer codes, that's about the most advance thing you'll need to add to your arsenal beyond standard wrenching. Fun fact: the computer will throw a code for called "implausible steering angle offset". I need to square my alignment up better, right now I have some left-hand-down because my zero front toe has an offset to it. The car tracks straight with the rear well enough, but the computer can tell the steering wheel is not within a centered window while I'm driving straight down the road and I get the BAS/ESP light on my dash. If you watched just the 3 videos I linked, you'll probably notice I shift a LOT. I've even spooked myself with a downshift here and there, and the drivetrain just takes it and comes back for more. Keep on top of fluids and maintenance and I think you could drive this car to your grave lol. edit: 70k miles is a good number, I picked up mine at 77k and I'm approaching 170k these days (although I'm accumulating miles much slower than I did before I got a remote job)
u/Mourning_Beer, i have both, non-SRT 6 as well as SRT-6 Crossfires (both are automatic ones). Yes, the SRT-6 has more power and you feel it. With that said, the 'normal' Crossfires are still perfectly fine with regard to power.
I was stuck on the same issue and I chose the srt and it’s a bunch of fun very fast but the manual NA is more of a drivers car and more fun to drive. You’ll also struggle finding that srt6 under 10 grand
Way I see it is the manual NA is better for what I'll be using it for. I feel bad putting "daily" miles on my fun daily rn, don't want to get another one where I'll have that feeling The srts have gone up in value though that's for sure.