You guys are obviously on some sort of delusional drug kick...

A stock L cannot run with a SRT-10, period.

And, if it's not stock- it matters not anyway- it only matters if Ford built it that way- and they didn't.. He**, If I put a 150 shot Nitrous bottle on my Expedition I could out-run a Lightning...(Maybe)

Truth is, it DOES take skill to launch any manual-transmissioned vehicle... Anybody can put a vehicle in "drive" and step on teh gas... That requires no skill whatsoever- just hold the pedal down and the steering wheel straight.

Most drivers that opt for the stick (Which isn't an option on the regular cab SRT- it's the only choice) at some point becomes proficient at it.

I agree, in day to day driving, the L is very likely quicker than the SRT- but, if the driver knows what he's doing, it should be a long day for Lightning drivers...

And, concerning Mods- what if the SRT guy mods his- haven't they gotten nearly 700 HP out of that Viper Motor? I mean, we have to assume anyone that drives a $50,000 truck can afford a few mods...

Heck, a supercharger alone could potentially put that thing up in the 700's...

 

Launching an automatic does take skill. If you take an L to the strip & just mash the pedal I can garuntee that 99% of the time you are going to spin like a mother. Heck thats what happens if I try & do it in my Wood(yes I have tried it). Just like with a manual the driver has to learn the truck to determine exactly how much go power to give it off the line & when to mash it. For my truck once I'm off the line I can mash it pretty easily.

 

the SRT-10's are nice. I've driven the 4 door and it was a blast. Dont fall for the "22's dont hook" bs. The 4 door auto had no problems getting off the line on the 22's. All it takes with the manual is someone who can drive. Combine that with a little power shifting, and it would be one fast truck in a "stock vs. stock" race.

 

I think Im going to register and post on their forums. Does that make me a dodge lover.

If I had the cash Id get an SRT-10, or 8, or 6 or 4. Those are some nice cars/truck. But I dont think Id get rid of my L.

31C

 

1st off, if you don't own either vehicle, you are just talking.

I own an '04 Lightning and have bagged 2 SRT-10's. They make more power, but they weigh more as well. They are also hard to launch...

As far as just stepping on the gas and steering straight for a Lightning, you obviously have not driven a Lightning...

As far as mods, it is a well known fact that the Viper V-10 is notoriously expensive to mod. A 4lb. pulley, air intake and chip is all you need to make a Lightning kill the SRT-10 all day long. In other words, $1500 in mods to a $30K truck vs. ?? $$ for a $45K truck. Read some of the postings on the SRT-10 site - it is unbelievable what mods cost for those things.

And, a Lightning can tow 5,000 lbs. and carry ~1000 lbs. in the bed - the regular cab SRT-10 can do neither. Isn't towing and cargo hauling one of the qualifiers to being a truck?

Stock for stock, the SRT-10 can be a tad bit quicker, with a great driver. But to say it will yank the doors off a Lightning is a bunch of crap...

It's funny to me that when the magazines 1st tested the newer-generation Lightnings they report mid to high 13's in the 1/4 mile. Now that dodge makes the SRT-10, they can only find Lightnings that run 14's to test against. New toys get favored - especially from gearhead magazines...

Last, even with the 150 shot, your Expedition wouldn't stand a chance...

 

I have driven Lightnings-- three of them..

The last one was a 2003 Sonic Blue beauty that I was gonna get, but I didn't think I could live with that blue forever (Even though it was pretty for that day).. Plus, I didn't know if I could live with that incessant supercharger whine in my face all the time..... I know it's music to some ears, but I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it all the time- so I definitely prefer a naturally aspirated engine over a SC or TC any day...

With the choice being mine, I chose to get the Expedition instead..

So yes, it's true- I don't own either, but I have driven the Lightning. I have yet to see an SRT on the lot, so no luck there- yet.

I have lots of respect for the Lightning, make no mistake- but, I have to call 'em like I see 'em, and 500 HP beats 380 HP all day long; no matter how you slice it.

And, while it's true that 5.1 through 60 compared to 5.3 through 60 for the Lightning isn't truly blowing the doors off- it is essentially two truck lengths- minimum... When you have full view of the tailgate, I think that qualifies as getting your @$$ handed to you.

Plus- in the 5 years that the Lightning was king, I have only seen one Lightning with a trailer hooked up to it....

 

haha, A Lightning (stock and modded) is cake to drive. Hold the wheel straight and get on the gas. Not much to it.

A lot of the L guy's sound like the Camero LS1 people. "the LS1 can nevar loose!!!!"

Stock for Stock, the SRT - 10 beats the Lightning. Live with it. When you start talking mods' vs. mods' its doesn't make any difference. In that case, he with the most money (or debt) will win. Not to mention its a petty thing to worry about what truck or car is faster.

 

That's not necessarily true. There is more to being fast then horsepower numbers.

That didn't happen in my REAL WORLD case at all. You are bench racing too much.


Now you've seen two

 

Actually, stock for stock the SRT-10 will NOT yank the doors off any stock Lightning. I have beat a stock SRT-10 twice with my stock Lightning. Yes he did know how to drive and NO he didn't miss a shift. I didn't beat him by much, approx. a truck length, but He seen a little of my tail lights. Not a happer camper after spending $50k plus on something that can't tow...

For the most part, in any of the ratings the SRT-10 is about equal to the Lightning. However in reality stock Lightning’s, 03 & 04 are running an average of 13.3 – 13.5 in the ¼ mile where the stock SRT-10 are running an average of 13.8 – 14.0 in the ¼ mile.

The SRT-10 can not tow anything, where the Lightning can tow 5,000 lbs so when it comes right down to it the stock Lightning yanks the doors off the SRT-10 the vast majority of the time…

Oh, and a stock Lightning has approx. 420hp at the flywheel because they put down approx. 355 - 365hp at the rear wheels...

 

Well ... just to be the devils advocate ... it's not that they can't tow anything, towing just isn't recommended if you plan on keeping your warranty (which you'll probably need! ).

Correct. My 01 put down 358rwhp/429rwtq. Needless to say I was happy!

 

lets keep things in perspective here...fine...you want 500 hp or whatever...you buy this"truck" with the big wheels..no tires and no payload or usefulness when it comes to a TRUCK...and now its time to do something with it like...lets see..get a load of sand...my my.. as long as its in the bags and i have my blanket to put in the bed so i dont scratch it...i'm sorry guys but its not a truck...you would NEVER take this thing thru the woods or somewhere like that..and dont say "yes i would" because you would not...go buy a GT-40 if your going to spend whatever to do whatever...and dont forget about the insurance and the "feed me" bill every day...these "trucks" amaze me yes...but its not a TRUCK...get a dump truck ...zap!

 

True, towing is not recommended but it will burn up the clutch and that’s what has some of the SRT-10 owners upset. My understanding, one from talking to the guy I beat (great guy) was unless they launched perfect every time you stand a real good chance of having to replace the clutch after 30 – 40 passes down the 1320. I don’t know that to be fact, just what I was told by a few, including the guy I beat.

Dodge is also detuning SRT-10 when they come in for service mainly because of the clutch problem. I don’t think Dodge can force that on the owners, but if they don’t know about it Dodge has tried.

Really at the end of the day Dodge did screw up. They threw a Viper motor into something that was not properly tested to see if it could actually handle the performance designed into it.

The Dodge, stock, can not handle the performance that was designed into it like the Lightning can. Dodge basically did it for one reason, for a title. They have it, they have a higher top speed and that is the only record they hold. It can’t tow close to a Lighting, it can’t really beat a Lightning in the ¼ mile, stop light to stop light, or a road course.

It was all about the hype, some Dodge owners have Hemi’s and think they can blow everybody away, and now some have SRT-10 that think they can kill Lightning’s. Lightning is still the king but at least we have the SRT-10 to play with…

You want to see a real good race? Watch an SRT-4 (Neon) race against the SRT-10. That is a closer race then the SRT-10 vs. Lightning…

 

Wow, I thought I had left this noise behind when I got out of imports.

 

Well, you didn't drive it much or you would know that the ONLY time you get the supercharger whine is when you are in the boost. "Regular" driving does not require boost, so you must have had your foot in it all the time. No criticism, just an observation.

So let me get this straight - you HAVE driven a Lightning, you HAVE NOT driven a SRT-10 and you think magazine articles represent the truth ? Go over to the SRT-10 forum and look at all the postings by members there who can't get into the 13's with their SRT-10s. There are a whole bunch... some with mods.

Really ? Even though the SRT-10 weighs 400-500 lbs. more than a Lightning ? Wonder why everyone who seriously races any vehicle attempts to put them on a diet ?

From Car & Driver's write-up on the SRT-10 Quad cab: Despite weighing in at 5618 pounds (479 more than the regular-cab SRT-10)...

Actually, no. At 60 MPH you are traveling 88 feet per second. A .2 second gap at that rate is about 17.6 feet. Keeping in mind the sprint starts at 0 and goes up to 60 (in your example) the lead is actually going to be less than the 17.6 feet, if it happens at all. Definitely not 2 truck lengths by any stretch.

So if you have not seen it more than once, it doesn't count as criteria ? So tell me, how many SRT-10's have you seen beat a Lightning ? If you check the Lightning forum on this site, you can find PLENTY of examples of SRT-10 kills.

Nope. I don't think any of us have a problem admitting when we lose. Problem is, the SRT-10 story is BS. Too many real-world examples of the truth are around to challenge the magazine BS.

The only place the SRT-10 beats the Lightning is in 2 categories: Top speed and the Ugliest HP truck on the planet !!!

 

just for the record, I have NEVER used the bed of my lightning.

and I used the hitch once. I took it off the day I got it, put it on the day I needed it and then took it off again.

Anyone wanna buy a hitch?