[Paul J. Reed]

I have to pull a wheel off again... I swore there was sticker on the shock saying Hitachi....

 

[Moparian]

I have to pull a wheel off again... I swore there was sticker on the shock saying Hitachi....

Possible for the micro controller.....

 

[suzq044]

I drove a 1.4T, now I gotta drive one of these. I WILL own a 2.4 Dart, just a question of which one. If the GT is too stiff for daily comfort, I would go with another trim, but the chassis feel was awesome on the SXT I drove.

Wait til 2014, when most of the line-up will have the 2.4L; However, from what I've read, the GT will be another sub-trim of the SXT by 2014, but will have some options from the Limited; which will, by then, be the top of the line Dart with the 2.4L and Automatic Transmission standard (which is lame, imo)

 

[Paul J. Reed]

Possible for the micro controller.....

On the shock itself? I will take a pic....

Found this... they are indeed Hitachi shocks... but I can pull a wheel and take a pic if anyone needs more proof....

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130108/detroit/130109889

http://www.autoweek.com/storyimage/CW/20130108/DETROIT/130109889/V4/0/Hitachi-FRD-shocks.jpg

 

[Moparian]

Wait til 2014, when most of the line-up will have the 2.4L; However, from what I've read, the GT will be another sub-trim of the SXT by 2014, but will have some options from the Limited; which will, by then, be the top of the line Dart with the 2.4L and Automatic Transmission standard (which is lame, imo)

GT is its own trim level, Rallye is a sub trim of SXT.

On the shock itself? I will take a pic....

Found this... they are indeed Hitachi shocks... but I can pull a wheel and take a pic if anyone needs more proof....

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130108/detroit/130109889

http://www.autoweek.com/storyimage/CW/20130108/DETROIT/130109889/V4/0/Hitachi-FRD-shocks.jpg

Interesting, I guess the MM setup ended up being more expensive then.

 

[AutoTechnician]

It's amazing how diversified some of those Japanese companies are.

Anyways, it looks like I was a little off in how the shocks work. It seems they have a mechanism inside that reacts to high frequency bumps, say if you were driving on a consistently rough road and is able to soften the damping.

 

[PCRMike]

Hitachi even sold copiers for a while. O course those were rebadges of Konica Minolta though.

 

[srt4evah]

Thanks for the info on the frequency sensing dampers. I had read about the Koni FSDs when I was looking for a used daily driver car and thinking about potential upgrades (yes I plan to upgrade cars I might potentially want...), they're available aftermarket for a lot of makes.

As to the R/T turbo, that would be inline with what I was speculating when they changed the R/T to the GT, I suspected they're leaving room for the R/T trim to have a real impact. I hope it proves to be true, 260-270hp FWD Dart R/T turbo would be a fantastic machine. As it is, the Dart GT might still garner some consideration for my next vehicle, against the new Mazda3 with the 2.5L.

 

[RVC]

NOT TRUE. Ralph already debunked that rumor.
The ones on the Dart are made by MM.
http://www.magnetimarelli.com/business_areas/suspension-systems/shock-absorbers/synaptic-damping-control

Nope, the MM is a different beast, it's what Maserati uses for their skyhook suspension IIRC.
The KONIs are also really nice, that's what FIAT uses for their Alfa Romeo models and IIRC the US version of the 500L as well.
I'd imagine the Hitachi model is very similar to the Koni design and came in at a better price?

 

[BigDaddySRT]

With the FSD suspension it shouldnt be too stiff during normal driving.....

The ABARTH has the KONI FSD Shocks.

The DART has Hitachi FRD Shocks.


Confused now???

Sounds like KONI has the Patent on the "FSD" nomenclature.

 

[neongary]

Nope, the MM is a different beast, it's what Maserati uses for their skyhook suspension IIRC.
The KONIs are also really nice, that's what FIAT uses for their Alfa Romeo models and IIRC the US version of the 500L as well.
I'd imagine the Hitachi model is very similar to the Koni design and came in at a better price?

Thought I read somewhere that the MM shocks use electronics to work where as the other brands don't.

 

[Paul J. Reed]

Yeah, I don't think the shocks on the Dart GT have any electronics in them?

 

[jerseyjoe]

Nice, but I'd still take want an Avenger R/T, hard to skip the v6.

+1

 

[PCRMike]

An extra 5 Mpg versus an extra 100 hp? Gearheads rejoice! I would have to drive for feel. Looks are good with both.

 

[smithkey08]

SRT Dart is not going to happen. Ralph Gilles said at SEMA last year that they will no longer do an SRT car with less than 8 cylinders.

I'm curious if you can find him saying that since he daily drives a Neon SRT4 and has confirmed that they have been working on and off on the Dart SRT, it seems a bit out of character for him. It also seems you missed where he said back in March that they were just waiting on a powertrain worth putting in the Dart SRT.

Well, we have a lot of oars [in the water] right now, a lot of projects, and things that go from continuous improvement to what to do with the Dart? So I’ll tell you right now, we’ve got a bit of a stall in the Dart development, because our standards are so much higher for ourselves. In the old days, we would have turbo-charge, front-wheel drive engine, boom. But we want something better and more special and right now there’s not a power-train that we’re happy with that is worthy of that nameplate, you know what I mean? Of putting SRT on it. So we’re going to wait until we have the right ingredients.

http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2013/03/srt-dart-on-hold

 

[billfrombuckhead]

Maybe Ralph is waiting for high performance all wheel drive components coming for Cherokee and/or Alfa Romeo. Maybe it's better to focus resources on the upcoming rear wheel drive Avenger and as an adjunct to that, maybe SRT should just be HEMI's going forward.

 

[tomaz]

Maybe Ralph is waiting for high performance all wheel drive components coming for Cherokee and/or Alfa Romeo. Maybe it's better to focus resources on the upcoming rear wheel drive Avenger and as an adjunct to that, maybe SRT should just be HEMI's going forward.

It could also means that YES, they do have the Engine, but not the proper transmission for the SRT Dart or Vice Versa. So far all we know is that they have the Platform, Suspension, Driveline and Engines, but what Configuration of those parts is best for a SRT Dart

 

[Jeepnut]

Maybe Ralph is waiting for high performance all wheel drive components coming for Cherokee and/or Alfa Romeo. Maybe it's better to focus resources on the upcoming rear wheel drive Avenger and as an adjunct to that, maybe SRT should just be HEMI's going forward.

They are waiting on the 9spd to be availible on the Dart

 

[Darkpaw]

NOT TRUE. Ralph already debunked that rumor.

I was watching it live, and saw him say it. What rumor?

http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2013/03/srt-dart-on-hold

This quote basically is just non-speak for "nothing planned". In all due respect, Ralph has said a lot of things to drag people along. I'm going with what he said at SEMA, until I see one on a lot.

 

[mopar22]

Ralph said he asked on twiiter what people wanted in a Dart SRT and he said everyone wanted 300+hp and they just don't have that right now