Opinions on Dodge stealth R/t or 3000gt?

[white_guilt]

I see these pop up time and time again on craigslist or autotrader and I was wondering what you guys felt about them. They're usually dirt cheap, and if they're in good running condition, it's probably the best bang for your buck fast car you can get. of course, I'd still want an Rx7 or Supra, but it's almost impossible to find a decent LHD one of those that hasn't been butchered with an ugly ass body kit (for some reason everyone in the GVRD has a fetish for VS knockoffs on their Rx7s).

edit; I am mostly curious about the stealth since it's essentially the same car and it's far more common than a 3000gt.

[hk20000]

if you can find one with a twin turbo setup they can be quite the rocketship.

But the 3L V6 is thirsty, very unreliable, and the mighty grunt is simply negated by its curbweight and its unwillngness to turn.

So.... For a straight line blast it might be quite satisfying, but for equal amount of mods you might as well go for a Eclipse GSX or Talon TSi.

[GabAlmighty]

Take everything out of it so it actually weighs something respectable. Then it'll be decept. They're huge.

[91sr180sx]

I just bought a GTO VR4 couple weeks ago all i can say is the car is a monster they are fast fun cars the only thing thats bad is gonna be the gas. If your going from like a sr20 or a civic to one of these cars your gonna get annoyed its like 20$ half a day of normal errands and crusing and 40$ for almost whole day.

[KiDEclipse]

[Nightwalker]

Here's mine, I've had it about 7 years now:



There is no car faster that is cheaper right now imho. When I bought it, that was a factor as well. It was the best car I could possibly afford at the time.

They're so under-appreciated. Unfortunately, because of that parts are still expensive (and some parts rare), and no one knows how to work on them. Even though they outsold the Supra, RX-7 and 300ZX in North America. Mostly due to the lower trim models. The 3000GT was not sold in Canada, which is why they're rare here. Only Stealths were sold in Canada.

Don't be fooled by the stock 1/4 mile times, the magazine drivers couldn't launch an AWD for shit back then, stock cars can run low 13s with a good driver. BPU drops into 12s. AWD can be pretty awesome, 9s were broken on street tires.

When you shop for one, make sure that the 60k (miles) service has been done as it's expensive, and that the transmission is good. It will shift notchy (just how they are) but problems with the transmission are expensive. They're "replace only" by the manufacturer, but trust me they can be rebuilt. Trannies are strong but the transfer case is not and there is a safety recall. If it leaks, don't even drive it until fixed. It can be far too dangerous. You take it to a dealer to fix though they might try to get out of doing it.

They're a bit on the heavy side, but it's not hard to shave down a bit. I dropped 400lbs from mine. It can make a big difference if you race often. Recently 10s were broken with stock turbos and engine thanks to AEM tuning and weight reduction.

[2004MK4]

What are the stock 0-60 times on the TT? I heard like 5.5 seconds?

[white_guilt]

hmm.. Interesting responses guys. I am not that concerned about weight since the car has heinous amounts of power to make up for it. However, the reliability issues have me concerned. All the ones I have seen have upwards of 100k and because this is a sports car, these are not going to be gentle kilometers. Esp if they have transmission problems (which I have too much experience with due to a Nissan I owned) and rare parts that no one seems to carry.

[white_guilt]

Originally Posted by KiDEclipse

GORGEOUS!

[Nightwalker]

1997 Motor Trend High Speed Shootout:

1994+ 3000GT VR-4 / Stealth R/T Twin-Turbo: ($42k)
3.0 V-6 TT/6M/AWD
320 HP @ 6000 rpm
315 lb-ft @ 2500 rpm
0-60: 4.8 sec
1/4: 13.5 sec @ 101.6 mph
60-0: 116 feet
Lateral Gs: .95
Slalom: 68.9 mph
Top Speed: 159 mph

[Nightwalker]

This is the best magazine 1/4 mile test, from Popular Mechanics:

[GabAlmighty]

Wow, i always new they were quick stock. But that's pretty sweet, no wonder he was keeping up to me on the highway...

[Nightwalker]

The only difference between 300hp in the 1st gen and 320hp in the 2nd or 3rd gen is a ring you can pull out of the stock boost controller.

Edit: I added some more info to my previous post too.

Best resource for these cars:
http://www.3si.org

[Lomac]

Saw a sweet Stealth tonight at the Tradex World of Wheel's show (Jan's Car of the Month winner, I believe).

[Nightwalker]

Was it this one? He was 3si Jan car of the month =)



He's not on here but on 3si.org. His car has something like 350,000km!

[Xavie]

The above car has 350K? Sure looks mint!

[Nightwalker]

Yeah, there an odo pic on his site from when he was at 332k. Not sure what he's at now but gotta be quite a bit more.
http://members.shaw.ca/bslade/

[Lomac]

Yup, that was him.

[hk20000]

its certainly a fast car like many replies say, but a v6 twin turbo setup is a pain in the ass to work on - you either spend 2x the time on simple tasks or 2x the money paying a shop to do. Unless there is something emotionally attractive about it I would still stay away from a horizontally mounted dohc v6 twin turbo. There is also problem with inner bank heat management too when driven hard.
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[toyota86]

consider a r32 or r33 gtr. lighter, easier to work on, more parts support, and not as expensive as they used to be here.

[Antwon]

Just stick with its lighter Eclipse/Talon brother. One of my clients had one and nothing but issues once you start modifying it