Midnight_Rider's progress log

[Midnight_Rider]

New shoes for the SRT today, Michelin 205/50 R17 93Y XL BSW. $5.54 less than the Michelin 205/50 R17 93V XL BSW ones I bought eight years ago! The old tires had less than 22.4K miles on them but needed to be replaced due to their age, not necessarily their wear (although I was told at Discount Tire that they were pretty close to the wear indicators as well). Certainly not an expense I was planning on on top of Carlisle but safety is paramount.

[occasional demons]

The wife's tires are 5 years old now, with ~5000 miles. They'll probably be dry rotting, with less than 10,000 miles.


I wouldn't expect the tires on any car with decent power to last the advertised warranty. Even if you never spin them, they are going to wear more under hard acceleration and braking. Adding to it, a higher wear rated tire is probably going to wear faster, because the compounds aren't as favorable to sticking to the pavement, and might actually be more dangerous in certain situations, given the better cornering/braking abilities and power output.

Granted tire technology has come a long way, but there are still compromises between sticking to the pavement, and lasting say, 60,000 miles.

Unless you never use the power on tap, then you might see the full mileage. But then why buy a car with over 100 hp...

[thomas_w]

The wife's tires are 5 years old now, with ~5000 miles. They'll probably be dry rotting, with less than 10,000 miles.


I wouldn't expect the tires on any car with decent power to last the advertised warranty. Even if you never spin them, they are going to wear more under hard acceleration and braking. Adding to it, a higher wear rated tire is probably going to wear faster, because the compounds aren't as favorable to sticking to the pavement, and might actually be more dangerous in certain situations, given the better cornering/braking abilities and power output.

Granted tire technology has come a long way, but there are still compromises between sticking to the pavement, and lasting say, 60,000 miles.

Unless you never use the power on tap, then you might see the full mileage. But then why buy a car with over 100 hp...

Off-topic but on one of my other cars, I had to replace the tires after 9 years simply because they started to leak due to dry rot. They did not look that bad and had maybe 60k on them (they were warranted for 90k). Fortunately, the dealer had a special when I bought the car where they would buy my tires as long as I get it serviced there. Pretty good deal as I probably had spent less up to that point in service than the new tires were worth.

[Midnight_Rider]

I was told six years is when replacement is recommended, even though my old tires had a 45K mileage warranty from Michelin. So it looks like, going forward, I'll be watching age rather than mileage when it comes to buying new tires (guess that I won't have to worry about it again until 2027).

[thomas_w]

I was told six years is when replacement is recommended, even though my old tires had a 45K mileage warranty from Michelin. So it looks like, going forward, I'll be watching age rather than mileage when it comes to buying new tires (guess that I won't have to worry about it again until 2027).

Yes, six years what I have read myself as well. Given that mine actually failed definitely suggest that you should not wait that as long as I did. I do not drive enough either to wear the tires down enough; so I will have to go by time and how much dry rot there is. Your car being in the garage most of the time should limit the dry rot issue so age is probably the one to look out for.

[occasional demons]

I was told six years is when replacement is recommended, even though my old tires had a 45K mileage warranty from Michelin. So it looks like, going forward, I'll be watching age rather than mileage when it comes to buying new tires (guess that I won't have to worry about it again until 2027).

Given you'll probably never wear them down (normal driving) before 6 years passes, you may as well enjoy a little wheel spin now and then when the Law isn't watching.

[occasional demons]

I have also read that tire dealers are not supposed to sell tires that are 6 years or older, even though they have never been mounted. Given that most are stored at least in a warehouse, and not out in the elements, that alone tells you something.

It's always wise to check the date code on tires, to be sure they didn't mount 5 year old tires.

I would refuse to pay.

Where I used to work, the place we had used, mounted tires that all matched, EXCEPT for the wear rating. I had no idea they sold different wear ratings within the same tire line.

They apologized and replaced the lower rated tires, whether it was an honest mistake or not, at least they took care of it.

I admit, I probably wouldn't have noticed that IF I was a tire tech being pushed to get it all done in a certain time frame. (I worked at a place that required you to dismount, mount and balance all 4 tires, check the fluids and brakes in a half hour or less. Nevermind some of the drum brakes and diff plugs were nearly impossible to remove.

But this place didn't get in a hurry. You were lucky to get 4 tires installed in under an hour and a half. If you got tires and an alignment, you were there for nearly 3 hours.

So yeah, know what the sidewall info tells you, and make sure it's correct before you pay, or at least leave the property.

If you don't know 100%, have the counter person go with you and verify it all matches. Any decent place will do that for good PR.

[Midnight_Rider]

Given you'll probably never wear them down (normal driving) before 6 years passes, you may as well enjoy a little wheel spin now and then when the Law isn't watching.

You're right!

I had already annoyed the sales rep by asking him to allow my inspecting the new tires for place of manufacture before they were mounted. He offered to check one of them while I waited in the CS waiting area but I insisted on seeing all four of them. He then took me out on the shop floor and upstairs to where the tires were being stored. I then checked the sidewalls to make sure that all four were made in USA- then I gave the "okay" for them to be mounted. My sales rep told me that he thought that tire age was more important then manufacturer mileage warranties and I agreed, especially for the type of driving that I do (little to none since my car is so spoiled ).

[Midnight_Rider]

After calling the hotline for Michelin rebates and being told that there were none at present since I had purchased at Discount Tire, imagine my surprise when Michelin emailed me about rebates! I uploaded the sales receipt so let's see what happens.

Mobil is also having rebates so I bought a 5-quart jug of synthetic 5W 30 oil for next year's oil change and uploaded the receipt. I'm supposed to receive a $10 VISA gift card in the mail.

Just for the heck of it, I ordered a P4510923 package of water jets (backup for my Stage 2 Toys intercooler sprayer) from both Monicatti Chrysler and MoparPartsGiant. Monicatti showed no progress so I canceled the order. MoparPartsGiant billed my credit card and then emailed that this is a discontinued part (yeah, I know... but they still show it as being available on their website DUH!). i canceled that order as well. I'm still hoping to find out what size the jets are so that I can order them from a UK vendor (I didn't take the time to log this when I got the jets that are installed on my SRT and I would have to remove the bumper to get a gander). Even OD doesn't know... does anyone else here know?

[Midnight_Rider]

No one seems to know what size those jets are. Darn...

MoparPartsGiant did it to me again. I ordered two parts (clutch master cylinder and clutch slave cylinder) from their website. They charged my credit card and then canceled my order within 12 hours (you guessed it- discontinued parts) but they still showed the parts as being available 9 hours later. I don't understand.

Modern Performance has these parts but I found them cheaper elsewhere (the slave cylinder from an eBay seller and the master cylinder from a dealership in Omaha, NE).

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Why are you replacing the master and slave cylinder? Having clutch hydraulic issues I take it? Stock clutch still? I know you like keeping everything OEM, but when I did my clutch master and slave I replaced the factory line with a stainless steel braided line. This was the how-to I followed. https://www.srtforums.com/threads/how-t ... ed.637137/ It made the install easier and was a nice upgrade over the plastic line.

[Midnight_Rider]

Why are you replacing the master and slave cylinder? Having clutch hydraulic issues I take it? Stock clutch still?

No, no issues at present. Yes, mine are the OEM ones at almost 89K miles. The master and slave were supposed to be replaced years ago when I got a new clutch but they were somehow overlooked. Another 2gn-er was looking for a Mopar master and slave for his '02 R/T and this prompted me to look for the corresponding parts for an SRT. Yup, discontinued so I decided to invest for my parts pile if I could still find the parts.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Very smart. Would be nice if there was a list of parts for the Neon SRT-4 that are discontinued or close to being discontinued.

[occasional demons]

Would be nice if there was a list of parts for the Neon SRT-4 that are discontinued or close to being discontinued.

A list of what's still available might be shorter....

[Midnight_Rider]

Would be nice if there was a list of parts for the Neon SRT-4 that are discontinued or close to being discontinued.

A list of what's still available might be shorter....

Unfortunately, you are right on the money.

The master cylinder arrived from Omaha, NE via UPS today. The slave cylinder should be here on Monday. I did find one of the parts on OD's list on a site in Canada but they emailed me this morning to say that they don't ship to the US.

[Midnight_Rider]

Probably won't need replaced, unless it dry rots:
5069199AA 1 EDV DDR BOOT, Clutch Release Lever

I did manage to find this part on eBay- should be here next week.

The slave cylinder arrived today- early.

[Midnight_Rider]

Next will be scheduling a service appointment in October. Work will include installing new fog lights, replacing the passenger-side sidemarker light bulb and repairing the Stage 2 intercooler sprayer system (it is not spraying at present). I already have a new inline filter and have ordered new atomizing jets and a checkvalve from Aquamist in the UK. I hope that the parts will arrive on time!

I also have the clutch master/slave parts to be installed as well.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Very nice, lots of parts getting replaced in the near future it looks like. What is wrong with the foglights?

[Midnight_Rider]

What is wrong with the foglights?

Nothing. I just wanted to replace them since pretty much everything else related to the front fascia has already been replaced. I will be selling the OEM foglights on eBay.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Gotcha, might as well! I still have my OEM foglamps myself.

[Midnight_Rider]

Here are the corresponding Intercooler sprayer part numbers since the Mopar ones have been discontinued: the P4510923 Water Jets are Aquamist part 806-301C. The checkvalve is Aquamist part 806-248. Also, the P4510626 Inline Water Filter is Aquamist part 806-257 (100 um filter).

[Midnight_Rider]

While at a car show on Saturday, I noticed that there is peeling on the lower right hand corner of a heat shield that is glued to the firewall, directly behind the wastegate. This part looks like quilted aluminum. I reached under my front strut brace and tried to smooth it out but it looks like it will break off if I do this again. I've emailed my Chrysler tech to see if he knows the part number so that I can order a new one before my next scheduled service (October).

I also noticed that the "O" in "MOPAR" on the brace's riveted nameplate has started to come off. Since there are no more titanium front strut braces, I guess that I will just have to live with it.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

I just used the DEI heat shield tape. Looks better then OEM.

[Midnight_Rider]

I found what appeared to be the last new OEM one at Vintage.

[MyNeonSaysHi]

Wow nice! I didn't even know it existed, and that it could be replaced. Mine was all chewed up and flaking off and discolored due to the heat.

[Midnight_Rider]

https://www.srtforums.com/threads/heat- ... 1073842214

Interestingly enough, a member of srtforums found a new one on eBay recently.

Now I'm not sure if I'm going to use my new one or not- I plan to ask my tech if he thinks that maybe using RTV to smooth it back down for now might work. This way, I can save the new one for a future engine bay paint job.

[Midnight_Rider]

Uh oh, Modern has upped the front fascia price again- $949 now. I'm so glad that I bought mine last year and saved almost $200.

My old bumper is sitting on top of the shipping box for the steering gear I bought several years ago... both are for sale (with local pickup).

[MyNeonSaysHi]

go figure. there not must be many left anywhere Like shifter cables. Saw a guy online selling a set of new in box Mopar shifter cables for $550.

[Midnight_Rider]

Yeah, I had been watching shifter cables from eBay sellers but didn't act fast enough- all gone now.

[Neon4Life]

Uh oh, Modern has upped the front fascia price again- $949 now. I'm so glad that I bought mine last year and saved almost $200.

My old bumper is sitting on top of the shipping box for the steering gear I bought several years ago... both are for sale (with local pickup).

I'm pretty certain I saw modern make a post on FB a while ago that they had bought out all the remaining front bumpers anyone had sitting around. So that's probably why they justify raising the price because if you need a bumper you have to buy it from Modern.


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