SRT8 for every day use?

Debating on an R/T with the Road and Track package, vs. an anticipated upcoming SRT8 model for 2012... My wife will be the primary driver and I'm not sure how drivable the SRT8 would be for those wintery days here in Chicagoland. I do plan on winter specific tires/wheels, and I'm convinced that AWD is not an option for us. Any opinions?

My SRT is a daily driver. I commute from the far Western Suburbs to the Loop, approx. 38 miles each way.

Both will have lots of balls and will handle decent in the snow but only with good snow tires. The SRT is drivable in the snow but it all comes down to how comfortable your wife is with driving a 400+ HP RWD car in the snow. No matter who is driving, it will slide around so she has to be ready for that.

My SRT Challenger is a daily driver and I'll drive it in the snow, but as liljoejoe said, only with winter tires. Otherwise, if she's capable with RWD, she'll learn to respect the 400 hp and be fine. Once you get used to it, any car's OK in the snow.

i drove mine in the snow twice. i told myself the first time was the last time when i almost couldn't make it around a round-a-bout in plainfield. it just wouldn't turn and was sliding right at the curb in the center of the round-a-bout. i had to kick the rear end out and drift it to make the turn cause i just couldn't get her to slow down. i was only going like 15mph too. that was with stock F1 supercar tires.

so the second time i drove in the snow i was at dartboys house doing some mods and a snow storm hit that we didn't expect. at this point i only had race tires for the car so it took me over an hour to make the 15 minute drive home. the first stop sign on dartys street i got stuck at for like 3 minutes and it was a minimal amount of snow. i was literally plowing myself into getting stuck at every stop light, i had to back up and build speed to get over the snow i packed in front of the tires.

but with all that said. snow tires will make it manageable. but i would not even attempt to put her behind the wheel of it without snow tires on it. my truck is just as bad as my car in the snow, maybe worse since there is no weight over the rear end, but snow tires make me able to drive it. you still have to be on your toes, it will be very un-forgiving.

using autostick to start in 2nd gear helps a lot in bad conditions too.

The Supercars are flat terrible in COLD weather, let alone snow. Then again, the Supercars are terrible anyway! LOL Just going to an All-Season tire is a huge upgrade over the Supercars in cold

djpatrick35 wrote:

The Supercars are flat terrible in COLD weather, let alone snow. Then again, the Supercars are terrible anyway! LOL Just going to an All-Season tire is a huge upgrade over the Supercars in cold

yea i know... i have kinda sold tires for a living for the last 10 years... lol.

but that is the factory tire so he needs to know. but i wouldn't let my significant other drive on all seasons on an SRT in the winter either. it would be a winter tire or id be getting her a different car, or bus money.

Thanks for all of the great input. I've convinced my wife that she needs a hemi, and she agrees that the '10 Avenger R/T is not enough for her. RWD worries me a bit because all she has ever driven is FWD. So I am leaning towards an R/T with the Road and Track package so I can get a suspension and brake upgrade at least (not that without that package it's a slouch by any means), and use winter specific tires and wheels. BTW we test drove the current model a couple years back, but she was not comfortable with it - felt it was too big for her to handle. We tested two different '11's and since the windshield rake has been revised and the beltline is slightly lower plus the addition of the backup camera she is now more comfortable it it, and excited to drive it! And I get it on weekends...

with the R/T winter wheel and tire pakages will be much cheaper also since not a lot of wheels clear the SRT brembo brakes under 20 inches. try to get a later model with the 370 horse VVT hemi.