The Rise and Fall, and Rise again.... - Dodge Caliber SRT-4 Forums

danteneon · 02-29-2008, 06:45 PM

Hey all. I haven't posted here in a while. Most of my time has been on 2GN.org with my ACR, but I finally got my camera back, and wanted to share some pictures of my wife's '07 Black Caliber R/T 5sp.

Here she is with some of the mods already on...I know, she needed a bath

Now for the Fall part. I was sitting at a stop sign last Friday with my wife in the car, when I hear a crash behind me. About a second later, BAM! The Focus that had stopped behind me slams into the back of my wife's Caliber. Seems that the VERY incapacitated driver of the F-150 didn't realize that there were cars sitting in front of her....

Here is the damage

The DUB rear bumper is a quality piece. Took the impact very well. Wouldn't have been so bad, if it wasn't for this....

The entire exhaust will have to be replaced since it is a MP cat-back. I thought I might be able to salvage the exhaust since the tip didn't seem to take any damage, and I would have a used system to sell someone cheap, until I saw this...

It cracked the weld right at the muffler.

Now, these were taken this morning, since the accident happened at 7:45pm on the 22nd. But my story gets better...

I was driving with my wife in the passenger seat. I got out to see if people were ok. The guy behind me seemed alright, except he was trying to get a tag # from a F-150 leaving the scene. The same F-150 that rear-ended him! I said "OH HELL NO!" and got back in the car and chased her (didn't know who was driving, or how many people were in the truck at this point.

They didn't drive very far. A 1/4 mile down the road is a firehouse. They turned in there and drove around the back. Sweet! There is no outlet back there. They drive to an embankment and can't go any further. I stop about 6' from the back of the truck, just close enough so they can't try to back out and run again. My wife had called the police when we started to follow them, and was on the phone with them as we stopped. I felt pretty safe knowing the police were only a couple of minutes away, and we were behind a firehouse. I got out of the car, lit a cigarette, and stood by my left 1/4 panel waiting for the driver to exit. That didn't happen.

The driver then put the truck in reverse, and backed in to the Caliber! I went ballistic! My wive is on the phone telling the police "She just backed into us!" I ran to the door and started yelling at whoever was driving "WTF are you doing?! You have caused two accidents, park the truck, the police have already been called!" I didn't say it in the nicest of tones. The woman driving rolled down the window and stared at me with a shocked expression on her face and just kept nodding at me. I was a guy in the passenger seat slumped against the door panel. I walked around the car trying my hardest not to drag the woman out of the truck and beat her.

As I was calming down, my wife calls to me "She's walking away!" The woman must have felt she really shouldn't be there, took her purse, and walked calmly into the woods. I wasn't about to go after her. I wasn't so worried so much what she might do, but what I would do if I caught her. Plus there was the guy in the truck still. The police showed up about 2 min later, and arrested the guy (who was the owner of the truck). It took two officers to walk/drag him to the car since he could not walk on his own. A K-9 unit was sent into the woods to find the woman, but they didn't. The guy couldn't or wouldn't give up who was driving.

Here are some pics of the front damage...

As of today, I got the insurance info for the guy. Seems his insurance is the one to cover this damage. The woman now has two felony hit-and-run charges against her. I haven't heard if they have caught her yet.

Now for the Rise again. The owner of the truck's insurance is covering the damage. Some good will come out of this. The DUB bumper will have to be replaced by whoever's insurance, as well as the exhaust. I found out that there is only a $4.00 difference in the Caliber SRT-4 front bumper, and list on the R/T front bumper. So guess who is getting her bumper upgrade finally? And of course the hood is different, so I am going to get that as well. The hood has to be repainted because the paramedics put their emergency kit on our hood while they were getting the drunk guy out of the truck. So, I just pay for the hood

So thats where we are for now. I'll keep updates as things progress. Thanks for looking

danteneon · 03-04-2008, 12:03 PM

Well, some parts are starting to arrive. Got this today...

Comparing the two...

A little something I found interesting. The lower grille area on the stock bumper has the sides blocked off. That always bugged me. But it seems that is easy to fix.

Stock

Panel removed

Here is where it mounts. Much easier to see with the bumper removed.

Here is a better shot of the tabs that need to be released

Makes for a much better look in my opinion.

Naked front end

I will post more as it comes along

danteneon · 04-01-2008, 08:40 AM

Update time...

Got the bumpers done! The rear is back to it's original modified glory

The front is almost finished. The hood is still on back-order. So for everyone who wants to know what a SRT bumper looks like with a standard hood, here it is...

Holy hood gap Batman!

Yes, the hood is latched. Ram air FTW!

More to follow.

cSRT4 · 04-01-2008, 12:04 PM

wow, nice job man, its looking good.
that cali's been through a lot in its short life

danteneon · 04-02-2008, 05:07 AM

Thanks. It has been a pretty "exciting" life for her so far

As much as I didn't want all this to happen, the end result should be nice

MCDCWILLIAMS · 04-03-2008, 09:40 AM

That's quite a story. I don't think I would've tried to follow the truck. You just never know in today's society. Happy it worked out for you though! Keep up the modificationication!

danteneon · 04-04-2008, 06:34 AM

Thanks for the compliments!

And speaking of modifications, since I am STILL waiting on the hood, I figured I would address the rather squishy nature of the Caliber suspension. I have a very modified '02 ACR, so the handling is very soft and compliant in comparison.

First on the list was this....

It is the Mopar Performance (DC Sports) strut tower brace. It is a very nice piece. It made such a difference on my Neon that I had to get it for the Cali. The steering response is much quicker, and rapid left to right transitions feel much less vague. There is a bracket that ties the bar to the cowl/firewall. That will go in later.

Then I got a box...

And it even had stuff in it...

These are the MP/KW 1.5" lowering springs. I'll post more on the install once I get to actually installing them.

Also on the list is filling the horrid soft engine mounts.

More to come...

danteneon · 04-11-2008, 01:54 PM

Shyla got her new stance on Saturday. Let me tell ya...not only did it improve her handling like would be expected, but some things improved that I wasn't expecting. More on that in a bit.

This isn't a full blow-by-blow write-up, but there are some good reference shots and tips to help you along with the instuctions they give you.

Here are some pics of the stock struts and springs as a comparison

Front...

In the car...

Rear...

And in the car...

The rear would be cake to install, however, the strut mount bolts are behind the trim panel...

The front bolt is on the other side of the bulge.

As a side note, be VERY careful when pulling the panel out! It is very easy to crack the plastic!!!

Don't ask me how I know this...

And now the before and after stance shots.

Before I started

After the springs were installed and driven around the lot a little

Doesn't look much different, does it? The springs didn't have much of a chance to settle yet. So we drove her home (and gave her a much needed bath as well) making sure to use the suspension as much as possible. Here she sits after about 20 miles.

The springs should settle a bit more. Now for the improvements. As I said before, handing is much improved. The ride hasn't suffered at all. It is still very compliant during regular driving. But when the springs are pushed past the "normal" area of travel, they firm up and provide a much firmer level of damping. This is the way the R/T suspension should be from the factory.

The surprise came when I first started shifting through the gears under load (dogging it). The Cali has had a problem since we got her with not always wanting to go into gear when you really get on her. The older guys here (as well as the younger guys that still play with the older Mopars) will remember the rod operated shifters on the pre '85 Omni's that just wouldn't go into 3rd if you were romping it. The Caliber wasn't quite that bad, but in a race, many times the shifter would just bounce of 2nd or 3rd gear rather than engaging.

Not only did the springs stop the R/T from squatting the rear on accelerating, and nose diving on stops, but I haven't had a problem with shifting at all! The car used to dive/squat during shifts, but no longer.

So that's the assessment so far. Now, about the sway bar kit.....

Anna50 · 06-07-2008, 12:33 PM

looks like this wreck is what you got you on your feet as far as modding goes.....LOL

danteneon · 06-08-2008, 09:29 AM

Kinda, yeah. The wife and I had plans for this car from jump, but this did give us a kick-start if you will

Oh yeah, since it's been forever...some updates!

Been wanting these since we bought her

And......the hood is finally here!

It's a horrible pic, but it's here! Now to get the money to paint it

02-29-2008, 06:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
danteneon Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Haymarket VA Posts: 83	The Rise and Fall, and Rise again.... Hey all. I haven't posted here in a while. Most of my time has been on 2GN.org with my ACR, but I finally got my camera back, and wanted to share some pictures of my wife's '07 Black Caliber R/T 5sp. Here she is with some of the mods already on...I know, she needed a bath Now for the Fall part. I was sitting at a stop sign last Friday with my wife in the car, when I hear a crash behind me. About a second later, BAM! The Focus that had stopped behind me slams into the back of my wife's Caliber. Seems that the VERY incapacitated driver of the F-150 didn't realize that there were cars sitting in front of her.... Here is the damage The DUB rear bumper is a quality piece. Took the impact very well. Wouldn't have been so bad, if it wasn't for this.... The entire exhaust will have to be replaced since it is a MP cat-back. I thought I might be able to salvage the exhaust since the tip didn't seem to take any damage, and I would have a used system to sell someone cheap, until I saw this... It cracked the weld right at the muffler. Now, these were taken this morning, since the accident happened at 7:45pm on the 22nd. But my story gets better... I was driving with my wife in the passenger seat. I got out to see if people were ok. The guy behind me seemed alright, except he was trying to get a tag # from a F-150 leaving the scene. The same F-150 that rear-ended him! I said "OH HELL NO!" and got back in the car and chased her (didn't know who was driving, or how many people were in the truck at this point. They didn't drive very far. A 1/4 mile down the road is a firehouse. They turned in there and drove around the back. Sweet! There is no outlet back there. They drive to an embankment and can't go any further. I stop about 6' from the back of the truck, just close enough so they can't try to back out and run again. My wife had called the police when we started to follow them, and was on the phone with them as we stopped. I felt pretty safe knowing the police were only a couple of minutes away, and we were behind a firehouse. I got out of the car, lit a cigarette, and stood by my left 1/4 panel waiting for the driver to exit. That didn't happen. The driver then put the truck in reverse, and backed in to the Caliber! I went ballistic! My wive is on the phone telling the police "She just backed into us!" I ran to the door and started yelling at whoever was driving "WTF are you doing?! You have caused two accidents, park the truck, the police have already been called!" I didn't say it in the nicest of tones. The woman driving rolled down the window and stared at me with a shocked expression on her face and just kept nodding at me. I was a guy in the passenger seat slumped against the door panel. I walked around the car trying my hardest not to drag the woman out of the truck and beat her. As I was calming down, my wife calls to me "She's walking away!" The woman must have felt she really shouldn't be there, took her purse, and walked calmly into the woods. I wasn't about to go after her. I wasn't so worried so much what she might do, but what I would do if I caught her. Plus there was the guy in the truck still. The police showed up about 2 min later, and arrested the guy (who was the owner of the truck). It took two officers to walk/drag him to the car since he could not walk on his own. A K-9 unit was sent into the woods to find the woman, but they didn't. The guy couldn't or wouldn't give up who was driving. Here are some pics of the front damage... As of today, I got the insurance info for the guy. Seems his insurance is the one to cover this damage. The woman now has two felony hit-and-run charges against her. I haven't heard if they have caught her yet. Now for the Rise again. The owner of the truck's insurance is covering the damage. Some good will come out of this. The DUB bumper will have to be replaced by whoever's insurance, as well as the exhaust. I found out that there is only a $4.00 difference in the Caliber SRT-4 front bumper, and list on the R/T front bumper. So guess who is getting her bumper upgrade finally? And of course the hood is different, so I am going to get that as well. The hood has to be repainted because the paramedics put their emergency kit on our hood while they were getting the drunk guy out of the truck. So, I just pay for the hood So thats where we are for now. I'll keep updates as things progress. Thanks for looking __________________ 07 Caliber R/T 5sp fwd...M.P. CAI, M.P. Cat-back, M.P. header, SRT hood and front bumper, Dub side skirts and rear bumper, more mods to come 02 Neon ACR (1 of31)...All Mopar goodies...cai, SRT cat back exhaust, stage 3 coil overs, frt & rear strut tower braces, adjustable camber/caster strut mounts, poly suspension and engine mount bushings, 05 SRT-4 pedals, shifter, wheels, etc, etc... Last edited by danteneon : 02-29-2008 at 06:52 PM.

03-04-2008, 12:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
danteneon Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Haymarket VA Posts: 83	Well, some parts are starting to arrive. Got this today... Comparing the two... A little something I found interesting. The lower grille area on the stock bumper has the sides blocked off. That always bugged me. But it seems that is easy to fix. Stock Panel removed Here is where it mounts. Much easier to see with the bumper removed. Here is a better shot of the tabs that need to be released Makes for a much better look in my opinion. Naked front end I will post more as it comes along __________________ 07 Caliber R/T 5sp fwd...M.P. CAI, M.P. Cat-back, M.P. header, SRT hood and front bumper, Dub side skirts and rear bumper, more mods to come 02 Neon ACR (1 of31)...All Mopar goodies...cai, SRT cat back exhaust, stage 3 coil overs, frt & rear strut tower braces, adjustable camber/caster strut mounts, poly suspension and engine mount bushings, 05 SRT-4 pedals, shifter, wheels, etc, etc...

04-01-2008, 08:40 AM	#3 (permalink)
danteneon Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Haymarket VA Posts: 83	Update time... Got the bumpers done! The rear is back to it's original modified glory The front is almost finished. The hood is still on back-order. So for everyone who wants to know what a SRT bumper looks like with a standard hood, here it is... Holy hood gap Batman! Yes, the hood is latched. Ram air FTW! More to follow. __________________ 07 Caliber R/T 5sp fwd...M.P. CAI, M.P. Cat-back, M.P. header, SRT hood and front bumper, Dub side skirts and rear bumper, more mods to come 02 Neon ACR (1 of31)...All Mopar goodies...cai, SRT cat back exhaust, stage 3 coil overs, frt & rear strut tower braces, adjustable camber/caster strut mounts, poly suspension and engine mount bushings, 05 SRT-4 pedals, shifter, wheels, etc, etc... Last edited by danteneon : 04-01-2008 at 10:01 AM.

04-01-2008, 12:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
cSRT4 Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ottawa, On Posts: 36	wow, nice job man, its looking good. that cali's been through a lot in its short life __________________ '08 Black cSRT4 - Nav, Sat, Polished Alum, F1's, Option Group II, Sunroof.

04-02-2008, 05:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
danteneon Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Haymarket VA Posts: 83	Thanks. It has been a pretty "exciting" life for her so far As much as I didn't want all this to happen, the end result should be nice __________________ 07 Caliber R/T 5sp fwd...M.P. CAI, M.P. Cat-back, M.P. header, SRT hood and front bumper, Dub side skirts and rear bumper, more mods to come 02 Neon ACR (1 of31)...All Mopar goodies...cai, SRT cat back exhaust, stage 3 coil overs, frt & rear strut tower braces, adjustable camber/caster strut mounts, poly suspension and engine mount bushings, 05 SRT-4 pedals, shifter, wheels, etc, etc...

04-03-2008, 09:40 AM	#6 (permalink)
MCDCWILLIAMS Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Detroit Posts: 29	Damn dude That's quite a story. I don't think I would've tried to follow the truck. You just never know in today's society. Happy it worked out for you though! Keep up the modificationication! __________________ calculating.... beep boop boop beep

04-04-2008, 06:34 AM	#7 (permalink)
danteneon Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Haymarket VA Posts: 83	Thanks for the compliments! And speaking of modifications, since I am STILL waiting on the hood, I figured I would address the rather squishy nature of the Caliber suspension. I have a very modified '02 ACR, so the handling is very soft and compliant in comparison. First on the list was this.... It is the Mopar Performance (DC Sports) strut tower brace. It is a very nice piece. It made such a difference on my Neon that I had to get it for the Cali. The steering response is much quicker, and rapid left to right transitions feel much less vague. There is a bracket that ties the bar to the cowl/firewall. That will go in later. Then I got a box... And it even had stuff in it... These are the MP/KW 1.5" lowering springs. I'll post more on the install once I get to actually installing them. Also on the list is filling the horrid soft engine mounts. More to come... __________________ 07 Caliber R/T 5sp fwd...M.P. CAI, M.P. Cat-back, M.P. header, SRT hood and front bumper, Dub side skirts and rear bumper, more mods to come 02 Neon ACR (1 of31)...All Mopar goodies...cai, SRT cat back exhaust, stage 3 coil overs, frt & rear strut tower braces, adjustable camber/caster strut mounts, poly suspension and engine mount bushings, 05 SRT-4 pedals, shifter, wheels, etc, etc...

04-11-2008, 01:54 PM	#8 (permalink)
danteneon Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Haymarket VA Posts: 83	Shyla got her new stance on Saturday. Let me tell ya...not only did it improve her handling like would be expected, but some things improved that I wasn't expecting. More on that in a bit. This isn't a full blow-by-blow write-up, but there are some good reference shots and tips to help you along with the instuctions they give you. Here are some pics of the stock struts and springs as a comparison Front... In the car... Rear... And in the car... The rear would be cake to install, however, the strut mount bolts are behind the trim panel... The front bolt is on the other side of the bulge. As a side note, be VERY careful when pulling the panel out! It is very easy to crack the plastic!!! Don't ask me how I know this... And now the before and after stance shots. Before I started After the springs were installed and driven around the lot a little Doesn't look much different, does it? The springs didn't have much of a chance to settle yet. So we drove her home (and gave her a much needed bath as well) making sure to use the suspension as much as possible. Here she sits after about 20 miles. The springs should settle a bit more. Now for the improvements. As I said before, handing is much improved. The ride hasn't suffered at all. It is still very compliant during regular driving. But when the springs are pushed past the "normal" area of travel, they firm up and provide a much firmer level of damping. This is the way the R/T suspension should be from the factory. The surprise came when I first started shifting through the gears under load (dogging it). The Cali has had a problem since we got her with not always wanting to go into gear when you really get on her. The older guys here (as well as the younger guys that still play with the older Mopars) will remember the rod operated shifters on the pre '85 Omni's that just wouldn't go into 3rd if you were romping it. The Caliber wasn't quite that bad, but in a race, many times the shifter would just bounce of 2nd or 3rd gear rather than engaging. Not only did the springs stop the R/T from squatting the rear on accelerating, and nose diving on stops, but I haven't had a problem with shifting at all! The car used to dive/squat during shifts, but no longer. So that's the assessment so far. Now, about the sway bar kit..... __________________ 07 Caliber R/T 5sp fwd...M.P. CAI, M.P. Cat-back, M.P. header, SRT hood and front bumper, Dub side skirts and rear bumper, more mods to come 02 Neon ACR (1 of31)...All Mopar goodies...cai, SRT cat back exhaust, stage 3 coil overs, frt & rear strut tower braces, adjustable camber/caster strut mounts, poly suspension and engine mount bushings, 05 SRT-4 pedals, shifter, wheels, etc, etc...

06-07-2008, 12:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
Anna50 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: USA/EAST COAST Posts: 2	looks like this wreck is what you got you on your feet as far as modding goes.....LOL

06-08-2008, 09:29 AM	#10 (permalink)
danteneon Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Haymarket VA Posts: 83	Kinda, yeah. The wife and I had plans for this car from jump, but this did give us a kick-start if you will Oh yeah, since it's been forever...some updates! Been wanting these since we bought her And......the hood is finally here! It's a horrible pic, but it's here! Now to get the money to paint it __________________ 07 Caliber R/T 5sp fwd...M.P. CAI, M.P. Cat-back, M.P. header, SRT hood and front bumper, Dub side skirts and rear bumper, more mods to come 02 Neon ACR (1 of31)...All Mopar goodies...cai, SRT cat back exhaust, stage 3 coil overs, frt & rear strut tower braces, adjustable camber/caster strut mounts, poly suspension and engine mount bushings, 05 SRT-4 pedals, shifter, wheels, etc, etc...

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Remove advertisements Sponsored links

Remove advertisements Sponsored links