RAM SRT-10: Just Try To Wipe That Stupid Grin Off Of Your Face
Stuffing an oversize engine into a small, light platform may be an American hot rodder's dream, but it takes skill to be a player in the sport sedan market.
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| (ABOVE) “The goal at PVO is to out muscle everything in our class through
superior engineering and by drawing on our engineers’ vast motorsports experience.
That is why this truck can accelerate like a dragster, yet it is not a coarse
hot rod.”—Wolfgang Bernhard, COO, Chrysler Group. He adds, “This
is not a bolt-on kit for a Ram. PVO has created a new vehicle.” A good example
of the engineering chops of the team is the rear wing, which is not for show.
It provides a 165-lb. reduction in lift and also reduces drag. (In the event someone
is actually going to use the pickup bed, the wing can be removed.)
(ABOVE LEFT) The guts of the Ram SRT-10. Serious engineering translates into
serious speed and capable handling.
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It wasn’t all that long ago (1993 for a ‘94 model) when the folks
at Dodge rolled onto the scene with the redesigned Ram, the pickup that was
nothing if not polarizing. The ‘02 model—which was a new version—didn’t
provide the same sort of seismic shift as its predecessor, probably because
of familiarity of the in-your-face styling. But the Chrysler team has pulled
something out of their garage that is causing the tectonic plates to shift with
high velocity: the ‘04 Ram SRT-10.
A few numbers tell the story:
- 10 cylinders in the aluminum block
- 505 in3
- 500 hp @ 5,600 rpm
- 525 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4,200 rpm (90% of the torque is delivered from 1,500 to 5,600 rpm)
- 0 to 60 mph in ~5 seconds
- 22 x 10-in. aluminum wheels
- Six-speed manual (Tremec T56)
- 4.5-in. aluminum driveshaft
- Dana 60 rear axle with 4.11 final drive ratio
- 15-in. front rotors; 14-in. rear rotors
- 2.75-in. dual exhaust pipes with 3.5-in. chrome tips
- Four Viper catalysts
- 505-W audio systems
- Three colors (black, silver, red)
- 165 changes from an ordinary Ram to an SRT-10
Yes, you probably spotted that word “Viper.” Here’s a two-door
Ram 1500 that’s been transformed by the firm’s Performance Vehicle
Operations (PVO) into something entirely different. Beyond just sticking a giant
engine under the hood, the suspension has been modified so that it smokes in
slaloms as well as it can on quarter miles (although the likelihood of someone
taking the vehicle out on a gymkhana . . .). There’s a modified rack and
pinion steering system from a Dodge Ram Heavy Duty. An independent front suspension.
The front end is dropped by 1 in. and the rear is taken down 2.5 in. The strut
assemblies fore and aft are new; there’s a rear sway bar added to handle
cornering loads. Bilstein mono-tube shocks are fitted all around. In fact, there’s
even a Bilstein shock between the frame and the axle to keep launches under
heavy acceleration smooth. Inside, there are interior trim bits (e.g., a Viper
red start button on the dash; aluminum pedals; heavily bolstered leather-trimmed
seats) that indicate this is no ordinary vehicle—especially the stalk for
a Hurst shifter with a Viper knob on top.
“Designers’ sketches look like this thing does in real life,”
says Chrysler designer Robert McMahan of the SRT-10. He says designers always
put on giant wheels and a scoop on the hood. The wheels—said to be the
largest wheels and tires on a production pickup—are there. And the scoop
is functional, as the engine needs a lot of air.
Under the hood it’s quite a sight/site to behold. There’s a single-piece,
central dual-plenum aluminum intake manifold. The manifold is what’s called
an “Integrated Air and Fuel Module,” as it includes fuel rails, injectors,
sensors, wiring, and throttle body. The cylinders in the aluminum block have
interference-fit cast iron liners; aluminum pistons with cracked-steel con rods
ride in them. The die cast magnesium cylinder head covers have steel internal
baffles and anti-slosh foam.
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