I am very curious about this topic. Me and a friend have a $200 bet going. I beleive w/ all my heart that the Lightning is going to rape the Dodge. Though the dodge has the huge V10 Viper engine dropped in the ram body(which in my opinion is kinda cheating in a way) and the ford is going to stick to the 5.4 330 cupic inch supercharged upgraded to 400+hp w/50-60 hp bursts of up to 20 to 30 sec. I am definatley a Lightning fan.
I would love to hear what you guys have to say.

thanks,
brad

 

It is really pretty hard to say without seeing 2 production versions go head to head, but here's how I feel about them.

Looks go to the new Lightning (at least in concept form). The SRT-10 isn't a bad looking truck, but the Lightning is a bit better. The SRT-10 Also sits a bit too high in stock form.

I've heard the Lightning will still only be offered with an automatic. That Sucks. Bad. The SRT is a 6-speed manual. True performance vehicles have manuals, putting the driver in complete control. Score 1 for the SRT.

Power: It sounds like the Lightning will be around 420-430 without the intercooler. That would put it close to, or right at, 500 hp. It also has a Supercharger which can suffer from heat after prolonged periods of heavy use. The SRT-10 makes 500 hp all the time, no SC, and no temporary intercooler. I feel that while the peak performance of the trucks may be close, the Lightning can only make peak power for short periods of time. The SRT can do it on demand and any time, and will most likely be more consistent.

Like I said, it is hard to compare the 2 with out having even seen a production lightning, but I personally like the manual transmission of the SRT, and dare I say, the less "gimicky" horsepower as well.

By the way, why do you think putting the Viper motor in the Ram is cheating?

 

Very good point about the power on demand on the Ram, but I'm almost posative that the Lightning isn't a six speed cause the SVT team has perfected the automatic to get the best get up and go possible. The ram w/its six speed is going to be tuff to stick to the ground w/all that horsepower. What I was saying about cheating was what is the viper motor a 8.1l V10 and Ford is putting a 330 cubic inch 5.4l motor and is likely to take the ram even though the Ram is almost twice the size as the Lightning and has 2 more cylinders. If Ford was to put their new V10 351 cubic inch or even like a 454 in the lightning it would be much more fair, but ford has stuck w/their little V8 (which they have perfected). I am a diehard Ford fan, and I probably do need to give Dodge the credit they deserve. They have built a hell of a truck, but I can't wait for the Lightning to comeout and prove everyone wrong!!!!!


thanks for the reply, Brad

 

Very good point about the power on demand on the Ram, but I'm almost posative that the Lightning isn't a six speed cause the SVT team has perfected the automatic to get the best get up and go possible. The ram w/its six speed is going to be tuff to stick to the ground w/all that horsepower. What I was saying about cheating was what is the viper motor a 8.1l V10 and Ford is putting a 330 cubic inch 5.4l motor and is likely to take the ram even though the Ram is almost twice the size as the Lightning and has 2 more cylinders. If Ford was to put their new V10 351 cubic inch or even like a 454 in the lightning it would be much more fair, but ford has stuck w/their little V8 (which they have perfected). I am a diehard Ford fan, and I probably do need to give Dodge the credit they deserve. They have built a hell of a truck, but I can't wait for the Lightning to comeout and prove everyone wrong!!!!!

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And the Lightning gets a supercharger, so whats your point?

 

The SRT10 is a billy badass truck. Ford's got some catching up to do. They aren't gonna catch it with the 5.4, not without sacrificing allot of reliability and streetability.

 

From everything I have heard, the next gen L will likely have the all aluminum 4v 5.4 like in the new GT supercar. This engine cranks out 500 hp and 500 ft.lbs of torque. Then you get the supercooler burst of 50 extra hp on top of that. Ford is also likely going to be putting the 5 speed auto Torq-shift tranny in the new L with a 6 speed manual being a possible option. Personally I like the auto in my L. Just stomp the loud pedal and you are gone. I can't imagine trying to lauch 500 ft.lbs with a stick in a truck. As far as the SRT-10, from the time slips I have seen in the various magazines, it will barely beat a current generation Lightning, if at all. It looks like it would be close enough to come down to driver. Granted the SRT10's traps speeds have been significantly higher, so it does appear that it is going to be hard to launch. I don't think I would want to take on a SRT10 from 20 mph and on up. I bet one would pull on a stock L pretty good. With all that being said, if the next gen L is anything close to what they are saying it will be, it will donkey-stomp the SRT10.

JJ

 

EV2DEMON: Have you seen the F-1 Ferrari? it's got an automatic shift gearbox, with the electronic control clutch. Lots of performance cars are going that route, seems to work fine. It's not a full auto, but it's really not a manual, either. I think the v-10 dodge will be a ground pounder, but the FORD will be just as respectable, based on the supercharger. The whole argument may come down to launching one of the two. Tires could make all the difference. I'd take the FORD anyday.

 

I like anything fast but with all the HP what is the MPG going to look like? Give me my Cummins diesel with 400HP and 900TQ at 20MPG and I would be happier. Plus I can haul any tractor we own on my farm. try putting a 1206 IH behind the SRT-10 or L But I know dieseld trucks were built for a different job so I say if I had the money either the L or the 10 would be sweet to have. most likely nobody around would have to "other" to race me
DM01

 

I haven't seen MPG projections for the next L, but I will guarantee that it will be a heck of a lot better than the Dodge V10.

JJ

 

hmmm.......

the ford, will have more low end torque, period. a positive displacement s/c is known for this... the l will have a 5-9mpg advantage, and the current lightning is what, 12-15 grand cheaper than the ram??? so, even when gen 3 l comes out, there is no way ford will bump the price more than about 2-3k over the current ~32k l. and for even 7-10 grand,it's not like you couldn't buy a few bolt ons for that kinda money....


the current cobra puts down about 1.4hp/cu " in it's current form, make that a 5.4, and your looking at 468hp, with a EATON pd s/c...the next gen l gets a screw type, which should be worth ~40-50hp at the same, or LOWER boost.
the l is also intercooled, and has always been (2nd gen of course). this supercooler gimmick will be un needed to wax a ram.

sorry, but when the drag strip numbers are out, the l will annihalate the ram.

my opinion anyway....

 

Yes, I've seen it. I've driven a 360 Modena with the paddle shift. That is nothing like what will be in the Lightning, so I really don't see the comparison? There is a huge difference between a car that has electronic clutch control and fully manual shifting, and a torque converter automatic that shifts it self. The electronic clutch manual still puts more power to the ground than any torque convertor juice box and offers crisp fully manual shifts that no juicer can come close to. You realy can't even compare the 2.

Ever driven a Viper? They have more low end torgue than just about any other vehicle I've driven. Not knowing the the true out put of the Lightning, how can you factually state that it will have more low end torque? Sure superchargers make more low end torque on comparably sized motors, but that doesn't necessarily mean the 5.4 SC will have more torque than the 8.0 NA. I mean, I can supercharge Honda V tech's all day long, and they still won't have massive amounts of torque. I also guarantee you the new Lightning will not be significantly cheaper than the SRT-10.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Lightning will be a nice truck that is plenty quick, I just don't see how you guys can make all the comparisons and make statements you claim as fact when you don't even know for sure what set up Ford is going to run?

 

I would be concerned with a 200 dollar bet. I am looking for a posting from Trucktrend when they did their side by side comparision. They determined the Lightning was dead meat. Note even close. So I guess time will tell.

Sport Truck has these results for their SRT-10:

1/4 mile: 13.12@108mph
0-60: 5.37 sec
60-0: 138.83 feet (zero fade, the hotter tests were actually shorter then the cold)
slalom: 62.5 mph

This is about the fastest times I have seen so far. We should be getting some real life numbers shortly. They are starting to hit the streets.

 

Well if 13.12 is all they could squeeze out of it, then I wouldn't call the L dead meat just yet. There are guys with gen 2 L's that are running low 13's completely stock. 13.1-13.2. Then you have plenty of guys in the 12's with simply a K&N and a chip. Throw on a $150 lower pulley and you're down into the mid 12's. I will be interested to see the real life numbers. Still, for the $45K you'll have to lay down for a new SRT-10, you can take a new L and put about 5 grand in it and stomp an SRT-10 into a mudhole, and still come out cheaper.

JJ

 

You must remember that most magazine 1/4 mile tests are done on big paved parking lots or on front stretches of road courses with accelerometers. These surfaces never have the prep work that a dragstrip would, and the equipment they use never has the level of precision that dragstrip timers do. Knowing take that 13.12 with a grain of salt.

Case in point, Hot Rod recently tested a 04 Cobra against a Subaru STI. The Cobra only managed a 13.98 due to poor track prep and the type of timing equipment they used. We all know there are stock Cobra's running in the 12's, so you can see how far off magazine numbers can be.

 

The 108 trap for the SRT-10 tells me they are 12 second capable. Pretty impressive, but the new lightning will certainly be right there if not better. So Dodge may win by a hair for a year. Gotta love the competition.