Dodge/Chrysler Stratus?

[panzerjohn]

Hello!

I'm a proud Mopar owner from Norway. Here in Europe the Stratus is sold as Chrysler. When i search for parts on American internet sites i can't find Chrysler Stratus. I only find Dodge by model name Stratus. Is it probably that i basicly drive a Dodge with the Dodge badge ripped of and interchanged? Or is it a Chrysler with a Stratus badge instead?
Anyway. My car:
1997 Chrysler Stratus 2.5L V6 Sedan.

I would like to put in some performance parts. Tune up my engine. Maybe drop the car a bit closer to the ground. I heard that when looking for parts I would seek for Mitsubishi Eclipse performance parts. Is that right? if that is true. The same year too (1997 eclipse engine parts)? Besides, my engine is 2.5L with 163hp, is it the same as 2.4L what often is reffered to here in the forum?

Regards

Panzerjohn :gr_patrio

[corzolek]

Here the Chrysler version is called a Cirrus, Dodge a Stratus and Plymouth a Breeze. The 2.5 liter motor is a V6 and the 2.4 motor is a straight 4. There is also a 2.0 liter straight 4 motor as well. As for part interchangability I will leave that upto some of the guys out there that have experience in that area, Dodge did use some Mitibishi motors but I don't know how interchangable the parts are. Good luck.

[Dodgevanman]

The 2.5 V6 is a Mitsubishi engine.

Daimler-Chrysler markets it's vehicles as "Chryslers" in Europe, Asia, etc. The Dodge nameplate is not used. Your car is basically the same as a Dodge Stratus and the parts should interchange no problems.

[panzerjohn]

Hi Again.

When it comes to suspension components (coils, shocks), are they Dodge spesific or are they also interchangeable with Mitsubishi? The 2.5L V6 is it Eclipse engine?

Thanks

Panzerjohn

[Dodgevanman]

It may be based on the Eclipse engine, but then again I'm no expert on Eclipses. Even if it is, there may be differences to suit it to the Chrysler platform. I wouldn't chance ordering Mitsubishi parts and expect them to fit your Stratus. I would just order parts for a Dodge Stratus or if you have a source in Norway just simply order for a Chrysler Status.

[panzerjohn]

Here's the problem. There are no sources to order from here in Norway. Do You know of a good store or anything like it that sells tuning components for Dodge Stratus? The only Dodge that is tuned her is the Neon and the older cars with V8 engines. That's why I have to look for parts other places. For example the 2.4L engine is not sold here in Stratus cars in Europe. Only 2.0L and 2.5L V6. I want to buy a second car some time later and that'll be Dodge with V8. Having a car is so expensive here in Norway due to taxes, that I'm trying to tune my car and maybe buy a second car some time later. Per year this is payd in taxes per car you own:
Yearly fee: 500 US$ (Is payed each year 15th march)
Maintenace fee: 80 US$ (payed every second year with a car control)
Insurance: 2500 US$

Besides, here in Norway 85% of the gasoline price are taxes. That's why gasoline costs about 8 US$ per USgallon.

A lot of roads You'll have to pay a tax for driving, about 5 US$. i pay this fee several times each day.

There is also a tax for tuning witch lies around 322 US$ for each horsepower You add to your car. When You get to 200hp, this fee grows exponetially with an extra 322 US$ per hp. That means 201hp will cost You 644 US$, 202hp will cost You 1288 US$ etc.

The tax inquisitors are chasing me

Gotta run now

Panzerjohn

[Pounder]

Ahh, a fellow Scandinavian! We both seem to contribute our fair share in the form of taxes, when it comes to motoring and preserving the Nordic welfare states, eh? :)
Damn, the insurance costs really blow me away. Good thing I was sitting when opened the envelope - and still almost dropped from the chair. The only good thing is that with a little negotiation with the company, I got my mother's insurance bonuses transferred into my car. We have this bonus system in insurances in Finland, I have read it is actually against EU regulations, but a really good thing for us customers. Collision-free years lowers your fees here. Got now the full 70% off my prices! That truly was a time to light one of my Cuban cigars, when got that problem fixed...
Insurancen and taxes depenf on the size of the engine, and seems to me that the government views my 2.5 V6 as a bigger monster than I had thought...
Good thing it's not a diesel engine - that would of course mean yet an additional tax.
I am not even discussing motorbikes... For those one really would have to pay (but I still dream of a Harley...).
Gasoline is costly here too, yesterday it was $5,6781 per gallon, or around 1.20 per liter. Most of the price tax here too. Many of my friends get a Russian visa and, living not far from the Russian border, go to refuel in the Russian side. Bringing back cheap tobacco and booze with them.:) Gas is ridiculouslycheap in Russia when compared to our prices. Then again, I have heard stories about engines busting, motors being spoilt because the Russian gasoline quality is not what it should be.
Part of the gasoline quality tests and stories of course might be a government conspiracy:), naturally they would like to prevent people from using foreign gasoline because of the feared loss of tax money, but part of it is true. The octane count of Russian gas, one just cannot rely on the quality.
Still, I am tempted, couple of hundred euros for a visa and refule the tank with the fraction of the cost... So many people do it in my old home grounds in the South-Eastern Finland. And most of those people are not even driving thirsty V6's...
Road taxes, oh how the government would love to introduce those here. So much talk about it in the media. Plans have not yet been realized, thank heavens! They are busy installing cameras everywhere to spot speeders. Of course radar detectors are illegal, fits the picture. In this country of long distances, motorists are subject to such bloodletting and control... I feel dizzy. And after the euro currency was introduced, all prices have risen. One euro equals six old FIM's, and in spite of the claims for the contrary, prices too often seem to have multiplied.
As for our wagons, Panzerjohn, I have been assured that we are driving Dodges.
The engine is the same 2.5 V6 Mitsubishi they use there across the big water. Specs of it you can find at allpar.com.
The 2.4 engine is a different story, it was never imported here in Finland, but nowadays some are buying those used and cheap in Germany (why, oh why can't we have autobahns...) and bringing them here. The 2.5 is the best in performance and reliability, I have heard and read here and there.
I would not readily believe the stories about Stratus being so compatible with Mitsu Eclipses.