I've driven my Caliber about 250 miles now and it seems to me that there is now more power at hand than when I drove it off the lot at with 10 miles on it.
The car really takes off now, especially for a 4-banger in a 1.5 ton car... and I still haven't performed the manual recommended full-open-throttle starts yet.
It seems after about 100 miles that the power increased noticeably. Am I imagining it or does power increase as the engine breaks in? Logically I think it would as everything seals up.
True, false anyone know?
gas28man
04-25-2006, 08:13 AM
Your observations are correct. New cars reach their full horsepower capabilities after break-in.
Enjoy!
Rick
deathscripture
04-30-2006, 06:06 PM
after 2775 miles I haven't noticed much of a difference. But I might not be paying attention. I have been driving it like I stole it lately though, and it seems like a lot of fun to drive. Saw my first R/T today, and wondered how much faster it was.
mileshuff
05-14-2006, 08:18 PM
Which engine do you have? 1.8, 2.0 or 2.4? I'm looking at getting a Caliber and am wondering if the 1.8 or 2.0 is adequate. Don't need a sports car but I want something that has enough in it for passing or cruising up mountain grades.
deathscripture
05-15-2006, 06:51 PM
2.0. It is adequate for driving around Columbus on the freeways. My wife drives it more than I do now, and she hasn't complained. Ironically, she says it is a little two quick for her...something about squeezing into traffic and it want to keep accelerating.
GOT
05-15-2006, 07:25 PM
My Caliber is the SXT with the 2.0L/CVT2 @ 158hp (19lbs/hp, which is the same ratio as the R/T). For a 4 cylinder motor it rocks with the CVT tranny. If this setup is reliable to and past 100k-miles Dodge will have a block-buster on their hands.
Last week I did the stopwatch-timed 0-60 test. Came out at 8 seconds to 60mph. Good enough for me... for the price and all!
n1vek
05-15-2006, 07:42 PM
That 8 second stopwatch time is a lot faster than the times measured by many car magazines. Even with the R/T and using AutoStick, they weren't able to get times in that range. Hopefully the brake-in period makes the car a lot quicker. If you are getting the times that you are, then the car has indeed made HUGE improvements in its 0-60 time.
deathscripture
05-16-2006, 06:36 AM
Yeah, I haven't actually timed it, but I'd say that it doesn't possibly do any worse than 8 seconds for sure. It is no rocket ship, but it is no prius either.
GOT
05-18-2006, 08:29 AM
Another person on the CaliberForums got around 8 seconds with the trusty stopwatch timing.
Jinxmasta
05-19-2006, 04:59 PM
To be honest, the 0-60 times on these cars isn't what impresses me, nor is it what should impress me. It's rather the rolling start times that do (my Caliber seems like it really starts to pick up past 25mph).
mikemclawhon
07-06-2006, 01:11 AM
Accually I found my Cali 2.0 kinda slow...real slow. Try little over 9 seconds for that 0-60 run. Mid range accel. is good though, especially for dippin in and out of traffic, being in Kansas City there is shit loads of it. Maybe when I get the CAI it will improve...we'll see.
