01 neon R/T what ya suggest?

im new to this community and feel it could help me with a few issues.

i drive a Neon R/T almost all stock with ~85K miles and i was wondering what should i do to enhance it... see it all started when my friend who i bought it from added blue strips to it... and i just want to elaberate on it now.

what do you guys suggest i should add, or just number the following from 1-10, 1 being the first.. and so on and so on.

-Add a new body kit to it. (if u have suggestions plz share)
-Add cool air intake and then turbo (suggestions?)
-New sound system.
-New paint
-Change the engine (how should i do this if u know...)
-Keep it the way it is.

ill post up a picture of my baby soon, so just bare with me and give as much advice as you guys have! (added it)

thanks!

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k295/tfcscarface2002/carsider1.jpg

First of all, welcome to the forums, glad to have ya.

Since you have an R/T, you have the 150 HP magnum engine in it, which is a nice place to start. You need to ask yourself first if you want to keep the motor N/A or if you wanna turbo down the line. Then you can come up with a plan for the engine.

Most people do the following mods to the engine first:

1. Cold Air Intake or CAI (AEM is a good one)
2. Underdrive Pulley or UDP (Modern Performance sells a nice one)
3. Header (Pacesetter makes a nice one for the SOHC engine)

I'd start with these if planning to keep the motor N/A.

If you wanna turbo the car, then I'd look into rebuilding the engine first with stronger pistons, rods and whatnot.

A very doable engine swap is the SRT-4 engine.

thanks a lot for your help!

i have another quick question: where would i be able to aquire a good SRT-4 engine? atleast one that isn't on its last leg.

I personally would like to get a better engine in my car and then turbo that engine. is this a good idea? or do you suggest something else?

Thank you again for your help, plz stay in contact :]

thanks a lot for your help!

i have another quick question: where would i be able to aquire a good SRT-4 engine? atleast one that isn't on its last leg.Ebay and try www.car-part.com for local salvage yards for engines.

thanks a lot for your help!
I personally would like to get a better engine in my car and then turbo that engine. is this a good idea? or do you suggest something else?Honestly, I'd suggest the SRT-4 swap for your year model car. It is technically illegal to swap in older engines such as the 2.4L engines from the mid-90's PT Cruisers and Stratus.

haha, thanks man!

ill look up the parts on the website you offered!!! thanks for being such a great pal!!!

keep me posted if u think of anything else you would think would be a good upgrade for my car. oh ya, are neon lights underneath the car illegal?

thanks

haha, thanks man!
oh ya, are neon lights underneath the car illegal?
Some places it is, some it's not...so check with your local police first.

alright! sweet, thanks!

how difficult would swapping an engine be if i went with the SRT-4?? and is it possible to do it by yourself and not have to many problems?

alright! sweet, thanks!

how difficult would swapping an engine be if i went with the SRT-4?? and is it possible to do it by yourself and not have to many problems?
Check out this site for alot more info...
http://forum.2gn.org/viewforum.php?f=38&sid=b1f97679a41da078cb97f743a4bba35a

hahahaaha!!!!! okey thanks a ton bro!!!!!!!!!!!!! im already planning the engne swap in about 3 weeks. im gonna use my friends autoshop to switch it. thanks a bunch man!

another useless question thats botherin me:

How do i get my car to sound so "aggressive" like many of those cars with the huge exausts? do i need to modify my own exausts? and if i do, where do i get the parts? how much :2cents: would it cost for my car too?

thanks!!!!!

Police don't know anything about emission laws, don't bother them.
Do you go to a police station to have your emissions checked? No! Duh!
Emission laws are Federal except in the 5 states that have laws that are MORE strict than federal. If you're in an area that doesn't inspect for emissions, you can probably get away with just about anything until to try to sell it. For the most part to stay emission legal the engine you are transplanting has to be of the same year or newer and meet or exceed the standards of the engine it replaced. Using a PT cruiser engine in a Neon is not legal anywhere because the PT is EPA rated as a light truck (truck to car) and has different emission standards. However, the same engine from a Stratus would be legal (car to car).

thats kool, does anyone know how i can find a body shop in my general location? is there a website that names em... i live in Fremont, CA.

here are sites that i used when I had a neon


www.howellautomotive.com (http://www.howellautomotive.com)

www.modernperfermorance.com (http://www.modernperfermorance.com)

sweet, thanks everyone for the help... random question: i know the rear speakers are 6x9s, but what are the front door ones? and what is a good wattage to get on new speakers?

The front door speakers are 6.5".

thanks, that helps a lot... anyone know of a good ammount of watts for a speaker? the output in other words i think hahah.

the front door speakers may "techically" be 6.5's, but i recently replaced mine (it's a 2000 lx), with 6.5 kenwoods, and they where a little too small (especially when holding the stock speakers next to them), they will work, just a few miner modiifications on the mounting holes

Another question!

I have ordered lowering springs and a cold air intake.

I would like to know when/if i order the huge 4 inch exausts (that are around 1 1/2 feet long) should i get two and have them come off where the two original exausts came off the muffler? please feel free to suggest any and all ideas pertaining to the exaust plans!

Thanks!
SiN

My suggestion is NOT to get a 4" exhaust. It will sound like crap!

Ya, i think your right, i just talked to a friend who owns a crx, and it sounds like a freakin weed wacker.... hahahah

heres an update of what i have done to my car since i last said:
1. installed a cold air intake (general... but works...)
2. got a lowering kit, just need to install
3. looking into buying the euro clear taillights and halo headlights.

Another quick (or not so quick...) question... is it possible to install a remote starter into a manual car? My ex's mother had one on her mustang, but it was an automatic now that I thought about it. Now the full head-scratcher is if its possible to put one in a manual... because as your know, you have to clutch in when you want to start the engine...

Thanks again guys!
Seb aka SiN

Ys it's possible to install a remote start in a manual. Don't know exactly how it works, but it can be done.

IM BACK! ya, its been a while, worked a little on my car, looks different, drives a little faster, but now i have more questions:

1. I need a good header, ive heard a lot of different things from my R/T header being already good enough, to get a pacesetter, to dont get a pacesetter, to a lot of different other things... what is your suggestion?

2. what muffler is loud, powerful, yet has a deep tone that doesnt sound too... lets just say i dont want a ricer. :]

1. I need a good header, ive heard a lot of different things from my R/T header being already good enough, to get a pacesetter, to dont get a pacesetter, to a lot of different other things... what is your suggestion?This one from Modern....
http://www.modernperformance.com/product_info.php?cPath=148_199&products_id=1396


2. what muffler is loud, powerful, yet has a deep tone that doesnt sound too... lets just say i dont want a ricer. :]
http://www.modernperformance.com/product_info.php?cPath=148_199&products_id=1387

anyone have any direct instructional guides for installing a underdrive pulley? (also, if installing an underdrive pulley, would it be practical to also do a new/larger cam shaft?)

Thanks again guys.

Pull the old one off and install the new one. Just get the correct pulley puller and it will be easy.

The cam isn't necessary, but wouldn't hurt....but keep in mind if you upgrade the cam you will need to upgrade the springs as well.

another thing: i just got a new clutch and brakes done. after about 20 minutes of driving, it became HELL to shift. the worst was trying to shift into first from a dead stop. is this because someone f**ked up when installing it (it was done at Big O tires...) or is it just that the transmission is dead...?

Could be a loose cable. Take it back and let them look at it.

ya, it was just some air in the cables, nothing too crazy. but right, back to my neon and how to make it a tad faster. any of you know a good muffer that is smog legal, sounds great (deep growling sounds that is pretty loud.. heh), and doesnt cost an arm and a leg. any ideas?

Have a look....
http://www.modernperformance.com/index.php?cPath=148_199

thanks! i actually ended up going to an exhaust shop that normally does my exhausts (i have 3 cars), and they did a freakin amazing job putting on a flowmaster with a stock look thing going, sounds wonderful too, if anyone wants, ill post a sounds clip.

What does it take to get to the pulley to take it off? do i just take off the wheel well cover on the passanger side? i get how to get the pulley off, but how do i actually get to the pulley? thanks Das2123, your a huge help!

Just take the wheel off and the cover and it's right there. Get the correct puller or you'll be cursing the pulley.

haha, thanks, i think anybody who has ever worked on a car has cursed at one part or another of their car... haha.

so what i have heard is that u can get the puller from autozone or kragen but u have to make sure to ask for the chrysler bolt or something... could someone enlighten me on what the exact term of it is?

The insert they include usually isn't long enough. So you can use the side motor mount bolt as an insert if you need to.

alright, that sounds do-able. haha. well, im going to get on that and see what i can do with it and when ill be able to finish is.

what do u believe is the most horsepower giving, lower cost object that i could put on my neon? just in general?

Depends on your budget....but N/A, I would say around 180-190 whp.

Wassup again? im back from the dead... again. hah. been slowly modding and doing stuff to the car. painted my valve cover. all the good stuff. just ordered a new AEM cold air intake for my baby, next step is to upgrade the ignition system. i wanted everyone's opinion: if i dont feel like dishing out thousands of dollars for a turbo kit (if i would, it would probably be the hahn one), so i was wondering if anyone has done or knows someone who has done a custom turbo upgrade on a N/A motor... especially a R/T one. has anyone written a guide for it? because im thinking i could salvage my way to setting up a turbo system without buying a straight kit... but i would like to know if i can put it together in my car. thanks in advance, you guys are the best!!!

You can build your own turbo setup using the SRT-4 turbo. You will need an adapter plate to attach it to the SOHC head, but it is very doable and cheap.

what would be the steps in doing that? is there any kind of guide out there that outlines the steps, tools, and items you would need (such as the adaptor plate). something that would be able to tell me how to pipe the intercooler to the turbo and all that. thanks again das... you are the man!

Here you go....
http://forum.2gn.org/viewtopic.php?t=4549

das, you seem to be really knowledgable on this topic, so let me ask you something: is there a turbo i can put on my neon that wont need an adaptor plate? something maybe smaller and easier to work with? thanks!