body stiffness
body stiffness
Has anyone made an attempt to stiffen the 2gn chassis beyond the strut tower bars? I was looking at the underside, I think I see a couple of places where some gussets. has anyone studied the weak points of our chassis ?
I don't have an answer to your question, but I will say that on older MoPars, the 'K-frame' or sub-frames, were a good place to start with extra gussetting.
The added rigidity, would help.
Neons have sub-frames as well. I suppose those would benefit from some stiffening / gusseting, too.
As a side note - Chrysler started adding extra gussets & reinforcement on the Neon subframes, on later model years, and improved rust protection. (2003-2005)
Chrysler even superseded the older 2000-2001 Neon subframe part numbers, with newer ones. The newer ones have the improved rustproofing & reinforcement.
- Nick
The added rigidity, would help.
Neons have sub-frames as well. I suppose those would benefit from some stiffening / gusseting, too.
As a side note - Chrysler started adding extra gussets & reinforcement on the Neon subframes, on later model years, and improved rust protection. (2003-2005)
Chrysler even superseded the older 2000-2001 Neon subframe part numbers, with newer ones. The newer ones have the improved rustproofing & reinforcement.
- Nick
-1998 2-dr SOHC MTX= 57mm TB; Maddog STS
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
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Nick, are you referring to the part the LCA's attach to?
Because I don't think they succeeded very well on the rust proofing part.
( I put a new from the dealer Crossmember on mine, '03 PN# and it is rusting through 4 or 5 coats of Rust o leum.)
('03 part number is the cheapest one, guess you get what you pay for. But paying an extra hundred or two for basically the same thing makes no sense to me.)
Because I don't think they succeeded very well on the rust proofing part.
( I put a new from the dealer Crossmember on mine, '03 PN# and it is rusting through 4 or 5 coats of Rust o leum.)
('03 part number is the cheapest one, guess you get what you pay for. But paying an extra hundred or two for basically the same thing makes no sense to me.)
Bill
1999 neon coupe 2.4 swap
2021 Forester
2000 Neon MTX swap with '02 R/T PCMOlha Koba, a psychologist in Kyiv, said that “anger and hate in this situation is a normal reaction and important to validate.” But it is important to channel it into something useful, she said, such as making incendiary bombs out of empty bottles.
1999 neon coupe 2.4 swap
2021 Forester
"Crossmember"..... Yes, that's the word.occasional demons wrote:Nick, are you referring to the part the LCA's attach to?
Because I don't think they succeeded very well on the rust proofing part.
( I put a new from the dealer Crossmember on mine, '03 PN# and it is rusting through 4 or 5 coats of Rust o leum.)
('03 part number is the cheapest one, guess you get what you pay for. But paying an extra hundred or two for basically the same thing makes no sense to me.)
I'm going to try POR-15 on mine, and then coat it with paint.
[Tip: I find that POR-15 can be 'topcoated' with paint while it is still 'tacky'..... The paint will then 'bond' with the POR-15 and never come off.]
- Nick
-1998 2-dr SOHC MTX= 57mm TB; Maddog STS
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
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- Junior Admin
- Posts: 20306
- Joined: Thu May 03, 2007 12:14 pm
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Meh, I have some places on the 1gn that I have removed as much rust as possible, soaked the Por 15 on, and they are still rusting through.
Other spots are doing just fine.
And this is being in a heated garage for the most part.
I guess when/if it gets bad enough, I'll have to cut it out and replace the metal. Grrrrrr.
Other spots are doing just fine.
And this is being in a heated garage for the most part.
I guess when/if it gets bad enough, I'll have to cut it out and replace the metal. Grrrrrr.
Bill
1999 neon coupe 2.4 swap
2021 Forester
2000 Neon MTX swap with '02 R/T PCMOlha Koba, a psychologist in Kyiv, said that “anger and hate in this situation is a normal reaction and important to validate.” But it is important to channel it into something useful, she said, such as making incendiary bombs out of empty bottles.
1999 neon coupe 2.4 swap
2021 Forester
I hear you. It seems to depend upon the severity of the rust at hand.occasional demons wrote:Meh, I have some places on the 1gn that I have removed as much rust as possible, soaked the Por 15 on, and they are still rusting through.
POR-15 won't 'seal out' any air or moisture that is already trapped in the oxidized metal or rust itself.
On the other hand, on clean metal, painted with POR-15 and 'topcoated' with pain while still tacky.... The results are Awesome.
Now, back to the original purpose of this thread.... I think we were talking about chassis stiffening.
Something else worth mentioning, while I am thinking about it.RSwain wrote:Has anyone made an attempt to stiffen the 2gn chassis beyond the strut tower bars? I was looking at the underside, I think I see a couple of places where some gussets. has anyone studied the weak points of our chassis ?
As far as Strut Bars go, there is a great / huge difference between various brands.
I once tried a Vibrant bar, on the rear of on of my 1st gen Neons.
It was basically worthless, because it would flex so much - In spite of its pretty 'rigid' appearance.
I could not 'feel' a difference after installation.
Once I removed it, I found that I could flex it 'by hand', by propping it up in a corner and leaning on it.
Even some of the 'cheap' E-bay bars, are better !!
So, I "built my own" strut bar, by using some square tubing that I picked up at the [real] hardware store. (Ace is the Place.)
I cut it to fit, and 'adapted' it to the strut bar hardware.
After putting the 'homemade' strut bar on the car - Which was much stiffer than the lousy Vibrant bar - I could actually 'feel' the difference in the handling, going around corners !!
The stiffer the bar, and the less flex, the better the results.
From what I have heard / read, it seems the P-Werks strut bars (especially the front) are the best ones available for the 2nd gen Neons.
- Nick
-1998 2-dr SOHC MTX= 57mm TB; Maddog STS
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
Re: body stiffness
Ive thought the same thing. like where longitudinal frame rails stop short of connecting to the rear suspension structure.RSwain wrote:Has anyone made an attempt to stiffen the 2gn chassis beyond the strut tower bars? I was looking at the underside, I think I see a couple of places where some gussets. has anyone studied the weak points of our chassis ?
That said just because you can make it stiffer does not mean it will be faster.
03 SRT
Now building for GS
Now building for GS
Re: body stiffness
Ben - Are you referring to 'sub-frame connectors' - like they ones they make for older MoPars and musclecars with unibody construction ?trojmn wrote: Ive thought the same thing. like where longitudinal frame rails stop short of connecting to the rear suspension structure.
That said just because you can make it stiffer does not mean it will be faster.
- Nick
-1998 2-dr SOHC MTX= 57mm TB; Maddog STS
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
yeah. and just like the older mopars torque boxes and frame connectors. But all like that, all chassis bracing is not created equal. Check out XV motorsports shaker table and what it actually takes to identify targeted chassis improvements. Never mind the the idiocy of strut bars and stock rubber strut mounts. I'll get pics of the rear section in a bit.
tro
tro
03 SRT
Now building for GS
Now building for GS
"Production Tolerances", I bet.trojmn wrote:Below is fuzzy cell phone pic of the longitudinal frame rail where it terminates millimeters from a lateral cross member about the B pillar area, about the a back of the driver's seat. That gap is about 1/16thth inch. Seems like they had meant for it to connect...
- Nick
-1998 2-dr SOHC MTX= 57mm TB; Maddog STS
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
-2000 Ply.LX w/MTX = Maddog STS; CAI; 2.5 exh.; 60mm T/B
-2001 ATX w/Syked PCM + Magnum header
-2001 ACR w/SRT T/B bored out to 55mm
Official "I'm Going to Drive My Neon till it Dies" Club #000009
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- 2GN Member
- Posts: 2183
- Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:14 am
- Location: Dallas, Tx
They make a chassis brace for the srt4, I imagine it fit's the 2g neon as well. http://www.performanceautowerks.com/cat ... Path=3_121
Trojmn: yes, that's the gap. Mine is closer to 3/8",which is why I asked.
Glad to know that I was right to avoid the cheap strut bars. If I make my own, any advantage to triangulating it to either the package Tray or trunk floor?
Also, any better solutions for the rubber strut mounts than just filling them?
Glad to know that I was right to avoid the cheap strut bars. If I make my own, any advantage to triangulating it to either the package Tray or trunk floor?
Also, any better solutions for the rubber strut mounts than just filling them?
I keep finding Lucas electronics in my Neon.
Take a look at the construction of the rear strut mounts. There is a "cup" of rubber surrounding the inner plate that the strut bolts to and it is encased in rubber. When it wears through to the bottom you get a "clunk" over bumps. keeping it from moving up and down will prolong it, but for handling you need to keep the strut from moving side to side.
So for a strut bar to do ANY damn good you have to collapse about an inch of rubber
Aftermarket camber plates would be "easier" but they are expensive. This was cheap and i dont need any more camber on the rear axle.
So for a strut bar to do ANY damn good you have to collapse about an inch of rubber
Aftermarket camber plates would be "easier" but they are expensive. This was cheap and i dont need any more camber on the rear axle.
03 SRT
Now building for GS
Now building for GS