The Red Baron - It's almost like it's spring

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 3:41 am

It's been a while since I've been back on the forums, so I spent a couple of days trying to catch up on some project logs. LSP, your SRT never ceases to amaze me. BlackRose, I am still always looking to your r/t for inspiration. It's just amazing seeing what I'm seeing.

I'll make a long story short here, but the reason I got away from my neon was because I bought my old civic back. Well, I did a swap and what not, but I was still dissappointed, and just decided to sell it and go back to my neon. There's something to say for a reliable car! I missed The Red Baron

So here I am, back to my 05 srt-d neon and loving it. I have an idea of what I'd like to do, but I'm having trouble with which direction I should start from: Suspension or Engine/Tranny. I'll give you an idea of what I'm looking to do.

Engine and Tranny: I would eventually like to turbo the 2.0. I really don't want to fork out the cash for the srt swap, plus I think it's a little more interesting and unique to stick with the 2.0. I can't decide though if I want to just straight up buy estenmaiers kit or piece it together. I'm sure I could gain a little HP if I got a MS and started playing with it, then bought the rest of the parts slowly.

Wheels, Tires, Suspension: I know that I want to find a set of SRT wheels and paint them black to match my cuda stripes, and maybe have a red pinstripe on them. I'm just trying to find a decent deal on them. As for suspension, I'm not sure what I need. What I want is a decent strut to throw some eibach sportlines or an equivilant on. I am not sure whether to get the sxt struts or SRT struts. Am I right in thinking the SRT struts will just bolt in? Energy suspension bushings are definitely in the mix too.

I know there are a lot of picture whores here, so I'll get some up pronto! Just did a detailing, and installed a factory 6cd changer. Also finally did my hood mod and believe it or not I actually noticed a bit of a difference even with my ATX. I'll have to get out with the laptop and figure my 1/4 mile and hp to see if anything is different.

Any motivation you guys can give me is much appreciated. It's hard to deal with my neon constantly being mocked by the guys with tiny penises and big V8s, then the ricers with their louder than shit hondas. If there's anyone near circleville OH I'd love to meet you so I don't feel so alone out here!

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 12:19 am

bump, just edited my first post. Please read! thanks guys

Sykora · Post by **Sykora** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:20 am

hey dude! welcome back. first off- DON'T swap your tranny just because your gf doesn't know how to drive a stick! goodness- if you pay me half the cost of the swap I'd teach her how to drive!

haha. and second I'm sure you can find plenty of SRT wheel deals! I've seen so many for sale, SRT owners getting bored with their stock wheels and sellin' 'em cheap. They'd look great on your ride. I'd check craigslist. Last time I looked, I found bunches of good deals on SRT wheels

good luck

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:45 am

Have you had people call your neon American Rice?

My car has not been directly called American Rice, but I have been clasified along the lines of a honda....
"Ricer","Tuner","Domestic Rice"

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:11 am

Swap to the MTX. My ex wife couldn't drive a stick, which caused me to get stuck with the Auto so she could drive our son around. With the amount I've spent on gas and repairs with this Auto I could have done so much more with my car other than leaving it stock for as long as I have.

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:40 am

Wow...thanks

First...never heard of gunsmithing school but it sounds pretty damned cool.

I would start with suspension and minor engine mods. If you want to swap the transmission, do it. Case in point: One of my good friends wanted a C5 Convertible corvette....he wanted a standard but his wife couldn't drive one. After much arguing he bought an automatic. They are now divorced and he has an automatic Vette. Mod your car for what YOU want...if she doesn't want to learn to drive stick.....oh well door's over there and here's a bus pass!

I would go with SRT struts....they give you a much better range of what wheel/tire combos you can use than the neon struts do.

That ES bushing kit was one of THE best things I ever did to my car....it made such a huge difference.

NeonOn19s · Post by **NeonOn19s** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:54 am

LilSparkPlug wrote:if she doesn't want to learn to drive stick.....oh well door's over there and here's a bus pass!

well said

Sabersoul · Post by **Sabersoul** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:10 am

NeonOn19s wrote:
LilSparkPlug wrote:if she doesn't want to learn to drive stick.....oh well door's over there and here's a bus pass!
well said

If only I could have told my ex wife that.

ZeroChad · Post by **ZeroChad** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:30 am

The other big issue is my Tranny........ I have a g/f, and don't get me wrong I love her to death, but it drives me crazy that she can't learn to drive a stick.

I'm sorry, but taken out of context, that just sounds bad

Well, welcome back to the forums! I hear you on the whole rice nagging thing. People enjoy making fun of things they don't understand. I often get the 'ricer' thing, but at the same time, I get compliments like "Thats the best looking neon I've ever seen". It goes hand in hand.

Really though, I enjoy the compliments, but I mod my car because I like the outcome, not because of others opinions.

I'm with ya on the 2.0 turbo idea. However, there are a lot of people that start down that path and never make it to the end.

Tam · Post by **Tam** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:40 pm

Welcome back man, nice plans you have so far on the car.

The SRT struts have higher perches so it will allow you to run bigger wheels/tires than normal stock/tokico 2nd gen struts. And yes, the SRT struts will bolt up directly. Just make sure and get springs that are made for the SRT just to play it safe.

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:39 pm

I'm not gonna waste your time showing you the engine. Just imagine a stock engine, auto tranny, cruise control, blah blah, the only exception being a gaping hole in the airbox and hood for the PVO mod! It brought my CAI growl back and I missed it!

It's official, she's named the "Red Baron"!!!

And here is how she sits today. I wanted to wash her before I took a pic for you guys, but it's just been so nasty cold and rainy for that last week or so.

So, on to my actual progress, I was searching through our computer at work (advance auto parts) because I figured I'd just buy brand new SRT struts and eibach springs and get my discount. well, I hit a snag. I was looking up the struts for the SRT and only found quickstruts listed, which I was surprised we had for the SRT. well some quick searching found out that our computers list the same Monroe Quickstruts for the SXT and the SRT. Stupid huh? same deal with the lowering springs. Guess I won't be getting my suspension through work.....

I think I'm gonna need to do a brake swap for the rear first anyway. That'll give me time to source the SRT struts.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Sykora · Post by **Sykora** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:15 pm

ejclide wrote:Thanks for the comments guys. I said I'd get some pics up, and as much as I enjoy seeing other pictures, I'd be a hypcrite if I didn't put some of my own up.

This is how I'm avoiding using my credit cards!!! talk about freezing your assets.....

There's a snippit of my collection (not including boring rifles). About the gunsmithing thing, I had no idea you could go to school for it either until about February! I've been just burning myself out with mechanical engineering, and I'd like to finish it, but I'm gonna take a break, make some money, get my associate's in Gunsmithing, then it's GUARANTEED I'll get a job (very high demand), and I figure I'll finish my ME degree while I'm working and can afford it! In state tuition at this place is going to cost me under 3K for BOTH YEARS!!!!!!! Alright, enough about guns...

I'm not gonna waste your time showing you the engine. Just imagine a stock engine, auto tranny, cruise control, blah blah, the only exception being a gaping hole in the airbox and hood for the PVO mod! It brought my CAI growl back and I missed it!

It's official, she's named the "Red Baron"!!!

And here is how she sits today. I wanted to wash her before I took a pic for you guys, but it's just been so nasty cold and rainy for that last week or so.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

awesome dude. awesome. that srt hood isn't stock on your car is it?

Tam · Post by **Tam** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 5:10 pm

^ Yes, SRT-D's come with the SRT hood stock.

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 6:32 pm

ejclide wrote:

.

Wow, you definately put a different spin on the name Round Town!

For you non ohioans Circleville's nickname.

Never had anyone call my car rice, at least not to my face.

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:06 pm

YAY!!!! I have new goodies coming. Sadly, when I bought my Civic, I "grandma'd" my neon for my mom to drive. That included losing the SRT spoiler and throwing the SXT on. Well, The guy I sold the Spoiler to won't sell it back, so now I have another one coming courtesy of Measy27! Thanks dude!

I've also got an injector cover coming courtesy of 2k1motorsports. I'm slowly going to make this a snazzy looking car!

I talked to one of my fellow employees at work today who has his own upholstery shop. He's gonna do my seats for me in black vinyl with red double stitching and he'll do the headrests in leather for the smell. He owes me for some help I gave him last summer with a boat and a "goat" (

). I think that will snaz up the interior a little. Then I'll just need a new driver floormat to replace mine with the nice heel hole.

Once it's cleaned up (hopefully tomorrow) I'm gonna get some pics of the motor cleaned up. Maybe some better staged pictures too. I hear we need 2gn of the month submissions.......

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:07 am

Your best bet for SRT struts may be on and around this forum used. Or on ebay. Better yet if you have the $600 or so to spend, Modernperformance sells the Tokico 5-ways for the SRTs that are a better strut than stock due to them being adjustable.

After that I'd pick up some lowering springs and a front lip from the Mopar kit if you can find it. It looks great on those bumpers.

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:19 pm

alright, thanks for the tips LSP. I really do like that lip kit, i just can't decide if I want to try and source an SRT bumper instead. I figure that would be ideal when it comes time to putting an intercooler in. Maybe not. Then again, the front lip of the SRT bumper would look funny with my non existent sideskirts.

Passt · Post by **Passt** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:52 pm

ejclide wrote:alright, thanks for the tips LSP. I really do like that lip kit, i just can't decide if I want to try and source an SRT bumper instead. I figure that would be ideal when it comes time to putting an intercooler in. Maybe not. Then again, the front lip of the SRT bumper would look funny with my non existent sideskirts.

Hey man, I just had Megan coilovers put on my car. I haven't listed them for sale yet, but I'll give you dibs on my complete set of SRT struts w/ Eibach prokit lowering springs for cheap. I don't want them anymore, and you can ask around. I think I'm very fair with pricing. Let me know.

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:31 pm

DOOOOOOOOO IT!!!!! Buy Nate's stuffs

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:31 pm

DIBS!!!! PM'd

Passt · Post by **Passt** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:40 pm

ejclide wrote:DIBS!!!! PM'd

Cool man. They only have @ 24k on them, just an fyi

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:43 pm

silly question, will the srt struts work with my stock 15" wheels until I get my srt wheels?

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:10 pm

Yes they will.

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 1:44 am

alright, I know I'm gonna piss off the picture whores.....

Just got the high rise back on (thanks Measy27). It looks snazzy. I then gave it a quick wash to get the road dust off and get the red shine back on the car so it would match the spoiler. Didn't have time for pics... BOWLING FTW!!!! I just bowled a personal best too, 218, with 5 strikes in a row!! (oddly enough I have a picture of that though).

Pics first thing after work tomorrow!

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:45 am

LOL Fail on the pictures!

Passt · Post by **Passt** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 11:33 am

... Waiting on pics! And for you to get moneys =p

suave23 · Post by **suave23** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 11:40 am

You were at Autozone in Circleville yesterday, right? I had to take my fiance's car to Columbus for a service and noticed your car on the way there, then on the way back realized I had seen it on here. After seeing your location, it HAD to be your car.

**Edit. It was you, just read where you work at Advance Auto Parts, and just realized that the store where I saw the car is an Advance, and Autozone is on the other side of the road.

***Edit again. Just read that you live in Circleville.

measy27 · Post by **measy27** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:09 am

ejclide wrote:alright, I know I'm gonna piss off the picture whores.....

Just got the high rise back on (thanks Measy27). It looks snazzy. I then gave it a quick wash to get the road dust off and get the red shine back on the car so it would match the spoiler. Didn't have time for pics... BOWLING FTW!!!! I just bowled a personal best too, 218, with 5 strikes in a row!! (oddly enough I have a picture of that though).

Pics first thing after work tomorrow!

Anything I can do to help out a fellow neon owner..

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:48 am

suave23 wrote:You were at Autozone in Circleville yesterday, right? I had to take my fiance's car to Columbus for a service and noticed your car on the way there, then on the way back realized I had seen it on here. After seeing your location, it HAD to be your car.

**Edit. It was you, just read where you work at Advance Auto Parts, and just realized that the store where I saw the car is an Advance, and Autozone is on the other side of the road.

***Edit again. Just read that you live in Circleville.

Ha, yup, wow, that was me! And you may have seen me at auto zone too, I can't be sure because on my way back in to town I drive by auto zone on the exit ramp, and I happened to see a friend's car, and I went to rip on him for going to auto zone and not advance (all of this while still wearing my advance shirt in auto zone!) ADVANCE AUTO PARTS FTMFW!!!!!!!!

Small world.

suave23 · Post by **suave23** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:13 am

Your car was at Advance both times. I honestly probably would've stopped by if I had been in either of my cars, but I was driving her Jetta, she wasn't feeling well, and we were still an hour away from home, so I kept on trucking.

BTW, my '95 has 'Cuda stripes that she hates for some strange reason, so I pointed out your car and said "See? I'm not the only Neon nut that thinks they're badass.", she just laughed and said "I still think they're ugly.".

Women.