2002 SXT

bigfoot · Post by **bigfoot** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 1:31 am

Hello all, I just got a neon for christmas, as sort of an early 16th birthday combination type gift thing. right.

so anyways, my dad got me this car because i have expressed an interest in modifying cars and working on them, and he got a good deal on it and thought it would be good for this type of stuff.

okay, i promise, im getting to the point now. i was wondering where is a good place to start modifying the motor? does my car have the SOCH motor? how much horsepower does it have stock? and lastly, how much will i be looking at with some bolt on mods and electronics upgrades?

Frizbe · Post by **Frizbe** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 2:20 am

Welcome! you have a SOHC with around 130hp, try intake, spark plug wires, exaust, ect. first. for suspension get some rear R/T struts and sway bars (as your car does not have rear sway bars) and a good lowering kit, Mopar has their 2nd Gen lowering springs which have R/T spring rates so the ride wont be bone crushing. After that maybe some long tube headers or if you have an MTX get atleast a TB from an ATX. and you have to get a Magnum intake manifold also from an R/T. Thats all that I can think of now someone else will finish up the list for me.

bigfoot · Post by **bigfoot** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 2:19 pm

I don't know what this jargon is! I've had the neon for 2 days! haha, thanks for the advice, i get intake, spark plug wires and suspension stuff, but whats a TB from an ATX and whats an MTX?

I thought about transmission, and I have an automatic. We are in the process of a 7 year highway rip apart here in colorado, so don't give me hassle about it.

dancingfroggy · Post by **dancingfroggy** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 2:31 pm

ATX is an automatic which has a bigger TB (throtel body) then the MTX (manual tranny) dont mind the spelling I was just in a major accident

DannyBoy · Post by **DannyBoy** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 2:44 pm

bigfoot wrote:I don't know what this jargon is! I've had the neon for 2 days! haha, thanks for the advice, i get intake, spark plug wires and suspension stuff, but whats a TB from an ATX and whats an MTX?

I thought about transmission, and I have an automatic. We are in the process of a 7 year highway rip apart here in colorado, so don't give me hassle about it.

MTX = Manual Transaxle
ATX = Automatic Transaxle

Neons do not have transmissions, they have transaxles. Just a little pet peeve I have when people refer to them as transmissions.

neonjoe · Post by **neonjoe** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 2:49 pm

automatically the first thing to do to a 2nd gen is to lower it... cars are off roading vehicles stock.

Frizbe · Post by **Frizbe** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 5:09 pm

DannyBoy wrote:
MTX = Manual Transaxle
ATX = Automatic Transaxle

Neons do not have transmissions, they have transaxles. Just a little pet peeve I have when people refer to them as transmissions.

WTF is the difference?

Brett R/T · Post by **Brett R/T** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 6:46 pm

I think it's a transaxle because it is placed horizontal across the car. A front engine rwd car would have a transmission because it's placed along the length of the car.

Something like that...i'm sure Danny will clarify

dawm · Post by **dawm** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 7:45 pm

neonjoe wrote:automatically the first thing to do to a 2nd gen is to lower it... cars are off roading vehicles stock.

well not exactly the first thing you should do, but it has been proven lowering a 2g improves the handling ALOT. but usually the first mod is intake and exhaust, gotta let the engine breathe

TomZ · Post by **TomZ** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 10:13 pm

1. Transaxle: transmission/axle combination. Usually on Front Wheel Drive (FWD) but not exclusively, i.e. VW's

2. IIRC First Generation ('95-'99) Throttle bodies (TBs) were different sizes, but not 2GNs.

3. Cold Air Intake (CAI) and better exhaust (mandrel bent pipes, performance muffler, not necessary but good 'n cheap: Magnum engine exhaust header (Mag header) done at the same time is a great bang for the buck.

4. Read the old posts, and learn the search function.

5. Welcome, and good luck

Knoxville_R/T · Post by **Knoxville_R/T** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:27 am

****if u get a cai. then just buy the one off ebay. does the same damn thing as the exspensive ones do for only 30+shipping
****if u lower ur car plz get the mopar lowering springs...if not u may very well blow ur struts very fast. i would go ahead and buy some tokico hp blue struts if u lower it b/c that is what hey are made for. plus they have the rear sway bar mounting bracket.
like said above grab a R/T rear sway bar.
****Tires are another great thing to get. get rid of those crappy goodyears and get some nice tires. i have the avs es100's but if i was you i would just get some kuhmo 712's in 205/50 b/c the es100's are not that much better and the kuhmo's are only $60 a piece. if you live in a snowy climate u have some thing more to worry with. might just want to go witha good all weather tire like the BF goodrich traction t/a's
****exhuasts are endless. i have a custom setup and love it. bottom end did not suffer too badly and top end is increased.(i also have a magnum engine though)
****throtle body should be one of ur last mods if you ask me. and there is no difference between the atx and the mtx for 2nd gens.
****another great mod would be a UDP(under drive pulley) some say that it was the best bang for the buck mod(only 109+shipping from http://www.modernperformance.com/)
****motor mounts...get at least some inserts but i would suggest going ahead and geting some solid ones fro deyeme racing if u plan to mod the car decently. wheel hop will kill u if u dont.
****spark plugs....get nothing but the cheap copper ones. our cars dont do well with others. that sums up jsut about all the simple mods.
****long tube header(we only have ONE) would be another good mod. search around and you will find reviews on jsut about all taht are out there.
****the R/T intake manifold with a switch to control the secondaries would be a nice mod and at he dame time try to find a R/T header.(this is a short tube header) same thing as the borla only lots cheaper.
well i am tired and im gonna hit the sack
-Brian

bigfoot · Post by **bigfoot** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 1:10 am

Thanks for your help. Sorry for calling it a transmission

Looked around, decided on getting the air intake first, then getting a better muffler, and then some lowering springs. After than I don't know, probably a better intake manifold and exhaust headers. I understand the piping in Neons is pretty massive anyways and doesn't really need replacing.

dawm · Post by **dawm** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 1:17 am

actually its best if you goto 2.5", stock is 2.25" (correct?) and if you went turbo its recommended 3" piping

DannyBoy · Post by **DannyBoy** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 3:52 am

bigfoot wrote:Thanks for your help. Sorry for calling it a transmission

Well you got to know about your car before you can work on it. Now you know the correct term for it.

bigfoot · Post by **bigfoot** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:57 pm

Sorry I hit a sore spot for you.

ANYWHO, i have about 1300 for assorted mods. if you had this much, what would you do save forced induction?

2k2patriotblueneon · Post by **2k2patriotblueneon** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 6:10 pm

bigfoot wrote:Sorry I hit a sore spot for you.

ANYWHO, i have about 1300 for assorted mods. if you had this much, what would you do save forced induction?

Nope.....cuz you need to know alot about cars before messing with boost.

Otherwise you break shit.

Frizbe · Post by **Frizbe** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:40 pm

2k2patriotblueneon wrote: Nope.....cuz you need to know alot about cars before messing with boost. Otherwise you break shit.

like me and then you come here in a rush to see if anyone can help you.

bigfoot · Post by **bigfoot** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:20 pm

I'm starting to believe members of this forum do not have the grasp on the english language i would expect of licensed drivers. what i meant by my statement was that i didn't want forced induction, so besides that, what can you do with 1300 for a neon.

Post by **Diablo0** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:24 pm

coilovers

they're always worth the money but it wont' really help you go faster in a strait line if thats what you want to do

2k2patriotblueneon · Post by **2k2patriotblueneon** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:44 pm

Diablo0 wrote:coilovers they're always worth the money but it wont' really help you go faster in a strait line if thats what you want to do

Agreed....thats what I would buy if I had 1300.

Frizbe · Post by **Frizbe** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 2:15 am

I don't know... blowing your whole budget on one thing? I mean if you already have stuff done to your car then yes I would go for the coilovers, but on a stock car? I mean you can pick up a brand name intake for ~$100, exaust for~$300, headers for $220, UDP for $210. right there is $830, so you have $470 left over to get some lowering springs and some shocks and maybe even sway bars. I mean don't get me wrong., coilovers are great but not good enough to put on:
1: a stock car
2:when you can get so much more for around the same price
(PS incase you were wondering bigfoot all the prices came from Modern Performance)

bigfoot · Post by **bigfoot** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 2:07 pm

ROFL. Yeah if I got coilovers only I wouldn't be going fast in a straight line or around a turn. I would still have 130 horsepower.

Here is what I have decided I want to get for sure so far.

MSD Spark Plug Wires
CAI any brand doesn't really matter
New Rear Section of Exhaust
Lowering Springs

Thats around 600 or so. not too bad, plus its a good start.

JeremyJ · Post by **JeremyJ** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:06 pm

If you get a CAI, go for either an AEM or Iceman. The Ebay intakes don't come with the replacement piece for the "accordian" that goes from the TB to the manifold and their filters tend to be of poor quality. Either of the above mentioned brands go for about $200 brand new. They will be worth the extra money.

Some more parts that make a difference and don't cost much are front and rear strut tower bars (improve handling) and an underdrive pulley, or UDP. The UDP is a bitch to install, but there are tons of write ups on how to do it. Go to www.modernperformance.com to get your parts. They carry everything you need at very good prices. Plus, if you have any questions they can be a great help.

BTW - I own a heavily modded 2k2 myself, so I speak from experience with most, if not all of these products. Don't hesitate to ask questions. Many parts/mods are going to be based on personal preference, so use the "search" function on both this site as well as www.neons.org to make decisions based on others' choices and experiences. You can also hit my "www" button to check out my mod page and like I said, feel free to ask questions about anything I have done.

2k2patriotblueneon · Post by **2k2patriotblueneon** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:34 pm

Not true.....most ebay intakes do have a bellows tube. Paying that much is NOT worth it. I payed 50 for mine....had the bellow...only thing I had to do was place some rubber tubing around the fender well to prevent rubbing.

bigfoot · Post by **bigfoot** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 7:32 pm

Thats sweet. I'm not worried about the price and quality for a 3-8 horsepower gain. I'm probably going with an ebay one.