whats the best way to go

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 4:44 pm

here in like 2 or three months im gonna come into about a grand maybe 1500 and i want to hop up my 2.0 SOHC .
for that price what is the best way to get the most performance with in that budgett ?

n20sxt · Post by **n20sxt** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:39 pm

nitrous or turbo

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:56 pm

now its a stock plat form with 120k on it
and i was thinking turbo but can i get a turbo and everything i need with tuning and everthign fot that budgett
is this a good deal
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 905wt_1010

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 7:04 pm

for some reason i would NEVER trust a turbo kit that goes for that price! turbo isn't really an option for $1000

DroopDaddy408 · Post by **DroopDaddy408** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:16 pm

If your runnin a stock platform I'd say let her breathe. I/H/E. Add some suspension upgrades to enhance the feel of the power adders.

Ntyvirus1 · Post by **Ntyvirus1** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:31 pm

internals + cam maybe?

Post by **racer12306** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:59 pm

What year car do you have? Thats pretty important.

R/T?

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:01 pm

no its a 2000 neon with the 2.0 SOHC

ZeroChad · Post by **ZeroChad** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:21 pm

Cam + Pistons and do some maintenance/gaskets while you're in there.

With that out of the way, you can do smaller stuff later at your leisure.

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:47 pm

well cam and pistons shouldnt take the full 1000 right ?

ragek23 · Post by **ragek23** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:50 pm

Yes they can easily, especially if you need the engine bored/honed.

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:52 pm

so you think this would be the best way to go to get pep and HP out of the car then do exhaust work and intake later

Post by **racer12306** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 11:51 pm

I can never remember, do you need new rods when you get new pistons or are there pistons that can use the OEM rods?

A set of pistons are $500. A new cam is gonna be about $300, but you should look for a really good shape used one. I've got a 95 cam here that for the right price I may let go, but thats a bit may.

10.5:1 pistons, a Comp 400, an UDP, magnum intake setup and a short tube should make for a nice gain.

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:12 am

you NEED new rods. neither JE (yay!) or Wiseco (ick) make pistons for stock rods. so there's another $400

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:27 am

what abotu a 70mm TB or pulleys

[DJ]Tomski · Post by **[DJ]Tomski** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 7:43 am

with 120k miles on it I'd do whatever maintenance you need to keep it running healthy and save the rest of the money

Post by **racer12306** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:08 am

toddw814 wrote:what abotu a 70mm TB or pulleys

I mentioned an UDP in my post.

70mm is way too big. 60 is too big too for most stuff, but with the engine breathing better with a good intake manifold, header, exhaust and higher compression pistons the 60mm will probably suit it pretty well.

Post by **occasional demons** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 1:31 pm

[DJ]Tomski wrote:with 120k miles on it I'd do whatever maintenance you need to keep it running healthy and save the rest of the money

Has the timimg belt/water pump/ related items been changed?

They are due at 105,000. Without changing those, your mods will become paperweights. My exhaust guides were shot at 112,000, so there is another thing to check. If I had not gotten those replaced, the valve seals would have failed next, killing masses of mosquitos. Not to mention beating the valve seats to death.

Cost of a valve job with new guides: $250 to $300

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:26 pm

nothing been replaced that i know of
i bought the car at 117k and ive put 11k on it so far and when i bought it the tranny was out so we replace that
and sence i have replaced the coil pack plugs and wires and the air filter thats it and oil change lol
i mean the car runs great it has no problems
it just need more pep
i was on moderen performance and the have a whole rebuild kit that will bore it .020 over and comes with gasketts and oil pump
http://www.modernperformance.com/bottom ... -1607.html
and if i get this wouldent i want the 12.0:1 compression pistons
wont it give me lots of room to build it further ?
i was also thinking though if i where to do this it would be pointless if it cant breath and i still got stock exhaust and intake correct ?

Post by **racer12306** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 3:45 pm

You need to know if the timing belt and such were done. If they haven't been done you are running on borrowed time, and when it breaks you will be forced to rebuild.

The rebuild kit itself won't put it .020 over. You would need to take the block to a machine shop and have them bore and hone the bores. You don't need to have the .020" overbore done if your bores are in good shape.

12:1 is nice for power but it has a narrower tuning window and you would really want a stand alone to take full benefit of it.

You definitely want a good exhaust, atleast a short tube with a good flowing cat and good flowing catback. There's a couple options for intake. You can go with the magnum one, or have AMM make you one or make your own with the Ghetto Blaster design.

In the end $1500 isn't a lot in terms of performance.

n20sxt · Post by **n20sxt** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:38 pm

Hudson_Neon wrote:for some reason i would NEVER trust a turbo kit that goes for that price! turbo isn't really an option for $1000

You can pretty easily piece together a kit for a little over that, and still be reliable .. i know that cause i did

Hudson_Neon · Post by **Hudson_Neon** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:47 pm

racer12306 wrote:You need to know if the timing belt and such were done. If they haven't been done you are running on borrowed time, and when it breaks you will be forced to rebuild.

The rebuild kit itself won't put it .020 over. You would need to take the block to a machine shop and have them bore and hone the bores. You don't need to have the .020" overbore done if your bores are in good shape.

12:1 is nice for power but it has a narrower tuning window and you would really want a stand alone to take full benefit of it.

You definitely want a good exhaust, atleast a short tube with a good flowing cat and good flowing catback. There's a couple options for intake. You can go with the magnum one, or have AMM make you one or make your own with the Ghetto Blaster design.

In the end $1500 isn't a lot in terms of performance.

also keep in mind that those pistons are rated on a DOHC engine. The DOHC engines have a larger bowl (obviously). the difference in bowl size bumps up the compression by ABOUT .5... so my 10.5:1 pistons are actually making like 11:1. and those 12:1 pistons will make like 12.5:1

ZeroChad · Post by **ZeroChad** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:08 pm

^+1
The 10.5:1 Wiseco pistons, comp 400 and mag intake are the best power mods I've done on my car.

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:17 pm

ZeroChad wrote:^+1
The 10.5:1 Wiseco pistons, comp 400 and mag intake are the best power mods I've done on my car.

do you also have the SOHC ?
does anyone know of any auto transmission upgrades?

Post by **racer12306** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:18 pm

Reverse manual valve body and a better torque converter.

ItsRobbie · Post by **ItsRobbie** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:19 pm

honestly i dont see the problem with ebay stuff....my buddy bought a turbo kit for a honda...worked perfectly...till he rear ended someone.

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:20 pm

racer12306 wrote:Reverse manual valve body and a better torque converter.

where is the manual valve body located

Post by **racer12306** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:22 pm

In the transmission.

Judging by your posts, you really need to search around this forum, neons.org and the internet in general. There is a bunch of information out there and searching is generally the best way to learn.

toddw814 · Post by **toddw814** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:34 pm

racer12306 wrote:In the transmission.

Judging by your posts, you really need to search around this forum, neons.org and the internet in general. There is a bunch of information out there and searching is generally the best way to learn.

no i know its located in the transmission but i have never really messed with transmission where is it at if you drop the pan i ment
sorry i didnt make specific it did leave it kinda open lol
and i search on here all the time but i can never find anything on the internals for an auto tranny the only thing i can find is a torque converter
i was told i can get high performance shift module and its easy to replace

Post by **racer12306** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 6:41 pm

There isn't a "high performance shift module" for the 3 speed, it's a completely hydraulic transmissions (except for TC lockup).

If you drop the pan, it's right there.