should i even bother

[element4ever87]

whats up everybody? i have an 03 neon se and from what i have read here i dont think it is worth it to do any mods to my car because of the ngc. does anyone know how well the ngc works to limit the peak hp? should i even bother with simple bolt on mods or will i just waste my money?


thanks

[sheetmagnet]

Ok maybe I am having a brainfart at the moment, but what exactly is NGC? (And for me, I have put a few simple "bolt-ons" on my '04 neon, and have had pleasant results)

[element4ever87]

the NGC is called the next generation computer and people have told me that it adapts do mods to limit your peak hp output. what type of bolt ons have you put on your neon?

[sheetmagnet]

Originally Posted by element4ever87

the NGC is called the next generation computer and people have told me that it adapts do mods to limit your peak hp output

Okay, got it. I know the new computer "thinks" much faster than the older ones, but it can't defeat some mods. For instance, if you add a custom cold-air kit to your car like a K&N FIPK2 kit, the motor will breathe more air and will have to implant more fuel into the air charge in order to avoid running to lean... thus, more air and fuel = giddyup.

** At 400 miles, I bought a new K&N air filter, cut an additional hole in the end of it and added another filter element to it (even more surface area, less restriction) then installed it in the OEM box.

** At 1500 miles, I removed that huge bulky/worthless resonator that connects to your filter box through an elbow from the inside of the fender-well. It doesn't serve much purpose, except making the intake "quieter" and it restricts airflow. So I yanked it and tossed it.

** At 1800 miles, I changed the oil and went with full synthetic (Always Mobil 1 except one time, when I tried Royal Purple) and plan to always run full synthetic in the motor.

** At 10,000 miles, I cut another hole into the bottom of the filter box, and connected an additional 2 1/2" pipe out the bottom and ran it to the bottom of the car, underneath and slightly in front of the radiator, insulated in a kevlar weave (more cold air, less restriction at WOT.)

** At 10,000 miles, I painted the airbox bright yellow to match other dress-up things I did under the hood... but bright yellow refelects heat better than standard black anyway, so the theory is that this helps maintain a colder, denser air charge.

** At 11,000 miles, I used corrogated plastic sheeting to fabricate a "scoop," if you will, to direct cool air from the front and bottom of the car up into the fender-well to the main air intake tube.

** At 2000 miles, I yanked the exhaust from the rear tires on-back, and installed a custom 2 1/2" exhaust with a 30-series Flowmaster. Sounds unique (NOT like a fart-can), and is less restrictive than the OEM muffler.

** At 13,000 miles, Installed Bosch +4's. I know there is a lot of controversy over spark plugs in a neon and this is one of them. Some people love them, some people hate them... I personally was pleased with the swap.

** At 11,000 miles, I threw a 4.7k-ohm resistor inline with the IAT, and started running 89 octane instead of 87... this is probably the most controversial "cheap mod," because the computer WILL try to defeat the IAT modification at some point... Long story short, I have had success with it (on this car, anyway). There are more specifics but I won't go into detail unless someone asks (thank God, right? he he).

Anyway that's what I have done... I have 17k miles on my car and I can scoot from 0-60 pretty quick. No 1/4-mile time at the track yet, but it's definitely much peppier than when I bought it new. The torque-curve seems flatter, but higher... The 1-2-3 shifts come pretty quick at WOT.

[element4ever87]

Hey thanks for the info! Im gonna def. mod up my neon.

[das2123]

Originally Posted by sheetmagnet

** At 1800 miles, I changed the oil and went with full synthetic (Always Mobil 1 except one time, when I tried Royal Purple) and plan to always run full synthetic in the motor.

RP will be great for the longevity of your engine.

Originally Posted by sheetmagnet

** At 2000 miles, I yanked the exhaust from the rear tires on-back, and installed a custom 2 1/2" exhaust with a 30-series Flowmaster. Sounds unique (NOT like a fart-can), and is less restrictive than the OEM muffler.

I doubt you got much HP gains after this as the stock 2.25" piping flows well from the factory. But I will say it should sound and look better!

Originally Posted by sheetmagnet

** At 11,000 miles, I threw a 4.7k-ohm resistor inline with the IAT, and started running 89 octane instead of 87...

Are you talking about the "eBay Intake Mod?" I hope not, because it is a waste of time. Running the higher octane is where you see the difference, not the resistor trick. Have you tried running 89 octane w/o the resistor for comparison?

[sheetmagnet]

Originally Posted by das2123

RP will be great for the longevity of your engine.

I doubt you got much HP gains after this as the stock 2.25" piping flows well from the factory. But I will say it should sound and look better!

Are you talking about the "eBay Intake Mod?" I hope not, because it is a waste of time. Running the higher octane is where you see the difference, not the resistor trick. Have you tried running 89 octane w/o the resistor for comparison?

I tried one oil change with Royal Purple 5W-30 and a Fram Tough-Gaurd... after about 1800 miles of use, the oil was black water for no apparent reason, and kinda foamy. No coolant leaks or moisture or nothing like that... it just seems like it broke down way too quick and lost it's hydraulic properties too... I dunno.

As far as the exhaust... true, I cannot claim any specific gains, but if nothing else, I do like the unique tone that the Flowmaster belches out.

Yes, I am talking about the Ebay intake mod... I tried this in a '98 Cutlass GLS, and it didn't work. Tried it in a '93 Probe, and it didn't work. Tried it in a '01 Ranger 3.0, and it didn't work. Ran 89 in my neon, reset the ECU. Drove it. Then added the resistor. Reset the ECU. Drove it. More peppier, especially in the "dead spot" from 1500 to 3000 RPM... this is the first time I ever did something like this and noticed an immediate difference. Still doesn't mean I would defend the use of it for every car... I think a lot of people who buy these off Ebay are getting ripped off.