small upgrades?

[pik_d]

i was talking to one of my co-workers today (er... yesterday), and he said that on his avenger, he had put in a K&N air filter, and had actually noticed a little gain in preformance. i kinda thought that it would give only like 5hp, if that, and wouldnt really be that noticiable. can anyone else attest to the fact that an air filter will give noticiable gains? if that's true, then that's one more reason for me to get one.

now, what filter would y'all recommend for a 2003 R/T? just reading around i've seem people talk about cold air intakes scooping up water and screwing things up, so that doesnt sound like something i want to do... so this means i'm kind of leaning towards a short ram intake...

also, what other preformance things are there in the $200-400 range to do to a neon?

and what kind of things would i have to do to get it into the 180-185hp range? i'm not looking for outrageous speed or anything, just a small bump up in preformance without affecting the engine life and durability.

[maykelcj]

Originally Posted by pik_d

i was talking to one of my co-workers today (er... yesterday), and he said that on his avenger, he had put in a K&N air filter, and had actually noticed a little gain in preformance. i kinda thought that it would give only like 5hp, if that, and wouldnt really be that noticiable. can anyone else attest to the fact that an air filter will give noticiable gains? if that's true, then that's one more reason for me to get one.

now, what filter would y'all recommend for a 2003 R/T? just reading around i've seem people talk about cold air intakes scooping up water and screwing things up, so that doesnt sound like something i want to do... so this means i'm kind of leaning towards a short ram intake...

also, what other preformance things are there in the $200-400 range to do to a neon?

and what kind of things would i have to do to get it into the 180-185hp range? i'm not looking for outrageous speed or anything, just a small bump up in preformance without affecting the engine life and durability.

180- 185?...... you are gonna need more money.
get to www.allpar.com they have a quick list of mods for a 180 hp neon.
first of all STAY AWAY FROM 17in WHEELS!!!! they rub power!
the best upgrades for a neon are intake and a stright-through mofler. NO FART-CAN PLEASE... and a MOPAR PERFORMANCE PCM or any other stand along managing system like the MSD if your neon is manual TX. I'm not shure about the auto since tha tranny is controled by the PCM.

If you are going all mottor you wont make that power with stock compression, so you need an upgrade to 12:1 and all the complications that this means. retarding time ( using adjustable cam gears, piggybacks or both) to avoid detonation, better cams (crane 14s or 18s are good) and be prepare to run only premium on that puppy.

And most important DO LOTS OF RESEARCH!!!
Happy modding!!!

[das2123]

Originally Posted by pik_d

and what kind of things would i have to do to get it into the 180-185hp range?

TO get from 150HP to 180HP isn't as easy as it seems. Here is a recommended list from Modern Performance:
Recommended path for ACR, RT models:

1) Injen, Aem, or Iceman intake
2) Pacesetter or Borla header
3) Thermal R&D rear muffler
4) Mpx or Unorthodox pulley
5) Crane cam - #12 will give a small gain, #14 is best
6) MSD ignition with tach adapter
7) Head portings

Try to follow that and you may get to around 165HP to 175HP.

Originally Posted by maykelcj

and a MOPAR PERFORMANCE PCM

They don't have one for the second gen neon. I think AF/X has one though.

[pik_d]

maykelcj-
i didnt mean $200-400 total, i was asking if there are other cheap things i can do to give a small boost in preformance. and no, i will deffinately NOT be getting a fart-cannon.

das2123-
you think doing ALL that will only yield a 15-25hp gain? that's it... what of that would be easiest for someone with pretty much no experience under the hood? though i'm sure i could get someone to help me. i live in a dorm in which alot of the people are in automotive engineering, and have their own cars to work on.

[maykelcj]

Originally Posted by pik_d

-
you think doing ALL that will only yield a 15-25hp gain? that's it... .

25HP to the wheels is some good amount of power considering it is comming from a small engine and is going to pull a light car!!!

[pik_d]

Originally Posted by maykelcj

25HP to the wheels is some good amount of power considering it is comming from a small engine and is going to pull a light car!!!

well, i'm more worried about doing ALL that, and it turning out closer to the 15hp mark. if it's 25hp, i could deal with it.

[das2123]

Originally Posted by pik_d

das2123-
you think doing ALL that will only yield a 15-25hp gain? that's it... what of that would be easiest for someone with pretty much no experience under the hood? though i'm sure i could get someone to help me. i live in a dorm in which alot of the people are in automotive engineering, and have their own cars to work on.

It's using real math, not rice math. Bolt-ons are called that for a reason, they just bolt-on with ease and simplicity. CAI is super easy, header takes some more time but is fairly simple, UDP takes some work also, but can be done. Adding a Crane cam would give you some real noticable power, but involves more work, so you may want to wait on that!

[pik_d]

heh, well thanks for your help. i'll keep all this in mind when i get a chance to do any of this.