2000 Dodge neon SE
2.0L SOHC ATX
"Red Baron"
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Take a look at 2GN.ORG: http://www.2gn.org/ . Exclusively for second generation Neons (2000-2005). Check out the FORUM -- lots of helpful peeps there, plenty of technical info, opinions, and pictures of nice rides, hot parts, and garage tricks.
The Neon:
This was inherited through a friend (now a roommate as well), and has been under the care of our efforts ever since... It came from Nevada, and still has the plates to prove it. I wish I had the pictures of its beginnings... when I was given custodianship, it had a silver door, a black fender, and a bondo-covered quarterpanel that could be best described as "terra cota" potery. The rest of it was still factory (dingy) red, with various dents and dings.
After some body work to restore the passenger quarterpanel, a fresh coat of paint, some new headlights, and a few other little things, the beaten-down look was traded in for clean and mean! The car was painted "Viper" red, the dingy headlights replaced with projector units, the taillights replaced with similarly-styled pieces to match the headlights, and an SRT-4 carbon fiber hood. Together with the tinted windows, it really came together. The paint quality isn't great, but the bright red color easilly distracts the eyes and gives the car an overall clean look to it.
The car already had a set of reasonably light 16" chrome five-spokes, w/ Falken Ziex 205/55 grippy street tires. As chrome wheels go, these aren't that bad... in fact they've kind of grown on me a bit. Inside the front wheels are a pair of stock-sized crossdrilled & slotted rotors... the originals were very blue tho! The stock brakes are very insufficient, and SRT spec parts will be the best choice here.
I started out in the early to mid 90's with turbo Chrysler 2.2/2.5 cars (I had an '89 Dodge Daytona Shelby Turbo II), graduated to DSM turbo, then to Nissan turbos. Now here I am again wrenching on a Chrysler sport compact.
This car handles like a dream! Even with the stock suspension, I can pull corners like I'm glued to them. After reading the impressions of owners who have upgraded their suspension setups, I can only imagine the greatness that can be Neon handling. The aftermarket is teeming with options, some of them more than I could ever wish for, and most of them priced very reasonably!
The engine is enemic. 2.0L SOHC, with a 3-speed slushbox (ATX). Both of those have to go!
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Page 1: Introduction & Updates
Page 2: Visual Modifications
Page 3: Suspension and Handling
Page 4: Powertrain and Induction
Page 5: The Red Baron in Action
Page 6: Wish List
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UPDATE: 12/23/08
The water pump started making noise, and then the car shut off. I figured the timing belt was overdue, too. So I decided to change both. What I found was frightening, but I was lucky, and everything went fine. New, fresh timing belt, and some other goodies. Pics on page 4.
UPDATE: 5/24/08
I finally spent the money on a set of BC Racing inverted coilovers, and WOW what a difference between these and the lowering springs w/ SRT struts! Page 3 SUSPENSION and HANDLING for more info!
I also changed the layout here a bit more, dividing the previous "PERFORMANCE MODIFICATIONS" page into two pages -- "SUSPENSION and HANDLING", and "POWERTRAIN and INDUCTION". As I do more to the car, this will help me better organize things on here.
UPDATE: 4/02/08:
I finally updated the exhaust! Look for more info in the pages here!
UPDATE: 10/04/07
I've been driving on the new wheels and tires for awhile now, and the twisty, low-traffic back roads of my town have given me time to break the tires in a bit and put them through their paces. These are Nankang Sport NS-1's, and I talk more about them (with pictures) on Page 3 .
UPDATE: 9/16/07
I decided to temporarilly paint the SRT-4 wheels black, since the bronze paint stuff didn't work out well at all. I tried the black in the same wheel coating, and it came out just as bad! So I sanded the test wheel down again, and used 1200-degree ceramic paint in black. It came out smooth, and semi-gloss. Looked nice! So until I can powdercoat them the way I want, this is fine. It takes away the "OEM" look of the silvertone, and actually compliments the rest of the car's coloring. See page 2 for pictures.
UPDATE: 9/09/07
My muffler arrived a few days ago... It's a Magnaflow twin-outlet affair, in polished stainless. I just need to get a few small bends from JCwhitney, and have everything welded up. Still deciding on exhaust tips. I have some ideas though...
I'm still debating what I want to do withthe powertrain, but it's shifting now back towards the initial idea. I have something bolt-on in mind that would be quite exotic, but I have a LOT of research to do. Ironically, this research is partly to do with older Chrysler turbocars (where I began so long ago). It's time to bust out the old bag of tricks, and with some luck, see if they'll work on a new playing field.
In the meantime, I decided against the wheel spacers, so they sit on the shelf collecting dust (anyone want them?). Since I had a set of good-condition SRT-4 struts on the shelf, I found some lowering springs with a good spring rate, and put them in the car. The results were good... not as low as I expected to end up, but I'm satisfied with the obvious ride height difference and better handling. More on Page 3 .
UPDATE: 8/18/07
Only a handful of us showed up, but I wasn't surprized. Change of date, a last-turn misprint in the directions, and lots of people on SRTForums worried about cops. One of the guys did get a ticket, but he made a blatently illegal U-turn right in front of a motorcycle cop. Other than that, a couple times the police scoped us all out, but left us alone. We were pretty laid back in our speed most of the time, with Palos Verdes as the exception. We tore-azz through the coastline there. Lots of good twisties :) I took some pictures, on Page 5 .
UPDATE: 8/3/07
I've had a set of OEM-silver SRT wheels now for awhile. I've been trying to "bronze" them with Duplicolor's bronze wheel paint, and the bronze comes out like crap. I've tried over and over. While I see that some people have had moderate to good success with this color, I haven't. Maybe I'm expecting a better finish than is possible with them. Who knows. I've decided to paint them black instead, and clearcoat them. We'll see how that turns out.
I also purchased some 5mm spacers which should allow me to run the SRT wheels and the tires on this car without clearance issues. I need to have some wheels with GOOD tires before the 18th, for the Neon cruise up Pacific Coast Highway.
UPDATE: 7/19/07
It's been awhile since I've done anything to this car. This time it was seat covers. I know that's not a performance thing, but go to Page 2 and take a look. They came out rather nice, and feel great under the arse-end. I was picky with the style I went with, and I'm glad for that. Anyways, these were cheap and added a bit more customization to my look.
UPDATE: 6/2/07
Since I've been doing more research, I've decided that the SRT-4 swap idea isn't quite what I want. Until I figure out what I do want, I've decided to bolt on a few things to pep it up to a more driveable level. The start of this is from the outside in -- exhaust and intake.
I purchased a K&N Typhoon in polished aluminum (the other option is red but I wanted a little "bling" factor for the engine bay). A picture of the installed item is on Page 3 . Installation wasn't hard, as it came with excellent instructions. I noticed a definite improvement in gas mileage, and towards the top end in terms of "seat-of-the-pants" feel. I'm still running with an ATX, so I still suffer off the line.
The other thing I obtained was a prototype exhaust system from Mopar. Mopar never put it into production, instead turning to Borla for their solution. What I have is basically a one-off. It's 2.5" piping, from the cat on back. It came with an ugly muffler. It looks like it will clamp together for the most part, but I'll need to have a reducer welded to mate with the cat on the OEM exhaust.
This means I've been debating about a header. An OBX longtube is what I'm interested in. That would mean I'd have the cat directly after that. It would be a good idea to do that before I do the exhaust piping. So unfortunately the exhaust will have to wait for now :(
UPDATE: 5/22/07
Carbon fiber fuel door arrived! Go check out the Visual Mods section on Page 2 .
UPDATE: 5/21/07
I spoke with the C.A.R.B. peeps today, and got referred to the Bureau of Auto Repair (BAR), and the bottom line is this:
This car is a federally-certified car, as it was NOT sold for California use. As such, I can swap out the engine for the SRT setup, but it must be a NON-Californi setup, and apparently there is a stamp on the engine showing which it is. Otherwise, from everything I've asked about, this is very doable.
UPDATE: 5/20/07
I just created my Cardomain page! Some things to mention: In the past couple weeks, I bought SRT-4 struts/shocks and a 2.5" Mopar "prototype" aluminized exhaust system. I'm going to use the exhaust sans the fugly muffler, and instead go with a Magnaflow piece. I still need to pick out tips!
The SRT-4 struts will be auctioned off, because I have decided to go with a set of BC Racing true, full coilovers. If I am lucky I will find a V1 series.
I also picked up a set of Neon SRT-4 17" wheels, with 205/40 series tires on them. I'm not happy with the short sidewall. I want more rubber, so I'm swapping the tires out for 215/45 17 instead. After this, I plan to paint the wheels BLACK.
The engine plans are for an SRT swap, although the more I read about it, the more intimidating it becomes! CEL's galore, and lots of wiring woes. Not fun!
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If you have any tech questions, or just want to find more 2G Neon owners, check out the 2GN.ORG FORUMS
