Haii i just got my Neon about 1/2 year ago and since i have onlydone miner styling and a highflow mufler.
BUT even when ibought i got the feeling that somthing might be wrong, as it seams slugish and lazzy.

It is a 1996 2.0i 16v SOHC.
How fast are thees cars stock from 0 - 60 and how fast do they go at the top??
How can i test if somthing is wrong whit the engiens preformance??
Also i have noticed a bubbling noise when i turn of the engien after a ride wher the engien
has been heated up to running temperature.


Sorry for any bad spelling!!! =S

 

is it an auto or manual? my Manual is pretty fast (and its a SOHC as well) and i've gotton my tired old SOHC in my old car up to the speed limiter (118mph)

 

My stock SOHC engine is a little power house, sure its an auto but it will still throw you in the back seat. DOHC autos are slower yet than a SOHC auto until the high end do they gain some lost ground back but still a horse a piece. Sluggish performance most likely is from the auto tranny, Make sure you are using 7176 equalivilant Transmission fluid if its an auto, Dexron 2 and 3 will make the tranny slip at times and it will take more Engine throttle to get going thus lost performance. Alot of people make that mistake with tranny fluidand then blame the SOHC engine for being sluggish just because its most popular tranny combo is an automatic. the way my SOHCauto is running right now I bet it would gain respect with even the most pesimistic SOHC hater.

The 98+ SOHC engines you can floor all day and they will never blow up, thanks to the revised head gasket. I've also had mine the rev limiter and back and on a flat highway it gets to 118mph decent. I usually will keep my automatic in second gear till 90mph and 3rd does the rest.

My suggestions would be...

Get new spark plugs and plugwires!!! This is a MUST with any used car.I thought my car was gutless until I changed plug wires and sparkplugs

New Air Filter

Tranny Filter and ad 7176 Equlivilant tranny fluid.

YOU WILL NOTICE A HUGE DIFFERENCE WITH THESE THINGS DONE.

And if you can make one or have a little money to buy one, a throttle body spacer will make a huge difference in the passing gears, You'll feel the biggest gains when you FLOOR IT from 25mph-40mph or from 55mph to 70mph, floor it within those speeds and your car will launch like a rocket.

When you floor it between 25-40 the kick down will engage and it will shift down into 1st gear and if you floored it hard enough 1st gear wont shift till 50mph and if you floor it hard enough from 55-70 it will drop into second gear and it will last till about 85mph and shift into 3rd. The reason I've listed these facts was because this is where a SOHC automatic Neon will move its fastest and make the most ground.

 

I agree the sohc autos are snappy but mine is weird, sometimes if i hold it till 50 itll jerk to 2nd and the belt squeeks any idea? but yeah from 30 or so it'll go.

 

lol my belt does that too, I think the V belt that drives the AC and PS does that squeek. I was worried about that because I put a alternator from a 95 in because I was cheap and couldnt afford the correct one and I soldered new connectors and blah blah blah to fit and while putting the alternator in I forgot how the bracket went because I couldnt really see it and so my alternator bracket isnt as complex as the factory had it but its holding and I thought maybe it wasnt tight enough, but belt seemed great.I think Igot rid of that T bolt and set it up as a normal bracket I dunno anymoreits been a year...ahahha

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with that squeek : )

I want to put a hood scoup on mine, a small one so thatsome heat will escape and theIAT sensor will read cooler, after the engine bay warms up off the line power decreases a bit, not sure if the tranny or IAT/map sensor is the reason. If I don't useWide Open Throttlefor the trip it keeps most of its low end off the line power.

 

Thanks for your replys.
Mine is a manual, when iaccleratethe car( maby from tranny)makes a sort of rately noise in the beginning of the lower gers but it goes away after a few sec. if you know what i mean =S
but i dont think my tranny is the problem. Somtimes when i shift gears fast the engien missfires when i hit the acclerator again.
But maby that will get better after getting new sparkplugs and wires.Shoud i just get the new stock ones or is ther some better out ther.??

 

Do you mean a cannon w/ some clear tail lights?

 

The Dexron/mercon transmission fluid will not make it slip, when we took my fathers transmission in to be rebuilt in his 98 ram front main leaking, I asked the transmission guy that has been doing it for 40 years if using dexron/mercon in a Chrysler vehicle will affect it (thats all my fathers truck has ever had in it and it had 170000 on it until the main started leaking) and he said the only thing it will do in Chrysler transmissions will make it shift a little bit harder, but hardly noticeable.

And on the plugs, it seems that most people on here like to use the NGK plugs, but they are a bit pricey. I personally like Bosch super spark plugs, they are only like $1.48 a plug and is all I have ever had in my neon. If you haven't heard already, DO NOT USE PLATINUM PLUGS!! There is a thread about it in the top of the neon section, not 1st gen subsection. It sounds to me though that your injectors are dirty or your fuel filter and or fuel pump is going bad, since it is only when you get on it hard It sounds fuel related.

 

The Dexron/mercon transmission fluid will not make it slip, when we took my fathers transmission in to be rebuilt in his 98 ram front main leaking, I asked the transmission guy that has been doing it for 40 years if using dexron/mercon in a Chrysler vehicle will affect it (thats all my fathers truck has ever had in it and it had 170000 on it until the main started leaking) and he said the only thing it will do in Chrysler transmissions will make it shift a little bit harder, but hardly noticeable.


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Most Chryslercars you could probably get away with Dexron3 even the Neon but it doesnt help the car at all in a tranny that is prone to sharp shifts that turn into wheel hop style shaking. You should have driven my car 2 days ago,it was horried with its off the line wheel hoptype crap,all I threw in it was Dexron 3 for half a year, I changed my transmission filter and switched to 7176 equvilant tranny fluid and my car doesnt shake any more on start ups and gear changes. Before my front end was rattling real bad like wheel hop and changing the fluid worked, I know the fluid to 7176 from dexron 3worked because I ran the 7176 in there for a day and it worked awesomeand Ihad to change because Checkers gave me wrong filter and gasket (was for a 4 speed auto they said! Never heard of a 4 speed Neon auto in 98! or first Gen for that matter)and I found out once I got home and took pan off tranny and Ihad no other car so I hadto drive with it leaking tranny fluid for a day after a permatex temporary job went wrong...lol but it ran good before the filter change and continued after the change once the 7176 was in.

I need a tranny flush I think too, I'm sure I got some dexron 3 still in the torque converter....lol

 

No but somthing like that.
I have collored in Headlightassembly whit 2 lightsand angel eyes on eatch side. Then17`Rims with 205/40 tires. andslottet breakdisks front and behind. And som red paint on the brake callibers=).
And then a completesports suspention that lowers the car 40mm, But that will get lower soon.[8D]
How do i get some pictures of my Neon in here???