I just bought myself a 99 plymouth neon expresso. 4 doors, 5 speed, ac, cruise, the factory cd player, and owned by older people for 150,000 miles. just got a new clutch, transmission, head, and timing belt last year, along with new brakes at all 4 corners, and two new tires. No worn out suspention parts either. it's a very nice looking car, not rusted out from wisconsin winters. It's parked untill november 5th when I come back to wisconsin from my medic training. I've got around 500 to play with, and that needs to include two tires.

I want tires that handel well, but dont suck during the winter. I was thinking the uniroyal tiger paws at $65 each. I can mount and balance them myself. http://www.farmandfleet.com/catalog/...=080101003&p=1

Then I looked at modern performance, and got lost on what to look for.
An UDP, header, engine mount inserts, and the semi-solid bobble strut came to mind, but I dont really know what would give me the most bang for my buck. Are there better places to get stuff?

Just a guy new to neons looking for some advise. Not looking for a street racer, just a faster then stock ride.
Any advise is appreciated, I'm new to mopar, and tuners. been a backyard mech since forever ago, and can do alot.
thank you
~Nate

 

sounds like your on the right track

read the stickes

 

I've been lurking for a while, just havent had a chance to post till today.

I'm wondering the differences between the howell UDP and the modernperformance UDP, besides $40. Howell says theyres is the lightest ever made, along with the most underdriven pully out there. is it worth the extra money?

With the race inserts and semi-solid bobble strut for the motor mounts, will it vibrate my hands and feet enough to make it uncomfertable to drive for a few hours at a time? I do road trip occasionally to a cabin 4 hours away, I dont want to be driving something that vibrates me more then my honda shadow (ace 1100 if anyone cares)

For the header, whats the best option out there if I dont care about noise or a check engine light? I just want more power/mpg, and an easier install. The $200 kirk one from modern looks like it replaces the cat, will that make the car run worse during the winter or no? Also, I saw ones one bay for about $100 shipped, stainless steel, looks pretty similer to the headmen one as far as design goes. I dont want crap, but I dont want to waste money either.

With a throttle body from an automatic, would I need to get one from a DOHC car also, or isnt that an issue? Would it even be worth $40 from a junkyard for a miminally modified car?

I've been reading that the 2.25 factory exhaust is pretty good for a mild setup, and that the only real improvement would come from a better muffeler... Would a glass pack of about the same lenght get me any more power, or would it just be an annoying waste of money?

I'm compleatly open to any and all suggestions, so if anyone has something they feel would be useful to say, please say it. Even if it's saying I'm an idiot for choosing what I choose, just tell me what a better way to spend my initial budget of $500 would be... I dont want crap parts, I want the good stuff but I dont want to waste money either.

Thanks for the help
~Nate

 

well the Howell Automotive UDP will take who knows how many months to get to you, the Modernperformance....give them the normal shipping time. 3-5 days. and your exhaust should be fine since u have the DOHC muffler.

the TB will be worth it. and it shouldn't matter if it came off a DOHC or SOHC.

 

the motor mount inserts are pretty good, but if your wanting a comfortable car to drive then i would stay away from them...or atleast only put in the front insert...

with all 3 inserts in and a stiffer solid bobble strut, so much stuff vibrates that it feels like the car is going to fall apart

 

neoncrazy101, did you have a bad experiance with them, or is just known that they suck with shipping? Thanks for the heads up though, I'll get the modern performance one then.

With the exhaust, did you must mean i shouldnt worry about the muffeler, or is the manifold not as restrictive as the SOHC manifold?
Still looking for opinions on headers... Ebay header for $100 or the $200 long tube header that replaces the cat and everything.
How bad are they to install anyways?

Can someone explain more in depth about the TB, such as what it will do for a minimally modified car? better/worse milage, more power ect...


spudsterier, did you get the full racing set, or the street set? Should I do the solid bobble strut too or is that not worth the money? I'm not looking to vibrate the car apart.

Still looking for opinions on tires and if mabey I should i PCM instead of a header...

So now I'm getting the modern performance UDP, the street inserts (dont know if full or just the side one).
I dont know what header to get, or if mabey I should get the PCM instead.

Thanks for your time, it helps alot
~Nate

 

I've just heard of people waiting months and months for parts from Howell. so i've stayed away from them and bought pretty much all my stuff that i have from Modern. great company.

 

well, I have done a few easy mods, as u can see in my signature, and i will comment on a few of your questions(they are opinions of mine so take it or leave it). The TB from MP seemed like a great part but MP does charge a bit for it, so if your willing to lay down 230 bucks or so go for it. I found the car is more preppy and gives the car a bit more power(i believe the dyno will say about 5hp gain if u bore the manifold). I went ahead and got the 60mm and bored the manifold, adds a bit of sound too.
I also put a new flowmaster 40 last year and now theres a 2.5" out dual, sounds nice but loud and i also added tips. I don't think i saw any real gain from it but i also didn't do the pipes.
I thought of doing the header but from looking at the manifold, its quite large and well yea replacing it with a header will get u some gain, i personally don't think it will be much but i could be wrong.
I never did the mounts or the UDP but the UDP was next on my list. If you are wondering around in the junkyard sometime look for a 3L CAI, which will also add some nice gain for cheap money.

Hope this helps, Happy motoring

 

so the tb helps out alot? Im still open to suggestions for how to spend my money.
Tks for the help
~Nate

 

yes, the TB is great for the money