i raced a stock SOHC and lost... and it was bone stock.... i thought the dohc had 150hp.. so i figured it would atleast keep up. i know that dohc have AC but i didnt think it would be that bad of a race

 

Were the cars MTX or ATX? A launch can decide a race very easily. I have beat cars that have 50HP more than my SOHC because they either launched bad or I have a MTX and they have an ATX.

 

There are plenty of possible reasons why, another of which is engine condition. How many miles are on it, how well kept and maintained they are. The year can also make a difference since some of the '00 and newer SOHC motors have the same 150 horsepower as your DOHC, it is what the 2nd gen. and later R/T's used. Traction and vehicle weight can also have a very profound effect with the Neons. A/C is very labor intensive on any engine and the smaller it is and the fewer cylinders it has, the more it takes away from the engine. You will really notice how much it takes away if you put in motor mount inserts or solid mounts, then you will feel the engine buck as the A/C clutch engages and disengages. Using your defroster also uses your A/C compressor which has the same power drain on the engine as well as the bucking that the soft rubber motor mounts hide.

 

Yeah, what they said. What transmission each had and the state of tune each motor was in will greatly the performance of both.

 

Try maby an oil change?

 

nope both were manual... the sohc cam problly has about 50000 miles on it but it is stock and the DOHC has a Matraix exhaust, Pacesetter Header, and AEM intake and about 115000 miles on it... very well maintained though

 

it may have simply been skill...

 

Was this at an actual track? Street racing proves nothing. A tenth of a second "jump" will end up as a car length at the end of a quarter mile (85-90 mph).

The PCM kicks off the a/c at WOT. SOHC's came with a/c as well. If his didn't, it's either a base model or an ACR.

The tracks should be opening soon. Timeslips tell a lot.

Best of luck!

 

I would think its as simple as it sounds as tho it was a "street race" from light to light. In wich case the SOHC has a better tourqe rating wich gives it the upper hand in the city.

My 95 SOHC beat up, stock with 220kms on it -VS- my cousins 97 DOHC rebuilt engine, stock both MTX , takes him off the light for the first while but after we get into the high kph he passes me due to his higher top end outta the DOHC. But it takes time, light to light I would bet him and he knows it so he doesnt embarasse himself :P

 

Just a word about a problems that I experienced on my '98 RT after installing a pacesetter header. The pacesetter header is known for having bad port match on their headers. Mine was off big time on three cylinders, which was further restricting exhaust flow straight out of the head. My dyno sheets dropped between 13-16 hp over six runs after installing the pacesetter header. I opted out and went to one from ss autochrome which port matched much better. That particular header uses 42mm tubes instead of 32mm. After installing the new header I got my 13-16 hp back and averaged 12 more hp above my stock baseline dyno. I know someone will ask, baseline; 126 whp, after pacesetter header; avg. 112 whp, after new header; 138 whp, after all mods and new header, and degreeing both cams in; 153 whp. Not great but not bad.
Sometimes what you bolt on hurts you instead of helping you. Do alot of product research before spending dollars to learn a lesson others have already learned, and are more than willing to share. The morale here is that a pacesetter header and a 20ft peice of rope makes a good john boat anchor.
There is alot of information (including product review) in a book called "Dodge Neon performance engine builders handbook". It is available at Books A Million for around 14 dollars.
As far as the question "why is my DOHC slower than a SOHC? Who knows. I own a '98 highline SOHC, a 98 RT DOHC, a '95 ACR DOHC and a "03 SRT-4. They each have distiguishing characteristics. The fact is that they are all Neons and they are just fun cars to build and drive. And yes my SOHC mildly modded will out run or run with both my DOHC cars. (Mildly modded is ss autochrome header, msd 8.5 wires, screamin demon coil pack, iceman intake, and synthetic oil. I also manually degreed the cam in to closer spec than factory.) The '98 RT is mildly modded also.
Maybe I helped, maybe I didn't. Either way, free advise is worth what you pay for it; absolutely nothing!! (Unless it helps you!)