hey i'm new to the forum

i have a 1995 SOHC manual dodge neon highline. my dad has been a mechanic literally his whole life and bought this car brand new and has kept it in almost perfect condition (the exception of he head gasket which has to be replaced yet again). the car has 240,000 miles on it and the mechanics at the dodge dealership are surprised that we have kept it in so good of condition

and even with the leaking gasket i have managed to beat every civic and mitsubishi that has come my way

following his footsteps, im going to be putting performance parts on the cars i get. so now that you have the background of the car...here are my questions

i'm a college student and just left my job for this semester and will be tight on money, so i was wondering if doing the DIY CAI will give me as much performance as an Ice Man or an AEM intake. if it won't i have no problem saving up for an AEM since Ice Man intakes are discontinued (as i've heard). and if i will need the bypass valve and will any type of filter (AEM, K&N) filter will fit for the DIY CAI

also, i read that the dohc stock exhaust works just as well as an aftermarket cat back. i was wondering if that was true and if i could just go to a pick-n-pull and bolt the dohc exhaust right on to my sohc manifold (don't see why not since the engines are the same size).

lastly, i know about the whole automatic throttle body switch. i went to the dodge dealership today and asked the man working at the desk if switching it will be worth the money, effort and power increase. He told me it will not increase that much and there is a bushing or something of the sort that goes between the 49mm manual throttle bottle and the manifold that will give the same amout of power. and i was wondering if there is such a part and where can i find it.

i have a friend with a 97-99 DOHC that has done the throttle body swap, AEM CAI and just put a muffler on his exhaust system and said he felt the change in performance.



if you have any other cheap suggestions then please post them

thank you in advance for the help

 

as for the throttle body, you dont get more power, just better throttle response since the auto has a lighter throttle spring then the manual.....

you dont need the whole dohc exhaust....just the muffler....thats the only difference and it does increase the flow...the sohc muffler is very restrictive, so if your wanting to go cheap then just get the muffler, the rest of the exhaust is the same

you can easily make a cold air intake that is better then most available.....just keep in mind that if you are gonna make your own then run the pipe under the battery tray, if you put the filter back on top of the exhaust, then the only thing your gonna get is the cool sound, no performance.....dont wast the money on the bypass valve, it is pointless, unless you drive through alot of deep water....get a k&n filter...its well worth the money...



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Spud pretty much nailed it on all your questions. Try posting in the 1st gen forum to get better repsonses also.

To answer your question about the CAI, you can get comparable results with a DIY CAI, but they won't be as good as the Iceman. People tend to forget the Iceman was Engineered and not designed. If you ever look at the tube, it's NOT a perfectly round tube. It was engineered for optimal flow. Don't waste your money on the AEM intake, not worth the money. If you want that look, just get a cheap one off eBay. If you want an Iceman, PM me for details.