Night and day. Completely worth it. The debate over the sohc head and dohc head is futile, which is not to say the sohc head "cannot" make power. With the dohc setup, you get more. All depends on the build really, though the dohc has a broad range for tuning having two cams. If I were doing an sohc, it would be using the magnum head and dohc neon pistons for n/a. The heads flow similar to a dohc, which certainly helps. All depends on where you are going with your car.

 

WOW, just read this entire thread LOL. Sorry to bring it back from the graveyard but I thought I'd mention the MOST IMPORTANT advantage of doing the swap.

The DOHC head flows around %20 more than a standard sohc head. I believe the dohc even outflows a magnum head.

 

The dohc has removable cam caps, and can use larger cams. I still think there is a way to make a sohc head with removable cam caps, though it may take two heads to make one. The sohc can b fast, but it costs a lot more. My friend has a quick sohc here but spent around $1500 to do what I did with $400.

 

just real quick if u have a better ignition coil hotter plugs and plug wires would it be ok to run a sohc engine with the dohc ecu even if it will run rich cause u have more spark and if u have some head work done to ur sohc and header and high flow exhaust and larger throttle body with 3.0 cai setup shouldn't it be ok?

 

Just to clarify, all the coil packs are the same. Even the red MSD coil. Hotter plugs are not likely to solve the rich issue that comes with using the dohc pcm on the sohc. It is built different and does not need all the fuel, as it is a smaller head. The modifications will help. Adding a larger cam will be a great help in this scenario. What most make light of is tuning. Tuning is better than any bolt on, but does not take the place of bolt ons. Bolts on make a car run better, but the computer allows it to adjust for the extra air flow. A good tune is worth two to three bolts ons, considering bolt ons add about 5-7whp at WOT. Head work, tuning, and a custom cam would be the ideal building block for hi power setups.

 

ok thx for clarifing that tuning definetly needed also would i need new oxygen sensor and all that if i did the dohc swap with the pistons?

 

just thought i would chime in here....
2 weeks ago i did a dohc to sohc head swap on my wifes car....
so now the car has a DOHC bottom end and a SOHC head with a 95 cam....with an auto tranny...
this car is fast as hell now, it used to be a pooch, but now smokes a 98 R/T without even breaking a sweat.....not to mention the car has just under 200,000 miles on it...

 

hmmmm Spud, I want a DOHC bottom end now.

 

i was amazed at the difference it made....it was like nite and day

 

A an atx neon with sohc head, 95 cam, and raised compression "smokes" stock 5sp dohc. Define "smoked." What type of race was these? Stop lights? Quarter mile? The condition of both cars, and the skill the drives plays a part here. Really a stretch as the atx car will not rev as high as the 5sp dohc car, not will it make as much power up there. Certainly not an impossible scenario, and also not a regular occurrence.

I did race a modded atx sohc years ago on the street. I had a the same modded in my mtx sohc. Went from a 30 mph roll, and he kept until I hit 3rd and I pulled about 2 cars on him. Slowed down to talk and we had the same mods (iceman, atx tb, cat back) but I had the mopar pcm. The victory would have been more profound with a dohc. Driver makes a difference far more with mtx cars for obvious reasons, as does the overall condition of a car being raced. If you the chance presents, race a few other dohc mtx cars. If it beat one, it should beat 95% of them. Also, when I did a tune up with fuel cleaner to my neighbors 2G atx car, it was a bit peppy. Revved to about 5500-6k when I floored it. Shocked me.