I own an automatic 2001 Chrysler Neon. I was thinking about buying a new car but decided to just mod my Neon. It's completely stock and has several problems.

It has the CEL on. When I stop and have the a/c off it goes down to 500 RPM and it used to turn off sometimes because the RPM reached 0 but that doesn't happen anymore. The only way I can keep the RPM high is by turning on the a/c and then the RPM goes back to 1000. When I step on the pedal to the max I let go so it throws the next gear and it sometimes doesn't find it and I have to accelerate again so that it finds it.

The rear drums make a lot of noise and I have taken it to the mechanic twice and it keeps making noise after a few days.

After I finish with all the problems it has as stock I want to mod it but don't know where to start. I want to take HP as high as possible with as little money as possible.

Any help, tips or suggetions appreciated.

 

Well you can mod it, but seeing as how you have an ATX it will still be slow. The best thing you can do is swap to a manual transmission and get instantly quicker.

Most people start out with CAI, UDP and header or better muffler/exhaust. All good places to start. Check out www.modernperformance.com site for the 2nd gen recommended build up

 

everything you said is normal.
read the stickies, they pretty much break down most mods

 

Oh so Automatic sucks?

 

Not when you are stuck in traffic, but for unless you are boosted....it's gonna be slow.

 

there all anti automatic....ive seen alot of fast autos fellas...ud be suprised how good they can be

 

I'm not anti-auto, just anti-SLOW...LOL

Auto's won't be quick unless they are boosted and will always be slower than an MTX neon mod for mod.

 

What's up with the car stalling out though? Would that be a ignition coil issue?

 

All neons bog down when they are sitting. The brakes sqeal because of the rotors I was told because they aren't slotted. Personally I like auto because you can cruise. But if I get my car fixed how I want it done, I'll be even with manuals with the autostick.

 

Brakes squealing have nothing to do with the rotors...it's the compund material of the brake pad itself. Cheap quality pads will squeal more than higher quality pads.