Once considered the "redheaded" stepchild in the world of Neons. The SOHC engine has had the last laugh. Besides the new SRT-4 turbocharged Neon, the SOHC engine is the only other engine available. The DOHC was axed for budgetary reasons. I've been trying to tell people for years that everything being equal, the SOHC can provide just as much power as the DOHC engine. The parts are now available to make 180-190hp without any additional machine work or cylinder head porting.
180+hp SOHC Recipe *
11:1 or 12:1 compression (aftermarket pistons needed)
Magnum SOHC Cylinder Head or Ported standard SOHC head
Crane 0014 or 0016 camshaft & matching valve springs
INDY Intake manifold or Magnum Intake manifold
Long tube header (Phatridz, Blackdog or Hytech)
Stage 1 and 2 modifications
Reprogrammed PCM combined with Piggy-back engine control or Stand-Alone engine management
More power is possible. On record there are at least 3-4 daily driven SOHC Neon making over 180hp at the wheels. I have seen only one dyno sheets to prove this, but Nate Greer has blasted 13.6@102! Very few DOHC have run faster trap speeds. This truly impressive and we have only just started to see the full potential of this engine. The revenge of the SOHC is on!

 

You must tell me more. How much are we talking here?

 

10K for a 200whp neon. No. Not ever for a sohc.

1. 2.4L
11:1 Compression
Crane 18s
Fierro Race Ported Head
BDMS intake manifold
AFX Long Tube
AFX-R PCM
No PS
Balance Shafts Removed



Baseline pull was 223.9HP and 191.0TQ
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2.4L Dyno
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Best pull after some fuel curve tuning 240.0HP and 198.8TQ

Crane 22s
Electromotive
12:1 Compression
GRP Rods
Lots More

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11.5:1 Compression (11:1 0.040" over Wiseco pistons, 0.020" mill)
Eagle Rods
SRT-4 Oiling and tensioner
Crankscraper baffle and windage tray
UDP
65mm Mustang Throttle Body
3" Mandrel Bend with K&N cone
BDMS Intake manifold
Fierro race ported 01 PT Head (Si 1mm OS SS neon valves)
Crane 22s
Mchat's old Custom S&S 4-2-1 Header (1 5/8" stepped to 1 3/4", Jet Hot Coated)
3" Dynomax bullet
Crane Cam Gears
PT Valve train
Crower Springs
30# Accel injectors
Apex'i SAFC II
AFX-R (7800 RPM limit)



Not the cheapest setup, but not 10k, even if all of it was new. Funny. Sohc guy cry about how expensive the dohc parts are. How the cams cost so much more, yet most fail to realize you get more as a result. Rather than just swapping over and saving money, you get NOS to compensate, ultimately spending more just to catch up. So juvenille. Revenge of the sohc? The neon all together is gone, leaving the PT and caliber. Both dohc. Let me know when a sohc can run 14.3 with stock cam and bolt ons. It cannot. The sohc looses in stock form, and continues to do so on any even platform (same mods).

 

yeah 10k is way over rated..the bottom end i bought off this guy for my high comp motor..if i can find the dynos he gave me was making 217whp and 193tq something like that...12.1 compression with crane stage 2 cams.. P&P head with 3 angle valve job...and just some other normal mods cai udp and so on..

and i am a firm believer of SOHC cause i have one..but DOHC just yeah so much better...thats why my high comp build is a DOHC not SOHC...just my 2 cents

 

Just want to add that I AM NOT saying a sohc cannot be fast. Just know that sohc n/a high power builds cost more, which goes against the "dohc parts cost more" comments. The few I have seen/heard of were pretty peaky with the power, with little low end. Pretty much a honda at that point, minus the reliability. The 2.0L dohc is not that much better. The dohc 2.4L starts off with more tq than most n/a sohc finish with. If you have the dough, then do what you do. But to knock the dohc for costing more, and then spend $500 plus to have the head ported when a dohc head runs for $40 is illogical. Dohc swap is maybe $150 and a investment overal.

 

i like how most people forget that one of the main reasons the sohc engines are slower in the first gens is the fact that the transmission is geared so much higher... swap in a dohc 5spd tranny and that 14.3 with stock cam and basic bolts all to easy for a sohc... like smallblock said all things being equal the sohc engine will make almost the same amount of power.... and yeah a dohc head only cost 40 bucks used but i sure as hell ain't going to bolt a 40 dollar head on my car with out getting it checked, cleaned and a 3 angle valve job... but then there is the rest of the parts need for the swap... which all things getting added up you going to have at least a few hundred into the swap unless you get all the parts for free and thats not including any machine work you get done to this $40 head... I have to agree with these guys all things being equal the sohc is going to be fairly close in performance... and ghost i like how all your examples are 2.4s which i stated could very easily hit over 200hp... but the discussion here is how much it would take to build a 2.0 to over 200...

 

Well, if you read the last sentence in my last post, the overall sohc to dohc swap runs about $150. I have done it twice. As for the OP's question, they do make high compression parts for the 2.0L. Cams are the big issue for the sohc. The sohc in n/a form will require an extensive amount of work for this goal. Really not worth the mony in my opinion, as the power will be up top with little down low. The dohc flows more, so it may not be as bad, maybe. 2.4 is a better ideal platform for this goal, as you are starting with more. Fatter torque band. Better flowing head. Believe AMM was building a sohc for a 200whp mark. Not sure if that ever happened.


Just for the sake of this whole sohc dohc thing, I'll have to build one with the same mods and swap heads. This should clear up some comments.

 

I would use a sohc magnum head or take my head and build it instead of a dohc head. Plus my list earlier then add a 50 shot of nitrous and i bet you'd be in the 200whp range easily.

 

Thanks to all, its very interesting. My friend has a 04 SXT with the 2.0L and want to be in the 15's 1/4 mile, all he has is a header, 2.5 inch exhaust, AEM intake and a Jet S2 chip. Now how do the combustion chambers differ in size compare from the SOHC to DOHC, would putting SRT-4 piston in increase the compression ratio, I know that they are rated at 8.5:1 bunt thats on a DOHC head, would it be the same on a single?

 

Matt, please do some extensive research before doing anything. First off, the srt pistons are for a 2.4L engine. They are not the same as a 2.0L. You must use only 2.0L parts. That being said, using the dohc 2.0L pistons in you sohc will raise yoru compression to about 10.3. This alone will not yield significant results.

Before doing any modifications, learn to tune your car, and set the timing properly.