Hello, everyone. I've read the stickies and such in this forum, and you all seem pretty well read and experienced with Neons, so I figured I'd try my luck and ask ya'll some questions I have.
Well, first thing is first, I have never really had a 'nicer' vehicle. I've pretty much had beaters up until now. I was lucky enough to pick up a 2003 Neon SXT for relatively cheap. The outside is a little rough around the edges with minor dents and dings, but it only has 80,000 miles (very low for used cars in my area), and the inside is like brand spanking new. I absolutely love it. I would like to do work in a couple mods to bring it up a notch. Now, other than helping my friends a little bit with their civics and accords, I have no experience with modding, especially with Neons. But I have done a little research and came up with a list of potential mods I'd like to accomplish. I would like to get your opinions seeing how you all have experience with these cars. =)

1. (Already ordered) K&N Typhoon Cold Air Intake
2. (Already ordered) NGK Uridium Spark Plugs
3. Granatelli 0 ohm resistance (or what they claim) plug wires - (opinions?)
4. MSD Coil - (I figured this would be a nice addition to the plugs and wires I'm getting. But maybe you could tell me if it would be worth it?)
5. Catback Exhaust System (Maybe? I don't want to spend a fortune on it)

6. This is the one I'm REALLY skeptical on. I have read good, and bad things about this on Neons. I guess this is the biggest one that I need opinions on.. JET Stage 1 Performance Module. (REALLY need opinions or experiences with this!!)

Thank you in advance for your feedback!!

 

Everything sounds good to me the msd coil I wouldn't really worry about unless ur car is highly modded or ur oem coil is shot. I don't really know much about the jet stage 1 module I would ask darth about that. And cat back exhaust I. Went to my local muffler shop and got my dual catback system with a glasspack put on for 400 after tax and it sounds almost identical to a srt.

 

Yeah everything sounds good do no do any chip doesnt work in neons ecu doesnt like chips. msd coil dont do either I have a oem one just got a new one last yr and lots of neons and srt4s have had trouble with the msd coils. I have a ton of mods and the oem one is just awesome with the mods. catback exhaust is a cool thing to have with a glasspack for sure. those plug wires are just like the cheap ones just paying for the name just like msd plug wires. I have some autozone wires and just as nice as my 50 dollar msd wires I use to have on before the cheap ones.

 

Don't bother with plug wires. On most daily-driven cars, "special" wires are a gimmick. I have also NEVER seen a wire that was a 0k-ohm resistance wire. The stock ignition coil puts out 44,000 volts per cylindar/plug. The MSD coil is really no different. That being said, 44k volts is also enough to jump acrossed air and puts a lot of stress on wires, etc. So the MSD coil and wires are out of the question. Stay away from gimmick spark plugs too. Plain copper plugs are fine. Some cheap platinums can be fine too if you don't mind changing them every 10k or 20k miles. But don't fall for $6+ plugs.... they will not help anything noticeable or value-added.

You won't see much improvement with the cold air intake unless you pair it with the cat-back. One complements the other. If you were to only do one, I would just do the cold air intake instead. The stock exhaust piping on the Neon is actually pretty solid already. A glass-pack may give you an extra 1-2 hp over the OEM muffler and nothing more. A properly tuned header would offer much more of an advantage, especially paired with a long-tube CAI and a ported throttle body, etc. But keep in mind we are still only talking about 10-15 hp max.

Keep in mind how much $$$ you spend per horsepower. If you buy all of that and only gain 10 hp, and you spend $1000 to do it, you need to ask yourself if it is worth it or not. But, we all indulge a little bit at some point with this, so the preferrences are up to you and what makes you happy with your own personal vehicle.

And finally, stay away from all chips. The only advantage you could get would be with an aftermarket stand-alone ECU and a custom tuning ramp for everything on the engine. But again, the gains would be relatively minimal without changing the cam, exhaust, intake, etc, before you saw really big gains. And then again, the $$$ start adding up quick, to the point that you might as well throw on a turbo or do a 2.4T swap out of an SRT4 or something...

There are no easy answers. Whatever is most cost-effective for your wallet and makes you happy is the only good answer. The cheapest most effective mod you can do for the money is the CAI or something similar.

 

I agree with everything ex said stay away from the expensive plugs,wires and coilpack cheap is just as good and on the glasspack noone ever uses it for hp they use it to quiet down like the srt or any other like the srt exhaust.

 

Thanks a million for all your input! So, I'm scratching the MSD coil, and the chip for sure. I wasn't sure on the chip to begin with, and for 300 bucks and running the risk of not gaining anything, I'm definitely passing it up.
My intake is going to be in tomorrow! lol. I know I pretty much just paid for the K&N name, and a $30 one would have probably done the same thing, but I guess I can splurge a little haha.

Thanks for your input about the wires! I had to replace the valve cover gasket, so I decided to do that yesterday and started my work. Well, when I took off the wires the elements broke out of them and stayed on the spark plugs! So I had to get new wires immediately in order to drive my car again, so I just got CarQuest's OEM wires for 21 bucks and they seem to be working just fine. When I get my new plugs I ordered, I may go get the wires that are a little better and $40 because they have a lifetime warranty and keep the ones I got yesterday as a backup. Definitely not spending a hundred bucks on wires when I don't have to. I figured that it was kinda impossible to have 0 ohm resistance anyway.

So my changed, reordered list that I'm thinking now is..

1. CAI
2. Plugs
3. Cat-back (I decided to look into getting one seeing as I'm going to be saving a lot of money by not getting the wires and chip!)
4. I've read a little bit about Throttle Body Spacers. If my CAI is compatible with one, I'd like to look into one. From what I read, it seems like you can't really go wrong with one, I just would like to know more about how they work and why, or if any of you have one?

Thanks, all!

 

TB spacer is pointless especially at $130. you get more performance when the air going into the engine follows the path of least resistance, all the spacer does is make the air have to travel farther. they say that it will have a cyclone effect on the air and more will get in the cylinders to give big gains. wrong. it's just like those electronic superchargers. the only way to really get any noticeable power increases with putting more air into the cylinders is forced induction, which for these cars you're limited to a turbo.

 

Okay, call me crazy, but my CAI came in today and I installed it. Now, it may just be placebo affect, but it actually feels like a difference! I think it may just be all I've done together the last couple days with the new wires, and fixing the wire that was broken in half on the O2 censor wiring harness, and the CAI.. but it's actually running normal, and well! Seems to have slight power gain and definitely has better throttle responce. Probably all wrapped into one, with actually fixing stuff and all. But if the plugs weren't changed since the last time the wires were as to where the elements ripped right out of the wires, I really can't wait until my plugs come in to change them out.

 

when you start on a tune up and do what you did you will feel a little difference because the car is starting to run like it's supposed to, especially with the o2 sensor working properly. you should see better gas mileage now.

 

You guys are going to get annoyed with me asking so many questions, but I freaking dense I guess. xD I am now changing my direction.. I want to convert it to the Magnum setup. Not a total swap, but a few parts. I want to throw on a Magnum intake manifold and exhaust manifold / headers. One question is.. where can I find these parts??! Ebay has parts that will fit both, but not any used parts that say they are from a Neon R/T Magnum, etc. A junkyard I visited does not have any of them either. And one more question. What years should I look for in the Magnum motor to swap parts with my 2003 sxt? Can it be 2000 and up? or 2003 and up? Also, would I be able to swap ECUs if I find one from a Magnum?
Thanks!!