I am currently deployed to Iraq so I have beed saving money to fix up my car. I drive a 2004 Neon SXT (AT) I have currently decided in AEM CAI, Pacesetter Dual Exhaust, Eibach Springs 1.5" drop front and back, and 17" wheels( don't know what size tire for them). I have not ordered any of these parts as of yet but I am looking to do so before I leave to go back to the states. I have a couple questions concerning other products.

1. Should I get Headers or will I be ok for now?
2. Do I need to get new Struts for the car? I heard different things....that is why I am wondering
3. Is there anything else besides what I listed above that is critical to get when purchasing these items?
4. Which of these would void my warranty, if any?

If there is anything that you could tell me about the items listed above, it would be greatly appreciated and any $.2 that anyone may have

I am sorry to be such a pain but I have been reading through posts for 3 days now and I know that you guys/girls could give me some good advice. I appreciate your help in advance and for those of you who support the military, THANK YOU so much!!!!!!

-LuBu

 

An upgraded header will help a lot. If you get the Pacesetter header, spend the extra money and get the armor coated one.
Also; long tube headers normally help a lot on the top end

AEM CAI: With that I got the bypass valve. The bypass valve is for the cold air intakes and it's incase you drive through too much water, it prevents the water from getting into the engine.

Suspension: If you are thinking about lowering your car, upgraded struts would be a good idea. Make sure you do research on the type of strut before you buy it. Some struts are specifically made for helping the suspension when the car is lowered.

I'm not sure about the warranty.

 

Anything you get is gonna help you. You can do them separtly or together, basiclly the more bolt-ons you get the better. It all depends on what you want to do with your car. Do you want looks or power or both? I would not suggest the bypass on the CAI. It will keep you from sucking water, but will create a flow problem in the intake tube. You really don't need it, I have had a iceman on my car for over a year and driven through some big puddles. Unless you plan on driving through about 18 inches of water, you have to cover the whole filter to even start sucking water, it is useless and you will lose power.

 

Thanks for the advice.... I want both... I want it to look nice and also have some power at the same time...I can spend a decent amount on my car but nothing too crazy...i think about 2500.... my car is an automatic but I would like to get it pretty fast without putting in a turbo....So I should go with headers right? and I do want duel exhaust so I should go with the armored one or is there a better exhaust that someone can recommend? are the Eibach springs good? i heard they were so i was wondering.

 

armor coated header.. not exhaust. from what i have heard pacesetter makes a good catback exhaust, also vibrant does too. vibrant is stainless, so it wont rust. there are better exhaust systems out there, like borla for example. but borla is also over 400 bucks, while vibrant and pacesetter is just over 200. from what i hear eibach has very good springs, i believe you should be ok with just springs, you shouldnt need struts at this time. but if you decide to i believe eibach makes some to go with the pro kit springs.

 

Along with all that, I would recomend a valve body for the transmission. It will give you firmer and quicker shifts from the trans.

 

will the valve body work for the auto or is that for the manual trans?

 

No thats for the ATX. high performance kit orvalve body

 

so do I need both or which one? Sorry for being so slow about cars...[:'(]

 

I think you can use both. I think the valve body is more important, but the overhaul kit changes the bands. Call modern, the phone # is right on top of both pages. Don't worry about asking questions, thats what we are here for.