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You heard of NGC ???its the controller ECU in all 04 05 neons that arent mod friendly at all... but if you want to screw yourself over be my guest...
Yeah I have. They're in all 03 and up neons. But you can put a turbo on an 03 and up neon with stock pcm. While I haven't done it myself, I have seen a few on neons.org that have and it last I saw they were running mid 14s. One of them has hit high 13s (believe his name is MinniMeR/T) now. Which a 2nd gen will run somewhere in the 16s (manual, depends on the driver) is a pretty good improvement. So to say outright that its not mod friendly is BS. I'd say going from 16s to 14s is a pretty good improvement which won't happen unless you're making more power.
Strong words, to be sure. But this phenomenal car can back them up with our technology installed. Take a basic 5 speed DOHC Neon (for this example, we will use an inexpensive, lighter weight non-RT, say a 1996 model). Add an HAHN bolt-on Stage II turbosystem, a set of slicks and a free flowing exhaust system. Now go to the drag strip and run 13.00 second quarter miles @ 105 MPH on 93-octane pump gas! The cost of the car, HAHN Stage II Turbosystem, slicks and exhaust is under $10,000 total! Where else can you find that kind of performance in a late model, attractive vehicle for that kind of money? And you'll still get great gas mileage on the street, plus a newfound ability to absolutely stun Camaros, Mustangs, Eclipses.
I wasn't saying the 2nd gen neon was better to mod. Because from what I've read it does seem to be a bit more restrictive then the 1st gens. I was just making the point that while being more restrictive they still can be modded and make power.