I've been reading around the forum today, trying to get some ideas b4 buying some parts to make my 03 neon SE auto a little more responsive. I dont want to go extreme, i jus dont wanna feel like when i push on the gas the engine revs but i dont feel the kick till a half second later. all you guys know how it felt with a stock Neon....ok so Here are the parameters. I'm a college student. My mom puts $100 a week in my account so it has to be like $100 or less. I wanna get a job as soon as my car gets here from Nevada tonight or tomorrow morning. I know i can do some of these things and some i cant so help me out
1.) Tryin to find a custom Intake. How do i do it and should i do it??
a.) What size should the tube be? 2,2.5,3"
-I already changed the the filter in the stock air box from dum yellow stock one(you guys know wat it looks like)
b.)Should i change the throttle body?
-What would be the best one and where can i find it.
c.) should i try to find a different Intake manifold then the plastic one installed?
2.) Suspension
a.) trying to find which springs and strut combo works good.
- i found some adjustable coilovers on ebay but they look like there jus the springs. i was under the impression that coilovers were the struts and springs together(like there made that way).
b.) if need be can i use them with stock struts
[IMG]local://upfiles/45372/07F88C7EC2594053BDA6B20C187A97F8.jpg[/IMG]
3.) exhaust
a.) I bought a exhaust tip on ebay today i like the way i looks on a lowered car. I'm plannin on takin it to a muflller shop and havin them run the pipes . Take a look at the muffler and tell me if i should do it or get a glasspack?
b.) wat is a glasspack and wat will it do for my car....Pro's and Con's, i know it adjusts your sound a lil but yea....

[IMG]local://upfiles/45372/F680F4C6F2DA4C119ED0B2E59777638D.jpg[/IMG]
4.) Fuel and ECU
A.) NGK plugs and coil.... should i get or is there an off brand out there that does the same thing??
[IMG]local://upfiles/45372/34A185750CD34AFF8CADFF2962BDDD18.jpg[/IMG]
B.) the Jet stage 1 chip..should i get or is it a waste off money...or a waste of power not to get???
[IMG]local://upfiles/45372/2744229CFBB344D2BC5DFE7C462A1F74.jpg[/IMG]
5.) last but not least i want to put on the SRT4 rims
A.)the SRT has a very wide turning radius...is it bcuz of the 17's or the german tranny??
B.) im pretty sure the bolt pattern is the same becuz i jacked the idea from someone in my old Car club in Vegas that had them on a 02 i think....But is the pattern the same??
[IMG]local://upfiles/45372/0EF5160AD1744A09AAEC3CB650868721.jpg[/IMG]

 

1). For the intake, just buy one of the cheap ebay cold air intake tubes and buy a quality K&N filter from your autozone. For the throttlebody, go with the MPx 60mm TB. For the intake manifold try and find a stock 01-04 R/T manifold, commonly referred to as a "Magnum Intake Manifold". The INDY intake manifold is also an excellent upgrade, but you dont have the work needed to support this kind of mod yet. If your changing the TB and intake manifold you will also want to change your exhaust manifold to a Magnum manifold or a Longtube header.

2). If your on a budget suspension wise, you cannot afford real coilovers because they cost roughly $1,000.00 depending on brand. But the KSport Coilovers are the very best bang for your buck at $950.00. The best spring/strut combo for the price are Tokico HP Blues struts and either Tokico springs or the better Eibach springs. You can use lowering springs on stock struts, however, depending on the drop amount and your driving style you will be seriously decreasing the life of your struts.

3). I wouldnt have gone this route at all, meaning i would have bought a dual R/T rear section or SRT-4 rear section and have welded a glass-pack into the midpipe (for the SRT-4 rear section). A glasspack will reduce the raspy and "ricer" noise while making your exhaust note a little more mellow.

4). DO NOT BUY THE JET CHIP! There are no chips that work for Neons, NONE. If you want to change your PCM you have to go complete MegaSquirt. As far as spark plugs go i would stay away from platinums all together and stick with tghe stock Champions or some nice Iridium spark plugs. This topic has been discussed several times with varying opinions...

5). The SRT-4 rims will be a perfect fit, but stock SRT-4 tire size will not fit with the stock SE struts. The bolt pattern is 5x100.

 

will the coilovers that i put up work with the stock struts?? and which struts will work with the SRT Rims??

 

Yes they will work, but the ride quality will be horrid and your risking destroying your struts even faster. The SRT-4 rims will fit on stock struts as long as your not using the stock SRT-4 tire size (205-50-17). If you switch to 205-45 (or 40)-17 tires they will fit just fine. The problem is the stock tires will rub slightly on the strut, which is bad. The Tokico struts have higher and smaller strut perches, so it can accomodate larger tires and rims. Real coilovers dont have strut perches at all, so your only limited by the physical limitations of the wheel well and your car.

 

and one more thing installing the adjustables in the pic would i have to compress them like you would with regular springs or wat??

 

Its hard to say since the only time i've ever installed those type of sleeved springs was on a 92 Civic hatch...but it might be a good idea to have the compressor handy, since you can rent them for a $40 (which you get back when you take the compressor back). You'll need the compressor to take the stock springs off anyways, so you'll have it right there if you do need it. They should also come with detailed instructions for installation which should say. I didnt have to on the Civic, but that doesnt mean you wont have to when you install them on a Neon.

 

dam i forgot you need em anyways...Me and my bestfriend back home did one on a Cavy and a WRX so i got it down but that compressing takes a while. i gotta get some air tools too

 

Not to bug on this two person conversation, but what if i have lowering springs already on my stock struts and well the stock struts pretty much feel dead, so if i just buy the tokico hp blues, will i have to make any other adjustment to anything or is it just as simple as putting them in? thanks.

 

The only adjustments needed will be an alignment after the install.

 

if you want to lower your car just go on ebay and by zenn lowering springs for 100$ shiped and i heard they are great. so with coilovers u have the chane to adjust the height of your car