Ok, I'm a new sucker around this forum. Just recently I bought a used '04 neon SE with the 2.0L engine. When I got the car it had 46,000 miles on it and was previously owned by a rental company.

I would like to upgrade from the stock 14" rims to 15" rims. So with the bigger rims, will the tranny need to be recalibrated?

Another thing is I would like to get a spoiler for the thing. Does anyone know about how much it would cost for the dealer to put either a SXT spoiler or a SRT-4 spoiler on it?

Now for the meat of my post. I would like to upgrade the engine, but am more interested in obtaining more gas mileage and to add a little more "pick up and go." Basically upgrades that are practical for everyday driving. I'm thinking of an AEM CAI with the bypass valve, K&N filter, and an Injen hydroguard. However, I'm having a hard time finding an AEM CAI for the 2.0L engine. (I'm not too impressed with the K&N Typhoon, where it had a drop in hp in the lower end of the neon se's rpm range.) Does AEM even make a CAI for the 2.0 engine? And also how is the AEM's reliability with its bypass valve? Another question is can you run a stock exhaust with the AEM CAI without too much heat or pressure building up?

ANother thing I would like to upgrade is the sparkplugs and sparkplug wires. I'll probably go with silver plugs. Now what's a good brand for wires and plugs?

Thanks

 

1st. wheels will still be the same basic height if you went with a 15" rim. you would just have a smaller sidewall on the tire so no there is no recalibration neccesary.
2nd. you can find SRT snd SXT spoilers on ebay for much cheaper than the dealer im assuming. some autions say they come painted to match your car color.
3rd. not familiar with the CAI's. still running the factory airbox with a K&N dropin. also you will not have to worry about exhaust heat.
4th. Neons run best with cheap copper plugs so just continue to buy $1.25 champions.

 

so those champion spark plugs are way better than any ngk or any other name brand spark plugs??

 

Now what about wires such as Nology hotwires?

 

any copper plug is fine. ive used ngk and have had no problems. just stick with the cheapies!. I do not have any experience with the nology wires but have heard that for the price they want for 'em its not worth it. Same with the MSD coil. Unless the motor is highly upgraded you will see no advantage from using the MSD or Nology stuff. If someone has 1st hand account please correct me but I cant see either giving any noticible HP or MPG gains.

 

Yeah, i currenty have some NGK v power plugs, they run fine, but i just wanted to know which plugs would be the absolute best for our neons cause its around that time for me to change them and i want to know which one to get. thanks.

 

Now for another question. Actually two. Hey, who said i could count?

Anyway, will the AEM CAI for the SRT-4 fit on the 2.0L? And will the SRT-4 exhaust fit on the 2.0L?

Also, with the bypass valve and injen's hydroguard, what is the likely hood of hydrolock?

 

The AEM intake for the SRT-4 is made for the turbo so it will not fit at all...AEM does make an intake for the 2.0. If you install the bypass valve it will effectively eliminate any and all gains you could have gotten from installing the CAI, its simply another bottleneck your adding into your intake system. The SRT-4 exhaust will fit on the 2.0, but if you only go with the rear section it will be very loud and raspy since our midpipe doesn have a resonator or a turbo to quiet it down any.

 

only with the rear section? I take it you mean the whole thing? (header, cat, muffler, and pipes)? So most exhaust systems made for the SRT-4 will fit the SE?

 

The SRT-4 doesnt have a header so the "full" stock SRT-4 exhaust would be the cat back...it doesnt have a muffler either which is why its so damn loud on a N/A Neon. Any SRT-4 exhaust should fit on a regular Neon, it just wont do the same thing on your N/A car that it would do on the turbocharged SRT-4...