auxilary Posted January 24, 2003 Share Posted January 24, 2003 not Z related. My daily driver is a 99 dodge neon r/t. I bought it 4 years ago thinking that it'd make a great cross platform for daily driving and autocrossing/track racing: which is did, more or less. The car's fun to drive, and has its share of tweaks and complaints (more the dealer than the car). I just got to a point where I decided that modifying the car would be dumb because it would soon become not very street legal, and it only can offer so much potentionl. So, as of the Z, it was downgraded to daily driver status, and I haven't modified it in over 2 years. The idea: the stupid mod bug got me again. I put the reinforced motor mounts back in and took the filter condom off the k&n. The mounts took care of a nasty exhaust leak I had, and now the car has oomph once again (for a 2 liter pos dodge, anyways). It's approaching 90k miles (70k now) and it's time for a timing belt change. At the same time I want to pull the motor and rebuild it. The problem: should I actually rebuild the motor with performance in mind? I will definitely do new valve train, springs, lash adjustors, etc from a PT cruiser (much stronger) and do the rings, seals, and bearings, and probably a new alum. water and oil pumps (on a neon they're gear driven). Gaskets are of course included along with the belt. Now, should I actually do something stupid like spend more money on 10.5:1 pistons, new connecting rods, reground cams and cam gears? This will cost me an additional grand or so, but should I do this to my daily driver? Also throw in 300-400 bucks for a new clutch since I'll have everything out. downside: spending money on my neon that I could be spending on the Z. the timing belt has to be changed anyway, and I still have to tear the motor apart to replace the bearings and rings. right now the car has a 33% smaller underdrive pulley, intake, mopar street header, mopar ecu. currently I can manage about 30mpg on avg 70% hwy 30% city driving, which is why it's a daily driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 hey, I've never seen your R/T, but from what I saw of your Z, its definately worth the money. That's a sweet Z you got. Although you've talked like the neon's pretty fun too. But Im guessing that if the neon is anything like the other sport compacts out there right now, it'll cost a whole lot more to build it up all-motor than it would cost to do similar modifications to the Z. but hey, its your car, you'd know better than me. I'd love to see your neon though, sound like it could be real cool. maybe push it up to 11:1... -Kito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 I`ve had the mod bug myself(alot), and I would reccomend leaving it alone. At 70k I would pass on the new rings. You could get by with putting new bearings in and replacing the belt with the engine still in the car. Your time and money would be better spent on the Z.(IMO) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest livewire23 Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Yea, that's kinda what I was trying to say, in less words. -kito Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Ok I haven't seen your Z but I can't see spending money on a 4 cylinder that will be slow in most guys book even with those modifications do you? Aleast with a Z there is potenial for speed and power!! Besides you don't really want to become a RICER do you? Just my $.02 Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Aux, we could chain the motor to the back of the Infinity and drag it around the block a few times... That would be modifying it, right? I would not modify it since you are starting to cut the funds up in different directions. Make a decision, man! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Z Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Nah, I think chaining the motor to the infinity and dragging it around would be teaching that engine a lesson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony240ZT Posted January 25, 2003 Share Posted January 25, 2003 Drop that PT Cruiser turbo setup in there.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted January 25, 2003 Author Share Posted January 25, 2003 Well, take these one by one: Kito: it looks like this: I could bump it up to 12.5:1 CR, but the problem is that we're limited to 91 octane, and it'd be borderline hiccup, knock sensor would pick up and retard the timing, so 12.5:1 would be somewhat useless. 80LT1: too late. But my license plate frame does read "Factory stripes add horsepower." Right now the car is probably capable of 15.1-15.0 runs, imo. But I'm not going to drag is because it's my daily transportation Last time I ran was 15.6@90mph with intake only, everything else was stock. Also, note the stiffness of stock neon chassis (why do you think it kicked everyone's ass in autox? ) The neon is lifted by the jack at the point right behind the front pass. wheel. Notice the gap between the rear tire and the floor. There's nothing holding up the car in the center or the rear. Tony: I'd like to do that, but that would cost far more money than I'm planning on spending, and it won't fit - it'll require new custom mounts, hack up of a crossmember, new reverse cowl hood (2.4L is 1" taller than stock neon hood), and it'd be an incredibly tight fit. personally, what I would love to do is convert it to rwd way down the line (4-5 years from now if i still have it) and plop either a 318cid v8 in it, or a renesis motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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