Neons?
 

I have been considering getting a neon.They realy mod out well with reasonable prices.The neon here in my town is bad as hell and he has no internal engine work done.He smokes hondas like cigs.I love my pro and will have it for maybe ever.But it is impossible to compete on higher levels.And I refuse to be part of the fuel that feeds the honda beast.

So please tell me if you had the money would you beef up a neon and kill honda?

what?
 

i am talking about the car.DODGE NEON dohc 150 hp i think no mds in or out

awright
 

kool braw thought I was loosing it.

why is that?
 

I heard somewhere about the headgasket why is that?

my vote is for the klze. it may cost the same and you come out with a stronger engine.

where?
 

Where in america is there a place to do the swap to klze.I know ther is one canada but where here?And how much?

actually, if I had the money for another project....I wouldn't chose either of your choices....but rather put the green towards a Beck 550 Spyder....... 1250 pounds curb weithg..... 200 Hp (if you know what you are doing and have the skills), run on REGULAR pump gass.....and eat V-8's, and Honda's, and Neon's all day long....

but then that is MY taste...and MY next toy....or at least the direction I want to go in.

here i a pic of the Car.

we have a neon R/T in the used car lot (2002 model brand new only 10K on it) and that POS never starts up right. every time i have to boost it.. and when i can get it running i leave it running to recharge the battery. next day.. its dead again.. wTF! YES it has 150 HP, but have you ever sat in one? worst friggin design i have ever seen, bad placement of everything, blinds spots are rediculous. reliability.. lets not even go there..

just get another Protege, like the Mazdaspeed. thats fast enough
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Laguna Bay Condos Pattaya

I think neons all done up look silly they are a cheap ass car and still look cheap all done up a waste of money in my mind... they are throw away belly buttons crash and it's a write off because they ahve no resale value and every body and their dog has a neon....

my 2 cents

KL-ZE

on top of all the other things....I absolutely HATE the headlights on those things....ugly as sin.

The only place i know is in canada also.

This is a good way to summarize a Neon: a really quick cheap piece of junk. :D They are pretty fast in stock form (for a 4-cyl FWD car), and they're one of the top FWD autocross chassis of the last 10 years. If you're measuring performance per dollar, they are a VERY good deal, cheap to buy and cheap to fix up. Trouble is, they break all the time, and they feature one of the most dreadfully cheap, crappy, plasticky interiors of any car sold in this country in the last 20 years, bar none. :(

Whether to buy one or not is basically a question of your goals. Do you want a cheap toy to autocross, you don't really care how it looks or feels, and you don't mind replacing broken parts frequently? Then get one. (I've actually considered it, just because they're so dang cheap- it would make a fun toy to autox and generally run into the ground. :D ) However, if you want a nice daily driver that you can drive people around in, you expect it to start up perfectly every morning, and you need to take long trips, then forget it! :D

Neons are :gay:

my friend has a "racing" neon, front strut bar support, racing head,cam shaft , racing cam sensor, racing computer and a short shifter and cold air intake bla bla bla ive taken it for a spin and i was really supprised it was quick and not a bad ride but for me the car is ugly and very uncomfertible, its like you guys say a toy that about it.

Fuck neons.

nicely put
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ROLL BLUNTS

I had a 95 Neon ACR. It was my first car. had like 50,000 miles on it and the guy only wanted $4,000 for it. I guess it was ok for a first car. It had the ACR suspension package which is some sort of stripped down version of the R/T but with Koni struts and bigger hubs and swaybars plus alloy wheels and 4 wheel disc brakes -ABS. i have to say it would smoke my Probe GT in the turns. As far as the engine though it sucked. It was a coupe so it had the DOHC (Coupe ACR had that, the sedan's had the single) It was rated at 150hp and 133lb/ft of torque, and I never beat 16 in the quarter mile. Any internal modding was stupid hard. The bearing caps were not caps at all for the camshafts, they were fixed. you had to jack up the engine and slide the camshafts out sideways through the head. I don't know if this was on the DOHC like I had (never got into it, didn't have it long enough to do any work on my own) but found this out from a friends SOHC. At 65,000 the headgasket blew, and it didn't just leak, oil squirted out of the side of the engine.

Definately go with a KLZE, I have ridden in a PGT with that engine and it is discustingly smooth and fast.

LMAO!!!! i bet the engine bay didn't pass the "Engine bay cleanliness" mechanical inspection test after that

No way man...

I got underneath there to look while the engine was running and it almost squirted in my eye!

Also about neons, my uncles baby sitter drove a pink one and as she was backing out of his driveway she backed over a fairly springy bush. She didn't even realize what had happened and continued backing up. As the front of the car began to clear the bush it sprung up and ripped the front bumper cover off of the car!! It flew halfway across his yard!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Neons, the Neon ACR was *THE* FWD autox car to have for the first few of years after they came out. The ACR suspension package is AWESOME as factory suspensions go- especially after you installed the factory-authorized "crash" bolts that would give you 2.5-3 degrees of front negative camber! [MAZDA ARE YOU LISTENING- MSP NEEDS THIS! :D ] It took about 5 years for an Integra Type R to beat a Neon ACR at a top-level autox event... with 45 more hp and a helical LSD. :D

Say what you will about their quality, the Neon is a great example of how fast you can go with cheap, crude suspension technology. This is one reason I've considered buying one as an autox toy- I've owned 2 1st-gen RX-7's, and those cars taught me to love crude simplicity. :D

FWIW this seems to be a common phenomenon with DOHC Neons. There is a VERY wide variation between 1/4 mile times of cars that are identical on paper. I've seen confirmed 15.5-15.7 times from basically stock DOHC Neons, but an old racer friend of mine once bought a 96 DOHC Neon ACR with the intention of racing it in SSB, and he sold it because he was unable to break 16.4 at Houston Raceway Park, the fastest NHRA dragstrip in the country (it's 18' above sea level :) ). Basically, it seems that some Neons make 10-15 hp less than others- probably due to sloppy assembly quality. :(

Yeah the Sohc and Dohc engines make nearly identical torque. the Dohc redlines 500 rpm higher but its pointless because the power drops so fast after 6500rpm you can't even tell a difference. 1st and 2nd gear were the main problems for acceleration. You didn't even hit 60 until well into 3rd (reminds me of the fucking 6sp in Spec V's), which is why it had trouble breaking 8s with 0-60's in magazine tests.


If you would go with a Neon, I would honestly suggest a Sohc, they are proven to be much more reliable and are just as fast as the Dohc (1st gens that it)

If your going to get a Neon, why don't you get the new SRT-4 with 215hp.

I own a Neon but I haven't modified it because I am a student and don't have much cash. I would suggest you go to www.neons.org and do some research there. Also, go talk to Neon owners and see what they say. I really like my car and it serves its purpose well. As far as the headgasket issue, that was a problem in the early model Neons and should have been fixed. If you buy a used Neon make sure that the headgasket has been fixed.

Hector

Isn't the MR2 prone to BHG? or maybe that's another toyota.

"If your going to get a Neon, why don't you get the new SRT-4 with 215hp."

yea definitly go with the SRT-4. thats one neon not to f*ck with. and it looks decent too.
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SexyCrystall

i looked at that car out of curiousity the other day. fugly.

by the way, your guys want waaaaay too much for that 93LE miata. it needs so much TLC. cool car though.

Humorous
 

"midnightblue97" put it exactly to the point! :D

The Neon has a long, documented history of wretched, vile reliability; one of the hallmarks of Dodge. With all due respect, it shocks me how many dolts buy this vehicle in the first place. I care not how fast it is. When it’s actually running, that is…

Read the first page please and don't skim through the thread. Thank you.:)

Um personally I dont think you should get a neon. I think they are ugly as all hell. I also think they look really stupid when they are all "tricked" out. Me and my friends always make fun of them, but thats just cuz they arnt out thing. If your really into them thengo for it, but if I were you I wouldnt...

Other Cars...
 

Heheh, this is a complicated question.

Regarding the Corolla, I indeed do like that car-- In terms of quality, efficiency, refinement, and roominess. What I don’t like about that car is its appearance. If it wasn’t for that it would be my first realistic choice. I also don’t like that you’re stuck with rear drum brakes regardless of trim level.

I like the BMW 530i. It manages to be everything: Handles well, provides reasonable efficiency, yields a comfortable ride, is quiet, and built of high quality materials. If money was no issue this is the car I’d immediately buy. Like, right now.

I like the Toyota Camry. This is an undeniably high quality vehicle, and I continue to value reliability and quality above all other considerations. I also happen to think Camry looks okay-- Not brilliant, mind you, but not completely dull and generic like, say, the new Honda Accord.

I like the Lexus LS430. This is one of the finest, most reliable, slickest cars in the entire world. It’s quality of construction is absolutely stellar. It’s not the kind of cushy car I’d personally go for-- yet -- but it’s still a car that I admire.

I tentatively like the Mazda 6. This car, as is typical with Mazda, looks completely awesome. I believe it holds much greater promise in living up to my expectations than any other currently offered affordable car (BMW’s not generally being affordable for most people, including me). It already looks better than all other mid sized cars, in my opinion. It also promises to handle better than most other mid sized cars. If it indeed lives up to the promises of reasonably quiet operation, decent ride, and compiles a better than average reliability rating after its first year in service, this could well be my next car. I’m trusting that the move up in price and size will make up for that which I’ve been so unhappy about in the Pro.

Further, if I dropped my demands for reliability and practicality, other cars I like:

Porsche Boxster S. This car kicks ass.
God help me, I actually like a Dodge--> Viper.
The Miata has always been a cool little car, imo.
Acura RSX.
Hyundai Elantra GT (It looks like a Saab, comes well equipped, is quiet, comfortable, and refined-- If it was reliable I’d honestly buy this car; don’t care if people think Hyundai is prestigious or not)
VW Jetta. To my chagrin, Volkswagen can't ever seem to get the reliability equation right with this vehicle; otherwise, Jetta is an excellent car.
VW Passatt.
Volvo S80. Great car, except... abysmal reliability. Doh.
Kia Rio. (Just kidding)

So anyway, yes! There are cars I like other than the Corolla. :p

Try putting a new battery in it. It probably froze up in the winter or something and fucked it up.

Camry
 

Well, quite true, the Camry is a proverbial family sedan, which is boring to many, but I've thought its appearance okay, especially when fitted with factory spoiler and alloy wheels. It's quiet, rides well, is roomy inside, and it's built well. But it's definitely no MR2! (And on that note, I think you made a wise decision in grabbing your MR2-- This is a great car, in my opinion, as you've reliability AND reasonable performance all at the same time. Plus I think your generation MR2 looks cool)

But I'm digressing again. I still maintain hope that the Mazda 6 will be the blend of vehicle characteristics I've wanted-- Sure hope it pans out, and that it's affordable.

Oh yeah, regarding the Ford Crown Victoria-- That's on okay car, especially for a Ford. I personally consider it much more boring than Camry, as it looks like a typical bloated American car. And it sports only average reliability as well, which doesn't cut it for me. It's also less efficient than Camry, and it sports rear wheel drive (which for some people is preferable, admittedly). Then there's that rumour floating around (especially within Police departments) that this car has a tendancy to explode in rear end collisions (a Ford hallmark, ala the good 'ol Ford Pinto). Aside from that it indeed is a quiet, comfortable car.

Agreed, Actually
 

Ahh, the interior of Camry. I suppose you're right about that-- It indeed is somewhat bland, but at least the quality of materials in there is excellent.

As for interiors that are low key but still pretty cool, in my opinion the Passat has a great interior; among the finest out there. It has a particularly high quality feel and controls are well placed.

I'll have to see one in the flesh to decide for sure, but I have a feeling, although it's still cool, I might feel the Mazda 6's interior is too flashy/gimmicky instead of logically functional.

I would sooner drive a Civic than a Neon. And I HATE civics. :bonk: IMO I think Neons are HORRIBLY ugly... and the new ones just got even uglier. There are other project cars that are equally inexpensive and look a LOT better. There's definitely an overpopulation of them around here to say the least.

my old 90 camry is really nice. and it takes the abuse well too!

on the other hand, I've driven my former roommates 2001 Corolla a lot, and I really think it was crappy, compared to any of the cars I've had, 86, 89 volvo 740, 90 camry, 93 protege, 99 forester, etc. It was just so stupid, I can't explain it. It was pretty peppy though. It had a 3 speed transmission a la neon too.

is there anything wrong with bland interiors as long as they have excelent egronomics? placement is of buttons knobs and switchs is excelent in the camry IMO. everything is easily accesible, and not "cheap" looking. just strait forward and efficent. i would rather have everything laid out in a simple fashion than haveing my controls in a screwed up order like the focus. Remember, toyota builds cars to try and suit "everyones" needs, but styling has to also suit ppls needs. Haveing things in a funky style may not please everyone