I've decided that this winter my Daily Driver will go under the knife and emerge this spring as a beastly new Race car. The Neon ran an 11.80@124 last year full weight at approx 2350 lbs. I want to stay within the rules of Pro4FWD. I know I wont be competitive with the big boys, but its the experience that I'm after not a championship. (Honestly I just want to run a 9 second quarter mile in a Neon and say that I did it lol.) This thread will serve as my Project Log. All my ideas, schedules, costs, fabrication, etc will be documented....Dyno charts, ET's, and vids.

To start the task, I'm going to take inventory on what I have.
1996 Dodge Neon Sport Coupe 2dr PR4 (Flame red)

Interior
6 pt DOM cage,Momo Rookie Seat, Simpson 5 pt harness, short shifter, type-R shift **** :-P, guage pods, oil pressure guage, water temp, boost, and tach,

Exterior
Custom paint job, R/T wheels, Falken Azenis, H&R springs/ coilover setup, clear corners, TYC headlights

Engine
2.4L Status Block, SRT-4 Crank, SRT-4 pistons, rods, and rings, SRT-4 Water pump, oil pump, timing belt, tensioner, idler etc., ARP head studs, MPP lash adjusters, Stock DOHC head, Powdercoated SRT-4 Valve cover, MSD coil pack, MSD wires, NGK Iridium's 2 stages colder, TiAL 38mm Wastegate, TiAL 50mm bov, Garrett T3/TO4S .63AR 76 trim, .70AR 60trim, 24x10x3 Custom FMIC, SS oil lines, 2.5" steel painted IC piping, T-bolt clamps, and silicon humped connectors, Deyeme solid engine mounts, 2.4L adapter mount, UR Underdrive crank pulley, oil baffle pan, 65mm Mustang TB, 160 degree thermostat. Equal length Merge collector turbo manifold (SS), 3.5" downpipe, Custom Intake manifold.

Fuel System
950cc Inectors, Custom fuel rail, -6 feed lines, -4 return lines, SX 1:1FPR, Walbro intank 255lph pump, walbro 255 in-line pump, metal Fuel filter

Electronics
LM-1 Wideband with rpm and boost datalogging, SDS EM4-F Standalone EMS, Greddy Profec-B II, 3 bar MAP sensor

Drivetrain
3.94 5 spd transmission, PG LSD, diff pin retainers, DSS Stage 3 axles, long wheel studs, Clutch masters Stage IV clutch 4 puck.

Traction
25x9x13 M&H slicks, 13x8 5x100 Diamond racing wheels.

Safety equipment
Snell approved Helmet, RCI 5 layer jacket, gloves, underwear, neck collar, roll cage padding, scatter shield, open ended lug nuts, water overflow bottle, FIRE EXTINGUISHER!!!

I have a trailer for the car so I can take it to and from the track.



Interior shot before cage




Most recent picture of the neon


Last dyno chart on 27psi and C16


when my clutch broke and took out my tranny...


The skinny:2350lbs w/out driver, 394whp, 387ft lbs, 27psi, 8.1:1CR, C16, 1 run of an 11.80@123.7mph

In car video of 11.80 and breaking. Right Click...SAVE AS.
http://www.we-todd-did-racing....5NTQx

I suppose next I will decide what I can get rid of on the current car and sell it to help fund the new project. After that figure out what I need to save WEIGHT. My weight goal is 1900 lbs w/out me in it. If you guys have any ideas, suggestions, or comments feel free. And yes I know it's "just/still a neon."

 

I suggest cutting the floor from the rear of the front seat and back, then tin it. will free up some weight.

guessing you'r only gonna use a 1 gal cell maximum for weight reasons right?

 

Uhhh.. if that would've been me driving and that happened, I would've been flipping out jumping around the car like "wtf wtf wtf wtf". for keeping your cool. for stupid **** like that happening to the best of us.

 

Like this...






Im thinking about switching to a 1 gallon fuel cell, (but I want to use my intank walbro and inline...instead of buying an uber expensive pump. I'll get to save a BUNCH of fuel lines and save weight by not using 20 feet of stainless line lol.

Lexan windows...what is the BEST material to cut these from? Something I can get at lowes or is there some **** that works baller?

would you guys use zues fasteners for pinning the trunk lid on?

1 Piece front end? and tube the front end? Im thinking continue the cage to an 8 pt with halo, and then continue up front thru the strut towers. Then just cut the rest of the car off from there forward. And make it all tubing. then take a hole saw to the rest of the car...as well as a plasma cutter to the rest. No dash like the pictures above. Also thinking about making a plastic or aluminum underbody to keep the air flowing really well underneath the car.(esp. the back of the car)

what about coolant? I think I can get a halfsize radiator from someone I know.

I want to switch to a liquid to air setup as well. I have a pump already, as well as plenty of IC core and aluminum. Just need to figure out what dimensions the IC needs to be as well as the size of the reservoir.

Alcohol Injection? My sds controls another solenoid....so im thinking of putting a alcohol fogger in the intake...anyone have any great sites on how to do this?

Im still thinking..

 

You should keep it real simple. THe cage should be extended though.

Get the 1 gallon and the bosch 044 inline pump. Will support up to 700+ whp and costs about the price of 3 walboros with OEM reliability. Unless you're gonna go alcohol in the near future.

as far as chassis concerns, PM Lovitalracer. He's a chassis fab guy

 

Car looks good, but i gotta know, how much does that exhaust manifold weigh? lol, is it all sch 40?

On the Lexan, MR10 is what you want, won't find it at lowes. Call some local plastics places, they'll have it. 1/8" will do.

On the ic, precision has some very nice new garrett cores for w/a. Very small, very light, and very efficient.

 

I'll look into the MR10 lexan as well as the 044 Bosch pump.

how much am I looking to get a Garrrett L2A core that will be sized correctly for a 400/500 whp 4 banger? Now the reservoir for the liquid to air needs to be as big as possible...am I getting this right? I have a 15GPH pump already. I figure 2.5" from turbo to IC and 3" from IC to TB.

I could make the turbo manifold out of 316SS or just make it shorter... to save weight.

what do you guys think about the alcohol injection???

Oh and is there any cheap alternative to buying skinny wheels? Like using spare wheels and having speed rated tires put on them?

 

ive found w/ my a/w setup that the resevoir can be pretty small....from 1st intial startup the car wont eat away at my ice....but soon as i take a pass...let it sit & heatsoak....its extremly hard to keep it cold...or at least cold as i like it....my best suggestions if going a/w...bury the intercooler in a corner...and box it in...isolate the hell out of it...i plan on making a heat box for mine this winter next to the fender where my abs used to sit in my dc2....then going to take some fiberglass & resin and make a form to hold dry ice...around the outside of the actually a/w intercooler...to help keep the box cold...and not heatsoak!

 

is that the mitsubishi 4 tower coil pack?
and how does it work with the distributor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dfoxengr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is that the mitsubishi 4 tower coil pack?
and how does it work with the distributor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is a stock coil setup other then it is a msd upgrade, neons don't have a dist. I beleive it is the same as A mitsubishi tho.

 

Its a batch fire system thru the sds. I just use the stock coil pack instead of converting to the GM system that SDS sells. Its a MSD coil pack like the guy above said. Distributorless Ignition.

For the L2A reservoir...do you think 2 gallons ought to be sufficient? And run screens so that the ice doesnt get sucked into the pump? Run a 50/50 solution of water and alcohol and freeze it below 32 degrees.

Do you guys think the alcohol injection will be necessary?

Also....I need to cut down on rotational weight. Im thinking of using a different clutch...maybe a twin disc from CM. Also taking out 5th gear and making a stabilizer out of it...kind of like what you Honda guys do with the PG setup. I think that would lower the moment of inertia by a lot. lol. Also if I go back to stock axles apposed to my stage 3 DSS axles I would drop a LOT of rotating weight.

 

The liquid to air core for a 750whp configuration is 289.00 from Precision.

So I think im going to go with that. keep my fuel cell on the passenger side fender well of the car. Put the Liquid to air IC right behind the driver side headlight, and put the reservoir down in the driver side fenderwell.

What do you guys think about adding engine mounts? I figure if I support the engine/tranny in more locations then it will end up putting less stress on each mount.

 

i hope you arent planning on running NHRA events with that....a2w = nono

other than that...looks great.

 

Is that Steve K's old all motor Neon?

 

yes it is...some of the pics are Steve K's and some are from Mike Chatfield's neon.

to the guy who was talking about the NHRA events...im not running SFWD. so Im pretty sure I can run a liquid to air.

 

if u are running just e/t bracket class or whatever it is, i belive you can run a2w .. i should check.... im in the same situation u are if u are going to use it.

 

yeah I plan to run brackets with all the v8 big boys at Woodburn. And then when a NHRA sport compact event comes thru (once in a lifetime when it doesnt get rained out....or if I drive down to california or up to SIR) I'll prolly enter into the Pro4 FWD class, or whatever class I'll fit into and get my *** kicked. But the main point is that my car will hit 9's lol. And that will make me happy.

 

yeh kinda what im thinkin

 

Looks familiar:
Close to the same setup, went 11.0's all day

 

im usually not one to say this, but those are some bad expletive expletive neons. maaaaaaad props.

 

that's Jon's Neon...He ordered a turbo manifold from me, but couldn't wait. so he had his fab man make one for him. The .48 Housing made some crazy torque lol. He ran 11.11 I think last time and trapped 126mph...thats scooting. I can't believe you guys revved taht thing to 9200 lol. thats NUTS. With the cams I bet it carries the power a LOT better than a stock head stock cammed car.

Len Ayala's neon will be coming out again next year. It's ******* siiiiik. At or above 800 whp with nitrous and a GT35/40R. It has one of my manifolds on it :D It went 10.30@~133 and he lifted at the 1000' mark because of a blown HG.

 

nice

 

all i got to say is get a good trany they break like no tomorow

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbofienD 04 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">all i got to say is get a good trany they break like no tomorow</TD></TR></TABLE>

i know this...I've seen myself do it.