Modding an N/A 2.4 for a little more power?

[Tim]

I'm looking at getting an '04-'06 Stratus or '04-'05 Neon for my next daily driver car. I'd liike a reasonable amount of speed (15 second 1/4 miles), but MPG is also important and I don't want to run anything higher than 87 octane. I'll be moving back to Los Angeles next year and based on previous experience, I need something ultra reliable above all else. I may or may not have a place to work on cars. Even though I know what to expect for driving conditions when I move back out there, the leadfoot in me finds power very hard to let go of!

After a lot of research, I think that the 2.7 V6 in the Stratus can be built, but why take the risk with its known problems. It might be fine but I'm not 100% sure, and adding the upgraded timing chain, sprockets, and water pump will cost a lot.

A 2.4 Stratus might be rock solid reliable, but 150 horsepower in a 3300 pound car plus me? Mmmmm..... not sure I could be happy.

A 2.0 Neon? Weenie little no torque chainsaw engine that you have to rev the hell out of to get it to move. Not sure.

A 2.4 swap into a Neon? Supposedly it is easy to do with PT Cruiser parts, but then there's that whole cost and hassle.

What lightly modded potential does the Stratus 2.4 option have? With a CAI, ported head, slightly improved exhaust, and maybe some Stage 1 cams, what kind of power and torque could I expect?

Any other ideas?

[contraption22]

Sounds like you want a 1st gen 2.0 SOHC neon. Best MPG of all the above options, torquier than the 2.0 DOHC, and runs happy on regular gas. Very reliable. No swapping.

[OmniLuvr]

^agreed, my sohc 2.0 neon will break off most hondas (non turbo/motor swapped) no problem and still get between 32 and 40 mpg, and thats with a problem in the rear O2 circuit (they like to melt part of the harness in the rear of the block under the exhaust mani, wont read the cat sensor correctly, affecting drivabliity and fuel mileage slightly).

[RoadWarrior222]

Hummm save the money and wait, buy a car from out there, i) Cali emissions, ii) no rust.. unless you just wanna pick up a $300 beater with a blown HG now to gain experience on. (and flip for $1000 when you're done with it.)

[shadow88]

Stratus - Way too heavy for what you want.
2004 ish neon with nitrous? That could do it. Or swap in the earlier dohc pistons for higher compression and you would probably get in the 15's with that. I'm not sure if either of those suggestions can do it with 87 octane gas. I'd go the high compression route, personally.

[zin]

Cams maybe, ported head, dunno...

The CAI will be a good thing, especially if you do a fair amount of driving over 35mph and can get it to seal up good in a higher pressure area (headlight, etc).

A freer flowing exhaust would be good too, just don't get crazy and put a 3"er on, 2.5 is probably max

Keeping the RPMs down will be key to MPG, as well as a smaller engine to begin with. There may be a "high mileage" trans, one with a bit more overdrive? Taller tires will help too, but kill the gear ratio across the board and that means lower performance (aside from MPG) across the board as well.

A good tune will go a long ways toward better MPG and performance, especially after the other mods.

A mild shot of nitrous might just be what the doctor ordered, if you are happy with the power 95% of the time, and just need a little something to shut down the Honda in the other lane, 30-50HP would do wonders... just don't get carried away with it.

As always, less weight is "free" performance, both MPG and "go fast".

Mike

[Tim]

A few more notes:

I've been building Mopars for a good 20 years, to include RWD V8's and /6's of the 60s and 70s, and a variety of turbo and 6G72 FWD Mopars. I've built engines and automatic transmissions quite a few times now.

No nitrous.

I had a 1st gen Neon once about 5 years ago, it was a nice work beater but a bit too small for me. From the specs I've read on Allpar, the 2nd gen Neons are slightly bigger, I'm going to test drive a few.

My biggest problem with a Neon is it is not a real "man's car", although a Stratus or Turbo Dodge won't do much better for making women run after me.

I'm still a bit split on the decision, I'll try a few Neons and 4 cylinder Stratuses and see how it goes.

My '89 2.5 Turbo 5 speed Spirit ES has personality, class, and style, as well as being a bit unique. I drove it for 2 years in L.A., and aside from a 5 speed in retarded traffic, there were few problems.

[RattFink]

Personally, if I wanted reliabilty, I would not mod my daily driver. That being said, I own a 1999 Dodge Stratus and a 2006 Dodge Stratus. Both have 2.4's in them. The 2.4 is a great engine. My 99 has 192,000 miles on it and runs great. I drive it 80+ miles a day and it has never left me stranded. 2.4's have a decent amount of power stock. Friends that have driven it always think it is a V6 car. Now the 2006 is a bit heavier, and the 2.4 has a harder time in that car I feel. My parent's have a 2006 Stratus with a 2.7 and it is definately a smoother, more powerful engine. We vouched for the 2.4 for reliabilty. I've also owned a 2.0 sohc automatic neon, that car was pretty gutless. I think a first gen Stratus with a 2.0 5-spd would be a nice car, but hard to find and getting old.

[thedon809]

It doesn't take much to get a 1st gen 5 speed neon to run deep in the 15's.

[shadow88]

Maybe you could suggest a formula that works within Tim's guidelines?

[contraption22]

Maybe you could suggest a formula that works within Tim's guidelines?

2004-2005 Neon.

[Vigo]

There's no way you're getting a 2.4 stratus into the 15s without a good amount of modifications, and one of them will have to be a 5spd swap (unless you can find one that's already 5spd).

Just look at how not-fast 2.4/5spd pt cruisers are, and add some weight.. there's your stock 5spd stratus. mid-high 16s. Autos would probably be high 17s to low 18s stock.

You can break into the high 15s with a STOCK sohc 5spd 1g neon. But you dont want one.

Personally, i think the 2g neon is sort of a travesty. There ARE non-turbo 2g neons i think are 'ok', but they are RARE. But, a sohc/5spd 2g neon COULD get into the 15s with some mods. Honestly, i'd only consider a 2g R/T if you were stuck on non-srt.

A 2.0 Neon? Weenie little no torque chainsaw engine that you have to rev the hell out of to get it to move. Not sure.

My bone-stock 1995 sohc/5spd sedan will beat the snot out of ANY stock stratus short of a 2.7 and the only one that would really leave me in its dust would be the rare 2.7/5spd r/t.

[Dodge Aries K]

If you want to pick up ladies, a late 90's/early 00's FWD Mopar is NOT going to get the job done!

2004-2005 Neon is okay with a manual. The Stratus of that same period doesn't have a manual option if I remember right except for that really uncommon 2.7L V6 R/T model. If you want an automatic, buy the Stratus. If you want a manual, buy the Neon. Neither will be very friendly to modifications because of the NGC engine management though.

[Mopar318]

My bone-stock 1995 sohc/5spd sedan will beat the snot out of ANY stock stratus short of a 2.7 and the only one that would really leave me in its dust would be the rare 2.7/5spd r/t.

Haha, yeah I found that pretty funny. Its not much of a wienie little engine. It is a 2.0 DOHC that produced 150hp and 135ft-lb torque in a 2300-2500lb car depending on options.

Out of the list the neon would actually probally be the quickest and get the best mileage. If you are stuck on a 2003-2005 then I would just go right for a SRT4 with low miles. stratus 2.4 swaps in neons are not really that great. There are too many difference in the accessories and they run out of steam way before a 2.0 does. 1st gen DOHC non r/t or acr got the 3.94 trans with the highway 5th gear.

[contraption22]

Haha, yeah I found that pretty funny. Its not much of a wienie little engine. It is a 2.0 DOHC that produced 150hp and 135ft-lb torque in a 2300-2500lb car depending on options.

Out of the list the neon would actually probally be the quickest and get the best mileage. If you are stuck on a 2003-2005 then I would just go right for a SRT4 with low miles. stratus 2.4 swaps in neons are not really that great. There are too many difference in the accessories and they run out of steam way before a 2.0 does. 1st gen DOHC non r/t or acr got the 3.94 trans with the highway 5th gear.

MPG is one of the stipulations, so the SRT-4 won't fit the bill. You can get decent highway MPG out of them if you really try, but in any kind of mixed driving, the 2.4 turbo sucks down premium fuel like no 4cyl has any business doing.

[thedon809]

MPG is one of the stipulations, so the SRT-4 won't fit the bill. You can get decent highway MPG out of them if you really try, but in any kind of mixed driving, the 2.4 turbo sucks down premium fuel like no 4cyl has any business doing.

Best way to solve that is put a bigger turbo on it .

[Vigo]

^ hahaha

[Mopar318]

MPG is one of the stipulations, so the SRT-4 won't fit the bill. You can get decent highway MPG out of them if you really try, but in any kind of mixed driving, the 2.4 turbo sucks down premium fuel like no 4cyl has any business doing.

That is interesting, because my srt swapped coupe gets better mileage than my stock DOHC sedan. The swapped car has a 3.55 trans, DOHC has the 3.94 with highway gear.

I am sure my 31lb wheel/tire pacakge has something to do with the awesome mileage, and the T350 has a lot less rotational mass than a t850.

[contraption22]

There is also a weight difference between 1st gen and 2nd gen chassis.