Quote:
Originally Posted by Wonderjava
ok all that being said...is it possible to swap say a 6 cylinder in for taking the underpowered 4 cylinder out? i asked a mechanic one time and he said yes the car is very underpowered for its weight, but because of the shape of the engine compartment (or some crap like that) a new engine would not be able to be put in....is that true? am i screwed in this deal and cant get a better engine? well i dont know what you mean by n/a engine, but my car is an 01 pt limited edition if that makes any difference to anyone...i want to either put on a turbo charger or put a stronger engine in the car...thoughts?
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If you are an auto tranny, it's not very easy to get good power gains. A manual has big advantages right off the bat.
Being a Neon guy, I can tell you that there are mods you can do to the current engine that are fairly cheap that would add a little pep to the car.
If power is your #1 requirement, look for a used SRT engine/tranny and swap it. It won't be cheap, but those engines can put some massive amounts of power to the ground. A local guy got the stock turbo and block to something like 350whp (with nitrous). I've also seen quite a few 400+whp builds on the stock block. But the stock engine alone would probably be a HUGE improvement. Those small Mitsubishi TD04 turbos spool fast enough to make it feel nearly N/A!
If you just want to go a cheaper route, the only performance part I would really recommend for the money is an Underdrive Pulley. I have yet to be impressed by the gains from one, especially when you compare to the price of an intake, exhaust, or header, in comparison to the actual amount of power they put down. Also, the UDP's seem to offer a bit better mileage and the power is across about all RPMs. Most bolt-on mods only seem to wake up the top end. If you want that top end power, I'm sure a cold air intake system, header, and exhaust system (probably just a muffler swap) would help.
2.4L engines also have a anti-resonance... thing. I can't remember, it's been a while since I've worked on one... Balancing shafts? It's in the oil pan. Many 2.4L users remove it. It adds vibration from the engine to the car, making it a little less comfortable, but adds a bit of power by keeping a bit of the parasitic drag down. It's basically a "free" mod, but you have to know what you are doing before going in there, hacking away.
Cams would be another option. Though, expect a noticeable drop in MPG when you start going that route. It can also add on the price, with a need of better springs swapped out on the head. Expect a lot of time put into this, or spending quite a bit to have a mechanic put them on for you.
If you really wanted to turbo your current engine, I'm pretty sure the stock SRT or Turbo PT cruiser turbo-fold will bolt right on to your head. Again, you'll need a lot of "nickle and dime" parts that add up very quickly, but you can probably boost 4-7psi on that engine without issues... assuming a proper tuning of course. Expect to use premium gasoline in all instances of having a turbo in your car.
Finally, weight reduction. The more weight your car has, the more power it takes to move it. If you can start pulling things you don't need out, you'll find it gets a bit peppier. Rotational mass is a HUGE one. Get rid of any big, fancy rims and go to the lightest and smallest wheels you can afford. I recommend the Rota Slipstreams... they are cheap and weigh very little. I swapped a friend one day, my 15" Rotas for his 17" "fancy" rims. The difference was definitely noticeable for both of us! My old race neon got down to 2250lbs with full interior... though it was loud, rattly, and vibrated your fillings out... it was able to run 14.2 in the 1/4 mile on it's 2.0L engine (cams and nearly every bolt on you could find). Just make sure that whatever you pull out isn't going to be needed.
Good luck!