New engine, Old car... (lightened '98 Dodge Neon)

[NoD~]

I have been driving an 04 Dodge Neon for the last 8 years now. It has been good to me, but I never did see numbers I wanted out of it... best tank has been 40.15MPG with my best efforts. On top of that, it was getting up there in the miles. Finally, I just couldn't find any modifications to this car that I wanted to apply to it, as I've already done several years worth.

On and off, I have had plenty of other projects. One was a 98 Neon that I did some pretty extreme weight reduction and built up to drag race. I ended up selling that when I got my 89 turbo Caravan project. A few months ago, the guy I sold it to decided to part it out. The shell, which was never in GREAT shape, but had a lot of work on the weight reduction mods, was up for grabs. I decided, this is my official project car.

I ended up rebuilding the engine from the bottom, up. I had everything balanced, but did all the rest of the work myself. I ended up with different pistons and a shaved head, which upped the compression. Also, I have a slightly hotter cam in currently, as I couldn't track down a stock one.

After putting it together and making sure it was reliable, today was the day to see what it would do. This is my base line, as the only aeromods that have been done are the rear spoiler delete and the passenger mirror delete. I didn't have the windshield wipers on, either, but not on purpose. It's front bumper is wide open, it isn't lowered at all, it doesn't even have an air dam currently!

I took it about 30-40 miles away and tested both highway and city. Here are my results...

Highway: 51.5MPG
City: 44MPG

I really didn't expect it to be THAT good. That's above my expectations. I'm stoked to see further gains through aeromodding and the like! I'll start the first tank as my first car on this site. I've been just waiting to get something going worth reporting... I think this one might just be it.

[SentraSE-R]

Very impressive!

[NoD~]

Just to put a bit more detail into that drive specifically...

I live in a dry area. The heat was around 90 or so that day. Engine ran anywhere from 188-204*F, intake temps hung around 120-132*F. Shifting anywhere from 1.5K to 3K with decent throttle (LOD on my scan gauge doesn't work on this car, for some reason... idles at 3 and tops around 34, I'm guessing 80-90% load most acceleration).

In city, I tried to glide to stops the best I could, but stop lights are rather unpredictable, as well as I rarely drive that area and am not too familiar with it. For Highway, I used Pulse and Glide. There are a LOT of hills. In fact, I don't think there is more than a few miles out of the ~40 I traveled on the highway that were flat! I tried to glide uphills as much as possible. Typically, to 60 and glide, pulse from 45 and up. I did hit 65-70 a few times coming down the hills right before hitting the ups.

No tires were more than 42psi, as they are a mixed bag of old, crusty to no-name cheapies. That will change very soon. I'm also using premium 91 octane fuel. Since this is my first engine rebuild, as well as higher compression, I wanted to start there and slowly drop the octane level and see how it responds. I doubt I can run regular, but I want to see if I can drop my octane requirement.

Anywho, thanx for the comments. I can't wait to throw on some good rubbers and get rolling on the aeromods!

[MetroMPG]

Nice results.

I'm curious: After the weight reduction effort, how much does the car weigh?

Also: put it in the garage! Your Garage: Add new vehicle

[NoD~]

Metro,

Right after my last post, I went straight to adding it to the garage!

When I used to race this neon, I got the weight down to 2250 w/ full interior. I think it was ~2150 race weight (take out seats, exhaust system, spare). I plan to get on a scale soon and see where I sit currently. Those numbers stick, but I don't think that was with me in the car at the time. On top of that, This car will have a SOHC over a DOHC head, further removed AC and PS components, more deadener and insulation removed, added light-weight stereo system, nicer seating, etc. Lots of changes in both directions.

Being a daily driver now, I am putting in some deadener (very mild amount, covering ~25% of any flater sheet metal with resonating potential, as per instructed by sounddeadenershowdown.com) and using the double-bubble foil insulation throughout the entire car for both acoustic and thermal insulation. This shouldn't add but a few more pounds in, though, as the deadener is minimalistic and the insulation is very light weight.

Anywho, I actually took out each item back in '04 and documented what each piece weighed. I hope the length list isn't an issue (I tried SPOILER tags, but seems this forum doesn't support that). I'm sure there are other things that are added and/or removed in since, but it's been too many years. I still have a few tricks up my sleeves to reduce the weight, but all in good time.

Air conditioning system (heat exchanger = 5.75 lbs, compressor = 15 lbs, piping etc = 3 lbs, block to AC bracket = 2.5 lbs, metal box at firewall = .75 lbs) --27 lbs
Rear bumper support (metal = 16.75 lbs, foam = 2 lbs) --18.75
Battery (28.5 lbs vs 15.25 lbs) --13.25 lbs (?)
Trunk modifications (Cut center brace in trunk --4 lbs, outer bracing --4.25 lbs, trunk arms --4.5 lbs) --12.75 lbs
Airbag system (computer = 2 lbs, pass bag = 9 lbs) --11 lbs
Floor sound deadener (front floor = 2 lbs each X2, Rear floorboards = 2.5 lbs, under rear seat = 2 lbs, under front seats = .75 each X2, front/center center consol = .05 lbs, rear center consol = 0.25 lbs) --10.75 lbs
Sunroof extras (plus bolts) --10.25 lbs
Trunk Carpet --10 lbs
Base rear seat (21.75 lbs VS 31.25 lbs) --9.5 lbs
Rear Door modifications (Rear door bracing = 4 lbs each X2, Cut metal from rear doors = 0.625 lbs each X2, Remove rear door lower dust covers -- 0.25 lbs) --9.5 lbs
Surfboard spoiler --7.5 lbs
Console weight --7.25 lbs
Sound insulation (under front floor = 2.25 lbs, under seat and rear floor board = 2 lbs, under center consol = 1.5 lbs, under dashlid = 0.5 lbs) --6.25 lbs
Side rub strips --6 lbs
Spare tire change (1st gen = 28.5 lbs VS 2nd gen = 23.25 lbs) --5.25 lbs
Evap System --5.25 lbs
Front motormount weight --5 lbs
Stock CD/Tape player --5 lbs
Misc nuts, bolts, screws, clips, insulation, etc -- 5 lbs (?)
Replace Steelies with aluminum* -- 5 lbs (?)
Drivers radiator fan --4.5 lbs
Spare tire cover --4.5 lbs
Seat belt brackets (2.125 each X2) --4.25 lbs
Lower 1/2 firewall blanket --5.25 lbs
Sport front seats to base front seats (2 lbs each X2) --4 lbs
MPx UDP (5.25lbs vs 1.5lbs)* --3.75 lbs
Hood brace (2 X-Braces and center = 2.75 lbs, rear = 1 lbs) --3.75 lbs
Rear speakers (1.75lbs each, X2) --3.5 lbs
Door speakers (1.75 lbs each, X2) --3.5 lbs
Remove door plastic skin deadener (0.75lbs per door X4) --3 lbs
Replace intake --3 lbs (?)
Cruise Control system (under hood) --2.5 lbs (?)
Front door Foam block (1.25 lbs each, X2) --2.5 lbs
Driver's side under dash bracket --2 lbs
Trunk rubber seal --1.75 lbs
Passanger's side glovebox bracket --1.75 lbs
Steering wheel weight and bracket --1.75 lbs
Sound deadener on roof --1.5 lbs
Sound deadening insulation under dash lid --1.5 lbs
Passenger side power mirror -- 1.5 lbs
EGR system --1.25 lbs
Winshield washer fluid system --1.25 lbs
Wiring harness gutting --1.25 lbs
Fog lights (0.5 lbs each, X2) --1 lbs
Trunk springs (0.5 lbs each, X2) --1 lbs
Front door brackets (0.5 lbs each, X2) --1 lbs
Dash Speakers --1 lbs
Moddify battery tray --1 lbs (?)
Overhead handles (3) and hangers (1) --1 lbs (?)
Front Airdam --1 lbs (?)
Ashtray + bracket --1 lbs
Seat belt dust covers + thin metal plates (.5 each, X2)= --1 lbs
Underhood insulation --0.75 lbs
Underhood battery scoop --0.75 lbs
Upper rear seatbelt brackets (.375 lbs each) --0.75 lbs
Port and polish intake manifold and bored stock throttle body --0.5 lbs (?)
Underhood weather stripping --0.5 lbs
Strut caps (rear, 0.125 lbs each) --0.25 lbs
Cut out trunk light metal, bulb --0.25 lbs
Front door sound deadener (0.125 each) --0.25 lbs
-Total = ~266.75 lbs

Some of the more extreme things I did that I did not list was things like using zip ties over screws/bolts where applicable, cutting down lengthy bolts... gees I know it was desperate times for that last little bit of speed back in those days. I chose this shell simply because of all the work already done in weight reduction. I want to try to keep this car as light weight as possible, but still make is a pleasure to drive every day. Some compromises will be made, but since it's mostly a city driving car, I think low-weight will still be a top priority, only trumped by aerodynamic modifications (as that obviously will add some weight).

[Vigo]

Nice work.

I just picked up a 95 sohc/5spd (my 2nd) and also have a turbo/5spd caravan and a bunch of other turbo dodge stuff.

Your dry area wouldnt happen to be Texas, would it? I always like to find like-minded people in my area, although the chances are tiny.

If i can get my neon to hit 40mpg hwy stock, ill be off to a good start but i need to verify that before trying anything else.