My (wife's) Neon runs pretty decent, '97 with 90K mi. It's the peppy
DOHC ACR coupe. I rarely get under 30mi/gal, even with a few autoXs
thrown in (but I drive pretty conservative outside the races). I would
think an aggressive driver should get at least 25mi/gal out of the DOHC
and 30 from the SOHC and a conservative driver should get 35 and 40.
It does idle pretty high, and the failing power steering makes some
groans. Valve noise is a little common, I think different oils help
that.
Do you have the dual Cam or single? The DOHC has a pretty aggressive
tune and feels a little rough, but that's where the 150hp/133ft-lb comes
from. All neons (there's only 2 gen, not 3) shared the same two
fundamental motors with some tuning tweaks here and there to satisfy the
feds/Californians. The 2.4L motor from the PT cruiser is a drop in as
well, lots of people do that swap.
You can try Neons.org forums as well. Lots of knowledge there.
Jay W
505/287 Dakota
--------
Well I had the Neon at a shop and the guy said he couldn't find anything
wrong. I had cleaned the oil off the plug wires and swapped the #4 and
#1 wires. Check engine light has been off since I cleared it. He said
the car was in great shape. But I'm still hearing a weird noise from
the front. And even after changing the wires - it still doesnt seem as
smooth at cold start as I think it should be. It is much better than it
originally was when the check engine light came on. I have little wheel
time with Neons, so I'm not sur ejust how smooth the engine normally is.
Fuel economy is averaging about 29.75 MPG. I put new plug wires on the
other day and that did seem to help the ignition stumble.
Are there any engine differences between the Gen I neons and the Gen II
and III? I'm pondering possible powertrain swaps if it needs it down
the the road. I think I remember Josh posting that Allpar has lots of
neon info - I'll go take a look.
.
.
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