How to Improve Performance

I'll try to keep things as general as possible.  The basic theories apply to nearly all naturally aspirated cars.  I won't be getting into turbos, superchargers, nitrous,  carburetors, pushrods, V-TEC, or other things that you won't find on the everyday 1st generation Neon.  And I'll go into more detail specifically on the Neon where it is appropriate.  If you have specific questions about your Civic, Jetta, Accent, or just about any other car, find a forum on-line.  They will be able to answer your more specific questions.  Neon owners should make a point of visiting www.neons.org frequently.

I'm going to make a few basic assumptions here.  First, you are a novice to performance modifications ("mods" in the tuner lingo).  Second, that you at least know what basic hand tools look like.  If you can't tell the difference between a socket wrench, a torx bit, and vice grips, then you need to have a slightly more mechanically inclined friend help you out.  Don't worry, by the time you change your own oil a couple of times and finish installing your 3rd or 4th mod, you'll wonder why anyone would pay $50-60 per hour do have it done "professionally."

Where I can, for the 1st generation Neon owners, I'll give some product recommendations.  I'll try to give "budget," "best value," and "best you can get" options wherever I can.  Keep in mind, new products come out, some products get updated, and prices change frequently (up and down).  So your best bet is to go to the .org and ask around before you shell out your cash.  Also keep in mind, these are my opinions.  Do your own research and make your own conclusions,  If you don't, don't blame me!

Stages

I'll break this up into more than the typical 3- or 4- stage buildups that you might see elsewhere.  I'll put them in a somewhat logical order that will tend to balance ease of installation, performance gain, and costs.  I mean, sure, you can go out and spend $400 on a set of lightweight drag wheels and $250 on drag slicks as your first mod if you want, but it just doesn't make sense, and you'll probably break something.

Pre-Staging - Here we'll try to cover the basics.  These aren't usually things that will improve your wheel horsepower (whp), but they will aid performance in some way.  We'll also talk a little about so-called performance mods that really have no performance value on Neons specifically, as well as most front-wheel drive sport-compact cars in general.

Stage I-a, Breathing Mods - This will cover the majority of the "bolt-ons," or mods most people can do in their driveway with basic hand tools.  Doing these yourself will greatly increase your confidence as well as your understanding of how your vehicle works.  Plus, there's the whole pride-in-workmanship issue.

Stage I-b, Rotating Mass - Even if you never change how much power your engine actually makes, you can still make more power at the wheels.  In addition to moving your car forward, the engine has to work to perform other tasks, like power steering, air conditioning, etc.  We'll look at all the things you can do to make the engine work less on the extra stuff, which will free up torque, and allow your car to accelerate faster.

Stage I-c,  Weight Reduction - Horsepower (HP) is how much energy is required to move a certain weight a certain distance in a certain amount of time.  If you keep HP and distance the same (1/4 mile, for example), then it is mathematically necessary for the other two factors to be linked.  Lower the weight, lower the time.  We'll look at power-to-weight ratios as well to show how much difference this can make.  You might be surprised!

Stage II-a, Drivetrain - This sort of goes along with rotational mass, but the goal is to get the most out of the components between the crankshaft (which is turned by the pistons) and the pavement (which is turned by the wheels, in a manner of speaking).  If you are all done with the Stage I mods and have done them mostly by yourself, you are ready for this!  Imagine that, you, pulling out your transmission, working on it, and putting it back in!

Stage II-b, Suspension - This goes along with drivetrain, but some of the biggest differences between drag racing and autocrossing are in the suspension setups.  For the everyday spirited driver or occasional drag racer, you'll probably want some sort of happy medium.

Stage III-a, The Block - We are now inside the engine.  Even though you feel confident in your abilities, there's a lot here that requires special tools  Don't be discouraged though.  The corner shop, and many dealers as well, don't have the right equipment either.  They do what you will do - take it to a specialist.  And you don't have to pay the middleman any more!

Stage III-b, The Head - Like the block, there's some specialty work involved here as well.  There's also a lot of theory that goes into this.  Since you are so much more familiar with your car than you were when you started this project, you'll find it easier to make the right decisions.  This is not the stage you want to start with!