'02 Neon R/T daily driver +

Thanks!

I adjusted the front end yesterday, chasing down the rubs. I brought the front end up about half an inch and set the front camber plates to -1. Then I folded over the fender lips where the tires were contacting. So far, so good in the front. While trying to get the front to rub on my first drive after the adjustments, I managed to get the rear to rub on a hard, downhill hairpin. I'm going to roll the rear fenders and put the plates to -.5 - -1 to see if that helps. It should be enough. I don't want to camber this thing to stance status. 

Thank you, adjustable coilovers and lifetime alignment. I'd be stuck with 7" rims and 225s for life without you. 

In reply to JeremyJ :

I have some 17x8 rpf1s with 245s I should try to fit, the car will be much happier with some camber 

Honestly, at stock height, your main issue would be inside clearance with the spring perch. These RPF1s, with a +35 offset, are a couple of microns from the coilover, which is substantially narrower than the factory strut/spring assembly. The tire shop actually put a 1mm spacer on the front wheels to make sure they didn't rub and it's crazy close. 

In reply to JeremyJ :

I have run 225s with stock struts and correct offset, These would clear what the car currently has 

Since I'm allergic to wheels that match the car, I played with some Plasti Dip. 

Base coat:

Final coat (notice the matching badge):

My picture of the car as a whole turned out too dark, so I'll update with a full car pic soon. I like the color. It's metallic and I covered it with Glossifier, so it's not flat. It's different, which is what I was going for. Also not super bright. If I decide later I don't like it, I can always peel it off. 

I dont hate it at all, Im curious to see some more pictures. 

I've got a thing for white cars with red wheels. That is all.

Well here they are. Check out how dark they look in the shade:

Versus in the light:

I think they turned out pretty well. 

I installed a new set of OEM Bosch injectors because the stock ones were looking a little worse for wear. I'd been feeling some mild stumbles under load and the fuel system is one of the only components of the car that I hadn't touched yet. I figured it wouldn't hurt anything to replace them and so far, it seems to have worked. The car is running smooth and the hesitation hasn't shown back up yet. 

I took the wing off of it. I threw some painted christmas trees into the holes with silicone. This is a temporary setup until I can find an OEM matching trunk lid to bolt on. I so enjoy not seeing that wing in my rearview. 

if you wernt so far away id give you a super nice silver trunk i have. 

That would be super. There are none around me right now. I've even called some used car lots and asked if they'd trade me and they've been less than helpful. 

Whats your zip code, I can get a shipping quote if you want. 

98032

Pretty productive couple of days. First, I installed a set of Prothane short end links:

Before:

After:

I noticed my left rear was almost a full inch lower than the right rear. The coilovers either settled unevenly, or they weren't set up well from the factory. Either way, I fixed it by raising one side half an inch and lowering the other side half an inch. Split the difference. Now the rear is level and the sway bar is stiffened and placed at a better angle. 

Next, I finally recharged my K&N filter. It was filthy. I was dreading removing the front bumper to access the filter. It's just so tedious. Fortunately, once I removed the driver's side headlight, I realized I had complete access to the filter. So from now on, all I need to do is remove the headlight to clean the filter, which is so much less work than anticipated. 

I really hope I don't berkeley this up. 

I finally managed to roll all four of the fenders. The fronts were more time consuming because I had to remove the well liners before I could start rolling. Fifteen years worth of dirt and pine needles were released as those liners were removed, which was super fun. The actual fenders themselves roll easily, with just a little bit of paint cracking, but it's out of sight. I covered it with paint to prevent rust. 

It's really hard to photograph, but all four fenders ended up being pulled outward about a quarter of an inch.

The rear lips were easier to access (no liners) but harder to roll because they're double-walled. Everywhere on Eastwood's site and instructions warns not to use the roller on double-walls. I say bullE36 M3. It worked just fine on mine. Just apply heat and go slow.

I started out by bending it up about 45 degrees, but it still rubbed. Then I went back under and folded them almost completely flat and that seems to be working a lot better. The rears also ended up getting pulled out a little, like the fronts. The change is really subtle, but I like it. If this doesn't keep the tires off the fenders, I'm contemplating cutting them off and adding a set of flares. 

Wheel color looks awesome.

Nice work on the fender rolling too.

Thank you.

So I've been chasing down a top end tick that occurs between 2500 and 3000 RPM. I've swapped in/out two sets of lifters with no change in sound. New (eBay) valves, new seals, stiff valve springs, everything properly seated and torqued. I switched the aluminum valve cover for a plastic one to see if it made a difference in sound and it didn't. I've re-torqued the exhaust manifold twice with no change. I suppose the sound could be a crack in the manifold, but I can't see it from under the hood. Whatever it is, the sound is driving me nuts.

Machine work on the head with new guides and valves will be $500-600, whereas a new header is about $220 (and a lot less work). I'm leaning toward the header. The guy at a machine shop suspects the header, because worn guides would cause some smoke, which I haven't seen. And that makes sense. 

I added a lip to the front bumper. Just something cheap and easy to keep me occupied until I can afford some real progress. 

Well, it was fun while it lasted. 

I'm sure it's totaled. My daughters and I got some whiplash, but fine otherwise. We were stopped at a light and a guy in a Malibu hit us going 35-40. It was quick and it was harsh. My seat broke and collapsed, almost squishing my kid. I'm super bummed about the car and I'm spending the next day removing as much as I can before the insurance totals it out.

BERK! I'm glad you and your daughters are ok. Bet you any amount of money that the guy in the Malibu wasn't paying any sort of attention or was screwing around on his phone. Before I got my car, I had a driver that drives for someone I know and we have those big Ford E-350 Super Duty's. He likes to berk around on his phone while driving at speed. Made me feel uncomfortable because at any time he could have crashed and possibly either mortally wounded someone or cause a serious injury. All because he can't put his phone down for one goddamn second because he wants to look at Facebook.... Me? Well I don't do that. Every time I get in my car, I turn on my Bluetooth, turn on Pandora, and then leave my phone be until I get to my destination.

I install a blue tooth stereo in everything I drive, for just that reason. Distraction is very dangerous. I'm pretty bummed that my kids and I had to be on the receiving end of it. 

When i got hit in my RT the guy was shooting up... literally. 

My wife has been rear-ended twice in the last 2 years, latest one just happened a couple of weeks ago.  Both due to distracted drivers.  One good thing about having an SUV is that the damage to our vehicle has been minimal each time (KIA Sorento FTW),  if you didn't know it was in a collision you would be hard pressed to find any damage other than the scratches on the bumper cover.  Actually the 2nd not at fault accident on my insurance this year, some kid rear-ended my daughter in her Honda back in March.  Seems like nobody pays attention to driving anymore.  Glad you and your kids are ok.