My first race today to a Neon R/T and I lost, BARELY Options

[JStanger]

So I had to get up at 5 a.m. this morning for work and had to be there at 6 a.m. On my way to work, I pull up to a red light and I am the first car at the light (just on a typical two lane highway with a 55 mph speed limit.) I see this neon r/t pull up right next to mee with rims, a body kit, clear tails and stickers on the windows. He had an exhaust and I hope he had an intake since he had some brand of intake sticker on his window. So the light turns green and neither of us hammer it to the point of smoking tires but we both get on it pretty good. He starts off just a bit ahead of me and I pull ahead from about second to third gear pretty good. He then starts to pull ahead from me through 4th and 5th. He had me by about half a car length at 75 mph and I decided that I didn't want a speeding ticket at that point so I let off. Anyways, I just wanted to share my first racing experience with you all. I have had my car for over 3 years now and that is the first opportunity I have had to race anyone. I thought Neon R/T's were supposed to be kinda quick? It was fun and I can't wait to have another chance at someone. Hopefully a civic soon.

[hi_rider]

neon r/t aren't fast......in my head, they are as fast as standard neons....
Some old neons with minor mods are quite fast though......some run 15,3 on the 1/4 around here....

[97sccelica]

its the srt4 that you have to watch out for. those things fly and when mopar starts offering the stage 3 turbo upgrade for it, it will be faster than the viper.

the neon rt is only a higher trim with the same engine as the base model i think. it may be a little quicker.

btw, was it fun? i have never come across a neon that put up a fight, but then i dont go after srt4's

my first real race that was crazy. i was out driving with a friend of mine in my car. i saw this mx6 with supra tails and the whole thing was unpainted. he had a huge exhaust and was lowered on stock wheels. we were going up hill he stared at me and my friend then cut me off so lane changed and got past him and he was never able to get ahead of be(it was a 4cyl)

but that wasnt the real race. about 45min later, i was driving by a movie theater and came up to a light. my city practically dies at 10pm so my friend said to make and right and head home but that was when i saw a crx coming up on the right, so i said wait, we have to check out this car(i noticed the side skirts from about 400ft back in my RVM), and as he pulls up me and my friend look at the two guys in there, the light went green while he was rolling and he floored it. i did the same but as i was catching up, he shifted and i heard the whoosh that a BOV makes and he pulled to 2.5 car lengths on me. at that time i said to my friend "oh sh!t, that was a BOV" but then to my surprise i actually caugth up and passed him and got a car length on him. i kno he didnt let off at all because his car was so f'in loud. he then got stuck behind a little traffic and i got way ahead and i came slowly up to a light waiting for it to turn red. and it did. so the guy pulls up next to me and threw down 2 quick revs. i did nothing but watch the other directions light so that i would be hitting the gas right as the light changed. left foot on the brake, right ready to hit the gas. the light went green and i floored it about 1/2 a second before him, and when he launched he screwed up and lost traction. i had 4 car lengths on him. about 4 to 6 seconds later he caught up to my door. he was keeping up until 90mph. at about 95, he started to fall behind faster and at 105mph, he was about 3 car lengths behind. i slowed down to 80 becuase there was traffic ahead. i weaved in and out while he tried to follow me(i signaled to all the people i got in front of, lol). at that point i was way ahead of him and coming up on the turn to head home, not to look like i was a chicken i stopped early and when he came up i pointed to the right for him to make a right, but instead he floored it and left. i woulda gone after him except i wasnt about to go racing past the sheriffs station that was about 1 mile ahead.

at the time of the race my car was topped off on gas, and me and my friend added about 520lbs or so to the weight of my car. as for that crx, it had two small guys in it. it really sounded like it was turbo but i did not see a fmic(which isnt totally necessary and from the looks of the car, if it was turboed, it was done half assed). im hoping it wasnt one of those turbo simulators(how real do those sound?)

and on a side note, i realized what i did was dangerous and i havent done it since but when the road is empty for about 4 miles ahead of you, you kinda get the urge to go fast. it still was fun.

This post has been edited by 97sccelica: Jun 9, 2003 - 6:06 PM

[Milds3vn]

ya no **** the sr-t's do the 60 in like 5.6 or 5.4 but they still handle like a neon according to autoweek. I gotta say though, that the front of them looks pretty nice for being a neon

[Crzybakerdog]

97scelica did u have any of the engine mods that u plan on in the future on or were u running basically stock st?

[97sccelica]

i have a short ram intake and venom 400. im also running the stock steel rims with hub caps which is a must if you want to keep the acceloration. im not sure about people that complain about their engine's power(7afe) but my car has good acceloration from 0-30 and surprizingly good acceloration from 80 to speed limiter. civic ex's are hardly trouble for my car as with non gsr integras(raced my neighbor's to 90 and he won by 2.5 car lengths) not bad for an auto hu? as for track times, my best time was i think 17.79 with a 1.5 reaction time(i kno, i was a little intimidated by the civic hb with the ITR engine in it and went a bit after the tree went green) after that i had .6 RT's but my engine got hot in the palmdale heat and from waiting in line(the intake pipe burned my hand really badly)

but

i do have a t3 turbo sitting in my garage along with all the other parts except the manifold and oil lines. i have been waiting for summer to come before i tackle the project, and the turbo stuff was originally intended for a 240sx that my uncle has but he decided to keep the car, so i changed my plans.

it might also have to do with the fact that my engine was fully rebuilt before i bought the car, its working at best efficiency. all the seals and gaskets are new as with the internals and head parts

and before people start calling bs about the crx, remember, i said it sounded like it had a turbo, i never saw under the hood.

i really really want to put that turbo on my car, but then i will have to remove my speed limiter, and see how fast my auto tranny will take me(the cut comes in a 115 while the tach reads just under 4krpm, 1800 more revs till redline)

edit:my friends all call my car the perfect down hill racer. it is aero dynamic and it the ride only gets better at high speeds. other friends with mustangs and camaros call me a ricer but i say no, there is a big difference between me and the ricer stereotype: I admit that my car is slow.

This post has been edited by 97sccelica: Jun 10, 2003 - 12:45 AM

[TurboGT14PSI]

my first race in my car, stock, was against a mazda mx-3 v6 (its hilarious someone actually made a 1.8 liter v6) he beat me off the line cause i launched to high, but i caught him in the top of second and passed him and then his clutch got way too hot and wouldnt shift into third lol

i raced a honda crx with 4 different primer color body panels in my friends Audi S4 tonight...can we say slaughter lol =)

the first race i had after all my mods was up against a mustang GT, it was an easy victory

[97sccelica]

QUOTE (TurboGT14PSI @ Jun 10, 2003 - 2:08 AM)

my first race in my car, stock, was against a mazda mx-3 v6 (its hilarious someone actually made a 1.8 liter v6) he beat me off the line cause i launched to high, but i caught him in the top of second and passed him and then his clutch got way too hot and wouldnt shift into third lol i raced a honda crx with 4 different primer color body panels in my friends Audi S4 tonight...can we say slaughter lol =) the first race i had after all my mods was up against a mustang GT, it was an easy victory

mmmmmmm audi s4.

that car is amazing. it is one of the few 4dr cars i would drive.

and 1.8 liter v6 are you sure? i thought the v6 in probes amd mx6's were 2.5, infact, im pretty sure they are 2.5.

maybe the guy only had a 4 cylinder mx6?(the v6 probes and mx6's are on par with GSR's)

[ghostdog]

yah, the mx3's had the option of a 1.8l v6. smallest production v6 ever.

as for the S4, its okay, but I think my friend made a good choice selling his to buy a 911 turbo

[forkee]

i want the srt-4. its faster than the 350z, 2nd fastest in dodge lineup only to viper, and less than 20 g's.

[Guest_Matthew_*]

i think that the neon will be junk in a few years. i mean i have read 4 different magazines and each one gave a different max horsepower rating at different rpms. the torque was also different ....all neons are are basically go straight cars. they sit real high and they arent very long even though they come stock with 17"s...

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

hahaha, i didnt know that the MX3 had a 1.8 liter V6.....i looked at a red MX3 6 cyl. once, and i always thought to myself that a V6 in those little things would be nuts......but i guess not if its a 1.8.....hah

[97sccelica]

QUOTE (Silver94CelicaOwner @ Jun 10, 2003 - 3:39 PM)

hahaha, i didnt know that the MX3 had a 1.8 liter V6.....i looked at a red MX3 6 cyl. once, and i always thought to myself that a V6 in those little things would be nuts......but i guess not if its a 1.8.....hah

OH

mx3 had the 1.8 liter v6.

HOLY SH!T. man, who's brain fart of an idea was that?

[TurboGT14PSI]

yeah the MX-3s came with a optional 1.8l v6 hahah

yeah the S4 rocks, and so does a 911
but they are totally different cars so you cant compare them
my friend would like something like a 911 but needs a 4 door seeming alot of ppl are always riding with him, and he drives long distances often, you cant beat an S4 in its price/quality/sedan category in my opinion he bought his with 30k miles on it for around 30k which is a good price, and the warranty is extended to 100k miles

[TigerWoodsJr]

QUOTE (JStanger @ Jun 9, 2003 - 2:22 PM)

He starts off just a bit ahead of me and I pull ahead from about second to third gear pretty good. He then starts to pull ahead from me through 4th and 5th. He had me by about half a car length at 75 mph and I decided that I didn't want a speeding ticket at that point so I let off

ok, so I realize you drive an ST and I only really know GT's...but what the hell are you doing in 5th gear for that race? I know that 75 is near the top of 3rd in my GT...can't be much more than a little into 4th in the ST's, if that. Sorry to bring this back on topic, but just curious.

The srt-4 has an engine worth something..maybe...but the tranny and the rest is cheap and ****.

[97sccelica]

QUOTE (TigerWoodsJr @ Jun 16, 2003 - 10:03 PM)

QUOTE (JStanger @ Jun 9, 2003 - 2:22 PM) He starts off just a bit ahead of me and I pull ahead from about second to third gear pretty good. He then starts to pull ahead from me through 4th and 5th. He had me by about half a car length at 75 mph and I decided that I didn't want a speeding ticket at that point so I let off ok, so I realize you drive an ST and I only really know GT's...but what the hell are you doing in 5th gear for that race? I know that 75 is near the top of 3rd in my GT...can't be much more than a little into 4th in the ST's, if that. Sorry to bring this back on topic, but just curious. The srt-4 has an engine worth something..maybe...but the tranny and the rest is cheap and ****.

my auto st redlines in 3rd at 105(accidentally hit the od button and turned it off, DONT TRY IT)

at 4krpm in 4rth im at the 115 limiter.

i never noticed that he was in 5th at 75, no wonder he lost

[The_Argon]

QUOTE (TurboGT14PSI @ Jun 11, 2003 - 1:51 PM)

yeah the MX-3s came with a optional 1.8l v6 hahah

One of my mates has got one of these (badged as a Eunos Roadster 30x.) I think it may be imported, he doesn't really know alot about it.

His mechanic didn't beleive him when he said it was a 1.8l v6.

lol 1.8l v6 even sounds retarded

[KAMiX]

I liked your story 97! we need to start a "kills" thread.

As for the CRX, correct me if I'm wrong, but they are a 1.8l right?
Anywho stock they really aren't very fast, if you take the turbo, sideskirts and stickers out of the equation, honda basically designed a grandma car! Seriously, When the CRX was introduced, the small car market was no where near the "sports car" market.. I guess the CRX probably evolved a bit, but what I am trying to say is, they have lots of crappier stuff than an ST celica! Even though the ST is the less sporty version of the celica (no offense!), everything from the top to bottom in the ST was designed with a different purpose than the CRX!

I don't really know much about them or their engines.. but I do know one thing! I could run faster than a stock CRX




... Not to take away from your conquest! Just dissing a honda

[BlackandTAN]

Met a guy who had a regular standard neon, with a homemade/junkyard turbo kit on it, It was badd, It was runnin stock internals on a PT cruiser Turbo block, and 22 psi of boost runnin the 1/4 in 13.6..pretty sweet, but he said it should be faster, it ws nice

-Luke

[97sccelica]

QUOTE (kamixZR @ Jun 18, 2003 - 4:43 AM)

I liked your story 97! we need to start a "kills" thread. As for the CRX, correct me if I'm wrong, but they are a 1.8l right? Anywho stock they really aren't very fast, if you take the turbo, sideskirts and stickers out of the equation, honda basically designed a grandma car! Seriously, When the CRX was introduced, the small car market was no where near the "sports car" market.. I guess the CRX probably evolved a bit, but what I am trying to say is, they have lots of crappier stuff than an ST celica! Even though the ST is the less sporty version of the celica (no offense!), everything from the top to bottom in the ST was designed with a different purpose than the CRX! I don't really know much about them or their engines.. but I do know one thing! I could run faster than a stock CRX ... Not to take away from your conquest! Just dissing a honda

the crx si had a 1.6 liter, the lower models had a 1.5 liter.

i generally view them as **** boxes except for the select few that are done up right. they are not really good looking cars. they look ok in black but ugly in other colors.

definately a grandma car, but with the money i paid for my car i could of had a moderately fast crx but i cant stand them.

and no offense taken on the fact that i have an ST. its still a toyota.