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Mopar 2.2 and 2.5 TBI Power Upgrades

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Mopar 2.2 and 2.5 TBI Power Upgrades

Neither Allpar nor any of the contributors take any responsibility for the results of your actions or for the results of following the steps or advice presented below. Some of these may shorten the lifespan of your car and/or its components.

The TBI engine is essentially any 2.2 or 2.5 with a single fuel injector. These engines were used on many cars, minivans, and light trucks. The computers and the engines underwent many changes as the years went on.

Turbocharged engines had multiple-port fuel injection (each cylinder had its own injector), but the TBI models had only one, which is less efficient. David Zepeda pointed out that in Mexico, the 2.5 was given multiple port injection, boosting power.

Modifications to Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth 2.2 and 2.5 liter TBI engines

There isn't much you can do to increase performance a TBI engine, and the following modifications may not affect your performance too much. Adding a turbocharger is rather extreme but works, as does selling the car and buying a turbo model.

The 2.2/2.5 TBI engines were competitive when they were made. These engines have nice low-end torque for four-cylinders but have issues with breathing and fuel supplies.


by Edward Kelly

For substantial money you could have the head ported, with port matching of the manifolds. Back cutting the valves and 3-angle valve job will both help the head flow better especially at low valve lift. The valve guides are probably worn, you can have them replaced or spiraled to bring them back into tolerance; new valve guides will last longer. Spiraling is cheaper.

Porting is probably the most costly intervention. Shaving the head to up the compression ratio would also increase hp. If you shave it too much you will need to run an oversized timing belt tensioner or an undersized belt (both sold by Mopar Performance). You may also need to run higher octane fuel. If you decide you don't like the increase compression, you can get a copper shim gasket (Felpro makes one) to move the compression back to stock.

Degreeing the cam will also help.

by Derek Beland

The problem with tweaking TBIs is that very few changes are individually noticeable. Most mods you can make will yield an increase in power that is a factor of the baseline power from the factory. Since factory power is around 93-100 hp, gains come in 2-5hp increases. Some ideas are:

  • advance ignition timing to 15 degrees
  • play with cam timing via offset keys
  • remove intake elbow
  • remove heated air flap in airbox inlet (this will hurt drivability and emissions)
  • hotter coil, wider plug gap
  • remove coolant lines to throttle body (the latter may hurt drivability)
  • bore out throttle body
  • modify the butterfly (shave shaft, shorten screws, knife edge leading side)

The expensive/time consuming stuff:

  • ported head
  • bigger valves
  • convert to carbs (may be against the law or cause emissions test failure; may hurt gas mileage; may hurt drivability)
  • shave head to raise compression

This assumes of course that your engine is in top running shape. A compression test might be wise, and potentially a ring-job. These mods may cause you to run lean so you will ned to get an air fuel meter when you start.

There are differences between the later model TBIs and early ones. My stock fuel pressure is 39 psi, so I'm sure the injector is a different flow rate as well. My head has the "TS" stamp on it, which Gary's website says indicates a turbo head - but this one is definitely the original. Perhaps flow is better. I know the intake manifolds for later models are slightly different. There was a TSB about hard starting that indicated the manifold could be switched to a later revision to cure the problem.

Most people have to mod what they have. I don't think it's unreasonable to think you can get another 20-30hp out of the motor, with a reasonable budget.

I like my MSD6A ignition system. The cars pulls to redline at a steady speed, vs running out of steam at the higher RPMs. I have my car set up so that I can bypass the MSD and run straight to the coil, and there is a small but noticeable difference. Is it worth the $200 price tag? That's subjective. You need to mate it with a Blaster 2 coil.

Lots of people say they've had problems with the MSD breaking down. I had one Blaster coil die on me, an interior connection snapped off. Because my coil is mounted on the thermostat and thus subject to a lot of vibration, I switched to the "High Vibration" version (filled solid with resin) and haven't had a problem since. I've had the MSD setup in the car going on five years now, 3.5 on the new coil. I mounted the MSD with rubber isolators, so maybe these people were screwing them down solid to the frames/fenders and they got shaken to death?

Timothy Pindell

I took my Daytona to the Nationals for a few passes. The car is now capable of mid 17s with a good reaction time. Here's what I did to mine:

  1. Mopar Performance camshaft P4529320 252/252 duration, 36 overlap, 108 centerline, (uses factory .430 lift)
  2. Cam installed "straight up" with the help of the offset keys
  3. Accell super coil, .05 gap on the Champions
  4. Ignition timing set to 15 advance
  5. Fuel pressure raised to 15.5 psi (it idles poorly)
  6. Removed rear seat, spare, jack
  7. 2 gallons fuel
  8. Removed AC and PS belts
  9. Rear tires to 55 psi, fronts to 35
  10. Removed air filter, left the box
  11. Dynomax muffler/ 2.25 exhaust from the manifold/ no catalytic converter (it's rather loud with a straight-pipe edge to it)

I shifted at 6200 (indicated) rpm. It was still pulling, but not much.

This illustrates my belief that you can't get much out of a TBI unless you get radical. It's got a bit more than what it had when it left the factory, but not as much as the turbo guys get for the same effort. Don't teach a TBI to go real fast. It wastes your time, and annoys the engine.

Summary of low-buck approach

David Reynolds wrote: "the best performance you can get from a 2.2L TBI car is to be had by (in order of expense):

  • advancing ignition timing to 14-15 degrees (free)
  • K&N drop-in filter ($35)
  • 2.25" exhaust (around $100)
  • raise compression *a little* by shaving the head and/or block (expensive)

I have done all of this to my Sundance, and I have very good drivability for a 2.2 non-turbo. I am also using a Comp Cams camshaft, but I'm not convinced it makes a big difference over the stock cam. For an '87 or earlier slider cam, though, you may want to consider switching to an '88 or later roller cam. Switching cams is actually a fairly easy thing to do yourself, and you can usually get a used one pretty cheap.

Note that the changes I made to my Sundance require 93+ octane and raised fuel pressure to keep it from knocking. I raised the fuel pressure by squeezing the regulator in a vise (a la Gus) a little at a time, then testing to see if the knocking improved.

All of this taken together has given me a strong power band between about 2000-3400 rpm, which is great for my city driving to and from work. It has next to no top end, though.

2.2 / 2.5 TBI breathing

Exhaust

Dan Stern wrote: A Magnaflow (similar to an Ultra-Flo) muffler and low-restriction catalyst perceptibly helped.

Bradley Miller suggested: "Daytona/Laser mufflers will fit our cars. Stock pipe is 1 7/8". Lambros Race Engineering has an adjustable fuel pressure regulator that will allow for fixing lean conditions. They also have different gear ratios (provided you don't mind losing top end) and they have different pulleys. This will spin the accessories a little slower to reduce parasitic horsepower losses. The exhaust helped with the sound of the car and the mid-range pull. I've now got 2 1/4" pipe all the way back to a Walker Super Turbo muffler. You can step down on the accelerator and really get a good shove in the pants without the car downshifting. In the upper RPM bands it doesn't really help too much."

Derek Beland wrote:

I have the Super Turbo on my 92 Daytona 2.5L NA (TBI). Sounds really nice. I lost some grunt on the low end, but the high end is slightly improved. I had Midas fabricate a 2" pipe (stock is 1 7/8") pipe from the cat back into the muffler, which is 2 1/4" in/out. It's significantly louder, but not annoyingly so. Make sure the install is good and the tailpipe exits past the bumper (it'll need a bend to do it, a pipe straight out from the muffler would hit the rear bumper). Mine is too short, and above 3000rpm I get a booming resonance inside the cabin. My stock exhaust was leaking in about three places, so I took advantage of that and replaced it with a performance exhaust.
Muffler replacement instructions, tips, and stories

Jerry Adams warned:

I have used K&N oil-wetted gauze air filter on several vehicles - some carbed and some injected. They do flow more freely than paper. However, their usefulness stops there in my experience. When I inspected each one before I installed it, I wondered at the light I could see through holes in the gauze! Every one of the intakes got very dirty downstream from the filter. Partly due to oil that was carried by the air and caught on the side of the intake or carb and partly due to dirt that got through the K&N filter.

So I went looking for a substitute that would flow freely and be very efficient at stopping the abrasive particles. I found several oiled foam air filters - HKS Super Mega Flow, Amsoil, Finer Filter, Dura-Blue and Accel. I reviewed the available test data which showed K&N flows more air and more dirt than paper - as I suspected. It also showed the oil foam flows more air than paper and almost equal to K&N - except K&N's data showed their filter best.

If you drag race, K&N is probably okay, but I will not use them on the street again. If money is no object, you could use the K&N with the K&N Pre-Cleaner - a oiled foam cover for the cylindrical K&Ns. It seems even K&N knows their filter needs help so they sell it!
Bradley Miller wrote: "I did all the bolt-ons I could within reason on my Duster and didn't see any neglible improvements. Going from 100 to 110 hp in a 2900 lb. car . . . well you get the picture."

Intake manifold

Dan Stern said there was an updated intake manifold to solve the long crank time on cold starting. Joe Pfeiffer also suggested replacing the intake. Vincent Cheng described reworking the intake manifold:

Use a high speed hand grinder and smooth out the plenum and runners. Round off all sharp turns. Rounding off the edges and enlarging and smoothing the inside contours of the runners can add breathing efficiency without any notable sacrifice in other area. (From "Performance with Economy" by David Vizard).
Air filters and related stuff

Bradley Miller said:

  • Between the headlight and the battery there will be a little plastic "bucket" that's supposed to keep snow/debris from going up the intake hose to the air cleaner. Pull this off. Smooth pipe from the airbox to the air duct by the battery will also help. Do not remove the hose. This hose pulls air across the drive transistors for the injector. Without this hose, you WILL burn out the transistors. [Note: one EEK! member took off the hose but added a fan to blow air onto the transistors. Others, including Gus McMahon, have been running for years without it, and suggested that the airflow was probably only needed in desert areas or during extreme heat. Jeff Chojnacki wrote that he has been doing without computer cooling since 1989.]

    Cut a hole (about 3" dia.) in back of air box. This is supposed to give you a little bit more low end torque. Make sure to put a mesh up there to keep large objects out of the air box. OR - Change the airbox altogether. (Webmaster's warning: cutting the hole in the back of the air box will delay warming, especially in cold weather, because it bypasses the stove. The best way to do this would be to have a control, like a manual choke, where you can shut it off or turn it on from inside the car; if you like electrical stuff you might even be able to fit a solenoid in there somehow. I do not suggest cutting the straight hole for most people who live in "normal" climates. Those who are in very hot climates, e.g. South America, may be able to get away with it more easily. A cold engine has lower fuel economy and power, higher emissions, and shorter life).

Martin Rempel wrote:

Before my turbo van I had a 89 Spirit TBI. One of the things I did was pick up a throttle body (TB) off of a wrecked car and had it bored out. There is not a whole lot of material to bore out. There are two very small vacuum ports that are in the bowl area. These tend to open up as you bore it out. I had a larger throttle plate made and had the TB on the car for a while. It made some difference but not much. I still have the bored out bottom half of the TB if you want it. The throttle plate I made was not quite big enough so my idle went up about 2-300 rpm. According to Gary Donovan, the major problem is the intake. Check out his site for more insight. He recently completed the TBI database. www.thedodgegarage.com

Ignition

The general consensus is that the stock ignition system works well enough for most purposes - unless you really hot-rod the engine, which as you noticed we do not recommend (given the effectiveness of a turbo-swap).

Mike King wrote that overgapping the spark plugs to .040", rather than the stock .035", helped in power. This had also come up in the EEK mailing list several years ago. The consensus was that Chrysler tended to be conservative in plug gap - other makers have larger gaps. Mike said that the power boost was stronger when coupled with midgrade gas. Note that this increases the strain on the ignition system, but that others have reported no problems.

Transmissions

Dan Stern wrote: Most of the TBI cars came with a final-drive ratio of 2.78. This is great for cruising at 75 mph all day, but around-town the engine is working below its torque peak and straining against the low-stall torque converter together with the high final drive ratio. This is also why early Slant-6/auto Darts feel peppy, while later cars feel "mushy" and slow --the early A-bodies have 3.23 or 2.93 gearing, while the later cars have 2.76s (and even later cars got 2.45s and 2.26s!). There was also a 3.22 ratio available for this A413 3 speed auto used with the 2.2 and 2.5 engines.

Sensors and stuff

Some advise a lower-temperature thermostat (e.g. 180 degree) - this is fine if you want to pollute more and lower your gas mileage, but is not really a sensible way to run your car. The engine was designed to have a certain amount of heat.

Fuel injection

Herb DaSilva: "If you start to get lean, get in touch with some of the companies that specialize in fuel injectors and get an 8% or 10% oversize injector. The stock computer will be able to handle it." (This is if you make other power modifications which cause the stock injector to be unable to handle the load.) Conversion to multiple port fuel injection is generally considered more trouble than swapping in a turbo engine.

Bradley_W._Miller wrote: "we have the little blue bottle. (NOS) The ultimate equalizer. A system runs under $400, depending on where you get it. An extra 50-75 hp is about the safe limits, with stock parts. You just have to be careful to keep adequate fuel pressure and not to use it at too low of an RPM. Dropping 2 seconds off your ET with one of these is no problem."

Manifolds

Stefan Mullikan wrote: Pierce Manifolds sells the side draft Weber kits [that fit the 2.2 and 2.5 engines[ as well as the manifolds for our 2.2/2.5 motors. The complete side draft Weber kit from Pierce is $823.20. The side draft Weber manifolds, is $293.24 They can be reached at:

Pierce Manifolds
321 Kishmura Dr.
Gilroy, CA 95020
1-800-874-3728

Camshafts and balance shafts

Taking out the balance shafts from the 2.5 engine is said to provide a very small power gain at the expense of smooth idling.

Gus Thomas wrote: The rumor of increased performance from disconnecting the balance shafts in the 2.5 engine is the result of a tech article by a Chrysler engineer a few years ago. It was re-written by Gary Donovan last year, and put in the SDAC newsletter. He said that 14 HP is gained at 6,000 rpm. How long are you at 6,000 rpm? For less than 1/10 of one percent of your engine's life? You're sure not gonna feel that 14 HP much!

Because frictional losses increase as the square of the increase of rpm, at 3,000 rpm (a real-world everyday rpm) you only gain 3.74 hp (the square root of 14). That's difficult to feel in the seat of your pants. I do it anyway (remove them) because I get slightly better gas mileage, don't whip up the oil as much, and get a little edge when I am at 6,000 rpm at the track. When you're heading into the 11s with a 2,770 lb Acclaim, you need every bit of free help.

åHerb DaSilva suggested that 2.5 owners get a Mopar Performance cam and getting underdrive pulleys from LRE (Lambros) or others.

Bradley W. Miller wrote:

A Purple cam shaft for the 2.2 TBI will work on the 2.5s. There are two different numbers, one for automatics and one for 5 speeds. Lambros does porting and other head work. Lambrose is real good to work with.

New cam would improve bottom end with top horsepower about the same ([according to] Forward Motion).

Here's the price and part numbers of the camshafts - P4529321 - Manual $89.25 (List $119) P4529319 - Automatic $89.25 (List $119) (1996 figures)

Here's the bio from Forward Motion: RPM Range 2800-5800 (2500-5500 on automatic). Best choice for those looking for more midrange and top end horsepower. Really likes a ported cylinder head but it will work well on stock. Excellent Nitrous Oxide camshaft with Stage. 2 head. We have run 13.80's @ 107 mph with this piece.

Note that those prices are probably about the same that you can get it through a local Dodge dealer by whipping out your Shelby Dodge club card. About a 25% discount on parts.
John Basol wrote:

Competition Cams has a cam for the 2.2L the has 260 degree duration and a .460" lift. produces a power band of 1200-5000 rpm. That's what I need, the best of both worlds. The slightly higher lift to improve low end torque without the loss of high end power, and the slightly longer duration to increase high end horsepower without sacrificing low end torque. With a power band that wide I'll be smoking turbos not only off the line, but even after I shift it will drop right back into the powerband. Cost of the wondrous wand of steel: only $128. I don't think miracles come much cheaper than that!

I do believe the cam that I found will also work in a 2.5, provided it isn't a turbo. Our stock cams are the same (part no. and all). As for why the factory did not use this type: all of the cams they have designed have been for race use. In drag and track the long duration short lift provides the power in the high rpm range. In rally racing the cams that they have designed for that purpose provide the torque required. They apparently didn't see a market for modified street use. The cam I found being both high lift and longer duration will require me to use the heavier springs from Mopar. This is due to the "lumpiness" of the cam. It should however maintain the correct idle for the motor. Competition Cams' part number for this particular cam is 22-123-4. They can be reached at 1-800-238-0341. Direct from Comp. Cams it runs $128.73.

  1. High Energy
    Powerband: 1200-5000 RPM22-123-4
    Powerband: 1500-5200 RPM22-127-4
    Magnum
    Powerband: 1800-5500 RPM22-131-4
    Turbo
    Powerband: 3000-6000 RPM22-124-4

Dale W. Kentoph wrote about 2.5 TBI performance upgrades, and his progress on his own 1988 Dodge Daytona:

I purchased a spare cylinder head and ported it myself. The only problem was, I didn't do a valve job on it, and it had sticky valves. Thus I ran the stock head for the summer.

I installed a Comp Cams cam, part number 22-127-4. This was total experimentation, as this was one stage up from the one John Basol wrote about, and I wasn't sure it would work with the stock computer. I had to advance the timing a bunch (by ear), but it works pretty well. The power band is 1500 to 5200, and it doesn't have the torque of the Mopar cam I had before, but the power stays about the same clear past 5000.

I had the head shaved .015, added a K&N air filter, a high output coil, and a mildly over-rich fuel injector.

It really runs up through the revs easily. As an extra benefit, my mileage improved by about 2 mpg.

I almost forgot, I had two and a quarter inch pipe installed, along with a turbo muffler. The bigger exhaust actually quieted it at the low and medium rpms.

I found that the service manager at the Hibbing Chrysler Center, located about 30 miles from me, knows a lot about 4 cylinder performance. He told me a lot of interesting things. He says that .020 is about the limit on head milling gor running street gas. He also said that a Shelby computer limits the total advance to 38 degrees instead of almost 50 for the stock computer.

This winter I will get a valve job done to my ported head. Next spring I plan on trying to get a set of headers on it too, and hopefully a Shelby distributor.
Many people have had success with simply advancing their cam timing, which can raise gas mileage and power. Click here for instructions.

Match porting

Vincent Cheng wrote:

  1. Use 80 grit sanding rolls for this job. First start by applying dye to the intake gasket surface of the head. Fit studs into the head to help position the intake gasket during the next step. Carefully slip the intake manifold gasket over the studs and against the head so it most nearly matches the intake ports of the head. Working carefully so the gasket isn't moved, scribe a line around each intake port, following the inside diameter the gasket hole. Do the same on the intake manifold. Use bolts to locate the gasket in place. Remove gasket and set it aside.

    Next, with a carbide cutter, grind away the intake port and manifold to match the lines scribed on the mating surfaces. Dip the cutter in beeswax or kerosene to prevent clogging. Blend the new contour into the intake port about one to two inches. Then, you can streamline the valve guide boss, don't remove much material from the guide for fear of weakening it. Remove just enough metal to blend the guide into the port walls.

    After that, with a carbide cutter, carefully and slowly taper the port so that the surface is smooth where the valve seat and the port meet. As you smooth the passage, be very careful not to nick the valve seating surface. The object here is not to remove a lot of material but to eliminate any ridge between the head and seat. Blend and smooth the rough cut into the port wall. Don't take off a lot of material here: Grinding excessively may actually reduce flow! Then, surface the port using the sanding rolls. Don't try for a mirror polish, since a slightly rough finish will be best compromise between flow and fuel atomization.

    Repeat the procedure for each exhaust port, being careful not to enlarge the exhaust port more than the size of the exhaust manifold. Lastly, finish the exhaust port surface with fine paper (220 to 300 grit). A mirror polish in the exhaust port is desirable because it reduces carbon buildup. This is from the Toyota Performance Handbook by Pat Barden.
TBI to Turbo

Maurice Barrett wrote:

I would stick with the stock rods, less reciprocating mass, better throttle response. Early T1's and 2.2 TBI both used light weight rods and I don't see why you would need anything else if you are not going to push more than 200hp.

(Responding to the question of using forged or cast pistons) Neat little trick I heard from a turbo dodge friend, was on 88 Tall Deck TBI 2.5L's you can use early flat top 2.2 pistons. This would kill two birds with one stone, higher compression, beefier first ring land.

(On using Weber side-draft induction)

Totally agree, or you could even go fuel injected and run a turbo intake and batch fire all 4 injectors off a TBI computer (Check out the page on Dereks site). Just as long as you ditch the TBI or carb manifold (heard carb manifold flows better than TBI, but I doubt it compares to side drafts or a 1 piece turbo intake).

(On a $3,000 cost estimate)

You can probably cut some off that 3000 predicted total and still build a engine the right way. The engine you are describing sounds like overkill in some aspects for a NA engine

The great thing about Chrysler is they like to use parts which are usually never pushed their potential in stock form. Find the right combination of parts and you can build a nice little engine.
Timothy Prindell wrote back:

I totally agree regarding the point on increased throttle response and recip mass. Here's my logic behind me and the later rods: It's not the power output I'm worried about, it's the RPM needed to make it. The NA engine is going to need to turn some rather serious RPM to get to 200hp. This RPM increases piston speeds and the need for increased strength to stop and start that piston. The late turbo floater rods wiegh 40g more than the early T1 rods and only 8 more grams per each than the early carbed rods (5203384). I guess it depends on the individual comfort level. If I had the heavier rods on-hand, I'd probably use them if I weren't going to build a turbo motor.

(On the cost): I agree. Some of it is overkill. Some machine work isn't exactly required, but I make sure I at least get the block, crank, rods and head checked and cleaned up. That adds up quick. I overbuild my shortblocks and suggest that to other enthusiasts. The rest can be easily modified later without pulling the engine. Build a great platform, and it doesn't matter what I do later. I know it'll handle it. Don't skimp on the machine work tho. That can bite you later.
Some suspension notes

Stefan P. Mullikin wrote this guide to Shelby Daytona springs and EEK / Daytona suspensions in general:

The front Koni's have 5 (?) adjustment settings and are accessible from the top with a small screw driver. The rear unfortunately are only adjustable by compressing the strut and turning the housing. Generally I find that you don't need to adjust them very much as the middle setting seems pretty good all around. For track days and the like, just adjust them up while you're performing the typical routine maintenance one would do before hitting the track (checking for loose items, broken wiring, leaks, bleeding brakes, changing oil, etc)

You can probably "fix" the height difference front to rear with some spacers on the rear springs. Not ideal, but easier than adding jack screws to the rear perches (similar to NASCAR racers since their spring setup is similar to ours as its separate from the shock)

The Shadows, Daytonas, Lebarons, Lancers, etc share their suspension with the K-car so they can all use the same struts, springs, sway bars, cross members, etc. So the spring's measurements should be similar. The differences being free length and wire diameter (which determines height and stiffness) If you search the archives you'll might find the actual rates of the Eibach spring kits. I do know that the Shadow kit has a higher rate spring (280lb/in on the front if I remember correctly) Not sure of the free length difference between the two of them.

Independent rear suspension for the K-car would be plausible, but the gains would be unknown as the real issue is really with the front. Horrible camber curves, binding sway bars and control arm bushings, bump steer, lots of soft rubber to eliminate any hope of maintaining what little geometry you have, etc. The later model k-members help alleviate some of that, but it's still a strut front end and it will always have that as its main Achilles heal.

The best things you can do is to eliminate the bump steer with rack spacers. Reduce the sway bar's binding by either running a Quickor end link bar (better but not perfect) or running a custom unit that is mounted to the front core support. The idea is that the sway bar is only active during chassis roll, not during bounce or rebound (i.e. it would be nice to be able to move the control arms by hand with or without the sway bar attached)

Once the above has been done, the car won't pull much more lateral grip than before, but it will be much more repeatable. So when you turn into a corner, you should be able to the set the wheel into position and assuming you're driving relatively well you shouldn't move the wheel until you exit. Stock, you typically have to adjust the wheel a little while the suspension compresses. This makes predicting how quickly you can go through some corners difficult because they may have bumps in them that upset the suspension (and therefore the driver, heh).

On the rear the issues are typical trailing arm/solid axle issues. It's very similar to the rear suspension under a NASCAR vehicle only we don't have power transmitting through it so that eliminates that issue (at least its not as bad as a stock Mustang rear suspension) Specifically the change in wheel base as the suspension moves up and down among others. Chrysler also adds a neat element where the rear locating bar moves the suspension laterally as the trailing arm moves up and down. Sort of a rear steer solution only it works when you compress enough of the stock soft rubber bushings and flexible rear arm to make a noticeable difference. Since it's also a solid axle setup the standard solid axle solutions apply quite nicely. Watts linkage, mumford links, etc. Specifically look at some of the solutions that the Lotus Super Seven clone builders are implementing.

If you have your heart set on independent rear suspension, I'd look at a De Dion solution (modified solid axle setup, used on some Alfa Romeo's, etc.) that would probably be a little easier to implement since it shouldn't take up much more room than the stock rear axle solution. Next up would be to troll the local U-Pull-it type yards with a tape measure and find a suitable candidate. A completely removable sub frame would be easier to work with (Miatas and 2nd gen RX-7s come to mind) along with similar rear track and control arm length to the front suspension would help keep both ends working together. Though Bill Cultitta mentioned that the Stratus rear suspension would be a good solution since it's a little beefier than the Neon pieces and it should be 5x100.
Stefan Mullikin's 2.2 - 2.5 equipped car upgrades

If you feel like doing some manual labor, you can bolt in the turbocharged 2.2 or 2.5 liter motor found in the later K-based Chrysler cars.

Find yourself a rusted out Daytona turbo car and pillage it for its stiffer suspension (larger swaybars, quicker ratio steering, and 4 wheel disc brakes) Grab the turbocharged drivetrain, wiring, fuel tank (buy a new pump and fuel lines though) and swap it all into place.

Now the wiring will be tricky, but you should be able to find a later TBI-equipped K-car to grab the wiring harness from which can be combined with the Daytona harness, etc.

To further the cheap and relatively easy suspension modifications, you can use the '90 and later cast aluminum control arms, K-member and uprights to greatly improve the suspension geometry of the car. If you really want to make a difference, build some spacers for the steering rack to decrease the bump steer (as the suspension moves, the steering angle will change slightly, kind of annoying) Buy a strut tower brace (fwdperformance.com) or modify a 240SX (Silvia) front bar to work on the K-car. This will increase the turn in response of the car immeasurably. The rear control arm from a later Daytona/Shadow/Lebaron performance model will have rear discs and a larger sway bar. John Spiva has Polyurethane suspension bushings for both the front and rear suspension (polybushings.com)

For wheels, whatever you can find will work. I think 16's are about the max I'd run on my cars but then I don't want to spend $2000 on wheels and tires for a $600 car. I've seen people running Daytonas with 17x8's and they look positively mean. So I bought some 15x7" American Racing Spyder rims off Ebay and shod them with 205/60 15 Yokohama's. When those wear out I'll probably put some 225/50 Kumho's on it. Luckily the bolt pattern of our cars matches with many other FWD cars. If you've got 4-lug wheels its 4x100, if you've got 5-lug wheels it 5x100. Heck if you want to use the larger 5x114 that the Mitsu use, you can swap to later model minivan hubs.

Neons are a great source of wheels as they came with either 4 or 5 lug depending on the option package/year.

As far as the engine goes: You can upgrade to the turbocharged drivetrain, just make sure you nab everything under the hood from the donor car as it's a system. Of course the modifications for the turbo motors are well documented on Gary Donovan's website as well as many other sites. Now, for the stock drivetrain, ditch the stock carb and emissions system. You can replace the carb with a Weber 32/36 DFEV (bolts on with some finagling of the throttle arm) You only need the one or two vacuum lines to run the car, the rest is just excess and my Rampage 2.2 passes emissions testing just fine this way. You can still find headers for the carbureted 2.2's which really help. Just make sure to use a long flex coupler and increase the pipe diameter of the system to at least 2-1/4" all the way back. IF you want to have some fun, pick up a side draft weber setup from Pierce Manifolds and freak some people out :) There was also a dual downdraft carb intake sold through Mopar Performance that used two stock carbs or two Weber 32/36 carbs. Also, Mopar Performance sold a supercharger kit for the early 2.2's which could raise the output to 150hp, which is about the same as a standard turbo motor with just much better throttle response.

Mike Holler's mods and repair tips



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