TOPIC: Dodge Neon 2003 - May not be feasable

Took a close look at a 2003 Dodge Neon to evaluate the possibility.

What I found was a lot of carbon fiber plastics and a Throttle body made of similiar material (higher density) with a thin wall and hardware attached.

The TB was actually mounted to the air cleaner with a flex hose connecting it to the intake manifold. Mounted on the TB was the Throttlebody positioning sensor and the Idle Air Control. From the position and contours of the TB where the IAC was attached in looked like the Idle Air opening was below the Throttle Plate directly under where the groove would be.

The Valve cover vent went directly to the Air Cleaner enclosure. The PCV was located at the head of the engine with the vacuum connection on the manifold just after the flex hose connection.

We'll be looking at the option of working on a pick&pull TB to see what can be done with this vehicle.

Hi Karl,
Nice photos. It would be great if we could see the area where you say there might not be enough room for the groove. I also wonder about the fluid dynamic effects of the high pressure bundles created by the groove going through the flexible tubing between TB and the intake. Thanks for the heads up.

The throttlebody assembly wall thickness throughout is approximate .150" and the throttle plate is about a 3 1/2" reach from the bottom of the throttlebody. There would be a lot of JB Weld involved to make it happen. I did not take the IAC off the unit so I'm not sure of the "air in" part of the flow, the air exit... thinking more about it, it may or may not interfere with the groove effect but should be considered.

We were looking at the flex hose and its ribbing, whether it would negate the groove effect is up for discussion as the ribbing itself could have a positive effect on the airflow already. If anything it would make for an interesting 3rd party product that could be inserted into the hose.

If we find a spare TB at some point we'll probably give it a shot just to see the results.