Stay N/A or turbocharge?

[Kyle97-clipse]

Okay so I have a 97 eclipse with the 420a engine which I absolutely love! Ive owned this car for like 8 months and am in love with it. It has all the basic NT upgrades cold air intake, headers, exhaust, under drive pulley, and ported and polished head. I feel that the car pulls nice and has a lot of power, could be just me haha. My question is that i would like to know that i have a lot more power there to compete with some quicker cars out there today, so I feel its time for me to go turbo. Do you guys think it would be worth it with 107,000 miles I really dont have much money but would like to slowly start piecing one together . Also I know that there is probobably no more all motor upgrades or am I worong?

 

[cyclonekid77]

last year at the shoot-out i saw a n/a 420a eclipse that was running 13's if i remember rite, so im sure if you wanted to you could make yours faster the way it is

 

[bagged420a]

you could switch out the cams and go nitrous, if you wanted to stay n/a.
and for the boost, with 100k + miles it makes since. Because you'll want to switch the compression ratio, and you could rebuilt the block while your at it

I did my turbo and block at like 150k miles

 

[cyclonekid77]

you could also build a second engine on the side and put it in once your ready.

 

[silvreclips]

It would be much cheaper to turbo the car to get much more power of it NA. As long as you do everything right and have a good tune your motor should be able to take it no problem. I would still plan on building it fairly soon afterwards but it would give you more time to save some money. Instead of dropping a few g's into the car all at once.

 

[bagged420a]

As long as you do everything right and have a good tune your motor should be able to take it no problem.

By take it, I would think he's only speaking of small amounts of boost..8 psi

 

[Doubleot]

I would say if you feel like you can piece together a turbo setup for a while and then throw it all in then do it, I have two dsms one is a 420a and the other is a tsi awd both second gen and honestly it costed me less to buy the tsi then to start setting up a turbo for the 420a but i have seen a couple 420a n/t that are pretty quick.

 

[Locke]

last year at the shoot-out i saw a n/a 420a eclipse that was running 13's if i remember rite, so im sure if you wanted to you could make yours faster the way it is

You're right, except he was dialed in at 13.x, but bogged out of the hole and ran a 14.x, though he does run 13's.

That was bullettdsm, by the way.

 

[Mike431635]

I've been piecing together my setup over the past couple months, and with the amount I've spent freshening up the motor (basic tune-up, PCV, timing & accessory belts) and buying parts, I could have bought a nice 1g TSi/GSX with mods. I've spent around $1800-2000 by my estimate at this point. So if you're willing to spend that money on the car you love, go for it. It'll be a rewarding experience.

One advantage of doing it slowly is that you CAN install things bit by bit. For example, 255lph HP fuel pump and rewire mod can go in any time, FMU can go in (12:1 or SFMU), TB upgrade if wanted. You can also weld in the oil return bung and cap it for now, install the oil feed setup at the back of the block and put a male-male AN union & cap on the end of the feed line, and watch for leaks so you remedy them before the turbo is ready to go in, boost gauge, etc. You can also get the dp fabricated or take time to find deals like I did (for example, got a Treadstone dp already extended to mate with the catback for $150 shipped) and end up paying less.

You will be ok on 6-8psi assuming the motor has been maintained properly. Just don't forget the simple things like colder plugs and a fresh oil change.

 

[rstchris]

You could do what I wished I would have done with my 420a, port the tb, cams and a smim then if you still want more, go turbo. I boosted first then instead of building the top end for power I built the bottom for more boost. You kinda get cosumed by psi, you always want just one more.

 

[LD25Delta9]

BOOST IT MAN!!!!!! I just got done with my build and I freaking LOVE IT!!!! I'm only sitting at 5lbs cause I need a better boost controller, but oh my god! Even at 5lbs, he pulls so much harder!!!!!

 

[123eclipz]

do what you want. IMO the 420a is fine but im just a high schooler. w/ not alot of money. i want to do a turbo some day but not now for me. if you really want to them i would do it if i had the money.good luck

 

[Diamondrev]

Boost!

 

[macrros]

Boost It!! I'm about half way of geting all my stuff of it I remember my 93 Tsi RIP Nothing like a turbo!!!

Man I Forgot About This Site Haven't Been on in a long time! Time to contribute.
But dam Still a new-B

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Okay so I have a 97 eclipse with the 420a engine which I absolutely love! Ive owned this car for like 8 months and am in love with it. It has all the basic NT upgrades cold air intake, headers, exhaust, under drive pulley, and ported and polished head. I feel that the car pulls nice and has a lot of power, could be just me haha. My question is that i would like to know that i have a lot more power there to compete with some quicker cars out there today, so I feel its time for me to go turbo. Do you guys think it would be worth it with 107,000 miles I really dont have much money but would like to slowly start piecing one together . Also I know that there is probobably no more all motor upgrades or am I worong?

You're going to have to do some research and answer this question for yourself. This forum is for asking technical questions, not general advice. Besides, as you see, about 90% of the members will tell you to turbocharge it anyway... it's the one common thread between us all.