Starting brand new

[KBOOGIE13]

Hi everyone.... I just bought a 99 Eclipse GS n/t a couple of months ago. I have not even touched or skimmed the layer of starting to do mods. I have asked around and heard to start with the exhaust first, go intake first, skip all of that and go straight turbo, etc. I have not had any first or really good start yet. I am looking at getting a Motech exhaust first.....unless that is wrong. Then I was going to go to the intake. I have not decided on doing the turbo/supercharge thing either. I have looked at both pros/cons for both and neither stands out as being the better of the two. What do you all think. I live in Las Vegas, and looking at doing everything to this car and running the slowest 11's. I want the body to stay as much stock as possible to hide the wonderful power that this baby will bring. All and any help/advice will be much appreciated. Kris

 

[98TsiAWD]

11's in a FWD 2g will take ALOT of work. Check out www.hahnracecraft.com
www.howellautomotive.com

 

[dave99gst]

ALOT - with wicked driving skillz

 

[nutshot]

Glad to see you want a stock appearance. What was the deciding factor in buying this car?

 

[KBOOGIE13]

So, I am assuming that 11's is too much to ask? What do you think is reasonable? The deciding factor was the driving ability, handling, more sleeker look, not too many of them with mods done here in Vegas (everyone is with an Acura or Honda). What do you think on accessories/after market equipment? I was just told by a friend, who is from San Diego, to skip the exhaust (he thinks that I will have too much back pressure and lose power, not thinking my car will handle the 3' mo-tech exhaust) and go straight to throwing the turbo on first.

 

[ltvarney]

11's are a long shot. Seeing as you bought a non-turbo, 13's-14's or slower times are in your future unless you do a factory turbo conversion or a lot of work. This is not cheap. But it is decent considering a GS has basically a Neon motor. To get 11's out of your GS, you are going to have a lot more work than if you had got a GS-T, GSX, or a TSi.

If you really want to shoot for 11's, I must question your vehicle choice. The price/performance ratio for a GS is pretty high when compared to other DSMs. Consider this: the price of a '99 N/A Eclipse doesn't fall far from that of a '98 TSi since the Talons have a low resale value. If you did a 6-bolt conversion to the GS, you'd wind up paying double to be on par performance-wise with someone running the newest factory TSi.

I'm not trying to burst your bubble, I'm just saying unless you have cash to blow, I'd say use your GS for show, save yourself a ton of cash, and grab a nice 1g TSi from dsmtrader.com for the go. Besides, when you hit 11s, you'll be breaking so much stuff, you'll be glad you have a backup car. I'm considering an ESi for that very reason.

Anyway check these out:

http://www.hahnracecraft.com/auto/eclipse/eclipse.htm
http://www.dsmtuners.com/tuning-guide/2gnt/
http://www.ddynopower.com/
http://www.2gnt.com/

The Hahn site supposedly has a kit to get you into the 275hp/13's, the DSMTuners guide has staged upgrades you can do yourself to get a little bit more power with each upgrade, and should answer your exhaust questions. Doug's Dynopower page is just cool and even has the Star kit, even tho I hear it sucks but will get you to 300hp. The 2GNT site is for people like you.

When you start modifying your car, the best thing to do is to follow the "recipe" that others before you have created. The DSMTuners recipe is pretty nice as is the info you'll find at 2gNT . If your friends are telling you what to mod and they do not drive modified DSMs themselves, nod your head, smile, and then forget the honda logic they have spouted or you will wind up with a car that does not run or one that runs poorly.

Good luck man, congrats on your purchase, and welcome to the DSM forums.

 

[Airpoppoff]

^^^^ well said

shouldent this be in an n/t performance fourum?