9!'clipseDOHC's 1g DSM build

[Ghost_92TSi]

I couldn't make it because I was working on getting the Eclipse ready for the RallyX in Tucson this weekend. Did you go? The Eclipse will jut be used for rallyX next year, same as it was for this year and I will continue to use the Evo for Autox. By the way, I met your GF the other day at that Subaru/Evo cruise.

Yea she was there. And yea we all rolled out to the autox. It was four subies, me and a mustang (subie dealership tech). I don't know if you know Jeremy with his blue 04 sti. He went into the high curb by the starting line and did 6k worth of damage. Got some good pics of the guys out there.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Yea she was there. And yea we all rolled out to the autox. It was four subies, me and a mustang (subie dealership tech). I don't know if you know Jeremy with his blue 04 sti. He went into the high curb by the starting line and did 6k worth of damage. Got some good pics of the guys out there.

Yeah, Paul told me about that, that sucks! It's the first time that has happened in the 3 years that I have been racing there.

Yesterday was the 6th and final event in the AZ Rally Group's 2013 Tucson RallyX series. I managed to rack up a 10 second lead over 2nd place to win the M2 class at the event as well as clinch first place in the 2013 championship race.

Here are some pictures:















I will be making the jump to AWD now that the season is over. I'm having doubts about doing the swap on my Eclipse becuase of the type of racing I do and the amount of abuse it will be subjected to. I will be doing some soul searching over the next few days and decide if I am going to use the Eclipse's FWD chassis or the Talon's AWD chassis.

 

[Tyeler18]

As much of a pain in the ass it is to do the swap, like you said before, you've come so far with that shell it'd be hard to give up on it now. This is the ultimate "non turbo to turbo awd" build. Cleanliness and ease of install- swap it over to the talon. Sentimental value and to say you can- swap the eclipse.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Don't stop now you can do it, the shell is worth the swap.

 

[Talon96fwd]

^^^^

 

[Ghost_92TSi]

Why not have both! Swap the motor over, Do a nice stock set up on the clipse and have your wifey compete too!

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Alright guys! It was been a busy 3 months since my last update on this build. My new primary build thread is here: My 1g DSM M4 RallyX build - DirtyEvo.com - The Evo and DSM Rally Forum!, since this car is being built for rallyx. I decided to strip the factory AWD shell down to nothing, and move every single piece (that isn't FWD specific) from the Eclipse over on to the AWD shell. This is still my Eclipse. I just upgraded the chassis and drivetrain. Think of it as a hermit crab if you will. New shell, same crab

I thought it would be fun to show you a series of pictures of the engine bay time lapse style. This is from December to March and shows the amount of work and progress that was made. Keep in mind the whole car was being transformed, not just the engine bay!



































That brings us up to today! As I mentioned it wasn't just the engine bay. The next post will show you some of the other stuff that was going on.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Here are some more pictures going along with the last update!

Here is the interior stripped down:



And the interior finished:



Here is the exterior I started with:



And the exterior now (this was at the state inspection, which it passed! It is now fully registered, insured and inspected for use on the street!):



Here is the 4 bolt rear being swapped in:



Evo Bilstein HD struts with stock Evo springs, stainless brake line, Brembo rotors, Hawk HPS pads:



The magnaflow muffler I welded on (it is now back to a full 3" exhaust with MAP stainless 02 housing, Punishment 3" stainless FWD downpipe, homemade 3" catback, Magnaflow 3" muffler):



Some proper testing of the AWD system:



And here is a flyer for the RallyX series I will be racing in this year (the first race is next Saturday!):



Wow! What an update!!

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

I'm thinking maybe I should call it a Mitsubishi Eclipse TSI AWD Evolution RS Turbo.

It's a Mitsubishi Eclipse, with a TSI AWD drivetrain and chassis, Laser RS Turbo engine and ECU, and Evolution VIII suspension.

 

[boarderlib]

I'm thinking maybe I should call it a Mitsubishi Eclipse TSI AWD Evolution RS Turbo.

It's a Mitsubishi Eclipse, with a TSI AWD drivetrain and chassis, Laser RS Turbo engine and ECU, and Evolution VIII suspension.

Frankendsm! You got to love it when a plan comes together.

 

[@TDC]

I had a couple questions regarding how you welded up the holes in the bay. What amperage settings did you use when welding? Also what gauge wire did you use? You just threw a bead over the bolt holes right and didn't fill them? Last what gauge of steel did you tack in for the bigger holes? I know it's a lot but thanks a lot!

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Frankendsm! You got to love it when a plan comes together.

Haha, heck yeah! Reminds me of this song:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWHniL8MyMM]Johnny Cash One Piece At A Time - YouTube[/ame]

I had a couple questions regarding how you welded up the holes in the bay. What amperage settings did you use when welding? Also what gauge wire did you use? You just threw a bead over the bolt holes right and didn't fill them? Last what gauge of steel did you tack in for the bigger holes? I know it's a lot but thanks a lot!

I'm using a cheap 90 amp mig welder with .030" flux core wire. The speed is set at 6 out of 10 and the heat is on low. The metal is very thin and you have to go slow to keep from burning though. For the bigger holes (heater core, A/C, wire harness, etc) I used 22 gauge steel. I traced out the hole onto the steel, cut it out, and used magnets to hold it in place while I tacked it on.

 

[@TDC]

Haha, heck yeah! Reminds me of this song:

Johnny Cash One Piece At A Time - YouTube





I'm using a cheap 90 amp mig welder with .030" flux core wire. The speed is set at 6 out of 10 and the heat is on low. The metal is very thin and you have to go slow to keep from burning though. For the bigger holes (heater core, A/C, wire harness, etc) I used 22 gauge steel. I traced out the hole onto the steel, cut it out, and used magnets to hold it in place while I tacked it on.

Sweet! Thanks so much! Was also curious how you routed the wire harness on the new shell? I couldn't see how it was routed in the photos.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Sweet! Thanks so much! Was also curious how you routed the wire harness on the new shell? I couldn't see how it was routed in the photos.

No problem. For the ECU harness I enlarged a hole in the firewall just to the right (towards the passenger side) of the shifter cables and that is where I routed the wires though. Completely out of sight.

Well I had some fun yesterday at my first rally! I got 3rd place overall behind an Evo IX and an STI. I'm going to be working on my suspension and alignment and am hoping for 2nd at the next event. I was only 2.2 seconds behind the STI. I still need to install my rear Evo Bilsteins, Yoshifab camber plates, and get an alignment.

 

[SBstar]

Those pics rock!

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Yes, awesome pics Nathan! Thanks for sharing.

 

[jjm96gst]

Looking good hope all is well with you

 

[1990AWD]

How are you liking the AWD?

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Those pics rock!

Yes, awesome pics Nathan! Thanks for sharing.

Looking good hope all is well with you

Thanks guys!

How are you liking the AWD?

The AWD is putting the power down perfectly! I love it! I was running 18psi and able to mash the pedal on the floor. Before with the FWD I was running 8psi and was racing at 1/4 throttle to keep some traction. The handling was lacking but my setup is all out of whack at the moment. It should be fixed by the next event though. I would also love to get the rear end to lock up better under throttle. I've been spoiled by the rear diff in the Evo.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Where to begin! So after my last RallyX in July I started experiencing charging issues where the car would only be running off the battery until it would simply die. In fact I had to get jumped started 4 times just to make it home from the race. I pulled the alternator off and had it tested but it tested good. I checked all of the wiring and everything was tight and good to go. I replaced the alternator relay and then it was seeing 14 volts so I figured it was fixed. The car sat for the next several weeks until the day before my next RallyX, which was yesterday.

So two days ago I started her up and let her idle while I put air in the tires and made sure everything was ready for the race. I took her around the block and when I got home I noticed she was only seeing 12 volts while running. I drove to Auto Zone for them to test the charging system with the alternator on the car. I get there and they said the couldn't test it unless the battery was charged, which is wasn't because I had driven over there just on the battery. I explain that clearly its an alternator issue (I have a lifetime warranty on my alternator through AZ) but in all their wisdom, they insist that its a battery issue. I explain that while the car is running the electrical power for the car is supplied by the alternator and I should be seeing about 14 volts. They insist that the alternator only charges the battery and if the battery is bad I won't be seeing 14 volts, even if the alternator is good. I hope you see the kind of geniuses I was dealing with. Luckily I had a very knowledgeable buddy, and fellow Evo owner, working at Pep boys right down the street so I left AZ, never to return.

It seems my alternator was working until it got warm, which I suppose explained how it passed the bench test. I made some phone calls to find a AZ with the alternator I needed (so I can get it free under warranty) and the only one is on the other side of town 30-40 minutes away and its already quite late. I'm loosing hope in being able to race the next day. Luckily another buddy of mine who was also going to the rallyx the next day and lived on that side of town offered to pick it up for me and bring it over first thing in the morning so we could swap it out and hopefully both make it to the race.

5:30 the next morning I was already out working on the car. By 6:30 I had 4 other guys that were also running the rallyx that day over at my house helping me change the alternator and get my car to the race. You've got to love the camaraderie in this sport! We made short work of it, made it to the rally, and my charging system worked beautifully all day!

The rallyX was a blast although I struggled with a few of the turns and ended up last in my class (Modified AWD) behind an '06 Evo IX and an '08 WRX/STI. After the race was over a few of us had some fun in a muddy section that the course had basically looped around. These are the pictures I leave you with, Enjoy!

 

[boarderlib]

You got to love them part store guys. Most of them know everything, but nothing at the same time. Anyways at least you had some help and the plan came together, and you got a few really good pics out of the ordeal. I do believe that's the dirtiest I've seen that car yet..

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

You got to love them part store guys. Most of them know everything, but nothing at the same time. Anyways at least you had some help and the plan came together, and you got a few really good pics out of the ordeal. I do believe that's the dirtiest I've seen that car yet..

Luckily all the pieces did fall into place! This is definitely the dirtiest that its ever been. Usually when I get home its just a little dusty. This time it was turning heads all the way home!

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

9!'clipseDOHC updated 9!'clipseDOHC's Eclipse N/T (w/turbo)


View updates to this DSM profile...[DOUBLEPOST=1409795335][/DOUBLEPOST]Also, you know me, I couldn't let her just sit there all dirty so she is all nice and clean again now!

 

[snowborder714]

I can't even imagine how much of a PITA it is to clean that engine bay after a race!

Love seeing the race updates and the car just covered in mud

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Man... That was some serious mud flyin'!! Looks awesome again after the cleanup. Thanks for sharing the pics with us once again Nathan.