Advice on buying a 97 Eclipse and modifications

[mdre21]

I hate to say this because i really like my talon a lot but the more i have it and the more i drive it the more ready i am to get rid of it. The car looks great and 2g dsms are probably some of the prettiest production cars ever made. But their handling sucks, the weight balance is so much to the front that it damn near pivots on the fron tires, and the transmissions suck, no matter what model you get. DSM Trannies are just plain horrible and if you really want expensive problems we can talk about crankwalk too. So if your really serious about putting in a lot of horsepower or you want a car that can stick to the ground then get something else, but if you want a pretty daily driver that's decently fast get yourself a gst or a gsx, but if you want a real car that's made for performance get something else

 

[90Turbo]

Stock internals on the turbo engine are strong. They can handle 15+ psi on stock internals and it can be daily driven. I have 20 psi on my stock internals and it still runs like a champ. The non turbo engine can only max out at about 8 psi before internals need to be changed. So how can you say the engines are pretty much the same. Its night and day IMO.

 

[lo eclipz]

the engines arent that different the stock internals of the 420a can handle around 300hp. so the 15-20 psi on the stock internals is also somewhere around 300 hp. So its not so different. They both are cool, props to both engines.

 

[90Turbo]

Ya right, your dreaming if you think the 420A can handle 15 psi of boost on stock internals. It might handle it for a little bit but not for long. 8 psi on the 420A is nowhere around 300hp. I have seen people with fully built bottom end 420A's and they can't hardly run 15 psi. Yes it can handle 15 psi for a little bit maybe but it will let go on you sooner or later on stock internals. Now a 420A with a built bottom end, fuel system upgrades, etc. can handle 15 psi probably. But with the 4G63 you can go to about 18 psi before you need to mess with fuel components. Its cheap and easier to just start off with the turbo engine if you want extreme amounts of boost.

 

[Ajax]

I finally got the car that I wanted this week!! A Eclipse GS '97 I wanted a GST or GSX but living in Iowa that is hard to come by. So yeah I have read the good and the bad about turboing a GS but I think that is all that I am left to do, and I love the challenge. Question, if you do replace the internals of the 420A engine, which I will do later, will it be able to run higher boost than 14 or so? The other question that I have is which kit would be better, there a two that I found the STAR kit and the HAHN kit. I mostly drive on the street with a race on some back street every now and then. I have at the most about $3000 grand for a kit (I am a college student .Thanks alot, I am sure you guys are going to answer all my questions that I am going to have later.

 

[Eclipse96Ryder]

i recommend the star kit....bigger turbo, FMIC, cheaper.

 

[kagegod]

Originally posted by Eclipse96Ryder
i recommend the star kit....bigger turbo, FMIC, cheaper.

Agreed on that part. I had the Star Stage II kit running about 6psi stock exhaust and I smoked an Acura Integra GSR with all the bolt ons and a reprogrammed ECU so don't listen to the person who said they got smoked by Integra with bolt ons - they just can't drive aparently.

It's good to see that some things never change around here. namely the stock turbo DSMs coming in here knocking the N/T DSMs who want to go turbo. I say do what you want and to hell with those people out there who are telling you to just get a GSX/GS-T.

 

[Ajax]

So I decided to go with the star kit. I would be able to upgrade it later right? O yeah, what kind of oil should I run in my car? Keeping in mind it gets really cold in the winter up in Iowa? Thanks

 

[Eclipse96Ryder]

yo...


my friend has a 95 GSR, and there is no way in hell it could hang with stage 2 turboed 420a. even with intake, header, and exhaust theyre still pushing a 15 flat....ive seen some people with the star stage 2 hit the 13's at 10psi with an exhaust on stock internals...ive never seen that out of a hahn kit

 

[Ajax]

So yeah $3 k is a little to much for me. Do any of you guys know were I can find a stage II kit for a little cheaper, and if it is possible to get it without a intercooler, since I already bought a big front mount IC, thanks Alot

 

[Eclipse96Ryder]

um...if you already got a big front mount, then go with the star stage 1, it doesnt come with an intercooler, and its only 1800bux. But remember you would have to get custom intercooler pipes