Getting Quicker Off The Line?

[Dennyj1992]

So I was watching some youtube videos (sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong section btw) and though these 420A engines have very little torque, they can still kind of "hop" off the line decently it seems. If your confused about what I'm talking about, see the videos below please.

Stock 1995 Eagle Talon ESi - YouTube

1997 eagle talon ESI - YouTube

These guys seem to be getting a pretty good jump until atleast 20 mph, and then they wait for the higher RPM's to run in. (The second video seems like it's more of a TSI model, or an ESI with lots of mods haha). Mine is more like this guy's:

0-60 1995 Eagle Talon ESi - YouTube

Lol, literally. My car acts like it has three people in it. It jumps like poop off the line, and the 0-60 sprint seems like it's around 11 seconds or so. Is this right, because I figured with this much HP to weight, it would be a little quicker, especially since it has 4 gears over 3. Btw, my exhaust isn't fixed yet, so I have a big hole in my muffler, and my straight pipe is falling down in the center, underneath the car. Would this affect my performance at all? It seems to be hurting my gas mileage a bit too.

So...what do you guys recommend? I'm not expecting this car to be a speed demon, or be anywhere near as quick as the turbo model, but would some new motor mounts, and a new tranny mount help this car "jump" off the line faster somehow?

I've been trying to figure this out for a while now, ever since I had that 96 Ford Probe SE a while back, and that thing had so little torque, but could still literally "hop" across an intersection in a split second. After that of course, you have to wait for the mid or high range RPM's to kick in, but even in cars with a bad torque curve, they can still give you a rush off the line (when your used to a Saturn SL1 like I am ).

 

[onecleanlaser]

yea these cars do get up and go regardless of turbo, id focus on the basics fix the exhaust first, then go from there simple tune up plugs wires. Hows your clutch feel that could be some loss of power. Id start with headers and cold air intake for a lil more torque, good luck

 

[Dennyj1992]

Yep, I'm gonna start with the exhaust. Then go from there, with a tune-up I guess. It does need some new mounts, and it has a WAI as well. The straight-pipe needs to be put back up too, so hopefully that helps with performance. That's part of the exhaust of course...

 

[gusu]

Motor mounts and a thicker should improve defromation at launch and reduce wheel hop. Larger rims help as well.

 

[DSM1G90]

You prob have a plugged CAT if you have no power...drill a 1/16"hole at the header of the CAT and i bet your power comes back. DODGE CATS love to plug up quite easily esp when the miles are on them..

Also, these are CA DSMs ..note the KM readings on the speedo..and they have different setups than the US DSMs.

 

[Dr_Jay02]

Yes just do some base mods, intake exhaust, staged clutch, motor mounts will help a little. But I wouldnt put a lot of money in the 420A For what you can get a 4G63 for.

 

[Dennyj1992]

Motor mounts and a thicker should improve defromation at launch and reduce wheel hop. Larger rims help as well.

Motor mounts and a thicker what? I already have some pretty nice rims on the car, and they aren't small .

 

[red_devil]

You do realize those are km/hr tachs right? so its going to look "faster"

 

[Dennyj1992]

Yep, I realize they are KM/PH .

 

[H@xtGSX]

Yes just do some base mods, intake exhaust, staged clutch, motor mounts will help a little. But I wouldnt put a lot of money in the 420A For what you can get a 4G63 for.

For about the same $$$ as a 4g63 swap, you could put a decent set of cams, forged internals, and a decent size turbo on a 420a and probably get more bang for the buck and amount of work involved... Work with what you have. Most of the time, that will be more cost effective than jumping the fence because you think the grass is greener on the other side.

...this is also very dependent on how much work you are confident in doing yourself. These cars are one of the greatest teaching platforms I have ever seen, but you have to be willing to risk failure to learn what works and what doesn't. If you can't risk the car for that, stick to the obvious bolt ons and basic maintenance stuff. I honestly would like to see more turbo 420a's. It shows a lot of dedication, to say the least... they can be bad ass motors if set up right.

 

[mrjreezy]

For about the same $$$ as a 4g63 swap, you could put a decent set of cams, forged internals, and a decent size turbo on a 420a and probably get more bang for the buck and amount of work involved... Work with what you have. Most of the time, that will be more cost effective than jumping the fence because you think the grass is greener on the other side.

...this is also very dependent on how much work you are confident in doing yourself. These cars are one of the greatest teaching platforms I have ever seen, but you have to be willing to risk failure to learn what works and what doesn't. If you can't risk the car for that, stick to the obvious bolt ons and basic maintenance stuff. I honestly would like to see more turbo 420a's. It shows a lot of dedication, to say the least... they can be bad ass motors if set up right.

I doubt he meant a 4g63 swap. I think he meant to buy a dsm with a 4g63 in it. Which you can find for cheap, depending on what condition it is in. That being said I agree with wanting to see more 420a turbos. One of the main reason I joined this site is that its more 420a friendly than the others.

I would definitely fix the exhaust problem. If you want to up the power a little bit you could do minor bolt ons (like already mentioned) and a better rebuild (that's what I did). After I finish my GSX Autocross build, I will be boosting my RS. If you ever decide to go boosted just remember to do it right. Rebuild, tuning, fuel upgrade, etc. Dont take shortcuts.

 

[Dennyj1992]

For about the same $$$ as a 4g63 swap, you could put a decent set of cams, forged internals, and a decent size turbo on a 420a and probably get more bang for the buck and amount of work involved... Work with what you have. Most of the time, that will be more cost effective than jumping the fence because you think the grass is greener on the other side.

...this is also very dependent on how much work you are confident in doing yourself. These cars are one of the greatest teaching platforms I have ever seen, but you have to be willing to risk failure to learn what works and what doesn't. If you can't risk the car for that, stick to the obvious bolt ons and basic maintenance stuff. I honestly would like to see more turbo 420a's. It shows a lot of dedication, to say the least... they can be bad ass motors if set up right.

Wow, everyone else seems so biased on the whole "boosting the 420a" dilemma, and you just gave me some good insight on it. Everyone else who chimed in, thank you for the great ideas so far. I won't be overhauling ass on this car or anything, but will put a little bit of time into it, at least getting it fixed up and tuned to where it should be.