Getting the most out of an Automatic DSM [1G]

[Oblivion02]

Hey guys,

As you may have noticed in other threads of mine, my goals with my car aren't to upgrade turbo, or make it a RACE car or anything like that. I just want to squeeze the max out of it, leaving MOST of it stock. I've been reading up a bit about shift kits. Do you guys think this is worth it? I have an Eclipse 91 GS-T A/T.

Do you guys have any recommendations to get the best out of this A/T Transmission, and max out the performance while keeping most of it stock [no turbo upgrades]?

Thanks in advance! Hope you guys can help me out here.

 

[Spln_Hrd]

I think most of the A/T guys are putting in a valve to get full line pressure, and fabbing up a switch box for the 1-2 and 3-4 shift solinoids.

Although I think your goals make no sense, to get the most performance you will have to modify, there is not a magic button to push to make it perform better without doing anything.

 

[rich3389]

Boost controller, boost gauge, logger, intake, exhaust.
If you want to put in a shift kit its up to you, if you haev never done it before is can be difficult, but it will shift very nice afterwards. Nice solid shifts that pull you into the seat.

 

[tommy260]

2nd gen mas... Read and follow the "free mods" list and you will probably be satisfied

 

[dsmconvict]

As far as keepin it basic I think I've got something like that as my set up for an auto:

5spd ecu (eliminates timing cut)
450's
14b
2g mani
rewired stock pump
translab shift kit
ipt end clutch kit
upgraded trans cooler
and the valve from ipt

This is all on a 40k 1g 7bolt w/auto cams. I'm looking to upgrade to maybe a n/t intake cam and 5spd exhaust cam. All in all the trans upgrades I have are pretty much the basic upgrades.

Chris

 

[Oblivion02]

I think most of the A/T guys are putting in a valve to get full line pressure, and fabbing up a switch box for the 1-2 and 3-4 shift solinoids.

Although I think your goals make no sense, to get the most performance you will have to modify, there is not a magic button to push to make it perform better without doing anything.

What I mean is I do not want to upgrade my turbo, or get ALOT of horsepower. I just basically want to tune it, get the max out of it. I'm keeping my injectors, not upgrading my ECU either. I just want to tune it, and try to make the most out of it. To me, they make sense. I'm still 18, and I do not want my parents getting paranoid by any significant HP upgrades. I will get a new exhaust system however, walbro fuel pump 190lph, an AFPR, and with the logger, I will try to squeeze the highest safe boost level.

Just want some commentaries by people who have experience with shiftkits and other things like that. Are they really worth the time? How do they affect the fuel economy? Usually A/T cars run lower mpg. I've heard its because of the torque converter. When you use a shiftkit, does that help out the mpg at all?

 

[autotalon]

for what you say you want, then I wouldn't bother with the shift kit. I would, however, do the end clutches. The shift kit mostly just firms and shortens the shifting. The end clutches are important for the trans to remain engaged. A shift kit won't effect fuel economy.

 

[90laserRSfwd]

I'm keeping my injectors, not upgrading my ECU either. I just want to tune it, and try to make the most out of it. I will get a new exhaust system however, walbro fuel pump 190lph, an AFPR, and with the logger, I will try to squeeze the highest safe boost level.

WTF ??? If your getting a pump, fpr, and an exhaust why would you keep the injectors and worthless 13b? If you don't want to upgrade the ECU, which I understand, how do you plan on tuning the car? SAFC? I don't think you've read enough about dsm's or I'm having trouble understanding your post. Could be my fault. The entire point of upgrading something is to make it better. You might as well put on a front mount and a gt35r turbo on the car and leave the rest of it stock. I know that changing the exhaust and pump are going to help you, but if your not upgrading the injectors or the turbo, your just wasting your time and money. It's like seriously....

 

[Bluefire16]

I cant wait to start on my 2g gst....i kinda have the same plans with the automatic, but i gotta pay my bills first

 

[Oblivion02]

WTF ??? If your getting a pump, fpr, and an exhaust why would you keep the injectors and worthless 13b? If you don't want to upgrade the ECU, which I understand, how do you plan on tuning the car? SAFC? I don't think you've read enough about dsm's or I'm having trouble understanding your post. Could be my fault. The entire point of upgrading something is to make it better. You might as well put on a front mount and a gt35r turbo on the car and leave the rest of it stock. I know that changing the exhaust and pump are going to help you, but if your not upgrading the injectors or the turbo, your just wasting your time and money. It's like seriously....

Maybe you didnt understand what I meant with tuning. Maybe tuning is not the right word for what I'm trying to say. What I'm TRYING to say is I'm not looking for any significant upgrades. Turbo is going to stay stock, injectors as well, etc. Mostly stock. But I want to try and get the most out of my stock car. When I say get the most, I do not mean "discovering a secret button that makes it work better". I mean setting the boost to the highest, safe setting, and doing routine maintainance to keep everything running nice and smoothly. Upgrades like the exhaust are just perks, I know they are not NECESARY for my goals, but if I ever decide to upgrade from my almost stock setup, I'm a few steps ahead

 

[1stgendon]

U can change the timing without big bolt ons. I had a 93 honda civic. I took it to the track and it ran a high 18 @ 73 mph. I was bumed. It was a 1.5 singel cam non v-tech. I didn't have much money. I put a full msd set-up, fuel regulator, cold air intake and advanced the timin since it was n/a only. Next time at the track i ran a 16.4 @ 91 mph burin out through 1st gear i was pumped.

 

[dsmconvict]

I fully understand what you're saying. The 14b,1g or 2g mani, 450's and ecu out of a 5spd car will not hurt anything and they're pretty cheap. It's a basic way to get a little more pep out of an auto car. The 13g will only flow so much and then fall flat on its face. The 14b on the other hand can handle some abuse. Hands down for what you want I'd just do the bolt-ons with an end clutch. I'd really look into the things above if you want to up the boost a little. Like I said get a 2g mani, 14b, 450's, 5spd ecu and a pump then up the boost to around 16psi. Make sure you get a logger to see whats going on with your engine.


Chris

 

[pboglio]

Hey guys,

As you may have noticed in other threads of mine, my goals with my car aren't to upgrade turbo, or make it a RACE car or anything like that. I just want to squeeze the max out of it, leaving MOST of it stock. I've been reading up a bit about shift kits. Do you guys think this is worth it? I have an Eclipse 91 GS-T A/T.

Do you guys have any recommendations to get the best out of this A/T Transmission, and max out the performance while keeping most of it stock [no turbo upgrades]?

Thanks in advance! Hope you guys can help me out here.

Higher stall speed torque converter. Autos were never the hardest launching DSM's in semi stock form. That is the one mod my old 91 GS auto was begging for. Nice hard launches without power braking

 

[Oblivion02]

Higher stall speed torque converter. Autos were never the hardest launching DSM's in semi stock form. That is the one mod my old 91 GS auto was begging for. Nice hard launches without power braking

Any recommendations as to which one I should buy? Where can I find it? Etc?

I fully understand what you're saying. The 14b,1g or 2g mani, 450's and ecu out of a 5spd car will not hurt anything and they're pretty cheap. It's a basic way to get a little more pep out of an auto car. The 13g will only flow so much and then fall flat on its face. The 14b on the other hand can handle some abuse. Hands down for what you want I'd just do the bolt-ons with an end clutch. I'd really look into the things above if you want to up the boost a little. Like I said get a 2g mani, 14b, 450's, 5spd ecu and a pump then up the boost to around 16psi. Make sure you get a logger to see whats going on with your engine.


Chris

I already have a 2g mani I plan on buying, but I havent checked out the price for a 5spd ECU. Thing is, the injectors are expensive. Right now, I do not have the cash to purchase 4 new 450 injectors + 5spd ECU. So for now, I'm keeping the automatic injectors. I'm not going to get 4 NEW auto injectors... I MIGHT just get 2 auto injectors and wait a little while till I can make another upgrade.

 

[dsmconvict]

Just get a set of used 450's. Just look in the classifieds. As for the 5spd ecu... I picked my non-eprom up for like a whopping 30 bucks. And definatly go with a 14b you'll be much happier

Chris

 

[tqmx1]

And with a bit of shoping you can pick up a 14B on ebay for less than $100. And by the way have you done the free mods in the tech section.

 

[kenamond]

I'd get used 450s from someone who has upgraded away from them (LOTS of folks have). Send/take the injectors somewhere to have them cleaned and serviced. Check out the tech article for RX7 680cc injectors to get an idea of what I mean. It'd be a lot cheaper to go this route than get new 450s.

If you don't plan on upgrading the injectors, there's no reason to upgrade the fuel system yet. It won't buy you *anything*. FP and AFPR aren't needed until you have 450s, rewired stock FP and around 15psi on a bigger (more efficient @ 15psi than a 13g) turbo. You *could* rewire the stock FP for really cheap, but if you get a logger and log some pulls, I think you'll find that the FP isn't the bottleneck. This assumes that the A/T FP on a 1g is the same as a M/T, so correct me if I'm wrong on that.

But I think that you could do some of the other things like exhaust. If you're pushing the 13g, stock exhaust will hurt you. A 2g mani isn't necessary yet IMHO.

Upgraded air filter with a cold air intake probably won't buy you much on stock turbo and fuel, but would help when you eventually upgraded those. I know the 2g UICP is terrible, but I don't know about the 1g; it might be less terrible or even good.

So for now, if you aren't yet touching the turbo, A/T ECU or injectors, the only thing I'd worry about is an exhaust, boost controller, boost gauge, logger, and whatever the A/T experts say about tranny mods. Do all the routine maintenance stuff that don't add power (so your parents don't get nervous).

But if you *can* add power without freaking your parents out, I think most of the suggestions that have been made are great ideas.

 

[spooled_u_1st]

Best upgrade I ever did to my 2g gsx auto was a Tcugo Wireless shifter and an end clutch kit. I don't know if the company still puts them out and if you can use one in a 1g or not. Google - Tcugo and I'm sure you can find them. If not ipt has a shift box that you could look into.

 

[Oblivion02]

I'll go ahead and slip the idea of a 14b to my Dad today... See how he reacts. I'll let you guys know what response I get If I can at least upgrade to a 14b, then I'll go with ECU A/T to M/T, 450's, and go from there.

 

[dsmconvict]

+1 on the maintenance. Without this your car will start to fall apart when you start modding. Check for boost leaks and maybe get a set of NGK bpr6es plugs to top it all off.

 

[tqmx1]

You can do the Injectors&ECU before you do the turbo. That will not hurt the mileage or performance.

 

[kenamond]

You can do the Injectors&ECU before you do the turbo. That will not hurt the mileage or performance.

I agree with that, but if mom and dad say no on the turbo, there's no point is there?

And since I'm already involved in a thread about this I'd like to ask something so I'll learn...can he just upgrade to M/T ECU and 450s without doing anything else? There's nothing about the A/T ECU that is needed for his auto tranny?

 

[dsmconvict]

The only difference I know of in the a/t ecu is the timing cut inbetween shifts. The m/t ecu eliminates this. If I'm wrong someone please correct me.


Chris

 

[tqmx1]

I agree with that, but if mom and dad say no on the turbo, there's no point is there?

The only reason I said to do it that way is he can sneek that through with a min.of $$ and then when he gets dad & mom in a weak moment he can sneek the turbo past them
and with the free mods he can squeek a few more HP out of it.

Being 55 all I have to do is talk the boss into it (AKA WIFE)

 

[Laysher91]

These are all great ideas. I can't say anything about the transmission but I think you will be happy if you "upgrade" to better stock parts. If you can get: a 14b, 450's, MT ECU, MT FPR, MBC, Boost gage, rewired FP, and a logger you would be set. Best of all, these can all be bought used for under $400. Exhaust and intake would help, but I dont know how far from stock you want to be. Have you considered a (properly actuated) cyclone intake manifold?