Opinions on Eclipse GS-T

[Stoofed]

So I got a bone stock 97 Eclipse GS-T, It has a fwd and all. But what are some of your guys suggestions on what I should do to it first? I would be glad to hear all your opinions!

 

[chris00326]

Ive got a 1g gst and i love it. you can do all the same things to it as you can a gsx so as far as that goes have at it. the only down side is traction. you can compensate a bit by installing an lsd and building the trans but youll never be able to put as much power to the ground as an awd. it also depends on what exactly you want to do with your car. if youre looking for a friday night rolling start street killer imo fwd is the way to go. but like i said traction from a dig is not going to really be there

 

[igluna]

I also have a 1g fwd and I did maintenance basic bolt ons. Low 13s on street tires and 26mpg as my daily.

 

[Breezio69]

Do all your maintenance. Belts, tune up, oil change, check wheel bearings, front and rear bushings etc etc, brakes...

After that, the sky is the limit. First mods usually consist of ways to monitor the engine (aftermarket gauges. Boost, oil pressure, water temp, wideband are the main 4). Intake, exhaust, fuel pump and regulator. Then you jump into injectors, tuning devices, boost controllers, clutch, turbo etc etc etc.

For what its worth, to add to what these guys are saying about the gsx (awd) and the gst (fwd). I run all the mods to safely run my 16g at the boost I'd like to run, I'm only running 18 psi and can't catch traction till AFTER 60 mph if I gun it in 2nd. If I redline 2nd still spinning it will even chirp 3rd for a few feet.

Anyway, you can budget build, buying used and do all I mentioned for like 2 grand. Or you can buy new name brand stuff and triple that number.

Good luck, go get a 2nd job just playin

 

[Supra Mario]

All Maintenence, especially boost leak test. Only thing I have done is exhaust and K&N intake. Now I'm saving for gauges, wideband, and DSMLink before anything else. manual boost controller won't hurt anyone either. Only other thing I'm doing before being able to monitor it all is Punishment Racing UICP.

 

[trogador2005]

I have a 2g gst and the way I get my power is basic bolt ons then poly mounts and an LSD and it also help if the back of the car sits a little higher than the front. also something very helpful is a dual stage boost controller. I rigged one up to run stock boost then 20psi when i flip the switch. I dont really have traction issues with street tires and i also get 30+ mpgs I love my FWD.

 

[koafallenangel]

We got the same car. As long as your running good go ahead and swap out intake and exhaust for more airflow, not very expensive at all. Going to the bigger power level turbo, injectors, pump, head studs, clutch, tranny, tuning. It depends on your goals. What do you plan on doing with your new DSM?

 

[Hideki]

First upgrade I suggest is GSX front brakes, those puny factory front brakes were just dangerous . A K&N FIPK and an intake pipe would be my next choice (seriously, just look inside your factory pipe) followed by some sort of exhaust

I have a 2g gst and the way I get my power is basic bolt ons then poly mounts and an LSD and it also help if the back of the car sits a little higher than the front. also something very helpful is a dual stage boost controller. I rigged one up to run stock boost then 20psi when i flip the switch. I dont really have traction issues with street tires and i also get 30+ mpgs I love my FWD.

Wait.. on a stock T25? That's a heck of a lot of hot air. With proper fuel mods I struggled making sense at 16psi

 

[trogador2005]

Sorry I forgot to mention haha. I have an Evo3 16g and FIC 650cc. but you're right, 20psi is probably not possible on a T25.

@OP you can check my mods list if you want some ideas.

 

[Stoofed]

Sorry I forgot to mention haha. I have an Evo3 16g and FIC 650cc. but you're right, 20psi is probably not possible on a T25.

@OP you can check my mods list if you want some ideas.

Thanks for all the help guys! The main thing I want right now is a two step exhaust system and then wait till winter's over to get a bigger turbo, etc.

 

[trogador2005]

No problem. Feel free to pm me if you need help with anything!

 

[greydelta38]

Surprised no one has posted this yet.

Try these out, OP.

RRE 2nd Generation Eclipse Upgrade Path
Tech Guide: 2G 4G63t Upgrades - DSMtuners

Good luck, you've got people happy to help you here

 

[jhicks92]

Thanks for all the help guys! The main thing I want right now is a two step exhaust system and then wait till winter's over to get a bigger turbo, etc.

two step exhaust system? those are 2 different things bro.

 

[boost97gst]

My opinion? If its in really really good shape, pick up a beat up 2g awd and swap it. I drove a pretty high powered fwd for about a yr and a half. On e85 i was seeing 52lbs/min. So im well into the 450whp range. Its no fun man. Theres a limit to fwds that are street driven. If its a track only car then by all means, weld the diff and make a lightweight monster out of it.

My vote is awd. More parts, heavier yadayada but putting the power to the ground is where the real fun is

 

[4G63gst1990]

Do all your maintenance and just make it some what dependent and dont cheap out on parts that are important like timing belt and related parts and dont waste your time with ebay exhaust manifolds stick with stock/evo 3/fp when you get there and same with turbos no ebay junk turbos get mhi/fp unless you going t3 then i would say holset/borg-warner but most important just have fun and learn everything you can

 

[jhicks92]

Do all your maintenance and just make it some what dependent and dont cheap out on parts that are important like timing belt and related parts and dont waste your time with ebay exhaust manifolds stick with stock/evo 3/fp when you get there and same with turbos no ebay junk turbos get mhi/fp unless you going t3 then i would say holset/borg-warner but most important just have fun and learn everything you can

i agree fast/cheap/reliable choose 2. you can have a fast car for cheap, but not reliable, you can have a cheap reliable car, but not fast. the best way to go is fast and reliable which isnt cheap.

 

[boost97gst]

No such thing as a reliable engine pumping out 250+hp/L. Cant happen. It can be reliable to an extent, longevity I consider to be a part of reliability. We all expect a given amount of miles, or runs at the strip before teardown/rebuild. The higher hp you go the more necessary it is for better components so when you DO have to rebuild, you wont have to replace as many things.

If you go big power then go big on the tranny. If you plan on over 600whp just go straight to twin disk. Expect to pay a LOT for manual tranny rebuilds. You can spend a fortune in tranny components/labor alone.

 

[Kod]

More power / upgrades = more maintenance

Honestly, just do the simple mods for more power than most other cars that only care about the looks ... like civics / integras and what not.

Simple mods IMO:
Air Intake
O2 Housing Ext / Elimante
Port 1g TB
Hardpipe for the I/C

Just too name a few simple ones

Maintenance:
Belts (Especially timing, if xx,xxx on miles then have the whole timing done IMO)

Boost leak test

Plug / Wires (Just as a no worry afterwards)

Test the ISC Motor so you don't blow the ISC drivers in the computer)

Check the ECU out and see if it is possibly EPROM (This is a HUGE plus but rare)

Check the throttle cable, (behind the intake manifold there is 2 10 or 12 mm bolts *can't remember off hand* and while the car is running loosen them and pull the cable towards the drivers side until the idle starts to go up once it does back off just a hair so you aren't keeping the throttle plate open and tighten down.

If you aren't going to upgrade the turbo then probably don't worry about having a bigger exhaust then 2 inch, the O2 elimination / housing extensions or w/e they are called will take care all the restriction for you.

 

[YUPOK]

I drove a 400 hp GST a while back on the back country roads of OHIO. I didn't launch the car but once I was rolling I was really impressed with how stable the car was. Especially with 3 foot deep rain ditches on either side of the road. Any who up to about 120 mph before backing off, the car held nice and straight without any problems.
So, if you want to launch the car, your going to need to consider an AWD swap. There is just too much torque in these engines to hook off the line nice. But if you just want a cruiser, the front runner is good for quite a bit of power. Just watch those rain ditches.

 

[Squeegie]

Do all the maintenance as everyone else said. Then start doing the modding, which there are a lot of write ups and other things you can research about what you want to do, its all about what your goals are and what you want in your car. Also there is no such this as a two step exhaust system.

 

[Hideki]

I like how people throw out AWD as a swap, like it's easy. Yeah you can do it in like a weekend sort of thing. For one you gotta locate and buy the parts/parts car. And bust out a torch and get to cutting. I know it's been done multiple times, but let's be reasonable about the scope of work involved.

 

[WES_393]

^ We're not taking about a 420a>4g63 swap. With all the parts on-hand, an AWD swap is a weekend job. No torch necessary.


http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-drivetrain/353458-2g-dsm-awd-conversion.html

 

[boost97gst]

Wes beat me to it. I was just gonna say: rivets or spot mig welds but no torches(??) necessary and with 2 people it is completely doable in 1 weekend with a complete donor car. Im starting a build thread finally when my new garage gets put up in a few weeks. AWD swap is on the list, MT to AT, and another engine rebuild along with full tranny IPT lovin. Im in no rush but i have someone ready to help with the swap so we will knock that out first. His time is money so we'll be rollin friday to sunday. I bet ya we get it done very quick. Hes a really good dsmer and im no stranger to them.

Anyway, it was just a comment. FWDs are fine and weigh less. Big bonus there. Also less shit to break. Not bashing them at all but its a fact that you can only lay down so much power before it just isnt that fun anymore.

 

[tokyo98]

lowering spring

 

[Hideki]

I was being a smart alec about the torch comment, but seriously. There's a few of these "what should I do first" threads on this forum and people keep throwing out stuff like AWD swaps... Let's be realistic, if this person just bought this car I highly doubt the first thing they should do is convert it to a GSX. I could slap a monster turbo on a car in a day but it doesn't mean it's the first thing I should do either. And to those who have converted your car to a GSX, wasn't your first upgrade either