420A Starting mods for a COMPLETELY stock 420A Eclipse?

[DSMKeiran]

I have a 99 Eclipse RS. Its completely stock, recently went through all the fluids, plugs and wires and am ready to start the street build. Just wondering what people think I should do first? I heard CAI, and Exhausts are top for starting.

 

[bluespunk]

If you can get a hold of an old unorthodox racing or AFX underdrive pulley, that's generally considered the best bang for your buck in bolt on upgrades. The 60mm jeep throttle body mod is also considered a great cheap bolt on. Aside from that, CAI and exhaust are the simplest places to start. The stock GST catback is actually a nice cheap upgrade if you can find one in a junkyard. Otherwise, most guys go with an Apexi N1 sytle catback. Pacesetter and DC both made headers for the 420a at one point, but I believe they have been discontinued. For the most part buying from people used or going with eBay knockoffs are all that's left in that department.

 

[Chumpaumpalumpa]

You're going to get a lot of "sell it and buy a GST/X" on here but if you are set on keeping the 420a for now then what bluespunk said is an excellent place to start (until you can find a gst/x ). Keep in mind after all that it still wont be very fast, but will be a decent improvement especially considering price. Make a great DD with those mods and stock muffler to keep things quietish. Or you could always do this haha http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198729

 

[DSMKeiran]

Yea, I'm not looking to make it like a 500BHP supercar killer. Just looking to make it a Daily with a little more umph. There are a lot of 1G TSI for cheap where I live so I could get one of those but I prefer the 2G

 

[Chumpaumpalumpa]

Yea, I'm not looking to make it like a 500BHP supercar killer. Just looking to make it a Daily with a little more umph. There are a lot of 1G TSI for cheap where I live so I could get one of those but I prefer the 2G

Gotcha. Then yes I'd go for cheap or free mods on it and nothing more. Let us know when you get a turbo

 

[JDT]

You could always gut it.

I say do handling mods because bolt-ons will not do anything noticeable. 2GNTs are light and handle pretty well, they're a lot more fun on curves than in a straight line.

 

[TehRiceBandit]

Keep it stock.

 

[Chumpaumpalumpa]

I think handling mods would be best bet too

 

[bluespunk]

Handling mods are good as well. The early RS models did not come with a rear sway bar. Not sure about the the 99 models, but I know my 95 RS did not have one. A stock GST one is a decent starter upgrade, or you can go straight to the larger aftermarket or 3g options. My favorite mod when I had mine was the rear disc brake conversion. Having one of the earliest RS models made, not only did I have rear drums, but I also had rear drums that were an inch smaller than yours. Ripping those out and putting in a set of rear disc brakes from a GST cut my braking distance nearly in half. GSX front brakes are a good mod too, but you'll need larger rims to accommodate them.

You can use any stock/strut combo that the GST guys use, but don't use anything that's meant only for the GSX. You're car is way too light for them.

Another great mod for the guys with automatics is stealing the equal length drive shaft off an old PT Cruiser. You can also take the lifters and rockers off certain model PT cruisers as an upgrade when you're ready to tear into the motor itself. They have a better design than the eclipse ones.

 

[4Gwannabe]

Comp cams has a decent cam for that thing, if you have a stock head I'd use a part number 107-200-8

If you port the head 107-400-8

Low temp thermostat wouldn't be a bad idea through Jet performance 10164, 180 degree

If you want a ecu upgrade Jet makes a package for it
part number 65002

Then you could tweak a couple ecu settings with this
JET V-Force Plus Performance Module
67023

I work at jegs if want to order any of this my ext is 646
1-800-345-4545

 

[bluespunk]

Those cams are for the SOHC 420a that comes on the base model Neons. The 2GNT Eclipse runs a DOHC similar to the slightly higher model Neons, but with a reversed head. I'm not sure the cams are interchangeable between the SOHC and DOHC modelds. Crane and Crower both make good cams for Eclipse 420A engines that are popular with 2GNT Eclipses. For the price of the ecu upgrade, it would be better to go full stand alone with Megasquirt and have the ability to do full tuning and logging.

 

[DSMKeiran]

Geez you guys sure know a lot more about the car then I do. But hey, first car, first project.

 

[1gdsmkev27]

I love the suggestion for pulleys but why stop at the crank pulley? and besides that a harmonic balancer pulley is nice to. Think about where you want to be when finished and be realistic, I say pulleys because they dont mess with the programmed operation of the motor, see when we slap on intakes and exhaust we are changing physical parameters that are programmed into the engine tune, until you re-tune the full and desired effect of those parts are not going to be realized. However mods like the pulleys, a lightweight drive shaft if yyou're awd, and light weight flywheel if you're manual transmission, and light weight wheels or big brake kits (lighter than stock) will increase power at the wheels (where you feel it) but not increase the output of the motor, thus leaving you with a faster (more fuel efficient! at low load) car with a completely stock motor in terms of the programming behind the engine map. I would start there for power and modify the brakes and suspension as well, then consider the main upgrades in terms of packages with engine tunes at the end. For instance price a tune. say $250 for a road tune. Maybe $400 for first hour on a dyno. Get that money together, put it aside. Get an intake and exhaust, put one aside if you dont get them at the same time, wait till you have both then install both and tune. I have had a LONG experience with modifying for speed and those bolt ons don't do what they say unless you're tuned. Example: I had x amount of bolt ons on my 02 WRX and was putting down 260whp (around 300 at the crank) I flashed to Cobb stage 2 which required far less than the bolt ons I had and quoted 300 at the crank. Well after the flash i was putting down 333 at the wheels! feels good! Also if you maintain just under max pressure in your tires you will increase acceleration, braking, handling, and fuel economy, with the only drawback being a bumpy ride that your modified suspensipn will most like feel like anyway. It an eclipse not a luxury vehicle ; )

 

[Chumpaumpalumpa]

I love the suggestion for pulleys but why stop at the crank pulley? and besides that a harmonic balancer pulley is nice to. Think about where you want to be when finished and be realistic, I say pulleys because they dont mess with the programmed operation of the motor, see when we slap on intakes and exhaust we are changing physical parameters that are programmed into the engine tune, until you re-tune the full and desired effect of those parts are not going to be realized. However mods like the pulleys, a lightweight drive shaft if you're awd........

He's a 420a. Even spending that much money he won't see too much power gain unfortunately and he's FWD. I do however think the idea of removing as much unsprung weight as possible through wheels or brakes as you mentioned is a fantastic idea. But this is a daily and it sounds like he's saving up for a TSi so he probably wants to conserve as much money as possible. Hence the more free mods and backyard engineering, the better!