Your opinion of the 2006 eclipse

[BLUEBLOTCH]

Well I work at an aftermarket accersories shop. Part of my job is to pick-up and deliver cars. I have driven GTOs, Bentleys 03 Mustang Cobras Several BMWs etc.

I got in not expecting much and that is what I got. The Rockford Fosgate sub hit hard. but the power was not there in the engine. I was NOT driving the GT yet it was a 5 spd. I was pretty dissapointed. The Interior is VERY bland and the outside is ok I hate the Chrome wing. Anyways If anyone has Questions . I dont know if this has been talked about before just thought I would post up. It happened several weeks ago.

 

[-silencer-]

do you have any idea how hard, and how much of a waste a single turboed v style engine would be? think of all the piping.. for exaust AND intake, it would just be a waste...name a sucessful v6 that wasnt tt'ed... (and by sucessful i mean a car that more than 10 people knew about...like everyone wants a vr4, but the cost is just too high...)

Yeah single turbo V-style engines suck:
http://www.airpowersystems.com.au/350z/single/it_system.htm
It's only one of the most popular 350Z turbosystems made now..

 

[sciroccosven]

Why is every 4gen eclipse topic exactly the same? It is almost like there is a basic outline for all of them.

1.Someone mentions 4gen on a DSM board
bunch of angry dsm'ers walk in

2.They call the car ugly
I like my 2g more but looks are subjective

3.They call it slow
the car is faster than any stock eclipse that was ever made before it
0-60 in 5.8 1/4mile 14.2 @ 101

(A girl down the street from me ran one after her BF bought her new tires pirelli p zero's and rota wheels and it ran a 14.6 @ 99 with a damn auto)

4.The 3.8 v6 only makes 263hp
every tuner on club4gen has dynoed over 240 to the wheels stock, meaning the car has to have more than 260 hp,(likely 270-280 but rated less then the evo) unless mitsubishi makes the most efficient drivetrains ever and we all know that isn't true

5. It is front wheel drive
most of the people that say that have front wheel drive dsms?!? yeah I think it should have been rear wheel drive, but all it's japanese competition is FWD also

6. needs awd
it already weighs 3600, awd would just kill its mpg and acceleration

7. No 4G63, so I'll never buy one
I guess some people will never buy another new car again, Evo 9 it the last car to have the 4g63 in it. Plus this is america people, the general public thinks any v6 is better than a 4cyl turbo because it is a bigger engine. How many times have you heard someone say wow it has a v6 or v8 so it must be faster than a 4cylinder.

The eclipse is a volume seller for mitsu, it can't alienate itself buy being a specialty car (turbo performance); the 3gen GT sold better than the turbo models of both previous models combined, so why would mitsu through away sales. I know people will mention Subaru's wrx and legacy gt as examples of mainstream sellers but they would never sell as well as a corolla or camry.

8. There is no GSX
AWD and a 4g63 would probably make the car cost more than the evo, and the evo is the flagship vehicle. Even if the engine was detuned that would take away from the evo being a speciality.

Besides, I bet if they did make a gsx version the people complaining wouldn't buy it anyway, it would be the 2g all over again (how many people here bought there gsx new?)

9. The DSM is the greatest car ever and can never be topped
I have 2 gsx's and there is an almost infinite list of improvements I could make for them. The dsm was/and still is a great car but some people here act like it is still 1995.

You make great points and I will try and give my response to yours.

1. Yes, people will get angry over cars. Car people are passionate about cars and rightfully so. The majority of the eclipse's life was lived with a cherished drivetrain and was completely dissasembled into a drastically different car under the same name.

2. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I agree with you, if you are going to call a car ugly give a subjective point or at least elaborate upon why you think its ugly.

3. It is definitely NOT slow. It is definitely not nimble, it definitely does not have the same capabilities of the 1g and 2g cars based on size alone, not to mention the death of all wheel drive. Lets face it, if you took the current evolution, added over 1000 lbs, stretched it out, widened it, put a huge v6 or v8, made it front wheel drive, and figured out how to make it go faster in a straight line would you think it was an improvement????

4. Yes, it has more than ample power for a front wheel drive car, as well as enough torque from the nearly four liter engine.

5. I think when you start to compare prices the eclipse finds itself in the numbers of base well equipped rx8's, 350z's, and s2000's. No matter what country price will always be a determining factor of what its compared against in its genre. Its priced beyond the wrx's, the rsx's, the gti's, the si's, the vspec's, the mini's, and any other car based on being a fun sporty car to drive. That puts it over the fwd competition, and well into the rear wheel drive, incredibly fun to drive competition.

6. It does not need awd. If anything they should make it a rear wheel drive sports car to compete and take sales away from nissan, honda, and mazda and have a car that will appeal a wider range of enthusiasts (which the evolution does not do and I think you will agree). I think what has already killed the fuel economy is the displacement and weight of the vehicle. I agree that it would be a waste in the 4G to have awd simply because it still wouldnt reached out to true enthusiast because of the direction it was lead.

7. I think you are right, the general consensus in america is bigger is better. I also believe a great design and marketing campaign is enough to bring customers in to appreciate a turbo 4 motor. If the vehicle has to weigh over 3200 lbs maybe they should make a slightly larger displacement 4 cylinder motor that isnt as highly tuned. The larger the displacement, the less stressed the internals will be, the less stressed the turbo will be, the less boost will be required which in turn will make a more reliable engine with more torque, add awd and you have a vehicle that can sell anywhere in the world and be driven all year round. If they did that the engine could be shared in platforms like the galant, outlander and eclipse which would give their lineup more diversity and a little boost in pep. It would also bring their corporate fuel economy down. Lets face it, when you cruise on the highway you are off boost and you are only sending fuel to 4 cylinders no matter which way you break it down.

8. Simply an opinion, probably a good opinion but nonetheless an opinion. If they made a new 4 cylinder turbo engine and transmission that could be shared in nearly all of their models then the cost to produce another gsx would simply be fitting the engine into an acceptable platform. However to produce another gsx of the current platform would be suicide. Its too big, too heavy, would cost way too mucha nd your right. No one would buy it.

9. Simply another opinion, there is no such thing as the greatest car ever. There is no car that has hybrid efficiency, that is the fastest in the world, that costs 10,000, that can seat people of all shapes and sizes, there isnt a car out there that doesnt break, that tells you where cops are sitting but one thing is for sure. In order to have forums this large they must have an incredible car. The other way around however is that almost everyone on this forums hates what it has become and will care less about the 3g and 4g eclipse when it is a few years old. Does anyone care about the pointiac gtp bonneville??? NO. It had a big 3.8l supercharged motor, gobs of power, went fast in a straightline and weighed an outlandish amount, all on a front wheel drive platform. Does that sound familiar??

 

[Mr.Tao]

I hate it. It looks just like a mercury cougar. nasty. and the 3.8l only making that much power is ridiculous. toyota can get 180hp out of a 1.8l on a Celica, but Mitsubishi can't even break 300 on a 3.8? That's sad. especially with MIVEC/VVTi/etc. somebody should have questioned all that displacement's efficiency with numbers that low before production.

No one can really judge the cars power or performance yet without any kind of modifications to it. Who knows if Mitsu just threw on some restrictive piping or what not to save cost and to not have the average driver be wary of too much power? Couldnt they just throw on a bigger turbo or upped the boost on the EVO and prove that it makes more power than the STI so all Ya "DSMer's" can say, "Stock for stock the EVO is only 2.0L and makes WAY WAY more power than the higher displaced STI." Or you can say,
"Well stock for stock a 2G makes more power than a 1g so that makes the 2G stronger/better."
I used to think the 2g was a ### guys car. Everyone is not used to change. Get used to it.

 

[DSM BEEYACH]

Now i totally get that the ship for the 2g body style has sailed along time ago but, would anybody care to tell me how the 4g resembles a 2G that have said it did. First of all the only thing on the 4g that looks anything like a 2g is the triangular style look of the door glass and, quarter glass that is it period nothing more nothing less. If anything it looks more like a 3g with wide rear quarter panels. Anyway I'm not at all complaining about the fact that Mitsubishi has strayed away from the 2g body style because any idiot knows that you cant make the same exact thing for ever because after a while no one will want to buy the same exact thing again and, again. Anyway that said given the fact that i hate the 4g body style their is absolutely nothing desirable about this car that would attract me or anybody else that cares about the performance of a car. So it has a V6 and, it has a little more HP than is previous models, who gives a shit. Why have more power if you cant use it. Now how hard would it have been for Mitsubishi to turn the engine around and, throw on a drive shaft. "Um not to hard I'd say". Anyway why market a car as a sports car that has absolutely nothing sports car about it. Now when was the last time there was a true sports car that was FWD "try never". Could it be that the makers of Porsche or Lamborghini, Ferrari or even Viper could have never come up with away to make their sports cars FWD "um no" i wonder why that is. Now i know that the eclipse was never a true sports car to begin with but, at least the earlier models had something or another that resembled a sports car like "turbo" or "AWD" meaning a great drivetrain like a true sports car would have. Anyway to me the 4g is nothing more than a more expensive rip of a "Mercury Cougar" which at least looks some what decent in my opinion anyway. Now look at Nissan going from their 300z to their 350z granted the 350z looks nothing like their 300z but, at least they kept their V6 and RWD drivetrain which is allot more than i can say for Mitsubishi with their 3g and, 4g eclipse's. Now I'm sure that nissan could have saved them selves a buck or two by dumping their RWD and, switching over to FWD but, why didn't they. Anyway i kinda wish that Mitsubishi had killed their production of the eclipse's after the 2g's and, went out in style like the TALON's did. Since their later models have nothing in commom with the one's before them. Anyway i hate to say this but, i have to give FORD and, Chevrolet credit for their mustang's and, Corvette's because they have remained true to their original models in one way or another. Since day one the mustang's and, the Corvette's were RWD and, they still are. Also their body styles have not changed to drastically from one to another. Anyway i don't know what's worse about the 4g it's body style or its drivetrain what a joke the eclipse has become.

 

[epborden]

Just saw the commercial last night of the new Eclipse. I'm personally impressed with it, I love it. I saw it and thought it was badass!

 

[FullyBuiltDSM]

its basically every car from a civic to a 350z rolled into one, its got the looks of the futuristic 350z and the curves of a supra, its small egg shaped body reminds me of a 350z also, its got the mivec variable valve timing just like the vtech in hondas, its made to be an affordable sports car with some decent power comfort speedf and style. And the big plus in this is the gas mileage is pretty good.

 

[Defiant]

Okay, too many posts that I have to throw one-liners at. And if you don't like it, tough darts.

Why did the 3000GT-Stealth/Supra/300ZX/MR2/RX7 die and/or stopped getting imported?

Because the sorry things had become $60K cars, at the time. The MR2 is just too small and too much of a toy for many people to consider. I don't know how the gorgeous MR2 -even the early folded-paper style- turned into the current hash of piglike features they're now selling under that nameplate.

Because nobody was buying them at the time for various reasons

Cost. The last year of the Z -another car who'd completely lost its original glory- sold a pathetic number, and it took Nissan forever to get rid of them.

and the increasing emissions standards that are difficult for turbocharged cars to pass.

I don't think this is correct. Of all the power-gaining engine alterations, turbocharging is probably the easiest to tune for emissions.

Somehow along the way, sedans became cool.

In a world of Land Tanks and Mobile Roadblocks that the SUV world has become, a 4-door sedan suddenly becomes nimble. And, refer to the MR2's hideously restricted market.

I remember when sedans were for parents/old people and the 16-25 demographic wouldn't even consider a 4-door car when they wanted something with performance.

As I remember when "sports car" meant a soft top.

 

[Defiant]

The 4g is still too heavy for my taste,

Cripes, even the 1G is too damned heavy to be a serious sporting vehicle.

and would only increase in weight with AWD.

Eh, not that much- maybe 100 pounds if they worked at it.

Why would removing 2 doors and changing the style a bit from the Evo to a hatchback result in a $15k price increase?

Why were dealers adding eight-thousand dollars of pure profit to Stealths? Because the people who wanted to buy that car had no choice. They'll always charge as high a price as they can get the market to support.

(not including production costs for making a different model - just for comparison if they made the current 4g this way) $30-35k seems reasonable for a 4 cyl turbo AWD 2 door coupe considering the primary difference from the Evo would be 2 doors. $40k would be more in line with a turbo V6 AWD drivetrain - like the Audi A6.

Look at the price on the last years of the Supra.

 

[Defiant]

any idiot knows that you cant make the same exact thing for ever because after a while no one will want to buy the same exact thing again and, again.

Oh, that's not quite true. The waiting list for a Morgan is still several years long. The Ford GT, a 40-year old design, sold out before production began. The current Mustang seems to be showing up on the street in reasonable numbers. The world is poised in anticipation for a throwback Camaro.

 

[sciroccosven]

Oh, that's not quite true. The waiting list for a Morgan is still several years long. The Ford GT, a 40-year old design, sold out before production began. The current Mustang seems to be showing up on the street in reasonable numbers. The world is poised in anticipation for a throwback Camaro.

, priceless response. He is right though, if you build a car great enough you will be able to sell it for year. Do any of you know how many millions have been spent making FAKE shelby cobras????

 

[98GSX-WI]

No one can really judge the cars power or performance yet without any kind of modifications to it. Who knows if Mitsu just threw on some restrictive piping or what not to save cost and to not have the average driver be wary of too much power? Couldnt they just throw on a bigger turbo or upped the boost on the EVO and prove that it makes more power than the STI so all Ya "DSMer's" can say, "Stock for stock the EVO is only 2.0L and makes WAY WAY more power than the higher displaced STI." Or you can say,
"Well stock for stock a 2G makes more power than a 1g so that makes the 2G stronger/better."
I used to think the 2g was a ### guys car. Everyone is not used to change. Get used to it.

The Speed Channel ran a show featuring the 06 Eclipse last night. Some of the notable comments were: 1) The car did not understeer as much as the professional drivers were expecting--but did have some torque steer off the line; 2) The car has a nice 650 watt stereo with 10" subwoofer.

At the end of the show they took that car to a performance shop to get some power enhancing work done. They dyno'd it to get a baseline (except they never said what the actual baseline numbers were that they got--they just repeated that it comes with 263hp.)

They then proceeded to put on a new intake, dyno'd it and said that the intake gave it a gain of around 10hp (if I remember correct). As it turns out, they said that the stock exhaust was already very good and had mandrel bent piping and they showed the exhaust from under the car and it ran pretty much straight back. The only thing that they thought that they could improve was the muffler...so they swapped out the stock muffler with a magnaflow. They dyno'd it again and claimed that they gained something like another 3-5hp. So with a new intake and new muffler they said that they got another 15hp out of it...HA!...big flipping deal.

I personally don't think it looks too bad...but I'm stuck on AWD and turbo cars now...my next car will likely be an EVO or an STI for performance reasons...I don't necessarily think the EVO of STI look the best...but I'd go for the performance over looks anyway...

 

[speedy13]

2006 aka 4G = thumbs up.I was unsure of it at first,but it has since grown on me.I saw one yesterday that finally convinced me.It was a gt with that weird orange color.Very nice car.The stats aren't so bad guys,the front of it is weird looking,but overall the car looks really nice.well lets face it all you guys are making good points on the pros and cons side,but one thing is for certain,if you compare this car to a 2g gsx it will always lose.the only thing it has on it is more power from a performance view.The interior is very well designed and is loaded with all kinds of stupid features like heated seats and heated mirrors,all of these things play a factor in its weight.If they maybe offered a RALLIART version with out all this shit and less sound dampening they could drop the weight a couple hundred pounds.The handling doesn't seem to be that bad and it also comes with traction control.I don't like for a computer to drive for me either,but if you complain about handling then just turn the damned thing on.The problem is that their are so many better values out there that i don't know if the gt model will be successfull at all.How much is the convertible going to weigh? 2 tons?I would definitely own a z car before a 4g,or wrx, or rs evo,but all in all it is a nice car.

 

[g00s3y]

I LOVE IT... maybe that is why i traded my gs-t in for one, just got it wednesday and i must say i love the car

 

[speedy13]

BLASPHEMY!!!!BLASPHEMY!!!!HE MUST BE CRUSIFIED!!!!!
It's a nice car but damm bro traded in for a 4g HELLLLL NO!!!
YOU HAVE SEALED YOUR DOOMED,PREPARE TO BE BE FLAMED!!!!DSMER'S to your battle stations!!!Prepare the fazer cannons!!!

 

[v01dy]

I've heard rumors about a AWD eclipse in the books.

 

[Defiant]

Dudes. Please. Spell Check. Just push the ####ing button.

 

[Defiant]

The Speed Channel ran a show featuring the 06 Eclipse last night.

Yeah, we did a thread about it the first time they showed it.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192959

 

[Sbeing1]

I think its awesome, i drove one, tons of power downlow and when it picks up the top end is great too. They shift soo smooth and the handleing isnt too bad either id still take my 2g over it though.

 

[Jaronk56]

do you have any idea how hard, and how much of a waste a single turboed v style engine would be? think of all the piping.. for exaust AND intake, it would just be a waste...name a sucessful v6 that wasnt tt'ed... (and by sucessful i mean a car that more than 10 people knew about...like everyone wants a vr4, but the cost is just too high...)

Grandnational, Syclone, and typhoon..... best production turbo cars i say... their amazing, and guess what there V6's

 

[sciroccosven]

Grandnational, Syclone, and typhoon..... best production turbo cars i say... their amazing, and guess what there V6's

Ack, nice cars but I like to shift my own gears and not have a slushbox doing all the work for me. Cool cars but the BEST turbo cars ever is a rediculous statement. PLUS two of the vehicles you mentioned ARENT EVEN CARS!!!! Truck and an SUV

 

[zerotta]

do you have any idea how hard, and how much of a waste a single turboed v style engine would be? think of all the piping.. for exaust AND intake, it would just be a waste...name a sucessful v6 that wasnt tt'ed...

The Turbo Regal/Grand National/GNX/Regal T-Type/Turbo Trans Am (of which I have parked in my garage) all did exceptionally well with a single turbo 3.8 liter ohv, SFI, coil ignition V6. Last check still shows the LC2 as one of the top handful of factory engines with the most potential, even 16 years after its last factory application (1989 Turbo Trans Am).

I wouldn't consider my TTA's exhaust or intake piping to be any more or less convoluted than my 4G63's was . . . .

As stated- I agree it would likely be twin turboed for various reasons, but doesn't necessarily need to be.

 

[mTALONm]

still, they could have squeezed more out of a 3.8 V6

 

[vexixx]

The commericals are awesome. Deffinatly alot nicer than the previous model IMO. I agree that it looks nice, but the priceerformance . I'd hope in time they'd release some more models with alot more performance!

 

[Drift_SM]

Personally i like it. its very different looking, i think Mitsubishi realized how bad the 3rd gen stunk. The 2006 seems to be alot like the second gen. with the smooth curves and high back end.

engine wise, the car seems powerful. v6 230 hp or something like that.
i like how they went with a 6 speed Transmission.

i still believe the 1st and 2nd gens are the most perfect eclipse's but i really like the 4th and cant wait to see if they make it even more like the original dsm's.

maybe one day if i have the money 'id like to buy one and put a turbo in.

but thats just my OP.

 

[joshohatesuall]

looks too phallic to me... im not into cars shaped like penises