Eclipse ecceleration problem...

Question......

My buddy just bought a 98' eclipse from a repo auction. I forget exactly what model but is non turbo DOHC. the previous owner installed a cheap ebay style short ram and some kind of half ass 2.0-2.5 inch cat back system.
The problem is that the car isn't eccelerating as fast as if probably should. I drove it the other day and only got 20mph out of first gear at 7000 rpm and in third had just broken 60mph at 7k still.
I drive a 03' gti so maybe its just me being used to german engineering.. but the car really feels like its not moving as fast as it should be. Do all 98 eclipses move that way stock?
I dunno but im thinking that the size of the exhaust might be causing it acceleration problems. He hasn't done a tune up on it yet which now that i think about it could also be causeing the problem but its only got 60k miles on it. tune up should have been done already.

what do u guys think? A lil help would be greatly appreciated.

sounds fine to me, their only 2.0 4cys.

You should be gettin more for sure..
I get ~40mph in first.
If the exhaust is 2.5" it is fine, but if it is a 3" that could be why it is being shitty.

Any CEL's?
Check for a vac leak maybe

sounds fine to me, their only 2.0 4cys.

lol how is that fine? 20mph is anything but fine ;)

On my RS w/ basic bolt ons, I do about 44mph in 1st, and who knows what in third, probably at least 70-80, but never really pay much attention to it really when freeway racing... ;)

Does the car seem to want to stall at low rpms? If so, change your spark plugs, and maybe the wires.

Make sure there are no leaks in the exhaust. Or if it's just a crappy one, could be very restrictive at some angles and thus creating a host of problems. Of course make sure the intake filter is clean and attached tightly. Lastly I'd just clean out the injectors and other than that if the engine is fine it should be good to go.

you really can't expect much out of those almost stock RS/GS. i do'nt have one of those two so i can't tell you if 20mph sounds right or not. but maybe someone else here with RS/GS can.

you really can't expect much out of those almost stock RS/GS. i do'nt have one of those two so i can't tell you if 20mph sounds right or not. but maybe someone else here with RS/GS can.


hehe two people already have... :D

The car should be able to get close to 40mph stock in my opinion, if not very close. I have basic bolt ons, doing 44mph in first at 7000rpm. Also my car isn't the average weight, it's a heavy bitch, over 300lbs in audio shit... so in my opinion stock good running RS/GS should do 40mph in first.

See 40mph is right where i was thinking that it should be in first gear. My buddies only had the car for about a month or so. And he asked me to take a look at it and figure out whats wrong. But I've never dealt with mitsubishi's before so i didnt know if it was just the way the car was or whether it was another problem. I'll get crackin on it sometime later this week and we'll see if i cant get this damn thing to act right.


thanks for the help.. if u guys think of anything else that could be wrong let me know i'll be get started on it this weekend so there's plenty of time for suggestions



Thanks again

I don't understand what you guys are saying.

GEARING is the only thing that affects mph at a certain rpm. And wheel/tire size.

The slowest car ever could have 40mph at 7000rpm in 1st gear, while a corvette could be the same. This is not acceleration. What exactly is the problem?

is this an AT? that would be the only way this could happen, because of a torque converter [?]

it it is a stick, than listen to what Joe said. it is impossible to go 20mph in 1st gear at 7k rpm. it is a gearing thing, it is just impossible.

Spyder can't handle the truth. LOL

sound like a clutch problem the same thing happen to my 91 tsi before I blew my clutch

or i guess it could be that instead of a TC, but you would smell that and this thread would be: my car STINKS like burnt chicken shit when i drive