Adding weight to the front of a FWD front heavy car

[Sleepr awd]

Well, i'm considering doing something along the following.

putting my car through the trials and torment of a swap.

with what you may ask? only the new 3.8l mivec v6 ( 6g75 )equipped in the 4th incarnation of eclipse.

My questions regarding the swap are.
How will the weight affect the daily driveability of the car?
Will handling become significantly more difficult?
What can be done to reduce understeer on this car since the added weight may make that more of a problem?
How could i go about countering the weight(battery relocation, windshield washer fluid relocation... etc.)

I imagine that the front suspension will need replaced w/ the 4th gen eclipse's suspension, and likely the brakes be upgraded as well.
Other than the fabrication of parts/mounts and excessive downtime, can anyone think of any reason not to do the swap? .

To remedy the firewall being too close i was considering moving the engine more forward and adding a slimmer radiator if it were to be a problem. However various sources of information conclude that

1. it isn't any bigger ( pipe dream)
2. it won't fit w/ the firewall where it is (move everything forward)
3. the hood has to come off (w/e i'll have a hood custom made)
4. it is impossible and will not fit. (sell it all and buy a AWD DSM)

Now, right now i'm still in the planning and feasibility phase determining if this is the right way to go, or if i should just get another car. I realize this could turn out to be a lot of work, and could cost me upwards of 10k $ in other parts i would need to replace namely:

clutch
flywheel
headers, exhaust
intake
belts
axles
brakes
polyeurethane motor mounts

and things i would need in addition to, so i don't have to go back in again.
LSD
ECU piggy back

the 3.8l mivec has been assumed to be only 50lbs or so more than the current engine in my car.

The advantages to the swap are:

roughly 70whp more than the current motor is producing stock for stock, modified the mivec has a higher ceiling
originality for the time being
a true sleeper because no one expects a fast 3g
w/ the new parts potentially a mid-low 13 sec. quarter mile all-bolt on's
6-speed transmission

Anyone thathas any experience to swaps would be greatly appreciated in answering my questions.

This plan most likely won't be put into affect for at least a year's time or until someone rich in my family tragically passes away , or i sue a fast food restaurant for something i should be held personally responsible.

[EVOclipse]

i say sell the car and buy the new eclispe....4th gen and 2nd gen look WAAAAY better also you might wanna have this moved to the eclipse forum

[beef_bourito]

well if the weight bias is more towards the front you should expeience less understeer than a rear biased fwd car. i would also suggest swapping out the suspension if the new engine is heavier.

[Sleepr awd]

Originally Posted by EVOclipse

i say sell the car and buy the new eclispe....4th gen and 2nd gen look WAAAAY better also you might wanna have this moved to the eclipse forum

yes, thank you so much for your almighty insight. if i had a dollar for everytime i heard that i'd have a ferrari by now. points for originality though . You could sell your car and buy a neon. Same difference right? You obviously have nothing to contribute.

I do not want this moved to the "eclipse" forum. Why would i want to do that? I posted in this forum for a reason. I want to kno from people that have done engine swaps before (across the board, not just eclipses), what kinds of performance changes i could expect in relation to 1/4 mile drags, autocross, and sporty back country road driving. I was not asking the feasibility of putting the engine in an eclipse, i wasn't asking if anyone had done it before with an eclipse, I wasn't even asking directly in relation to an Eclipse. Take a look at the question.

as far as suspension goes, i understand the front being heavier i'll need better suspension. (hence a switch to the 4g suspension on the front) the reason the front heavy car understeers is b/c it is already tied down and firm as far as normal chassis stiffening goes. strut tower bar is the best available from the factory and the front sway bar is good, but not so strong itcauses understeer all the time. being front heavy the car can't move the front as much as fast, making understeer more of a possibility. The 3g Eclipse is notorious for understeer because the front has less flex and will break loose before the rear will around a turn. i would like neutral handling but that is not something you can ask for w/ a 3g eclipse

I would appreciate it if people answering these questions i have would read the full amount of post i put up. I would also appreciate it if the "dsm guys" would stay out. Also any other animosity toward 3g eclipses isn't welcome either. Quite honestly do you guys kno how much crap a 3g owner takes for owning a 3g already? Either respect it or leave it alone.

[chevy2808]

i must warn you that i dont know eclipses well BUT theoretically, cars that have front end weight bias will tend to understeer while cornering. A typical solution would be to "wedge" the RIGHT REAR spring. wedging is accomplished by pre-loading the spring in question. When you wedge the right spring with, for example, 200 pounds, the weight on the left front increases roughly 200 pounds also, while the right front and left rear decrease about 200 pounds each. now this wont completly remove understeer, but it will greatly reduce it, as well as increase the speed of cornering, and also increases front traction.
As far as weight reduction goes, eliminating the typical components like fenders, inner fenders, hood, etc.. and replacing with fiberglass is great. eliminating a/c and all a/c related components is also great (if possible). As they say, every 100 pounds lost is usually a tenth improvement in a quarter mile. good luck!