Newbie

[Skengdon7]

Hey all,

I just got a 2000 GS eclipse and am considering what mods I want done to it. A friend of mine who has a S4 recommends putting in a powerflow (Short RAM intake) and cutting out the cataytic converter. He's done that to his ride...a mechanic at the dealer was telling me that if you cut out the converter you will get more horses at higher rpm's and lose the low-end which is what you really need.

ALso, I''m thinking about dropping it an inch or so, but I want to know if cutting the existing springs will be OK instead of buying a drop kit. I know that short of turbo there is nothing much I can do to significantly increase my hp...I'll have to save up for that one. Let me know your thoughts...

Thanks.

[Sleepr awd]

cutting the springs as far as i've seen is a very bad idea, you'll more likely hit the bumpstops going over more sizeable bumps
gutting out the cat instead of cutting it may be better, at least it is for the v6 and there isn't much oof a way to tell short of a emissions test that you did it, however just saving for a turbo is your best option

[Kamilpl3]

Originally Posted by Elchicoloco86

however just saving for a turbo is your best option

Agreed,

[drdisque]

gutting or removing your cat will just make the car run like crap and throw codes.

[eclipsed4utoo]

Originally Posted by drdisque

gutting or removing your cat will just make the car run like crap and throw codes.

agreed....it will also make your car sound like those stupid honda civic ricers with the exhaust you can hear from 3 miles away. cutting the springs is the worst thing you can do. don't be cheap....you will pay for it in the end.

[00_GS]

okay, I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, and cutting springs is definately by far the WORST thing you could ever do to springs! First off, you lose stability of the spring, while also cutting down its spring constant, which is determined by the length of the spring and the size it can hold. By weakining that structure, your looking for major damage in your suspension in the long run as those springs slowly go bad!

[Skengdon7]

Will the difference in handling be very noticeable if I drop it only an inch? The reason I don't want to go any lower is because I don't want to feel every bump on the road (sacrifice the smooth ride).

[nismo_power]

Originally Posted by Skengdon7

Will the difference in handling be very noticeable if I drop it only an inch? The reason I don't want to go any lower is because I don't want to feel every bump on the road (sacrifice the smooth ride).

any aftermarket suspension set up is sport oriented. be it the cheapo ebay ones, or the 2k+ set ups you see. the ride height doenst affect the ride quality as much as the spring rate/preload and shock travel/rebound.

instead of gutting/removing the cat, i would suggest spending some dollars on a high flow cat. yea, cutting out the middle man (the cat in this case) is pretty popular here in the US, most if not all JDM tuners/garages use a high flow cat. even some d1 machines you see out there are US street legal as far as smog is concerned.

and lowing it only an inch wont be very noticeable as far as handling. the center of gravity is still high.

[Skengdon7]

I know a question regarding intake has been asked before, but my reason for asking is a little different.

How will my engine sound if I get a K&N 69 Series Typhoon Intake Systems versus a AEM Short Ram Intake System? I know the difference in whp is negligible, but I want to know if anyone knows which intake sounds better.

[nismo_power]

Originally Posted by Skengdon7

I know a question regarding intake has been asked before, but my reason for asking is a little different.

How will my engine sound if I get a K&N 69 Series Typhoon Intake Systems versus a AEM Short Ram Intake System? I know the difference in whp is negligible, but I want to know if anyone knows which intake sounds better.

i personally havent used the K&N series, except for just the filterelement, but i think either way it should sound pretty mean. i know the AEM sounds great, and any intake with the cone filter youll get that mean "wooosh" sucking sound when you stab the throttle.

[eclipsed4utoo]

they all sound about the same

[Sleepr awd]

Originally Posted by eclipsed4utoo

agreed....it will also make your car sound like those stupid honda civic ricers with the exhaust you can hear from 3 miles away. cutting the springs is the worst thing you can do. don't be cheap....you will pay for it in the end.

i was under the impression that after the last pre- cat the 02 sensors do not care about the final cat, and someone did a v6 eclipse like that and got some whp w/o the cel or ses or whatver coming on and no noticeable sound difference...
then again a 4 cyl may sound like a honda like that

[eclipsed4utoo]

Originally Posted by Elchicoloco86

i was under the impression that after the last pre- cat the 02 sensors do not care about the final cat, and someone did a v6 eclipse like that and got some whp w/o the cel or ses or whatver coming on and no noticeable sound difference...
then again a 4 cyl may sound like a honda like that

the sound has nothing to do with the o2 sensors. the sound comes from the exhaust bouncing around in the cat. it will make it sound like marbles are bouncing around in the exhaust.

[Sleepr awd]

i dont' think i said that...but let me clarify, the o2 sensors check for the appropriate amount of oxygen in the exhaust the last one is just before the final-cat. therefore gutting the final cat only won't cause a check engine light to come on. i'm not entirely sure how this would change the sound, but my neighbors honda only makes a flat blat sound like all the other honda's do, i don't remember hearing marbles, but his muffler is extremely loud. i was under the impression the pre-cats would take care of most of the noise of the exhaust, BTW i heard a fed spec eclipse on campus over here, they sound much nicer than our cali-specs do

[eclipsed4utoo]

Originally Posted by Elchicoloco86

i dont' think i said that...but let me clarify, the o2 sensors check for the appropriate amount of oxygen in the exhaust the last one is just before the final-cat. therefore gutting the final cat only won't cause a check engine light to come on. i'm not entirely sure how this would change the sound, but my neighbors honda only makes a flat blat sound like all the other honda's do, i don't remember hearing marbles, but his muffler is extremely loud. i was under the impression the pre-cats would take care of most of the noise of the exhaust, BTW i heard a fed spec eclipse on campus over here, they sound much nicer than our cali-specs do

what confused me was when you quoted me saying that the sound would be awful(post #12) and then you were talking about the o2 sensors. so when i read what you had wrote, it seemed that you were responding to me saying that the o2 sensors had something to do with the sound. my bad.

the pre-cats are only there to help the engine warm up quicker and for a little better emissions. they dont help out with the sound. the muffler is usually what "muffles" the sound.