need for speed

[Bkos09]

i curently purchased an automatic 99 eclipse gs. Unfourtantly the car is slow and i would like to add some horsepower. What are some things i can do?

[david-b]

Originally Posted by Bkos09

i curently purchased an automatic 99 eclipse gs. Unfourtantly the car is slow and i would like to add some horsepower. What are some things i can do?

First off, welcome to AF! Congrats on the purchase.

The GS/RS/ESi models are pretty slow to begin with. They use the 420a motor which puts down about 140hp at the crank. Being an auto, it's a little slower.

Firstly, do maintenance. Make sure the car is running as efficiently and best it possibly can. I'm talking spark plugs, fuel filter, and oil....

You can do all the basic bolt ons... intake, exhaust, header, crank pulley, spark plug wires and coilpack. The from there you can do a larger throttle body, machine work and so on.

Most people move straight to a turbo setup. This is going to provide you with the quickest way for more hp. However, the stock 420a block is built to only handle about 210hp and/or about 8psi, whichever comes first.

Do some searches and you will find a lot of answers on this subject already.

Lastly, your post has been moved from the Tech Article to Engine/ Tranny, Drivetrain since it is not a tech article.

[JoeShmoe]

Congrats on the purchase. You'll find lots of info and helpful people to guide you with their experience and knowledge. You might also want to remove excess weight, no matter how small the weight is, it may add up later.

[SilvrEclipse]

What are your goals with the car? If you just want it a little quicker then some bolt ons may work out for you. If you want a lot of power go straight with a turbo kit. These cars have plenty of potention but you got to be willing to put up the cash.

[Bkos09]

the car only has 44000 miles on it so the plugs and filters are good. i would like to see what i could do to the car to gain as much horsepower as i could before i installed a turbo. What are some things i could do and how much horsepower would it possibly add?

[SilvrEclipse]

Plugs still should be changed. I would recommend every 10k or so. They are so cheap why not change them. Get the NGK BKR6E plugs I believe.

Let me put it to you this way. The most power ANYONE has gotten out of this motor NA is about 203whp. Now thats with thousands into a high compression motor and tuning and bolt ons. With a simple bolt on turbo kit you will put down 200whp. You can get the hahn kit for around 3k or you can build your own for about half of that.

If you still want to do a few bolt on parts start with cat-back exhaust, air intake, & under drive pulley. That will free up some HP and most of those parts will still be used if you choose to go turbo.

[david-b]

I did the same when I started modding. I wasn't going to turbo and just do N/A. I hit my goals and then went turbo. Save your money on parts that would be replaced if you turbo. For example, don't get a Cold Air Intake or a Header since those would be replaced if you turboed.

As Silver sad above, turbo kits from Hahn are about $3k which is a lot, but has everything in it. I built my kit for about $1200 with good parts (where needed) and I already had a turbo laying around.