'97 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T (Super 60, Quaife)
Sold on 10/27/01!
This car is for sale!
All mods included, plus the stock parts.
Recently passed smog.
$12,000 obo
Pictures here
Email
Mods:
17"x7.5" Kosei K1 Racing wheels
235/40ZR17 Yokohama AVS Intermediate tires
K&N Filter Injection Performance Kit
1st gen blow-off valve
RRE 2 1/4" upper and lower IC pipes
shortened blow-off valve dump tube
Joe P (pressure valve) boost controller
30In.Hg - 30PSI SPI boost gauge
dual pod a-pillar replacement
RRE 2 1/4" turbo inlet pipe
3" RRE down pipe
3" high-flow catalytic converter
A'PEXi RS 70mm cat-back exhaust
NGK BPR7ES spark plugs
NGK spark plug wires
A'PEXi Super Air Flow Converter
RC/Lucas 550cc injectors
Denso 170lph@58psi@14v fuel pump, hardwired
Super 60 turbo
KYB AGX adjustable shocks
Ground Control adjustable-height coilovers (350/200lb)
RRE front & rear strut tower bars and
front lower stress bar
RRE rear sway (anti-roll) bar
GReddy 52mm EGT gauge
ACT 2100lb clutch
RRE lightened flywheel
RRE steel clutch fluid line
removed clutch restrictor
front and rear motor mount inserts
Symborski shifter kit
Metal Master brake pads
2nd gen GSX brakes
Quaife automatic torque biasing differential
8" SAS Bazooka EL subwoofer tube
Racing stuff:
16"x8" and 16"x9" Complete Custom Wheel three-piece rims
245/45-16 Kumho V700 race tires
Hawk brake pads
RRE 3" straight pipe
Racing journal, video, etc.
home page
Wheels...
These 16.7lb Kosei rims give a much softer ride compared to my old 23.5lb Mille Miglia Spiders (which suffered a demise of a high-speed meeting with bricks). And I'm getting a lot more wheelspin with these light wheels! With a 45mm offset the wheels put my tires just over a centimeter away from the upper control arms.
(Firestone Firehawk SZ50 235/45ZR17)
No more squealing during U-turns with the lousy RS-A's. Clover-leaf on-ramps can be executed without drama at 45 mph and stock suspension. No rub whatsoever.
I am extremely happy with these tires, especially after a couple of autocrossing events. They hardly show wear after HEAVY abuse: drift/power slide turns and repeated wide-open throttle turn exits while understeering. They have very predictable limits and their sidewalls appear very stiff (based on dust marks after autocrossing).
K&N FIPK...
Model #57-5504. More low-end (and "no-boost") power and quicker turbo spooling. Bold sound. Replaces the entire stock air filter box and makes room for...
BOV and upper IC pipe...
Sends the cool air from the intercooler much faster to the intake manifold with boost held nicely by the ~18psi (uncrushed) 1G BOV. ***** I had a serious leak at the connection of the upper IC and flex pipe to the intake manifold (caused after a wide-open throttle sprint with over 20psi of boost spike). I drove for a week with some incredible hesitation with the ECU going crazy causing fuel cut, extreme richness, and retarded timing (OBD-II showed this). Before knowing where the problem was I looked for a long time with help from some very kind and patient others (BADSM members rule!) but never solved the problem (we did find some loose connections, but not the problematic one). The dealership (Courtesy in San Jose) spotted the loose connection and fixed my mods up for aound 100 bucks (doh! Apparently this included "lab" work with their pimped out data logger). I didn't mind paying for their help this time but please learn from my experience! Know the symptoms of intake leaks and that loose connections are not always easily spotted!
"Free" mods...
Removing the restrictor raises stock boost from 11-12psi to around 14psi if a competent BOV is used (the stock 2G BOV leaks above 11psi and comes loose from the upper IC pipe). Shortening the BOV dump tube removes an air flow obstruction between air filter and the turbo compressor...quicker spooling. Blow-off sound becomes less whistly and more of a "woosh."
Boost gauge...
The boost gauge is sitting in a Lo-Tek A-pillar replacement held on with Velcro. My VDO gauge started making odd spring noises, no longer settled at zero (read 1-2psi low, even after trying to re-adjust it), and started to look bad with the black frame coating peeling off. The SPI gauge is beautiful (choice of lighting, oooh :), responsive (even more than the VDO), and fits better in the pod given its shorter depth and lack of a stupid bolt tap sticking out over an inch (short nozzle instead). Costs twice as much as the VDO, though.
Turbo inlet pipe...
Provides a less restrictive path between the air filter/MAS/BOV dump tube and the turbo compressor wheel. Even quicker spooling, with a noticable increase in thrust (and boost creep) at mid RPMs. Turbo sound is amplified a bit.
Exhaust mods...
Big power increase across the rev range. Noticable power increase even at casual no-boost ground starts. The turbo is now breathing freely with boost holding in mid RPMs at over 16psi (with no boost controller) and creeping to over 20psi. Total bat-outta-hell feeling at wide-open throttle with possible sustained wheelspin in 2nd (even with the meaty wheels). The A'PEXi RS is quiet but with an awesome deep sound. Its slant-cut, streamlining nicely with the back bumper. NOTE for you new exhaust installers...you will probably be spewing some smoke for a few days (very noticable during idle) until the excess exhaust/catalyzer/down pipe paint or enamel burns off. Don't worry about it, just try to avoid the eco-freaks for awhile so you don't get phoned in. :)
Big thanks to Kit for his installation help and for being a cool guy.
Fuel and Ignition...
The better insulated and less resistant NGK wires provide peace of mind. I recommend mail-ordering them...walk-in auto parts stores seem to shamelessly mark these up. I installed the NGK BPR7ES plugs after having driven with the stock BPR6EKN's with the same mods, boost setting, and leaness settings. I noticed my EGT's running a little cooler and my O2 voltages went .01 - .02 richer. My current settings are:
under construction
My O2 sensor (S-AFC "blue wire mod") reads approximately .94V in 3rd at wide-open throttle.
Turbo upgrade...
Strong midrange and relentless top-end power...where the party slows down with the T25 (at around 5500 rpm) the Super 60 (Turbonetics Super 60 compressor and a clipped Garrett T28 exhaust wheel in an enlarged & ported stock turbo housing) turbo keeps the air volume high. Boost spools a few hundred rpm later than the T25, but the extra lag seems to help control wheelspin.
The turbo also has a ported O2 sensor housing, which seems to have gotten boost creep (dangerously rising boost even when the wastegate is wide-open) under control.
Stress bars...
These added rigidity to the car's body, causing a less wobbly ride and a more predictable behavior (with less body roll) when cornering. The front lower stress bar also reduced wheel hop under hard 1st gear acceleration by minimizing lift caused by torque steer. These parts with the large wheels and rear sway bar provide for good autocross performances (even with stock shocks & springs).
The front lower stress bar was a bit of a pain to install...I could not tighten the right-side mounting screw when the bar was squeezed under the right-side suspension plate. So I picked up another spacer and a long screw and bolted the bar on top of the right-side suspension plate.
Sway bar...
Causes the rear control arms to move in concert, transferring the shock-compressing force from the outside wheel to the inside wheel (via the control arms) during turns. The RRE sway bar is MUCH stiffer than the stock bar (~26mm vs. 19mm) and allows the car to drift and/or oversteer around hard turns (a sweet treat in a FWD car). I've had tremedous fun bringing the back-end around in turns then straightening the car out with the throttle.
This part was a pain to install given that I have the A'PEXi RS exhaust that pipes under the rear cross member. The job actually wouldn't have been too difficult if there was less trail-and-error involved. After the first couple attempts, I ended up with a sway bar that unknowingly rested on the rear control arms. This made the ride super stiff with almost no roll (like a go kart) but completely unrefined. So I realized the bar needed to come back an inch or so...and realized a use for the lowering mounts RRE sent me (the lowering mounts assume my exhaust went over the rear cross member like the stock exhaust and most aftermarket exhausts). I cut the mounts in half (using a hacksaw...through two inches of steel...ugh) and bolted on the sway bar brackets with the pieces, correcting the sway bar's position. Then I had the trouble of the sway bar mounting brackes getting in the way of my exhaust piping. DOH! A wire cutter, big pliers, a drill, and an hour later I finally had the clearance I needed...a half inch cut off the bottom of the left bracket. The cutting would have been easier with a hacksaw, but removing the bracket would have been a pain given that it was put in place over the bar with a hammer(!!...I needed to "resize" the bracket as it didn't line up to the cross-member bolt holes).
Exhaust gas temperature gauge...
With my current leaness settings, my EGT hits 850C at the top of third.
Note about installation - use good drill bits (e.g. titanium) when drilling into your exhaust manifold...especially if you are running your engine while drilling (to blow out the metal chips). Sorry about what happened to your old drill bit, Kit. :)
Suspension...
I'm a wimp so I opted for 350lbs/in spring rates in the front and 200lbs/in in the rear. This setup, with the AGX shocks set to 2/4 front and 3/8 rear, provides a pretty comfortable ride with handling that outperforms most street cars out there. I've found my best shock settings for autocrossing are 3/4 front and 6/8 rear, which gives me some (camber-creating) body roll, good weight distribution, neutral drifting, and gradual oversteer.
Rear Ground Control collars are notorious for hopping out of place when off-loaded, and making a loud crunching noise when the rear comes back to earth. I've taken care of this by crazy-gluing the collars to the shocks (my version of "helper springs").
Clutch...
As of this writing I have put 17,000 miles, over a dozen autocrosses, two track events, and plenty of madman driving/street dragging on my ACT 2100 clutch and I have no complaints about its performance. Pedal force is the same as the stock clutch. With the stock clutch hydraulic restrictor replaced by an RRE clutch line, clutch engagement is very direct, minimizing clutch wear between shifts and getting the power quicker to the diff/axles.
The RRE lightened (about 14.5lbs vs. 19lbs stock) flywheel lets the engine rev faster (not dramatically...think like revving the car in neutral from idle to 2K rpm...you could do it three times in the same time it would take to do it twice with the stock flywheel). Good for downshift rev-matching and (theoretically) adds wheel horsepower. Less near-stall torque (less inertia), so crawling along in traffic requires a bit more throttle use.
Motor mounts...
The 4G63-powered massage kit. :) These hard (polyurethane) mount inserts reduce engine vibrations that would normally enter the chassis and cause VERY violent and dangerous wheel hop during hard acceleration. But instead of the vibrations resonating in the chassis, the motor mount inserts unfortunately cause the vibrations to enter the canopy for the occupants to feel. Over time the mounts "break in" and become a little more mellow, and the vibrations are actually tolerable, but they evoke the feeling that you are primarily using your car for sport.
Quaife torque-sensing limited-slip diff...
This thing RULES. I can launch into a corner almost as if I were launching straight. In the middle of a turn, if the car can take the side load, I can throttle and simply make the car go faster and not break loose (wasting power to) the inside wheel. The car launches strong and feels like it'd be a decent drag racer.
My autocross times seem to have been improved by the Quaife by as much as race tires had improved them. Also my runs are much cleaner, with the car behaving much more predictably, and with around 95% less tire getting vaporized. :)
Thanks for tuning in. Drive hard and smart! Comments?