Hey I just got a 1995 Eclipse GS and love the car but I am looking for information from someone who has experience with the car - what are it's major flaws and how they can be fixed. For example, I have read that the suspension needs help... should shocks, springs, swaybard, bushings be replaced? strut bars added? Anything would be extremely helpful.</P>


Thank you,
Ken P.</P><edited><editID>kenped86</editID><editDate>38061.9851157407</editDate></edited>

 

Well, there are no *major* flaws in the car if you're looking for everyday driveability. However, there are some things that can be improved, as in any other car. Remember, you have a 9 year old car.The bushings can be worn out and need to be replaced. If the car has been driven a lot or very hard,suspension components such as shocks may also be worn out. There may be carbon build up on the valves on an abused engine. In short, there *will* be some things that need to be replaced or fixed, but you should choose a direction you want to go in first. A red light dragster, autox, or tourer type will requiure different suspension components. However, there are no major flaws in the 2gnt's. If you give the general direction you want to go in, i can help recommend what you should replace or improve on, but as your question stands, there are no major flaws.

 

Im definitely heading down the autocross route... I'd like crisp handling with good grip. I can deal with moderate stiffness during everyday use of the car too. Thanks and hopefully this will benefit others too. I definitely need new tires on my car. Oh yeah, the car only has 42,000 miles on it.</P>


-Ken</P><edited><editID>kenped86</editID><editDate>38063.9480439815</editDate></edited>

 

The best upgrade is a set of coilovers. 2g DSMer's have had success using the Ground Control kit, but a few are reporting that the new Tein kit is rather impressive too. If you can't afford the coilovers at the moment, a good combination are the Eibach Pro's and the Tokico Illuminas. Some autoxer have said that the Eibachs tend to sag over time(like a long long time and after many miles of driving). Skunk2 also makes a great set for our cars, but at a premium price. The Tokico Illumina's are one of the best set shocks you can get for 2g's. Your car should already have sway bars, but you can get an upgraded set from RMDSM. As for strut tower braces, there are many that work good, even the cheapies on ebay will give betterperformance at higher speeds. RRE also made a lower front tower brace, but they may have stopped production. You *should* replace all bushings and mounts with polyurethane units, a full kit cost about $250 and is available from Energy Suspension or Prothane. For autox, a good wheel tire combo is the 3g(FD3S) Mazda RX7 wheels and Bridgestone Potenza's or if you want all out, Falkens. The Mazda wheels are some of the best wheels ever produced. They are 16x6.5 andcan fit a wide 255 tire. They are also very lightweight, even lighter than many aftermarket wheels of the same size. These are only suspension upgrades, there are a million of engineperformance upgrades that will help give you engine better response and more low end torque and high end hp. I'm not sure of your intentions, but I'm assuming you'll want to stay naturally apsirated, maybe for class reasons. A larger throttlebody and extrude honed manifolds will give better response and flow. A head port job would be good, but isn't really necessary. Some Mopar guys use a thinner head gasket to up compression a few points and get some more power out of their engines. It's not a bad idea, but finding a head gasket durable enough may prove to be a problem. For the price and quality,I recommend an Apexi N1 catback exhaust. A high flow cat will free up some extra ponies, but the only company that makes a decent one is OBX. A good qaulity cold air intakeis the Injen system. </P>


Tell me if you need any info on anything else, i think i've covered the most important things though. Hope this helps.</P>

 

Thanks Spyder, your comprehensive explanation was exactly what I was looking for. I'll start working on my car and let you know what gets done... depending on how much my budget allows me. Thanks for the help.</P>


Ken</P>