Hello all, new member here. A few years back I bought a 2001 Eclipse RS 5-speed and basically loved the car. The 2.4L engine had more than enough spunk for a car that is somewhat heavy and I had very few problems with the vehicle. Anyways, I have been searching the market for the past 7-8 months for a sporty car again, options have been between a cobalt ss to a neon srt-4 to even a third generation camaro and a eclipse. Cobalt SS doesn't seem worth the cost, SRT-4 seems to be a money pit, and the Camaro would be a gas hog. I would consider a 2g eclipse but it is very difficult to find one that is in good condition, has under 80k miles and hasn't been beat on, so my sights are on a 2000 Eclipse GT. My question is if the 50+HP increase in the GT makes a big difference (147HP '01 RS compared to 200/205HP '00 GT)? As I said, my old RS had a decent amount of get-up for a 4cylinder imo, so my thinking is the GT will be more than enough for my liking. Granted, I will be doing the simple bolt-on mods such as a cat-back exhaust, performance headers, and a CAI to maybe push it to 220HP if I'm lucky. Any advice from those who have driven/owned both would be greatly appreciated.

 

Emonz57 on here is your man. He has owned a GS and also 2 GT's. I have ridden in both of them and i will tell you there is a large difference between the two (obviously). If you thought that the 2.4L was a fun fast car then you havent had a fun fast car yet. The only thing i can tell you is go find a dealership selling one and take a GT for a test drive. I am willing to bet you will love the extra power. If you want alittle more there is also the GTS to consider which came with a few extras like higher compression pistons and a variable induction system. But to me it sounds like the GT will suit you fine. Also a spyder is a nice addition as well...little more weight, but alittle more fun in the summer

 

my friend has a 2001 gs 5 speed, i took a ride in it and thought it was a nice fun car so i went out to buy one. all i could find was gt's in a 5 speed, and ill tell you that there is a huge difference. when i bought the car i thought it was just crazy fast but just like every car you get used to it and get bored. if you want to do some up grades to your car and still keep it NA i would just put a fidanza alum. fly wheel on with a exedy stage 2 clutch kit and just your cat back exhaust and a intake, thats what im in the process of doing to mine, it will make it really get up and go.

 

The GT eclipse can not even be compaired to the RS GS. The power difference is HUGE. the Tq difference is even better. You will without a doubt like the V6 more. TO be honest neither car is that fast and bolt ons do virtually nothing to these cars. They are rated at the crank, you will not even come close to sniffing 220HP. They make around 155 WHP. Alot of people get them around 170WHP with bolt ons and a light SAFCII tune. The GS RS on makes 105-110 WHP and bolt ons only get around 120WHP.

These cars are very very hard to make fast and cost a fortune to do so and at that point they are not reliable.

Stock or bolt on you will be fine. If you like that power the go for it. Personally they were to slow for me by a LONNNNNG SHOT

 

I'd recommend a GTS hardtop. CAI's around here usually result in hydrolock and work for me.

And I'd never, ever consider any of the other cars on your list.

Just my humble opinions.

 

If you are going to do any crazy mods to the car like a turbo or rippmodd kit I would stay far away from the GTS. The pistons are junk on those cars when modding for power. Cold air intakes are def a waste of time and will cause you issues at some point when you hit a puddle (I have done it)

The GTS and GT are hardly any different. Only a small handful of minor changes other than the intake and pistons.

 

i would agree about the intake, but i do have a intake on me 2005 Gt, its not the full cold air, its a short ram intake that sits about the same height if the bottom of the fan, i have hit puddles and have not had a problem. if your looking for crazy power out of it, intakes and exhaust wont give it what your looking for, it will help but you need to do internals such as aluminum flywheel and such, so it winds up faster.

haha and no, an eclipse can be compared to a supra.
but the Gt is fast

 

^ Short ram is hte way to go to stay safe for sure.

As far as the GT being fast..... It is not (sorry) It is quick no doubt about it but it will lose a race to a 99 SI Civic. Doing the math IMO that tells me it is not a fast car. It is very quick and has nice tq though.

I thought my GT was fast. Untill I started playing with other cars like DSMs Evos and the Supra. I had a GT at the same time as my old Evo and my Supra and I can say the car felt so slow after lol, but no surprises there I guess. It can't be compared to cars like that