The Eclipse

Picture to come

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My car is a 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS, with the 16V 2.0 liter engine. Mitsubishi claims 135 horsepower for that engine and a curb weight of 2678 lbs. The car is "La Salle Silver" which looks closer to gold to me. The interior is a dark tan. I bought the car used in 1999.

Factory options include:

Sunroof
Rear wiper/washer
Cruise control (currently broken)
Air conditioning

One of the reasons that I selected the car is that it is listed for several classes of SCCA competition, including E Stock and C Street Prepared for Solo II (Autocross) and ITA for Improved Touring club racing. However, after buying it and getting involved in Solo II, I have learned that it is not competitive in any of those classes. For 2002 it will be reclassified into H Stock class (as part of a general reorganization of the SCCA Solo II classes). Currently, H Stock is a slightly slower class than E Stock but a lot of other cars that are now E Stock are also going into H Stock. However, in Street Prepared trim, the car has been reclassified to DSP, which is a slightly slower class. That holds hope for being promising.

Updates/modifications to date:

Dunlop SP8000 tires* in size 225/50ZR16
KYB AGX Shocks front and back
Porterfield R-4S brake pads front and back
Energy Suspension bushings on the front sway bar.
Suspension Techniques rear sway bar (Bye bye stock class)
16X7, König Traffik alloy wheels.
Braided steel brake lines
"Air Can Hack"
Cold air intake, phase 1 (Intake heat shield--see Car work Diary).
New tires: Falken Azenis RS in 215/45ZR16

Car work Diary

*Links are to either descriptions of products or installation information.

Planned modifications:

First, within stock class:
Note, I'm no longer in Stock, but some of these still need to be done.

Nicely sticky DOT legal Tires (Kumho V700)
Shift light
Cat back exhaust system
Roll bar/cage
Racing harness

Next in Street Touring (an intermediate class between Stock and Street Prepared)

New springs, possibly including a coilover kit
Camber adjustment plates/bolts
Front strut tower brace
Rear shock tower brace
Short throw shifter (maybe just a shortened shift knob)
New urethane bushings everywhere
Headers
High flow air intake
Underdrive pulley set
Lower and/or lighter front seats (there's not enough headroom for me to take an optimum driving position).

Finally, in Street Prepared

Weld in that roll cage
Even wider tires and wheels
Replacement oil pan (if available)
New intake manifold
New throttle body
High flow catalytic convertor or remove it entirely
Possibly an even more open exhaust
High performance clutch
Limited slip differential
Rebuild, Balance, and overbore engine (.0472 inch). This will increase engine displacement to 2054 cc and is probably good for a few horsepower.
Match ports.

At that point the car will probably be as competitive as its going to be without radical modification. (Does anyone know if the 3.0L V6 used in the 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT will bolt up to the Eclipse's transmission?)