Eclipse vs Mustang

From what I've heard 1st gens are hard to work on.

you're asking a bunch of mustang guys what to get?! Uhh...most would prob. say a stang, but get what you want. You can make anything fast if you really want to. You're the one paying for it and driving it, so get something you like.

Most of my friends have 1st and 2nd gen DSM's. I have worked on them. They arent hard to work on. Comparable to a mustang. I hope you have deep pockets though. Once you start putting any power through them they start breaking. The drivetrain in them are horrible. They cant support the power that goes through them.

biased

you're asking a bunch of mustang guys what to get?!

Click to expand...

The 5.0 is a more durable engine.
Mustangs can beat Eclipses.

The Eclipse tends to munch on its timing belt.
The Eclipse has less room to move stuff.
The Eclipse's front wheel drive is not benefitial for drag racing.
The Eclipse's tranny stinks.
The Eclipse's don't look as good as Mustangs (OK, subjective).

That about sums it up. Any questions?

im a big turbo eclipse fan but id rather have a mustang with a supercharger. i worked at a mitsu dealer for about 2 years and almost every gs-t, gsx and vr4 i saw was stock. i wouldnt bring my modified car to the dealer either our labor was like $65/hr. when you modify a DSM you usually buy a new bigger turbo (than the little T25) and big intercooler (frontmount) , injectors, etc... so youre not any better off with a stock turbo if you want to see big HP numbers (400+). just my .02 .

Gee, I wonder what STANGNET will have to say about this..

Anyway

I remember once my daily driver started smoking on the highway, and and a fellow let me follow him to his house so we could work on it, spray it off, etc. He had an Eclipse and we got talking about cars somehow. He said it was the 3rd he/his girlfriend have had and they all suck as far as racing/working on them goes.

hey man i had a gsx with just about everything you can do almost it was fast..94.8mph in the 1/8th..but it broek all the time man ....timing belts/valves/pistons/trannys/center diffs/transfer cases/rear ends..etcetcetc...
i have owned them first hand and i switched to a stang..only advantage those have is awd put a set of drag radials on a stang and your set..i deff know stangs will hold the power and i know for a fact are cheaper to upgrade.....
they are easy to fix but imo are pretty much junk...wrathchild knows me and can back it up....i would stick to a stang

Just get a 89-92 lx 5.0 sedan with 5 speed,which according to the ford mustang tech. reference,is the lightest at 3,037 lbs. Followed by a lx 5.0 hatch with 5 speed,like mine,which only weighs 3,102 lbs.And 89-92 stangs, according to the book, make 225hp and 300tq.All you have to do is build a 306 or 331 stroker. And lay the smack down.My friend had an eclipse tranny busted and it only had 70,000 miles.Go for the Stang.

Peace

I picked up my SSP coupe for $1,000. It only needed about $300 in misc. stuff the owner didnt want to buy.

Go on the boostaholic to get the pros and cons of a eclipse.


From what I see, the ONLY problem with mustangs is that they are everywhere.

The 5.0HO has every performance part imaginable made for it. If you get a 96 cobra, you get DOHC 4 Valves per cylinder motor. Throw a turbo or s/c on either and it will be hard for a streetable mistu to have that sort of HP and torque. That you can get for less than 3k over the price of a stang.

Try to 400-600 hp or 500 ft-lbs from a mitsu that can drive back and forth to work.

.... um a turbo can be put on a mustang also....

First of all FWD sucks. AWD rules though. The only thing about AWD is that it adds alot of weight while increasing drivetrain power loss. An AWD Eclipse/Talon weights about the same as a GT, a notch would be lighter. Also, until the turbo makes boost, your driving just another 4 banger. True, you can do a lot of little cheap mods to get your Eclipse fast, but you can go faster with less money with a 5.0. 400HP, alot easier with a V8, and you'll still have room to grow.

Why not go to the track on a test and tune night, see who's running fast, not just what you hear is fast. Why do you think I chose a 5.0.

I have a buddy that just bought a '98 GST Spyder with a first generation engine and a 14B turbo about a month ago for over $11,000. So far, he has had nothing but trouble out of it. He had to put a new turbo on it less than a week after he got it, and it's still not right. It misses like crazy after 5000 rpm and plugs, fuel filter, pump, wires, etc. will not make it go away. From what I hear, they are bad about things like this. On an unrelated note, I recently bought my '87 Mustang GT for $2500 and I love the hell out of it. It runs great and would definitely toast his ass anyday. Get whatever car you like the most, but it's hard to beat the performance per dollar of a late-model Mustang.

Pretty much what I expected to hear from stangnet...

you guys are a little nicer than most, but also a little less apt to deal with issues in a DSM that you will deal with in a stang.

Since I have come from Turbo AWD Mitsu's (although my personal cars always have TWO turbos ) there have been quite a few 1st and 2nd gen dsm's I've helped build and (while I still co-owned the shop) worked on.

1st gen vs 2nd gen -

1st gen have stronger bottom end
2nd gen look better
1st gen have larger stock turbo (capable of 12's most people stop with them in the 13's though)
1st gen have larger injectors
2nd gen have better exhaust manifold
1st gen are faster (lighter)
2nd gen look better.

1st gen formula-
stock 5spd AWD Turbo. (91+ head lights are cooler)
Stealth TT/ 3000GT VR4 fuel pump (190lph) ($30-50 used- hotwire it)
aftermarket boost gauge ($50 with pillar pod)
Dumptube first and foremost (wastegate dumps to atmosphere instead of into exhaust - much like getting a downpipe and catback but with fraction of the cost- though it's FREGGIN LOUD!) ($150-250)
manual boost controller ($20)
change tranny/transfercase/rearend to synth fluids ($80)
Turbo Timer ($100)
Ramchargers MAFT (with LS6 MAF $300 - allows larger injectors/replaces MAF (which dies around 400hp anyway))

At this point- you should be able to run a high 12 with ease and still retain stock driveability and great mileage. From here on out things will be determined by driving style- how well you drive, how hard you are on clutch, brakes, etc..

next mods should be-
Big16G turbo ($600)
downpipe/catback ($500-750 buying bolt on SS)
660-880 injectors ($300-500)
supra fuel pump (340lph) ($200)
clutch ($150-500)
aluminum flywheel ($300)
adj cam gears ($400)

at some point in there you should either have
A) been dyno tuned AND DON'T TOUCH IT AFTERWARDS
B) blown up a motor due to detonation
C) installed a WideBand O2 and watched your butt!

That is a decently easy way to hit high 11's daily driven, on the street.
Others have done it with a lot less, and some haven't done it with a lot more.

But i've personally installed all that stuff, and it's no more difficult to install than heads or a cam is on a 5.0... you just have to remember it's a motor, and it still basically works the same, there is more exotic looking stuff, but it still works the same.

Now I'm learning the ropes on a mustang, i've not done much to mine yet, (11:1 pistons, 3.73 gears, UDP set, 70mm Cobra MAF, EEC, 24lb injectors, hotwired SN95 pump, B&M short throw, off- H pipe, 2.5" muffs) and you don't have to worry about making the power (especially LOADS of it down low- something you don't get on a DSM- you need more displacement- I suggest 3.0L V6 TwinTurbo ) but you have to worry about laying it down. If you think that a set of DR's makes it all even against AWD- good luck!

What you save in making power, you lose in making traction- likewise on the DSM what you get by making traction, you lose by losing power up high.

Give or take- own from the stoplight, get owned from a roll on.

Here's the best-

The Mustang is the Eclipse of the Domestic world.
The Eclipse is the Mustang of the Import world.

Same amount of aftermarket, same potential, same ease to work on (comparatively- the LS1 is loads harder to deal with than the 5.0, whereas the H22A is harder to make power (or TQ at all) than the 4G63), same amount of pros vs cons.

Good luck!

I've had both and for reliability go with the Stang. I have had 2 1st gen Talons and both were always on the side of the road! Plus the Stang is a lot funner to drive!

Jakob

well my friend used to have a 91 GS-T and it was hella fast but he was always havin problems with it he eventually solved most of them except a wastegate problem with the turbo so it wasn't using all the boost, but I like both, I like the pull feeling of FWD but he never got traction and I love the push of my 5.0, so it's all in what would you picture yourself in more, a rumbling V8 or a high pitched sounding exhaust, it's up to you

Did someone say crank walk???? If you want a fast DSM then u better have deep pockets because they break like crazy.

my brother had two first gen awd talons, both were junk, both constantly gave him trouble and still leaked oil after fixing leaks. I was not impressed with them at all.
btw, the first gen's look better.