1998 Eclipse GS. Car has 170K on odo, but Engine has 185compression on all 4 cyl and idles 17 vacuum, so should be running nice and solid...

So, 2.5 weeks into owning the car and I have to say I am starting to wonder. I love the look of the car, always have which partially prompted my decision to buy one. I have asked some questions here and on the mitsubishi forums, gotten helpfull answers and still have a few things to track down myself with regards to pulling codes etc..

HOWEVER, I am really starting to wonder if my car is just worn out (engine/trans) or if I am expecting too much? I bought the car for mileage increase and (yes I know silly) an Auto trans. Auto trans was a big factor as I often commute in 1hr of stop/go traffic, 5spd just sucks, I have a 5spd mustang parked that this eclipse has replaced. I know they are the slowest of the 2G's but this car is SERIOUSLY bad. I have to put my foot on the floor on onramps to get up to speed to merge properly at the speed limit, the car just has NO pull. I have driven 4cyl auto's before and this car seems extremely weak. no pull at all in any way till almost 4k and even then is weak to 5k.

Case in point, I got in the wifes '00 galant 4cyl (150k odo) tonight for a trip to the store. 2.4l auto trans, 4 people in it, bigger heavier car, it will BLOW my eclipse away before it even gets out of 1st gear. No lie it feels 2x as fast, to add insult she gets 26mpg and I only get 24mpg?? Are the 420a auto's THAT slow? I never expected a racecar, but thought it would be much more responsive than I am seeing. And being thrashed by a bone stock 4dr sedan is just embarasing.

Sorry for the text wall, I am just well, dissapointed, and trying to decide if it just needs a rebuild or is performing like a normal 420a, and I need to think about a different car. :-(

Any feedback or help would be greatly appreciated.

The auto-tragic tranny isnt helping, but you should be doing better than that. Stock 420As arent going to break any records, but they have some pep to them. My car gets 32mpg on a daily basis, and last ran a 16.6 at the track with simple mods, although my car is 5 spd.

It's the slushbox attached to that engine. your compression and vacuum suggest that the engine is in fine shape.

I thought the automatics in the old jaguars that I've had were crap, then I drove an auto 420A. horrible. not to mention my first engine still got better mileage when it was worn out than my friends auto.

do a 5 speed conversion or get a manual car if you really want something peppy with decent gas mileage

Originally posted by 740 turbo brick
The auto-tragic tranny isnt helping, but you should be doing better than that.

I'm with you. The car should have a little more pull than that. Maybe it is the tranny. I really couldn't tell ya since I've only owned a 5spd, but something don't sound right.

I've experienced both in my car. After the 5 spd swap, there's a world a difference between the two. Its the crap a604 system. It robs performance tremendously from the engine.

Check your cat.

Originally posted by bullettdsm
Check your cat.

100% agree with Bullet. Im guessing clogged ;)

maybe the tranny is slipping. any auto will feel hella sluggish when its slipping.

Originally posted by teklein

Originally posted by bullettdsm Check your cat.

100% agree with Bullet. Im guessing clogged ;)

+1. My older bro's Jeep had a horribly clogged cat and it had trouble accelerating to freeway speeds.

Whats the best way to check the Cat? I have good Exh flow and steam at idle..?

Yeah, the auto trans does suck really bad....especially with the AC on. The fact that our cars are really heavy doesn't help either. I really wish Mitsu would have went with a 2.4 instead, like in the Camry and Venza....that engine is super peppy. It's just really hard to get rid of the Eclipse because it looks so damn nice....still looks like the day I bought it 10 years ago. Anyway, my daughter will be a senior in three years and I'm considering giving it to her. With the way teenage girls drive with their lead foot, this car would help keep her speed down..hehe.

Originally posted by John99RS
The fact that our cars are really heavy doesn't help either.

?

where are you getting your idea of heavy? 2800/2900lbs is pretty light when you consider most cars nowdays. My wife's Echo is over 3000lbs and my WRX wagon tips the scales at almost 2 tons. A manual RS is only slightly heavier than a 3rd gen RX7 (around 100lbs)

now if you want a light car, the wife's 74 Porsche 914 is light. 1800lbs with fuel. that's light, I can push start that bastard UPHILL

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G

Originally posted by John99RS The fact that our cars are really heavy doesn't help either.

? where are you getting your idea of heavy? 2800/2900lbs is pretty light when you consider most cars nowdays. My wife's Echo is over 3000lbs and my WRX wagon tips the scales at almost 2 tons. A manual RS is only slightly heavier than a 3rd gen RX7 (around 100lbs) now if you want a light car, the wife's 74 Porsche 914 is light. 1800lbs with fuel. that's light, I can push start that bastard UPHILL

Not trying to steal the thread, but you have a 914 eh? My gf's dad and I built one, completely stripped it down and restored it, did a ton of upgrades, and put a 2003 Subaru EJ20 turbo engine in it. Owning both a WRX and a 914, I can imagine the grin you're getting right now.

Thanks for all the input guys! I will Def look at the cat.

However won't just pulling the cat out and running it be somewhat inaccurate way to test clogged? I mean the cat and muffler will add backpressure to the system, in fact engines NEED some backpressure to run properly and not burn up valves?

I guess my point is I can't think of a single car in the world that would not feel more responsive if you pulled the Catback off, at least in the short term...

That said I will be looking into it as I have seen people with clogged ones and my high miles it makes sense that could be an issue..

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G

Originally posted by John99RS The fact that our cars are really heavy doesn't help either.

? where are you getting your idea of heavy? 2800/2900lbs is pretty light when you consider most cars nowdays. My wife's Echo is over 3000lbs and my WRX wagon tips the scales at almost 2 tons. A manual RS is only slightly heavier than a 3rd gen RX7 (around 100lbs) now if you want a light car, the wife's 74 Porsche 914 is light. 1800lbs with fuel. that's light, I can push start that bastard UPHILL

No disrespect and maybe i'm wrong but I looked inside the door jam on my eclipse and it says like 3900lbs?

mine says somethin like 2985 on the title for an esi.

Originally posted by eclipserstturbo
mine says somethin like 2985 on the title for an esi.

What does it say in the door? I think it was around 3900lbs GWR.

The inside of my door jam says 3,726lbs.

GVW is Gross Vehicle Weight. It is like the maximum load your car can handle, including it's own weight and all passengers/luggage. An auto trans car should weigh 2800-2900 lbs, depending on options. The auto trans sucks all of the life out of the car. You might find that nailing the gas makes the car go slower than if you slowly ease into the gas. The TCU communicates with the ECU to protect the weak transmission. If you break a certain threshold of inputs, the TCU will ask the ECU to reduce the torque output. In the later year cars, you can snip a wire to end the "torque reduction" communication. In my '95, there was no way to end the communication. My only option was to swap in a manual trans. I never looked back.

Corbin
'95 ESI-T

Now with more power and fewer leaks



Humble servant of the Wiki

I stand corrected on the weight issue....sorry. Thanks for clearing it up Corbin....I just learned something.:)

Originally posted by Corbin
GVW is Gross Vehicle Weight. It is like the maximum load your car can handle, including it's own weight and all passengers/luggage.

exactly. Actual weight and GVW aren't the same.

My car is a 5-speed and I have to admit it doesn't much like to accelerate until it breaches 4k rpm and my a/c on only makes it worse....these cars are rated at something like 140-145hp if I can remember right so having an auto is gonna make it feel more like 110hp......no fun at all if your used to 200hp or more.

The curb weight is what you really want to know not the GVWM.That weight rating is the combination of the maximum weight each axle set can sustain front to rear. My WRX sedan on the scales weighed in at 3142lbs....the wagon shouldn't weigh much more than 3185lbs (or at least this is what I witnessed when a buddy of mine weighed in after me)

A quick way to check if you have exhaust restriction is to put your hand behind the tail pipe about six inches or so away and feel if there is a considerable amount of pressure coming out. If you don't feel anything or barely anything at all then the next thing I would do is drop the cat out of the system and run it open like someone else suggested earlier and see if it makes a difference in the acceleration.
Just my two cents .....Hope it helps

William

Originally posted by Corbin
GVW is Gross Vehicle Weight. It is like the maximum load your car can handle, including it's own weight and all passengers/luggage. An auto trans car should weigh 2800-2900 lbs, depending on options. The auto trans sucks all of the life out of the car. You might find that nailing the gas makes the car go slower than if you slowly ease into the gas. The TCU communicates with the ECU to protect the weak transmission. If you break a certain threshold of inputs, the TCU will ask the ECU to reduce the torque output. In the later year cars, you can snip a wire to end the "torque reduction" communication. In my '95, there was no way to end the communication. My only option was to swap in a manual trans. I never looked back. Corbin '95 ESI-T Now with more power and fewer leaks Humble servant of the Wiki

That clears up so much. That makes alot of sense now. Thanks!

Originally posted by lamrith
Whats the best way to check the Cat? I have good Exh flow and steam at idle..?

There are two ways.
1. Do an exhaust pressure test.
2. Take your exhaust off before the cat and see if it pulls better.

+1 on the cat

My manual trans Eclipse was running like absolute crap.. not peppy at all, very very slow in comparison to OTHER slow non-turbo 4-cylinders I've driven. I went through everything you can imagine, new O2 sensors included. Did a compression test and I was over 210 on every cylinder, within 10 psi of each other. However, the ceramic portions of the spark plugs on all cylinders were very corroded looking and yellow. They had gotten very hot from backed up exhaust gasses.

Clogged cat was my culprit; I ended up gutting mine out and the car runs like new. Didn't even throw a CEL (yet.. crossing fingers). Like everyone else, I think this is your issue too.

I'm with the cat 2. I have a 5 spd and my sister used to have an auto and it didnt suck so bad.... I did have to play a bit with the O/D button to get better result but it was not as slow as your saying yours is. So it may be the cat, get a test pipe you'll love it LOL

+1

Check the cat. Your motor maybe trying to inhale with smoke in it's lungs. Easy to check the cat, PB Blaster and Mapp Gas for the rusted bolts, if not a steady hand and a sawz-all. I put a 2 1/4 test pipe on my RS. Breathed a lot better and exhaust temps went down. Although I lost a little on the bottom end I picked up on high way speeds. Just a thought...

Mines felt kinda like that before I put an intake on. I have an auto and your power usable should kick in at 20 mph.
I got all the bolt on breathing mods on the planet which offsets the slow tranny in the upper range.
I did quite a bit of fwy racing (before I got caught racing myself while listening to Praful! Moon Glide got me a GodDamn Ticket! 85 in a 65!:) ) just to see what she could do and yea the 420a can hold it's own with the cars built in the 90's.
Compared to other cars of their time (2nd gens Eclipses) they are slightly better than the others so don't give up hope.