Hi there,

I recently purchased a 97 GS A/T, and man, is my car slow! I've gotten beat by my gf's 95 accord ex (rated at 130 hp?). To save face I'm looking into getting some mods. If any of you could help me with the following questions I'd appreciate it tremendously.

1. Many of you talk about the K&N Air Filter. Do any of you have the exact part number? I've noticed that K&N produces a bolt-on filter for the eclipse. Is the one most people refer to? Or are they referring to a generic K&N cone filter? If so, does this generic filter plug in to my stock intake pipe without problems? Once I plug it in, should I keep my airbox or get rid of it?

2. When people say "hack the airbox", do they mean getting rid of the airbox completely, or drilling holes into the bottom of (as described in the free airbox mod?)

3. My impression from these forums is that an UDP offers the most significant hp gain. Where can I buy one for my eclipse? Are they generic enough that say, the ones for neons, will fit mine?

4. This is more of a generic question, but how hard is it to install these mods (esp the pulley)? Being a complete newbie to car mechanics, would it better for me to just buy all the parts then take them to a performance shop and have them install everything for me? Anyone know of any good ones in the new england area?

Thanks,
FadeGS

Ok if you are gonna get a k&n you might as well get a cold air intake which will replace the entire stock plastic intake. If you are going to want to go turbo later on get a cheap ebay intake for now. If not then I suggest the AEM CAI or the Iceman CAI. As for the UDP AFX makes one for our cars that underdrives 30% and will give you about 10 more hp(you will definately notice) and it costs around $160. Other good mods would be the suspension techniques motor mount inserts for about $20 and maybe an exhaust system. As for the labor, you should be able to do the intake with no problem. The pulley might be a little tough so you prolly want to take it to a shop if you know nothing about cars(I used to be in the same boat). The motor mounts can be tricky especailly the rear. Hope that helps.

Oh yeah and run searches and check the things weve seen before forum as well as the archives. :thumbsup

k&n cone = 3inch inlet, 5inch length. keep the stock airbox if you wanna pass your inspection. :)

UDP:
http://howell.mountain.net/Talon/DSMPulleys.html