QuestionI don't know if you can answer this. I talked to you about the transmission switch, but now I'm wonderign what I could start with on a 1990 Eclipse to make it more raceable?
AnswerRobert,
First and foremost, before you consider racing your car, make sure all maintenance taken care of. There should be no leaks, squeaks, or wobbles. All critical items like tires, suspension, transmission, and braking system must be at 100% operability. Do not even attempt to race unless your timing belt, balancer belt, and auto tensioner have been replaced within the last 45,000 miles. If any of those items break while racing, you'll destroy your engine.
Once all the scheduled and preventative maintenance items have been taken care of, you can get into upgrades. Having an auto tranny isn't typical for racing, but don't attempt to swap it with a 5-speed. It's not worth it. Also, unless you have the turbo model Eclipse you won't be able to get much more power into it than the rated 135 HP of the non-turbo model. If you have the non-turbo model, there may be aftermarket turbo kits you could buy, but again you could run into many problems and the cost of the kit could be worth more than th car. But you can go with an aftermarket cold air intake, a more free flowing exhaust system (the entire exhaust system; not just the muffler), and stiffer suspension components will gain you another 10-30 HP. Adding an extra 30 HP will be a noticable performance increase. Do not consider swapping in a turbo-model engine into your non-turbo car. That can be just as complicated as swapping tranmsissions
If you have the turbo model, there are lots of upgrades you can perform. I've seen turbo owners get their engines to push over 500 HP. But that requires a lot of time and a LOT of money.
Good luck!
