1997 GSX - DD, RR, and 11's.

[SlowWhite]

Before I get started I want to give the back story behind this purchase.

Some of you may know I had a white 1995 GSX, LSE 6 bolt, Shep stage 4, PTE 35R, Turbonetics t3/t4 cast manifold, Magnus intake, skyline GTR FMIC, DSMLINK V2.5, 6pt cage, Sparco seats, sparco wheel, sparco 6pt harnesses, full body kit, and 18x8 konnig toxxins that ran 11.7@120mph on 25psi and 93oct. Just to list some of the major mods.

I sold that car basically to pay for an engagement ring for my wife back in 2007. And to this day I regret selling it... Before you all get started I regret selling the car, not getting engaged.

That car represented 9 yrs of my life, hard work, great friendships, and good times. However I never felt I fully got to see the full potential of that car for one reason or another, things just never worked out to get everything running together properly.

So on to present day. Since getting married, we have 3 kids now and after each child, my time spent riding my motorcycle became less and less. Primarily for safety reasons as I work nights and live in an area where, tree farming/lumber is huge industry. So needless to say between the deer, racoons, bears, coyotes, and all the other little animals that come out at night around here, I had finally had 2 back to back close calls on my bike a little more then a year ago, and decided this just isn't something a father of three should be doing anymore.
And since my BMW X5 only gets 15mpg and was becoming unreliable, I was looking for a replacement for the bike, something I could work on, and doesnt cost $185/hr to have someone work on if need be like my bmw's.
I wanted a car that had most of the major mods done to it already, as well as built with quality parts, and hopefully built by a well known shop.
After 7 months of surfing the web and lost all hope of finding a white eclipse, I came across a 1997 Eclipse GSX in West Palm Beach, FL that was 2 miles from my old Condo.
After several weeks of texting, pictures. I finally got some time off work, booked my flight and off I went.
As for my Long term plans for the car, basically now become my full time DD as my X5 blew it's second motor after 29,000 miles, but once that changes and I have the freedom of not worrying if it breaks. I plan to turn this car into a Road Race, street car.

I live 16 miles from Carolina Motorsports Park, my brother is a racing instructor and its one of the few things we do together and we always talked about building a dsm at some point for when he comes to visit.

[SlowWhite]

Onto the current list of Mods on the car and general background of it:
To start the previous owner bought this car as a project and after looking at the photos of the day he picked it up boy was it ever. Still needs some work but it has Zero rust that i could see from all his photos of the underside as well as exterior and engine compartment other then on some bolt heads.

Car was built at ASAPerformance - was given photos of the build at there shop with his car in the background (license plate visible) first person i've talked to in 7months that could produce picts or a reciept for build.

General Mods:
Bolt-on Modifications:
FMIC, 2.25" IC piping, Tial BOV, Evo III Intake Manifold, 1G NT throttle body, FP Race exhaust manifold, HX35 w. BEP bolt-on turbine housing, Punishment Racing 02 housing converted to v-band, 3" SS downpipe, 3" SRS R1 SS exhaust, Bosch 2000cc injectors, aeromotive fuel rail, Aeromotive AFPR w/ gauge, Race Parts Solutions in-line SS fuel filter, SS fuel lines, Walboro 450 E85 pump, Buschur COP with Dynatec ignition box, Fidanza cam gears, FP 4" intake, Tial mvs 38 wastegate, forward facing oil filter housing, crushed water pipe welded at the end, obx alternator and power steering pullies

Engine Management:
ECMLink v3 on Speed Density, AEM wideband gauge, AEM Boost gauge, Ingersoll Rand Boost Control Solenoid controlled by ECMLink

Engine Internals:
6-bolt block .020 over, ARP classic head studs, Wiseco 9:0 pistons, Eagle H beam rods, ARP main studs, BSE, Kiggly crank trigger, Kiggly HLA pressure regulator, Fel-Pro HD MLS headgasket, HKS 272 cams, Crower valve springs, Crower Titanium retainers.

Drivetrain Modifications:
Stock 5-speed tranny, SS clutch line, ACT 2600 PP & 6-puck disk , 12-lb chromoly flywheel, Stock Rear LSD, Prothane mount inserts, solid shifter cable bushings, Torque Solutions Drive Shaft Bushings, Fluidampr crank pully, ARP crank pulley bolts.

Suspension Modifications:
HP Design RP5's 18x8, 235/40/18 Nankang el Cheapo tires, Hawk HP pads, Outlander Brake upgrade with SS brake lines. drilled and slotted rotors all around, Tokico HP shocks with Tockico springs

dynod 425awhp on a mustang dyno on 30psi and E85.


And here are pictures from the trip (believe that is Jupiter pier), the 5 hrs spent at FL's DMV, 10.5hr drive home with out incident, and of the car when I picked it up as well as parked in my driveway the next day.

[SlowWhite]

Here is the List of mods I am thinking about doing as money/time allow. Will be a slow process but I'll try to keep things posted as I do them.


Mishimoto x-line Radiator - 7/19/2014
Mishimoto Radiator cap - 7/19/2014
Mishimoto thermostat - 5/8/2018
Mishimoto 25 Row Oil Cooler kit - 6/1/2016
Mishimoto coolant temp adapter - 3/4/2015
Mishimoto locking lug nuts - 5/4/2016
Mishimoto coolant reservoir - 7/18/2016
SPAL- 30102030 12" - 1381cfm pusher fan - x2 - 3/30/18
Moroso 6 bolt oil pan - 3/10/2016
Moroso sealed battery box - 10/18/16
Moroso battery kill switch - 10/18/16
Moroso battery remote terminals - 10/18/2016
AEM Oil pressure gauge - 9/29/2014
AEM Oil temp gauge - 3/10/2016
AEM Coolant temp gauge - 3/4/2015
AEM Fuel pressure gauge -10/16/2015
AEM 50psi Boost gauge -
AEM 02 sensor - 4/29/15
Driven - 12.9" flat steering wheel - 8/3/16
Driven - quick release - 8/3/16
Driven - Halo FIA seats - 7/6/17
G-force 7500 red 5pt fia harnesses x2 -
Cypher harness bar - 9/13/18
Sparco - side mount seat brackets - 10/16/17
Sparco - side mount bolt set - 10/16/17
Sparco - steering wheel hub - 8/3/16
Carbonetics AB fiberglass hood - 5/24/2017
Carbonetics AB V2 hood - 7/24/18
Carbonetics rear diffuser - 5/24/17
Carbonetics dash - 7/24/18
Carbonetics center console - 7/24/18
Carbonetics front lip - 7/24/18
Carbonetics side skirts - ordered
Carbonetics CSL hatch - 7/24/18
Carbonetics doors - 7/24/18
Carbonetics interior door panels - 7/24/18
Aerocatch -120-2100 hood pins - 4/22/2017
Aerocatch upgraded pins - 2017
Extremepsi Remote oil pressure line - 9/24/2014
Extremepsi 4an to 1/8npt .90 flow reducer - 8/13/16
Extremepsi tial 4an adapters - 8/13/16
Extremepsi 2.75 to 2.5 - 90 coupler - 10/24/2016
Extremepsi 2.5 to 2.5 - 45 coupler - 10/24/2016
Extremepsi 3 to 2.5 - 90 coupler - 10/24/2016
Extremepsi 2.75 to 2.5 - 90 coupler 3/24/17
G-loc GP530 brake pads - R16 front - 6/12/17
G-loc GP383 brake pads - R10 rear - 6/12/17
Hawk hp plus front pads (street) - 5/8/18
Hawk hp plus rear pads (street)- 5/8/18
New turbo feed line - 4/29/15
FTP - 4an vacuum lines - 8/13/2016
FTP - 12an oil return - 5/26/16, 4/9/17 (all black)
FTP - 10an oil catch can lines -7/18/2016
FTP - 6an coolant overflow line - 8/11/16
FTP - 6an coolant bulkhead tee fitting -10/16/17
FTP - 6an straight fittings for overflow - 10/16/17
FTP - 4an to 1/8 adapter through out - 8/13/16
FTP - 4an TEE fittings - 8/13/16
New 1/2 to 1/8 adapter for oil pan - 5/26/16
New ARP V2 - exhaust manifold studs - 8/11/16
New ARP classic head studs - 3/24/17
New clear timing belt cover - 3/24/17
Kiggly girdle - 5/2018
Manley 9:1 pistons upgraded wrist pin - 5/18
Jay Racing alternator relocation kit - 3/24/17
DEI black thermal wrap downpipe - 8/11/16
DEI high temp silicone spray - 9/19/16
DEI Cool tape Lower I/C pipe - 10/1/2016
DEI Reflective Pad Oil Pan - 10/1/2016
PTP - exhaust manifold blanket - 10/24/16
3 Gauge A-pillar pod - 9/24/2014 (removed 10/14/16)
2 Gauge Ortiz Center vent pod - 8/11/16
3 Gauge Ortiz radio bezel pod - 10/14/16
New ACT flywheel - 3/8/2015 arrived
New ACT 6 Puck sprung race disk
New OEM brake reservoir cap - 5/26/16
New OEM clutch fluid reservoir - 5/26/16
New OEM biss screw - 9/24/2014
New OEM biss screw cap - 9/24/2014
New OEM flywheel inspection cover - 3/4/2015
New OEM clutch fork rubber boot - 3/4/2015
New OEM clutch master slave cylinder - 3/4/2015
New OEM clutch slave cylinder - 9/19/2016
New OEM brake and clutch pedal pads - 11/12/15
New OEM water pump - 5/4/2016
New OEM timing belt tensioner - 5/4/2016
New OEM fuel hangar gasket - 11/12/15
New OEM license plate lights - 7/29/2016
New OEM front axle seals - 9/19/2016
New OEM black floor mats - 2015
New OEM CAS - 3/24/17
New OEM transmission breather - 5/8/18
New OEM transfer case breather - 5/8/18
New OEM throw out bearing -5/8/18
New OEM throw out bearing clip - 5/8/18
New Diaqueen transmission fluid - 1/15/2017
New lightweight shock proof transfer case - 1/15/2017
New lightweight shock proof rear diff - 2/15/2017
New Gates timing belt kit - 5/4/2016
New front porsche brake ducts - right - 997-341-484-92-M100 - 10/24/2016
New porsche brake ducts - left - 997-341-483-92-M100 - 10/24/2016
New FEAL 441 road race spec coil overs - 3/8/17
New Paul Volk LCA - 3/8/17
New Paul Volk rear toe arms - 3/8/17
Gould adjustable tubular rear wishbone - 3/8/17
Gould adjustable tubular front wishbone -
Gould adjustable bump steer kit - 5/2/17
Gould adjustable rear lateral arms - 11/1/2017
Gould adjustable trailing arms - 11/1/2017
RM front and rear sway bars - 2/12/2018
DC sports csb 1001 strut tower bar - 2/12/18
DC sports csb 2007 strut tower bar - 2/12/18
Boosted fabrication - front cross membe -
Enkei RPF1 - 17x10+18 -
Rhides race car cage -
Baun harness bar -
New Compworks fender braces - 6/8/17
New Boston Hatcher rear diff bushings - 6/18/17
New Split Motorsports rear sub frame bushings - 6/18/17
New Split Motorsports rear diff bushings - 6/22/17
New Forward Facing Oil Filter housing - 7/07/2016
New Low pressure spring for FFOFH - 9/19/2016
New toyota fuel pump o-ring (pn-23239-21010) - 11/12/15
New optima red top battery and terminals - 4/25/2016
New Arc2 ignition box - 3/4/2015
New 300m coils - 5/11/15
New Walboro 450 E85 pump w/hp relief valve - 10/15
Black Interior - 3/4/2015
HXS40 with bep.55housing - 3/18/15 (destroyed 2016)
Install rest of the stock OEM body parts, and fix the holes from the talon kit that was on the car - 5/1/15
Torque Solutions 12mm exhaust mounts - 3/24/17

WISH LIST:
Full motor/interior out paint job.
RPF1 18x10.5 Rims
Built TMZ Tranny
Built TMZ transfer case
Built TMZ rear diff
Tranny and rear diff cooling system
Andrew Brilliant widebody or widebody of some kind
Swaintech exhaust coating
Frontline fab valve cover

If the road race thing doesnt work:
Turbo upgrade (something huge 1000hp)
magnus 2g cast intake manifold
magnus tb
4-5" ETS core
Larger I/C piping

[Goat Blower]

Couple observations, please insert smiley at the end of each line:

1) Good to see you went with the correct wheel drive this time.
2) Yay, no body kit yet.
3) Needs more leather.
4) You have less hair than I remember.
5) Looks good, good to have you back.
6) I hear you on safety and lack of freetime with a wife and three kids, even though it's completely worth it.

[Halon]

So what exactly are your goals? You said road race/street car. The title says 11's so I assume that's your goal as well. If so, I'd rethink that future mod list. I know you used to be part of a cool car club where the more mods you had the cooler you were. But reality is don't change things if you don't need to. OEM stuff fits good, works well, and lasts a long time. Don't change it unless you have to.

For example, I would not run an SMIM and aftermarket TB. You already have a perfect IM and TB setup, why touch it? Magnus fuel rail, why? 3" intercooler piping for 11's and street/road setup? Larger piping, larger TB, larger SMIM are all increasing the volume which means it'll take longer for the turbo to fill it up with air, which means less responsive. Great for race car, not so great for street car.

The way its setup seems like it's pretty much already damn near there as a fun street car. Focus on things that haven't been touched or you know absolutely need improvement. Things like your coolant system, additional gauges, fixing interior/exterior issues, bigger brakes, those all seem valid. The rest seems like a waste of money to me.

Just my opinion, good luck with the project man.

[SlowWhite]

Halon, I hear ya on the mod list. And it is almost exactly where I wanted the car to be which was a selling point for me. That is why my mod list is so small most of my money will be in fixing the body and paint.

I realize my car isn't fully tuned yet (more details to come on a lot of things) but so far the smim and tb will be replaced if it seems to be a hindrance at the Track or if the r.r. thing doesnt work out. So far the power band is from 4500-6500. (24psi and 48-50lbs/min)

The oil system has me worried to be honest especially with my brother at the wheel, to this day I won't get in a car hes driving at the track, he travels all over doing instructional stuff now a days it seems, and I just can't handle my fear of needing to slow down long before he ever hits the brakes.
I will know for sure once we actually hit the track for the first time and hooks up all his stuff to see what the car does. From there well see if the car will stay focused on road racing or just go back to fun street car to replace my bike. In which case if I ever upgrade the turbo the car will be probably be set up around the FP Black.
As for the Magnus fuel rail, that is just personal preference only. The car has an unknown fuel rail which I am sure will handle what ever I need but. Some things I want to do are just for me and my tastes if I go with the Magnus smim the fuel rail will be ordered at the same time.
It goes hand and hand with the aem gauges.... I could go autometer or some other cheaper brand but I want AEM to match the rest.

But you'll see some of the "why's"... will get answered during the build thread as it progresses I hope.

As for the 11's. My last car did 11.7 making 406awhp so this car as it sits should already be there, that is basically the only reason why I threw that in the title. I honestly have no intentions of dragging the car at a track except maybe on a special occasion but definitely not like before where that time slip was all I wanted.

[Halon]

Nice. And man what a perfect example of what I said earlier so I'm just going to quote myself.

Originally Posted by Halon

But reality is don't change things if you don't need to. OEM stuff fits good, works well, and lasts a long time. Don't change it unless you have to.

So here's a case where yeah you had to change something because your temps were plain old too high. But like you said, this "bolt-in" piece isn't really that simple. So now if you think that was a pain notching your shroud, imagine what it'll be like if you install a SMIM and different TB. Your IC piping will need to change, you're idle control stuff will probably be gone or really tough to fit.

OEM stuff fits awesome, don't change it out unless you really have a legit reason to need to (which in this case I'd say you did).

[Halon]

I made 628hp at MAP with the same TB you have on there right now.

[blageo23]

Just an FYI your tranny, seats and harnesses are all still doing great

[asshanson]

I have to agree with Halon, I'd skip the piping, fuel rail, intake manifold, throttle body, etc. You already have a lot of power, and those are just going to shift the powerband further up, making it less fun on the street and road course imho. Don't want a laggy car coming out of a slow corner.

I had the Tokiko HP shocks on my 2g, they have the perfect ride height imho, but the springs are very soft and you'll get a ton of body roll and maybe rub. If you want to make it better for the road course, I'd say tires and brake pads/fluid would be most important. Don't really need the race seat and harness and cage, just get a CG lock and it should be fine to start with.

Bigger radiator and oil temp/press are probably good to have.

Good luck with the build.

[SlowWhite]

Originally Posted by asshanson

I have to agree with Halon, I'd skip the piping, fuel rail, intake manifold, throttle body, etc. You already have a lot of power, and those are just going to shift the powerband further up, making it less fun on the street and road course imho. Don't want a laggy car coming out of a slow corner.

I had the Tokiko HP shocks on my 2g, they have the perfect ride height imho, but the springs are very soft and you'll get a ton of body roll and maybe rub. If you want to make it better for the road course, I'd say tires and brake pads/fluid would be most important. Don't really need the race seat and harness and cage, just get a CG lock and it should be fine to start with.

Bigger radiator and oil temp/press are probably good to have.

Good luck with the build.

Im pretty sure im already having that problem with the suspension, and updated my mod list to include that as i had left it out. I also live near lake wateree which is basically 98 miles of twisty roads and during some of my tuning sessions couldn't pass up the chance of hitting my favorites while the car was running well, and on hard right turns id hear it rub.
Ive already started watching the two road racing build threads going on dsmtuners.
Hopefully will get some good advice from there results.

This car will never be a full on track car, my brother hits up vir 1-2 times a year and cmp once a year if that, so basically im looking at maybe 3 track days a year based on current history, rest of the time will just be a fun alternative to my bike.

Matter of fact making my first outing to VIR here on Aug 9-10. Will be driving the car but not racing.

[SlowWhite]

Well back to the build thread.

"Agent Ezzard" from tuners (previous owner) had left the DMV after an hour with things to do. With out him or I remembering to load all the settings in my laptop, me not knowing anything about speed density, running an wide band instead of a front O2 sensor, having not used dsmlink in 7 years, and having nothing setup in my laptop correctly other then the downloaded software and drivers for v3. Leads me to getting a crash coarse in tuning, thankfully Jery1234 on ecmlink forums has been a huge help with basically walking me through set up and tuning my car.
So after a few weeks of setting up, cruise logs, wot pulls etc. It became quite clear that in the South Carolina heat which stays in the 90+ range for almost 4 months straight and two of which are usually 100+. The cars cooling system was not going to cut it, i was seeing regular temps at 223-229 while cruising around.
So after long debate on what's the best first step. I took the advice from members here and went with a new 180 thermostat, 15% coolant, distilled water, and water wetter.

To start with i drained the system and flushed it out. Pulled the thermost to find that the previous owner cut the entire middle section out of it and basically was just using it as a gasket. After that did an Oil change using Mobil 1 5w-30w and stuck with the same type/brand filter that was on the car. While I was under there I noticed the flywheel inspection cover is missing and I quickly noticed why the previous owner mentioned he just replaced the starter. Flywheel teeth are all chewed up so a new flywheel is now added to the list of things to replace. And drained the oil catch can.
So finished up, warmed up the car and went for a drive. Temps were sitting around 206-213 for the short trips around town... temps were lower but still no where near where they need to be.
First day back to work temp was 106 outside and coolant temps were at 229 by the time I got through all the speed bumps and parked the car at work.

So something had to be done. Back to the boards I went with the question....do I get fans or do I get a radiator.... Once again took the advice of members here and ordered up a mishimoto xline radiator and radiator cap. The hope is that the 25% larger radiator coupled with the 1 stock fan will solve the issue.
I had a week to wait till the parts arrived from "map". In the mean time its been raining a lot and temps have been in the 70-80's... and all logs show 193-206 temps when outside temp is below 90. But I know this is south carolina and temps won't stay this low so feeling confident in my first major purchase for the car.

So walking threw the door yesterday found this waiting for me.... woot my first upgrades.

[Goat Blower]

Now that I look at it, I agree 100% with Halon. The biggest thing I learned about going huge 10 years ago is that it's not needed anymore unless you want 4-figure horsepower. All of those things are a waste of money and usually a huge pain in the ass. Less is more.

I've got almost all Evo 3 parts except for a built 2.4 shortblock now and it's the most fun it's ever been, even on pump gas. I'm also looking more at road racing as time allows, 1/4 mile maybe once in a great while, but mostly a fun street car that's damn reliable.

[goodhart]

Tim Zimmer makes over 1,000 on a stock 1g nt tb and 2.5" piping.

[A//// Guy]

Pretty sure the upgrades are for bling and a "cool" mod list. We do remember his other 2g.

Im with Halon and everyone else that says leave stuff that works alone and get it to run right.

[SlowWhite]

Well finished up the install today, and required more then just "bolt in" like advertised.

For starters the radiator looks awesome. I was very impressed with packaging and looks. And it was a direct bolt in however, it required cutting of the stock fan shroud to clear the coolant hoses, as well as notching the shroud to clear the t-bolt clamp holding on the i/c pipe, as well as slightly rotating the coolant overflow mount so that it would fit with the fan now being moved due to the radiator being 3 rows instead of 2. I also noticed that the fan stand offs pushed the fan farther away from the radiator then the oem radiator, haven't started the car yet so we'll just have to see if maybe I'll need to figure out a way to enclose it better.

I also was a bit disappointed in the radiator cap. It should be an easy fix but when you fully tighten the cap the decal on it is not facing the way I thought it would. It looks to just be glued on so maybe at some point i'll heat it up and rotate it so that the "M" is facing the way I want it to.

Here are the picts - I have still yet to go for a drive as wife had to leave for work and I'm playing with the kids.

[SlowWhite]

While I was looking for something to cut the fan shroud with I found a bunch of spare parts, including a brand new never opened Greddy radiator cap, a few FP couplers, and a few misc sensors, fuel rail, clamps.

Here are also more pictures of the radiator install, and misc pictures of things on the car.

[SlowWhite]

Assuming this solves my Coolant issues, and nothing else pops up that requires immediate attention, my next purchase is going to be:

A-Pillar Pod
AEM Oil Pressure
AEM Oil Temp gauge.

The car does not have a working pressure gauge and quite frankly it scares me, and 2nd its getting really old popping the hood and checking oil levels before and after I leave work or go for a drive.

I will have 1 open spot for another gauge, just not sure yet what it will be so I'll hold off till something arrises

[SlowWhite]

well just did my first start up and will go for a drive once my wife gets back from work.

Started the car made sure there no bubbles or leaks, and then went inside to grab the laptop. My 2yr old got me distracted wanting dinner so I made her some food, then remembered the car was still running (10min) so went out and plugged in the laptop.

Temps were sitting at 203, I let it capture data for another 3 min, with me in the car and temps never moved.

[Halon]

Did you say you replaced that t-stat? If so, what temp is the new one? By the way I didn't mention it but good job retaining the stock fans.