Hey all

Hello, my name is Josh, but I like to go by Malachi, I'm 25 and have a huge obsession with the 95-99 Eclipse. I'm here mostly to learn. I'm going to be getting an eclipse GSX or GST spyder soon. But I have alot of questions that I hope you guys don't mind helping me out with.

what up wit it yo? lol welcome 

welcome!

You are one among many. Welcome.
 
Get a GSX if you can man.

welcome to the forum.  gsx is the way to go.   only the GS-T came in the Spyder though.   you can do an awd conversion but it's not fun and not cheap. between 3 and 4k for the swap from what i hear.

Thanks for the warm welcome and the help guys. . . So is the GSX better then the GST Spyder only because it awd? Does the awd make it much faster?

Yeah the Spyder was only in FWD. Yes the AWD makes an INSANE difference.
 
You sound like you know what you want from a car... power. If you are anything like me... the GST just wont cut it. Traction!

hehe, I guess I'm not that hard to figuire out, lol. I like the convertable, but power is definately the first thing for me. . . What are some other things I could do to up the power? I heard that a new exhaust system will help alot with power, is that true?

Beefing up your car takes more than just exhaust, take a lot at the forums and some how to's, youll get from basics to engine reforging, these guys know their ****, dont be afraid to ask, welcome and do a search for some tutorials and stuff 

if you want power and speed, Spyder isn't the way to go because 1 it's the heaviest model b/c of the convertibal top retracting motor.  2 it only comes in fwd.     gsx will give you excellent launches where you never have to worry about losing traction until the 350whp+mark 

I would definetly go with the gsx. You will enjoy it alot more. Welcome BTW.
 
And the exhaust definetly helps for power. But as you will come to find the amount of power you can get with the car all just depends on how thick your wallet is. Because for very little money on a 2g you can easily be getting 13's in the 1/4 mile with simple bolt on mods. But more than that and the price begins to grow

Specify a power goal and a budget

Well I'm hopping to get the horsepower up to around 350. I'm starting a new job soon and I should have about 500-1,000 a month to put into it. I'm not sure if this is enough to get anything done quickly, but I'm not in a rush. I want to make sure to do everything right.

Dont forget not to rule out Talons when searching for a car... the TSi and TSi AWD are virtually (engine and drivetrain wise) the same as the Eclipses... they also look nearly identical (for some reason people always seem to believe the Talon is inferior...when it is certainly not)

if your looking for 350whp then id recommend a turbo upgrade to a 20g. That will do it, with all the supporting mods of course. But just for your future reference thats a good turbo to use

How much would that run me? What do you mean by supporting mods? Like cold air intake and exhaust system?