The Eclipse in the video is probably a 4wd turbo model. They can be fast but they can break too. The "Ricer" crowd (that is what us yanks call the young hot rodders with their Japaneese rides) think they have pretty bad rides and if you have enought money they can be pretty fast but they are no match dollar for dollar with a real muscle car.
ah, i had a '90 Turbo AWD Mitsu, with full suspension and numerous engine mods, turo's, electronics, etc, about 300+ HP. I have a friend in NC, a street driven AWD, i have seen him run 10.5 sec in the quarter at Rockingham. From a launch, they just chirp, bang, and gone.
But you have to be willing to flail them, with high risk of drivetrain damage. It is the same basic engine in the Evo now. The engine is lot studier than the transaxle and drivetrain.
They guys that are serious with the AWD turbo Mitsu's can run in the high 9's, and still be reasonably streetable. It is the AWD traction launch that is so formidable.
The early models, from '90-94 were the fastest, stock, a real performance statement from Mitsu.
I sold mine to a lass in Canada, still running strong with over 140K miles on it. My best at the dragstrip was 13.9, but i just couldn't bear to rev it to 7500 rpm and drop the clutch.
__________________
Hal Copple
Stroked SPF
"Daily Driver"
IV Corps 71-72, Gulf War
__________________
''Life's tough.....it's even tougher if you're stupid.'' ~ John Wayne
"Happiness Is A Belt-Fed Weapon"
life's goal should be; "to be smarter than inanimate objects"
Fast cars, I've seen what Hal has and driven them too. I like the cars and if the engine is properly built they can take punishment. But turning the boost up to 11 and leavign everything stock makes a fast car - for awhile.
THANKS FOR THE FOLLOW UP. I EMAILED THE WHOLE THING TO THREE OF MY SONS AND A BUNCH OF MY COBRA BUDDYS.
__________________
''Life's tough.....it's even tougher if you're stupid.'' ~ John Wayne
"Happiness Is A Belt-Fed Weapon"
life's goal should be; "to be smarter than inanimate objects"
Hilarious! Did you guys notice how long the kid's pinky-fingernail was in the follow-up video? Gotta get off the drugs, dude. They'll kill ya much faster than street racing.
I've seem some fast imports too, but I say...who cares? All I can say to someone who puts $15K into the turbo motor of a Mitsubishi (or any other import), throws on another $5K of ridiculous wings and ground effects, is: You're a dumb-a$$. Because all you have when your done is a Mitsubishi. No racing history or automotive legacy of any kind.
What I really think is funny is that the kids spends thousands on turbos, blowers, and nitrous so that their ricer can run a 13-second ET, then the put a stereo system in it with speakers, amps, and equipment that weigh like 600lbs, which totally negates all the performance mods they just did.
I think this is just another stupid fad that will pass (hopefully soon). When I was in high school in the late 80's, the big thing was the low-rider mini-trucks. You guys remember those? Slam your crappy little Toyota down, put speakers in the bed, and some "splash" graphics on the side? Drive one of those now, and you're the laughing stock of the cruise night. In five years, these current kids with their neon lighting and oversized fart-cannon mufflers will get the same laughs.
I've been trying to explain that to all my younger cousins...don't waste your money on a ricer. For about $8-$10K, you can get yourself a very nice used late-model Mustang, put $5000 in mods in it, and blow the doors off most every import in town. And when your done, you'll have a car the will be appreciated by several generations of car nuts, for years to come.
If you share my thoughts, and think that the ricers are the scourge of the current car scene, check out www.ricecop.com. It's a very humorous anti-import site put together by a bunch of kids who have seen the light of the American muscle cars.
Last edited by Russ Dickey; 05-04-2003 at 10:17 AM..
Hate the little Eclipses?
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