Originally Posted by tom2112
Guys don't be too hard on the guy with the Eclipse. The 2nd generation Eclipse was well known for its cornering ability. No, it wasn't a Ferarri, but it had the best off-the-showroom-floor skid pad numbers you could buy for less than $20k, especially the AWD version. I had one, and I have a 3rd gen Eclipse. It is no comparison. The 3rd gen is a sloppy boat compared to the 2nd gen. I've test driven the 4th gen Eclipse, and it wasn't much better than the 3rd. Compared to the SRT, the 2nd gen probably doesn't stick as well, but it is close, and the steering response in the Eclipse was much crisper. That car was a great canyon carver.
Both the first and second generation Eclipse GSXs were and in some cases, are still monsters. AWD along with a fairly powerful 4-cyl turbo motor made them pretty stout cars and a favorite among drag racers looking for some cheap power and stick off the line. The turbo motors however, do have a reputation for crank walk, but I'm not sure how much of that is reality and how much of that is simple internet BS.
However, the poster has a fwd GS, which I believe is the base model. And the guy cut the springs in the car. Sorry but his whole post about taking corners at 90mph and possibly confusing lateral acceleration with aerodynamic drag coefficients sounds like a ricer's wet dream story. Cut springs aren't going to make a fairly slow (which is fine, that's what the car was about) and soft handling stock vehicle into a slot car. The car wasn't even a GST, which was the fwd turbo version of the GSX. Besides, the most critical part of the story was left out--what kind and size of tires was this guy using. If he had some huge meaty DOT-legal slicks that were properly warmed up, I could maybe believe his story--even with a crappy suspension. However, based on the "cut springs" I'm will to guess the tires were less than stellar.