Are DSMs reliable?

[2point4DSM]

DSM - Diamond Star Motors. This was a joint venture btw Mitsubishi and Chrysler. The cars we refer to when we talk about DSMs were built btw 90-99. These makes include the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and probably Galant VR4s.

We all know the 4g63 is a robust motor with early generation motors (6-bolt) handling close to 600whp reliably, stock (stock rods, crank, pistons). Unfortunately, later 7-bolt motors were also well known for crank-walk.

There is a lot of talk of these cars not being reliable. Besides the motor what makes these cars unreliable?

Discuss.

[BlackBulletTSi]

Its ability to lose paint quality!!! haha I notice a lot of DSMs all with faded paint.

[eviltalon]

Hell naw they ain't reliable. I mean i never had a problem with the motor itself but its an older car (92) and it just seems like its always one thing after another with mine. But don't get me wrong i love my dsm. I wouldn't have it any other way.:thumbup:

[2point4DSM]

Hell naw they ain't reliable. I mean i never had a problem with the motor itself but its an older car (92) and it just seems like its always one thing after another with mine. But don't get me wrong i love my dsm. I wouldn't have it any other way.:thumbup:

So what makes your car unreliable? Does it start up all the time? Has it left you stranded?

Or are you referring to stuff like battery, alternator, brakes, etc.

[HuffRex]

seems like the drivetrain...more specifically the transmission likes to go more than anything

[SpendOne]

GVR-4's were made in Japan. They still had the 4G63 platform but what is to really consider them a DSM in true form? If a GVR-4 would be classified as a DSM, then the early EVO's would be DSM's as well.


As for the topic, all cars are unreliable when you start modding them.

[2point4DSM]

seems like the drivetrain...more specifically the transmission likes to go more than anything

The transmissions on these cars are built just as well as any japanese tranny. They are tight and built with quality parts.

The early 1g AWD trannies could easily run into the mid 12s with no problems till the center diff got tired. The stock center diff came with 2 spider gears. Just by adding two more spider gears to them they have gone into the 9s. 2g AWD trannies were a little bit more delicate and required upgrading to a beefier (4 spider diff) earlier on. FWD trannies blow up due to excessive burnouts. What normally happens is one wheel tends to spin which puts a huge load on the front diff. Some year trannies were built beefier than others. Auto trannies have already gone into the 9s with just a clutch pack and ugprades to the valve bodies.

The stock center diff were to known to leak due to a design flaw. These were easily plugged with sealant.

The rear ends on these cars are tough. The 3 bolt earlier rear-ends were good to the low 12s. Upgrading to the 4 bolt rears found in 92+ cars solved that problem.

[2point4DSM]

GVR-4's were made in Japan. They still had the 4G63 platform but what is to really consider them a DSM in true form?

True. Some people consider GVR4s DSMs and some don't. And if you really want to be technical about this then half the 2gs out there aren't DSMs either.

The biggest reason some people consider them DSMs besides the fact that their motor and turbo are exactly the same as the other 1g DSMs is that 90% of their drivetrain can be easily swapped into any other 1g DSM.

[BlackBulletTSi]

True. Some people consider GVR4s DSMs and some don't. And if you really want to be technical about this then half the 2gs out there aren't DSMs either.

The biggest reason some people consider them DSMs besides the fact that their motor and turbo are exactly the same as the other 1g DSMs is that 90% of their drivetrain can be easily swapped into any other 1g DSM.

Was actually thinking about that. I agree the drive lines pretty weak. I'd like to upgrade my 3 bolt rear to the better 4 bolt. I already went threw the tranny which if its the same miles as the cars was about 122K miles

[2point4DSM]

Dex,
Your car doesn't have a rear since it's only FWD. :-p And I think you quoted the wrong thing cause what you had to say doesn't relate to it at all, lol.

Btw, if you put a nice LSD in that car then you can easily do into the 10s with it... considering your syncros aren't worn.

[2point4DSM]

Its ability to lose paint quality!!! haha I notice a lot of DSMs all with faded paint.

There were a couple years with bad paint. This is around the time most manufacturers had problems with paint as well since most of them were switching to differenct paints per new government regulations. The problems occured around the 92-93 year with the clear coats having a tendency to flake.

Otherwise, my car has orig. paint on it with no fading. The hood was even perfect before I swapped that out. Most paint fading problems is directly related to how often the car is waxxed. I hardly wash mine let alone wax it, lol.

[BlackBulletTSi]

LoL and no I quoted the right thing I was talkin about the cars built after I believe I read 94 when DSM was done but we still call them DSMs anyway. Also I thought I had a rear haha then thought about it and went wow I'm an idiot lol. I do that sometimes brain farts lol

[markley02]

What exactly is crank-walk? is the evo a 7-bolt? how come you dont hear of them getting crank-walk?

[Driven]

seems like the drivetrain...more specifically the transmission likes to go more than anything

Seems like people who don't have DSM's think they have transmission issues. My 95 AWD (Yes, a true DSM, has the stickers and all), has the original transmission in it. It has over 200 drag passes with 60's as low as 1.640 and many many passes in the 11's. It also has over 96k of hard street driving on it.

Another problem that's blown way out of proportion is the reliabilty of the 7 bolt. My 7 bolt held up to 11 second power at full weight, daily driven for a while with no signs of any problems. It had about 80k miles on it with no signs of crankwalk. It's going into another car shortly, untouched.

As for paint, my car had the original paint on it and it shined like it was new up until 2 years ago. I had the entire car repainted when I hit a deer based on personal preference.

Evo's run 7 bolts but they are different from the 7 bolts in 2g's. Look at a picture of a 2G and an Evo side by side and I think you'll realize the differences.

As far as overall reliability: Any car that makes 210hp stock and has people easily making 400whp with bolt on modifications is bound to be plagued with some sort of reliability issues. To be honest, on a stock motor, if tuned correctly and properly maintained, any DSM will be reliable at about 400whp. My car has some reliability issues in the past year but they can all be traced back to things that I've done to the car. I am confident enough in the state of my car at the moment that I'd be willing to drive it across the country and back.

[2point4DSM]

As far as overall reliability: Any car that makes 210hp stock and has people easily making 400whp with bolt on modifications is bound to be plagued with some sort of reliability issues.

Still, the biggest reason a DSM has problems lately is because:

1. Age = normal wear and tear.
2. Neglect and not following manufacturer's service recommendations.
3. Aftermarket parts that tend to be a lot less reliable than OEM parts.
4. Assembly error - no one puts a car together better than the factory.

If you take apart 1000 pieces, nuts and bolts and can be 99% perfect putting it back together that 1% mistake is all it takes to screw something up. Personally, it takes me a long time to put a car together. The other day I spent a good 2 hours or more putting the exhaust manifold on. I cleaned the thread of all the bolts, used a tap and die on everything, put lube or sealant on most of the hardware, cleaned all the surfaces with a razor blade, put a sander to the exhaust manifold to turbine housing surfaces and torqued everything down in order and to spec.

Still the last time I blew up the headgasket it was because I didn't use loctite on the external wastegate when I opened it up to change out the springs. The Tial held together for over 4 years till that day.

[2point4DSM]

What exactly is crank-walk? is the evo a 7-bolt? how come you dont hear of them getting crank-walk?

This was an inherent design flaw in the 7 bolt motors that caused the thrust bearings to wear prematurely. Usually a problem in 2g cars since they had crank sensors that would get chewed up if the crank moved at all.

Supposedly, if the motor were to develop crank walk then it would happen with in the first 50k miles. If the crank is tight past that then the likely hood of it ever getting crank walk is very little.

Some people have tried to swap out their 7 bolts just to be on the safe side and found that they had more problems after the swap. And basically it is because no one puts a car together better than the factory.

And as far as I can tell the Evos are immune as well as 98-99 4g63s since they underwent design changes to their motors.

[SpendOne]

Torts car is a true example of the 7 bolt motor and a stock tranny. No modificatiosn to teh motor besides ARP headstuds and cams. Tranny was bone stock, and the car made numberous flat 11 sec passes with a few 1.5 60's.

[MuddyREX]

They are unreliable because if you take a 15 year old high mileage car and make a lot of power things are going to break. Duh.

[QuasiMondo]

These cars are only as reliable as the owner who maintains them.

Rule #1 of buying a DSM (or any turbocharged high performance vehicle that's more than 5 years old): Don't buy a beater! If it looks like it's lived a rough life, walk away. If you think it looks like it's lived a rough life, walk away. If the owner gives off that bad vibe that would make you suspect that this car has lived a rough life, walk away.

Rule #2: These cars aren't perfect. You're not picking up a Honda Civic DX. You're not purchasing a Toyota Camry LE. You're not buying a Buick Century. These cars for the most part, will have been throughly exercised. You shouldn't expect it to be as reliable as them, no matter what. This goes for anything, from an RX-7 all the way down to a Frankenmotor swap in an Integra. These cars are getting old, nothing on them will last forever on them.

Having said that, here are things to consider:

1. IMO, crankwalk is overrated. Chances are that a good deal of the 7-bolts that should've walked have already walked. If you have a 7-bolt with 110K and it's running fine, it can probably go to 200K. Not saying that crankwalk can't happen, but it's not as rampant as some would like you to believe.

2. The transmissions are only as reliable as they are maintained. Regular maintenance needs to be done. Power shifting doesn't shouldn't have to be done, and neither should a clutch dump at redline.

3. Same goes for 3-bolt rear ends. Running 12's won't kill them. Running 12's while launching with 1.6 second 60-ft times will. It's all about drivetrain shock.

4. Capacitors on the ecu should be replaced if they haven't been already. They get old, they leak electrolytic acid that eats up the board, you'll be paying $$$ for a replacement.

5. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. If you do that, the car will run 100,001 miles and then some. But if you're the kind of person who rides them hard and puts them away wet, then your car will live a short, sad life.

[2point4DSM]

I fixed the mileage quote for you because 100,001 is easy even for DSMs that weren't well maintained....

5. Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. If you do that, the car will run 250,001 miles and then some. But if you're the kind of person who rides them hard and puts them away wet, then your car will live a short, sad life.

We have all heard G1GSX talk about all the miles on his DSM. And plenty of people have told him he just jinxed himself by bragging about how reliable it has been with over ~250k on the odo. Honestly, even the local DSMrs that know him have been saying the same thing. I think I've been thinking it for at least a year, lol.

My first DSM went almost 200k as well on the untouched stock motor and tranny. And I beat on that car from day 1 when it only had 33k miles on the odo. I got a 16g and better clutch for it around 100k and the car ran low 13s to mid 12s the rest of it's life, on pump gas, daily driven, super reliable.

[Driven]

I fixed the mileage quote for you because 100,001 is easy even for DSMs that weren't well maintained....



We have all heard G1GSX talk about all the miles on his DSM. And plenty of people have told him he just jinxed himself by bragging about how reliable it has been with over ~250k on the odo. Honestly, even the local DSMrs that know him have been saying the same thing. I think I've been thinking it for at least a year, lol.

My first DSM went almost 200k as well on the untouched stock motor and tranny. And I beat on that car from day 1 when it only had 33k miles on the odo. I got a 16g and better clutch for it around 100k and the car ran low 13s to mid 12s the rest of it's life, on pump gas, daily driven, super reliable.

I believe Dave Mertz (one of the founders of DSMLink) has a 2G with over 200k miles and he's running somewhere in the 300-400whp range. I think it's been at that power level for the last 100k miles. It's generally stupidity that kills DSM's.

[MrGudbar99]

ehh...for me. its just my luck. didnt matter which car i got, it still would've been a pain in the ass. i think the only difference is with this one, it kicks me while i'm down. haha. it's always something, and there's hardly any aftermarket parts on there. oh well

[UnderPoweredRS]

I never really had any big problems with my old Talons. It was always a bunch of little crap that kept it in the drive way. Everything that broke was from age. If I took any other 15 year old car and took it to the track as much as I took my dsms they woudl break as well.

Huff: you are a retard. I never had drivetrain problems with any of my DSMs

[Bizee]

There is a lot of talk of these cars not being reliable. Besides the motor what makes these cars unreliable?



of course all car's break when you mod them and become less reliable especially with many many years on them.. however, i do not think these cars are nearly as mod friendly as many other cars. dont get me wrong, i am very familiar with how many little inexpensive mods there are to make these cars fly however many of you know first hand how much maintence and weak spots there are once you add those extra little bolt on's, take away the restrictions and tune it out well..im not trying to be argumentative or attacking. i personally like dsms and know how cool it is to launch the **** out them and there is no better feeling then being pinned to the seat when it starts boosting..

all in all i would say that reliability is good on stock dsm's but as you mod them reliability decreases considerably.

also i would like to add that many dsm ( and other car type owners ) create their own unrealiability by slapping on mod's with out the supporting parts that they need to install them! (big turbo's w/ little injectors etc etc etc)

big waste. do it once, do it right...

[MrGudbar99]

do it once, do it right...
eeeexactly :thumbup:

[StealthTC]

I don't really like reading this whole thread, my input is that I believe DSM's are reliable until you start playing with them and modding them.

[Maverick31]

I don't really like reading this whole thread, my input is that I believe DSM's are reliable until you start playing with them and modding them.

Just like any other car...

[Bizee]

not to throw the thread off track. but i think the fact that the car has a power adder add's to the problems after modding them for most people. forced induction upgrades require alot of maintence and supporting mod's for nearly every thing, from tuning to fuel compensation etc. ill give dsm's the benefit of the doubt and ill say that the majority of issues most people encounter after upgrades (besides drive train) are because the owner half assed it.

[hystericfox]

This was an inherent design flaw in the 7 bolt motors that caused the thrust bearings to wear prematurely. Usually a problem in 2g cars since they had crank sensors that would get chewed up if the crank moved at all.

I busted my CPS when the crank split in half. Now, the car is very reliable.

[awdlaserbeam]

DSM's are as reliable as the person working on them.
How many people do you see buy one, it breaks they take it to a shop to fix it, breaks again fix it breaks again then they give up. You have to understand completely what you are doing when you change a factory part and all the side effects.
I.e. You burn up your stock clutch so you put a heavier aftermarket one in. 3 months later your clutch fork breaks because you have a 10 year old part now pushing over 2x the amount to move the clutch. So you fix the clutch fork, now your slave cylinder goes because that cannont take the stress of bigger parts.
You throw some bolt-ons on so the car gets more air, so you tune your AFC to compensate for fuel, now your ECU is reading wrong timing maps....

[n2k3]

As some of you know i just purchased a 99 Eclipse GS Turbo'ed, if ANYONE can help me keep this thing on the raod and out of shops with hints and tips PM me. Im open to all advice. Ive wanted an eclipse all my life now i have one. Just need some pointers on this thing.

[2point4DSM]

Awesome!

Welcome to DSMs.

No need for PMs, let's keep it in Mitsu tech instead.

Btw, under your avatar it says you have a GST ?

[03tarmacblack]

To add to this thread. Ive had a 90' awd talon, and 91' fwd turbo laser. I bought my talon knowing it was f-d up but it still ran, put a new head on it, but then found it , it had a hole in a the piston( asshole who put the head on forget to mention it, and the second asshole who tried to fix told me)( didnt know that until later). LOL i actually put a decent amount of miles on that car with really bad compression in 2 cyclinders, it even caught on fire once. My 91' laser developed a bad rod knock on the way home after I bought it, but simply because the person I bought it off of had rc 550 injectors in the car, and said he didnt think it would be a problem for me to get home, but told me once I did to get an afc, that was my plan, it made it home, just not how I planned. I've never had a good running dsm but Im kind of lucky for it, because I probably wouldnt have the evo today if either one of them didnt have problems. Even thought my dsm's gave me alot of problems, I paid practically nothing for them,neither of them were maintained properly( talons previous owner half-assed it, and had xr racing seat covers when i bought it) if I had more money I could of dropped a new motor in or something... but to sum it all up, no matter what they had wrong, they always started and drove till the day I got rid of them.
PICS:
http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=r26cqr
http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=r26cz4

[n2k3]

I was typin fast and it was late, im so amped about this thing, its a beast but i havnt really been gettin on it really. I have a book of all the mods in it so ill post them tonight and then u guys can tell me what else i need to do.

[bluengoldsti]

i dropped so much money in my dsm to fix it, probably more than i paid for it new. it died on the nj turnpike 3 times on my way to work, costing me $300 each time for the tow. of course most of my problems occurred after i began modding it. so my advice is, if you want it to last, dont mod it. after all this is said, i still miss it. i wish i couldve afforded to get the subaru without selling it.

[EvlEgl]

Most dsm'ers miss them after having one.

If you mod it right it will last.

[n2k3]

Engine Mods:
t3/t4 .63 trim turbo
Star Frount Mount Intercooler
HKS SSQ Blowoff valve
Hallman MBC
Star Manifold w/ gst exhaust studs
Missing link

Engine Internals
J.E 8.6:1 forged pistons
Eagle rods w/ arp rod bolts
.20 Overbore
Melling oil pump

Fuel System
Vortech S-fmu
255lph Walbro fuel pump
Apexi S-afc
Accel 415cc Injectors

Exhaust
2.75" down pipe with flex section
2.5" straight pipe
Greddy Evo cat back

Drivetrain/Transmission
Centerforce Dual Friction clutch

Suspension & Wheels
18" Racing Hart C5's
HP racing Coiovers
2gnt rear camber mod
GSX 2 piston caliper brakes

Msc. stuff
Assorted Autometer gauges
Boost
E.G.T
A/f
Autometer gauges bezel
Autometer Dual pillar pod
Apexi Turbo timer
MSD 8.5mm plug wires


this is my list of mods.....
any suggestions. i braught it with everything already done to it so i may need some hardcore DSM'ers to check it out n tell me what they think

[2point4DSM]

Sounds like it runs well. Have fun with it. Do you have any engine pics?

Next time I see you at the TST meet I can definitely take a look at it for you. I tend to check out all the DSMs anyway, lol.

Is it faster than the SRT-4.

[Mivec_EVO9]

My DSM (99gsx) was pretty reliable I had to have the tranny rebuilt and a clutch, other than that nothing else ever went wrong with it. It had a 14B, intake, and ngk plug and wires. All you have to do to keep it on the road is read a few vfaq and dsm tuner articles, apply it to your car and your good to go.

[n2k3]

OK for one, yes i will be at the next TST meet and early so i can give everyone a good look at the engine to give me any advice. And just so u know, that list of mods was from 04', theres a good bit of things done that arnt on that list so thats why it may seem a little off. And yes its considerably faster than the SRT-4. But i sold the neon to my close friend so i still get to play around in it all the time anyway so i dont miss it. But boy am i on love with this 2G. Always wanted one!!!

[2point4DSM]

Funny how Honda guys are always talking about how unreliable DSMs are when the modded Hondas that are running just as fast as the DSMs are just as problematic or worse.

Last night I went to see a ~300whp Civic....

Motor: 125, 142, 124, 125 compression (stock 210),
Oil leaks galore, exhaust leaks galore, erratic idle, untuned.
Tranny: slipping clutch. Does it shift at high rpm? Who knows. The car wasn't tuned well enough so it could be revved that high.

[BlackBulletTSi]

hahaha agreed.

[MrGudbar99]

haha...don't get t started talking about those hondas. i thought he was gonna go crazy up at e-town for the import challenge.

[JDMISACULT]

Funny how Honda guys are always talking about how unreliable DSMs are when the modded Hondas that are running just as fast as the DSMs are just as problematic or worse.

Last night I went to see a ~300whp Civic....

Motor: 125, 142, 124, 125 compression (stock 210),
Oil leaks galore, exhaust leaks galore, erratic idle, untuned.
Tranny: slipping clutch. Does it shift at high rpm? Who knows. The car wasn't tuned well enough so it could be revved that high.

Thats why the car was so cheap... you could never find a 96+ hatch in good condition that is swapped and boosted with 5lug for 5000... i knew that car was gonna be junk from the start

[2point4DSM]

Thats why the car was so cheap... you could never find a 96+ hatch in good condition that is swapped and boosted with 5lug for 5000... i knew that car was gonna be junk from the start

I have to admit Hondas hold their value very well, even when modded.

[JDMISACULT]

value goes up when modded lol... just to stay on topic a little i gues dsms arent that bad hahaha

[turbo4g63]

all i do is follow the proper upgrade path...ie what a bunch of other people have said already, if you mod the car, have the supporting mods to back it up, also a person can't say that they are gonna have a modded 1g with bolt ons with a million miles on it and say it's not gonna break....old parts+lots of power=VERY BAD......and my personal favorite on this thread...do it once, do it right

[jc8889]

I've had my 99 gsx for 5 years, and it has only 39,000 miles on it. I have to say it never gave me a problem. As of right now I just swapped a built motor with built tranny and its a 6 bolt swap. The car started up immediately and runs great. With a stock bottom end it dynoed 318 AWHP. With no prob. It also helps that I'm mechanically compitent.

[peteyturbo]

DO NOT call a galant VR4 a "DSM" !!! shame on you for degrading the almighty galant VR4!! The galants were not built at the same facilities as the " chrysler eclipse" :)

[180sxDrifter]

"DSM's....They are like a handicapped kid. Sometimes you wish you never had it, but in the end you still love it"

lol I have only had my dsm for a few days and I have noticed some oil leaking form the oil reutrn line? coming down from the turbo and so far that seems to be the only problem

[321Gone_]

where to start!

I bought my car with my hard earned cash in August of 2001. I couldn't drive it, but had enough money (8500). The mods were Exhaust, BoV, MBC, Boost gauge.

Saved up money for mods, and the first thing I did was pick up a pair of lovely white tenzo RS-5's. In 2003 I finally got my license. (Had my car a year and a half before I could actually drive)

My car was perfectly fine. I was up to 17 psi on my stock t-25 and it was nice feeling ha. Anyways, later that year my bro came up from Arizona, and wanted to chill with his old friends and bugged to borrow my car. Now, I was only 17 at the time, and he was 26/27. I trusted him and said sure.

Sure enough I wake up in the morning, stretch and felt like going for a wake and launch. Notice my car isn't there. Im like wtf.. guess my bro slept at his boys/girls house. So i ask my dad and he goes "uhh... you dont wanna know." So I immedietly think hes messing with me, or im about to cry.

He says "Oh here they come now, look down the street."
I take a peek and see a flat bed with a silver eclipse, broken front bumper, 4 broken rims, a bent in fender and an embarressed older brother.

I stared for about 10 minutes, walked inside, shut my door and I have never EVER been so mad that i couldn't yell, scream, hit anything. Didnt look like it though apparently.

So what happened was he was coming on an offramp going as he said "20 mph" and hydroplaned. (LOL YA OK LIAR) He jumped the curb knocked off a damn light pole, and almost fell into a ditch, he was held up by trees.

So the smart guy drove on 4 broken rims into a parking lot. Got it flatbedded to the house, yeah. Thats when my problems began. Lol.

I asked my brother to buy me stock 97-99 body for my car. I am on vacation now in dominican republic I believe and he decides to send it to the bodyshop, gets it fully painted with a BODYKIT on my car. Not my damn stock body. So I come back to see a bodykit. Wahtever, i just ignore him and im highly annoyed. Thank god he was back in Arizona.

So now thats over with, i drive and hear clunkclunk. Clunk...... clunk... BAM. Yes, the motor blew. Im talking about literally 5 minutes after it got driveable from the accident. THANKS BROTHER.

So i get a 6bolt block. 16g. FMIC. Fuel mods etc. Now in the hole a bit of cash i was saving up, i said f it.

Finally like two months later its done. I go to pick it up. The first time I turn the key i hear *TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTA* OH YA WTF IS THAT.

less then 1000 miles later of overheating for no reason and changing the radiator 3 times, water pump, thermostat atleast 10 times, it decides to blow the hell up. LOL. I drove it normal, tried to just break in a motor and do some hard runs to seal everything right, changed the oil every 200 miles too. Whatever, I take care of my car.

Now since then my car to DATE still has not ran. I mean, I did drive it back from slowboy but it had its problems still. 2.4L, FP Red, Tubular exhaust mani, Tial 44mm WAstegate, full support/fuel mods, DSMLink v2, fic 950's.. MY custom intercooler pipes are getting made for my Precison fmic core. Shell finally be ready to beast in a couple weeks. Since then, she now has stock 2g body finally with NO sideskirts, who cares. Im multi colored now.

Sorry for the long post, this I can tell you right now I left out a lot and simplified what could have been about 45 minutes more of writing.

So theres just one thing to say. I wont ever sell my DSM and I love her with all my damn heart.:supz:

Before:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/GSXgoesPSsShT/backroundsmall.jpg

After:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/GSXgoesPSsShT/front_nucka.jpg

Who needs paint..:thumbup:

[peteyturbo]

Thats why you never let anyone drive your car..Sure it will get fixed if something happens but it will never be the same..If that happened to me I would DEMAND CASH, and ALOTT OF IT..where to start!

I bought my car with my hard earned cash in August of 2001. I couldn't drive it, but had enough money (8500). The mods were Exhaust, BoV, MBC, Boost gauge.

Saved up money for mods, and the first thing I did was pick up a pair of lovely white tenzo RS-5's. In 2003 I finally got my license. (Had my car a year and a half before I could actually drive)

My car was perfectly fine. I was up to 17 psi on my stock t-25 and it was nice feeling ha. Anyways, later that year my bro came up from Arizona, and wanted to chill with his old friends and bugged to borrow my car. Now, I was only 17 at the time, and he was 26/27. I trusted him and said sure.

Sure enough I wake up in the morning, stretch and felt like going for a wake and launch. Notice my car isn't there. Im like wtf.. guess my bro slept at his boys/girls house. So i ask my dad and he goes "uhh... you dont wanna know." So I immedietly think hes messing with me, or im about to cry.

He says "Oh here they come now, look down the street."
I take a peek and see a flat bed with a silver eclipse, broken front bumper, 4 broken rims, a bent in fender and an embarressed older brother.

I stared for about 10 minutes, walked inside, shut my door and I have never EVER been so mad that i couldn't yell, scream, hit anything. Didnt look like it though apparently.

So what happened was he was coming on an offramp going as he said "20 mph" and hydroplaned. (LOL YA OK LIAR) He jumped the curb knocked off a damn light pole, and almost fell into a ditch, he was held up by trees.

So the smart guy drove on 4 broken rims into a parking lot. Got it flatbedded to the house, yeah. Thats when my problems began. Lol.

I asked my brother to buy me stock 97-99 body for my car. I am on vacation now in dominican republic I believe and he decides to send it to the bodyshop, gets it fully painted with a BODYKIT on my car. Not my damn stock body. So I come back to see a bodykit. Wahtever, i just ignore him and im highly annoyed. Thank god he was back in Arizona.

So now thats over with, i drive and hear clunkclunk. Clunk...... clunk... BAM. Yes, the motor blew. Im talking about literally 5 minutes after it got driveable from the accident. THANKS BROTHER.

So i get a 6bolt block. 16g. FMIC. Fuel mods etc. Now in the hole a bit of cash i was saving up, i said f it.

Finally like two months later its done. I go to pick it up. The first time I turn the key i hear *TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTA* OH YA WTF IS THAT.

less then 1000 miles later of overheating for no reason and changing the radiator 3 times, water pump, thermostat atleast 10 times, it decides to blow the hell up. LOL. I drove it normal, tried to just break in a motor and do some hard runs to seal everything right, changed the oil every 200 miles too. Whatever, I take care of my car.

Now since then my car to DATE still has not ran. I mean, I did drive it back from slowboy but it had its problems still. 2.4L, FP Red, Tubular exhaust mani, Tial 44mm WAstegate, full support/fuel mods, DSMLink v2, fic 950's.. MY custom intercooler pipes are getting made for my Precison fmic core. Shell finally be ready to beast in a couple weeks. Since then, she now has stock 2g body finally with NO sideskirts, who cares. Im multi colored now.

Sorry for the long post, this I can tell you right now I left out a lot and simplified what could have been about 45 minutes more of writing.

So theres just one thing to say. I wont ever sell my DSM and I love her with all my damn heart.:supz:

Before:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/GSXgoesPSsShT/backroundsmall.jpg

After:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/GSXgoesPSsShT/front_nucka.jpg

Who needs paint..:thumbup:

[dirtygermankid]

wow.. for $5000 any idiot could build a 10 second dsm :x

dsm's are reliable as long as you are a reliable mechanic.. if that makes sense.. lol.

[awdlaserbeam]

wow.. for $5000 any idiot could build a 10 second dsm :x

dsm's are reliable as long as you are a reliable mechanic.. if that makes sense.. lol.

hmmmm i doubt that.
Give me a breakdown of parts and thier costs for under $5k that will put a car into the 10's without nitrous.

[peteyturbo]

turbosystem, fuel pump, injectors, and VPC..Oh, plus a clutch..IF you are a good driver and pick the right whistler you should be able to squeak one..hmmmm i doubt that.
Give me a breakdown of parts and thier costs for under $5k that will put a car into the 10's without nitrous.

[awdlaserbeam]

you forgot to mention the prices on those items. Turbo system is a little vague, what size turbo are you going to need to run 10's on and how much is that going to cost???? When you put that big turbo on you are probably going to need an intercooler for it as well and probably some type of manifold/wastegate.

[EvlEgl]

All DSM owners should sell them and buy Yugos I dont know why anyone would ever want one. 5k to go tens???...Mid 11's for 5 k yes, 10's is a bit much...although not entierly out of the question (If you buy used parts its more possible than brand new)

Mine has been great...I drive it hard and realize i risk breaking stuff everyday...I'm down for a transfer case swap but other than that nothign major has kept me out of the loop for to long.

[peteyturbo]

Turbo system covers it all, but the right 995 dollar precision turbos should do the trick.you forgot to mention the prices on those items. Turbo system is a little vague, what size turbo are you going to need to run 10's on and how much is that going to cost???? When you put that big turbo on you are probably going to need an intercooler for it as well and probably some type of manifold/wastegate.