seriously considering a '91 Galant VR-4 -- thoughts?

[themadhatter]

I have my sights on a clean '91 gvr-4 with some mild work done to it (@ 300+ whp) that runs very quick.

It needs a gearbox rebuild, that's about it but before I buy, does anyone have any suggestions on them?

yes this is the one with the 4G63, AWD & AWS.

-Ron

[PaleDSM]

My advice....buy it and baby it. Show people that there was quick Mitsu 4 door before the evo. :supz:

[themadhatter]

haha - evo has nothing on this gem :mrgreen:

motor was recently rebuilt, a friend owns it but never drives it, I want to use it for my winter beater.

he's done a few things to it such as boost and EGT gauge, Apexi SFC2, gen 2 hfm, supra fuel pump etc. adjustable Gab suspension ties up the bottom end and it already has a turbo back 3" ss exhaust from the owner before him.

he was able to keep up with me when my car was NA so I know the car moves pretty damn well. I believe he ran a 12.1 in the car recently.

why do you say I should baby the car? are they fragile?

-Ron

[2point4DSM]

A 12 sec, NA 3 series... wow! Sounds like with a turbo your car should easily be in the low 11's.

The GVR4 is an awesome car. Highly prized in the DSM community. They are very similar to other 1g DSMs.

In the case of the GVR4, they weigh at least 200lbs more, come with the weaker rear, and will tax the driveline appropriately.

At the very least you will appreciate the ability to go where no bimmer has ever gone -- in the snow, haha.

Just a warning... DSMs are highly contagious. You may eventually find that you can't get enough....

Buy it, enjoy it, and hope to see you on the DSM dedicated boards!

[themadhatter]

thanks for the pointers. the E36 is pretty damn quick but I'm not going to be throwing numbers around on it till I have something to back them up with on paper.

the gear box's second gear synchro is toast, I'm probably going to go to Dogbox and get it rebuilt, what do you think? I doubt I'll be doing any serious mods to this car since it's already tweaked pretty nicely and I really want to use it as my foul weather whip.

Since I've owned the bimmer, it's always had a dedicated set of snow tires and wheels but now with the turbo in there, no point in even considering getting it out in the snow....way too much power for anything but the dry.

I really like the way the car looks, quiet and understated but the damn exhaust is way too loud. I may have to throw a resonator in there to quiet things down a bit so as to not draw the attention of the ricer local police.

what DSM boards can you refer me to?

thanks,
Ron

[PaleDSM]

I meant baby it as it take care of it and keep it clean.

Check out www.philadelphiadsm.com and/or www.dsmtalk.com or www.dsmtuners.com

[themadhatter]

I meant baby it as it take care of it and keep it clean.

Check out www.philadelphiadsm.com and/or www.dsmtalk.com or www.dsmtuners.com

well that's a given, I thought you meant that I couldn't beat the **** out of her like I do with the bimmer.

thanks for the links - I didn't buy yet but I'm about to.

[sPrSw2o]

dogbox racing?

that guy lives like 45 minutes from me. cool guy. car is balls fast.

[FC3S4]

dogbox racing?

that guy lives like 45 minutes from me. cool guy. car is balls fast.

his fuel pump hurts my ears :prayer:

[PaleDSM]

I meant baby it as it take care of it and keep it clean.

Check out www.philadelphiadsm.com and/or www.dsmtalk.com or www.dsmtuners.com

well that's a given, I thought you meant that I couldn't beat the *no cursing!* out of her like I do with the bimmer.

thanks for the links - I didn't buy yet but I'm about to.

You would think that was a given but there are far too many people just beating their DSMs into the ground now days. It is sad.

[SpendOne]

I meant baby it as it take care of it and keep it clean.

Check out www.philadelphiadsm.com and/or www.dsmtalk.com or www.dsmtuners.com

well that's a given, I thought you meant that I couldn't beat the *no cursing!* out of her like I do with the bimmer.

thanks for the links - I didn't buy yet but I'm about to.

You would think that was a given but there are far too many people just beating their DSMs into the ground now days. It is sad.

Are you talking about me?? :supz:

[PaleDSM]

Yours is that way on purpose right? :banana:

[Jeffros Spec V]

There was a time once when I didn't know a VR-4 Galant exsisted so I tried to race this "White Old Galant with Exhaust and 4 kids in the car" well it pulled on me like a MOTHER****ER and I was like "WTF" and than he told me all about the whole VR4 thing.

I'd get it.

[2point4DSM]

the gear box's second gear synchro is toast, I'm probably going to go to Dogbox and get it rebuilt, what do you think?

Why dogbox? Only place to go for a awesome DSM tranny is Shep.

And the reason so many people beat them is because they are easy to mod, cheap to fix, and easy to live with year round, relatively speaking and compared to a Bimmer.

Btw, if you want to get a quieter exhaust setup check out the muffler igo4BMX is selling. I've got one that is similar and my car is definitely one of the quiestest 3" equipped DSMs out there. http://www.tristatetuners.com/viewtopic.php?p=54912#54912 Btw, my exhaust also has a 3" resonator and 3" cheapo generic cat. Even with all that it is easily in the low 12s on pump gas, ie. 1-2k rpm launch and granny shifting.

[yugotdonkey]

If you wanted to splurge a little you could send the trans out to John Shepherd.

www.shepracing.com

[PaleDSM]

I think he meant to post www.jnztuning.com not the link to JM Fabrications.

[techboy]

My eyes popped :eek: when you said it'd be your "winter beater". I'd love to have a GVR-4 just as my prize car. I'd def. say get it, if when you get tired of it ... sell it to me :supz:

[themadhatter]

thanks for the links fellas.

I bought the car!!!! w00t!!!

it's # 1687 of 2000 for '91 and has a mess of mods:

supra fuel pump
3" turbo back exhaust
gab adjustables
h&r sports
apexi super afc II
balance shaft delete
2nd gen mass air
etc

A recent dyno pulled around 320 whp, I'll get actual figures later.

does anyone know Sean Ivey? It turns out that it's one of his old cars so it may have more done to it as I'm told.

I'm going to try BG trans fluid to see if I can soften up the 2nd upshift for now, if not, I'll get a rebuild. It needs a cat or it won't pass PA inspection...so I'll hunt for a 3" metal cat soon.

Techboy, if you knew what I drove as my daily, you'll clearly understand why this is my winter beater. *edit - you live near me, you should stop by when I'm in town.

thanks for everyone's help, looks like I'll be posting in the import forum much more now. :D

-Ron

[sisforsurfing]

That is awesome, one of my favorite cars. 320 whp!! Insane, I need a DSM :eek:
jk, but can you get pics?

[2point4DSM]

That's awesome. I would start off by making sure the clutch is disengaging completely by checking shifter linkage adjustments, pedal adjustments, and hydraulic parts. BG will definitetly help. Adding a mix of Redline MTL is even better for shifting but since it is so thin not as good for protection. Still, it was used with much success on its own for many years deep into the 11s. Good luck with it. And make sure to get on http://philadelphiadsm.com/

[themadhatter]

pics? looks like a green mitsu galant with '92 rims and a big exhaust tip (borla muffler). :p I'll see if I can get some pics up for you but visually, it's a complete sleeper.

2.4, I will def be checking out the cables and clutch work before going nuts by dropping the gear box. if I do drop the box, then I'll be adding a fidenza flywheel + what ever appropriate smooth grabbing clutch/pressure plate combo to deal with my gorilla shifting and holligan driving habits.

thanks for the link, I'll register today.

[2point4DSM]

Shifting hard and fast is different. If you feel you need to shift hard then look into beefing up those shift forks.

[themadhatter]

lol excellent points. so tell me then, is dogbox just a bad place to go or do you have something to say about them? etc.

nobody has mentioned them....do not have the prestige as the other guys? ..or is there more to it?

[2point4DSM]

I've been a DSMr for over 15 years and I never heard of Dogbox. The only shops that fast DSMrs send their tranny to are JNZtuning, Shepracing, B&M tranny (part of Turbotrix), and TRE (Don't bother with TRE).

Rebuilding the stock tranny with stock parts is easy. Still, I've heard of shops messing them up. Over the years the fast guys have figured out that certain year trannies were tougher than others and used those parts in their rebuilds.

Why do DSMs spin front tires if they are AWD?...

The stock center diff relies on a seperate viscous coupler (VC) to help divert power to the rear wheels when the fronts slip. Problem is the stock VC was never meant to control slip from a motor that's making over twice the stock power levels. And during a hard launch the front actually lifts enough that the VC is overwhelmed for a short while. Coupled with the stock front diff I've seen some AWD DSMs actually smoke just the one tire on a really hard launch. Still the stock VC is good enough to spin all 4 tires, to a certain degree, and launch the car into the 1.6, 60ftr territory.

Btw, I'm not trying to say the stock GVR4 tranny is necessarily weak. Just that the car you have seems like it is pretty fast already and you might want to consider some tougher parts if you want to go even faster. And that is assuming you don't have it already... which might be wrong.

[88gt]

haha - evo has nothing on this gem :mrgreen:

motor was recently rebuilt, a friend owns it but never drives it, I want to use it for my winter beater.

he's done a few things to it such as boost and EGT gauge, Apexi SFC2, gen 2 hfm, supra fuel pump etc. adjustable Gab suspension ties up the bottom end and it already has a turbo back 3" ss exhaust from the owner before him.

he was able to keep up with me when my car was NA so I know the car moves pretty damn well. I believe he ran a 12.1 in the car recently.

why do you say I should baby the car? are they fragile?

-Ron


i don't believe your bmw goes faster then 12.1's NA.

[2point4DSM]

This sounds like a race... :)

[themadhatter]

88gt,

you are right though. that run was from a roll on the gspy that started around 80 and ended some where around 140+. If I have to shift into fifth on the e36, then I know I'm going too fast.

his 12.1 is from a dig, at e-town. awd at a dig = winnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaar! :D

if we ran from a light, it'd be a whole other story but awd does nothing for you when you're already moving at a good clip.

---

2.4, thanks for that write up. I've heard horror stories about B&M tranny, are they really butchers or was it just an upset customer or two? regardless, I'll probably go straight to the source....if the gearbox doesn't freshen up with the new fluid.

-Ron

[2point4DSM]

Looks like someone else I know is considering a GVR4....

[peteyturbo]

#1687 does not ring a bell.. If you want a dogbox for your car I believe dollinger and quaiffe make one, they are pricey (15,000).. Just get it rebuilt or buy a new factory tranny. I'd personally just buy a used one in good shape for cheap.. The BEST tranny juice for DSM's is NEO SYNTHETIC RHD.. I have tried them all and nothing compares ( www.bakerprecision.com ). I think I may still have a set of JDM clear corners for the galant in my pops garage among other things.. Good luck with the car, summit white is an awesome color..

[peteyturbo]

www.gvr4.org