The Wonderful World of DSM's

[ogpog]

I have a general question, aimed more towards the DSM community.

Im just an average college student who needs a new toy. I had a Jeep that i basically brought back to life, and turned into a wonderful off-roader, but sold it as interests changed. Back to speed I go. I bought out my 2006 Civic at the beginning of this year, but to be honest, people have been telling me it would just cost too much to make it decently fast. But regardless i threw some Eibach Sportline springs under it to just make it a bit more aggressive.

I have always been envious of the DSM guys, and all of the things they learn, and can do, and how fast they can get them to go. I was simply considering picking up one before the winter and using it as a new project. I would keep my civic as my daily driver, and just simply work on the Talon, or Laser as an interesting experience/project to go out and have some fun with.

Am I completely out to lunch? I mean, i dont know the first thing about Turbo's (All my vehicles have been N/A). I can rip apart a motor no problem, and put it back together with my eyes closed, but I consistantly hear other owners talking about how problematic they are.

I also was wondering what is a good price point to start at. Ive heard people saying you can get something decent for five grand, and others saying look for ones going for 10k +. Any Input is appreciated.

[Crymson]

Sorry, to butt in for a quick question, i've gathered that a DSM is a talon/eclipse, but what does it stand for? Is just an idenifier on the VIN?

[jav_]

Diamond Star Motors

[Lo)2enz0]

you have mixed 2 terms together that don't belong with each other

dsm+college student

i thought it was a wee bit funny

[ogpog]

Originally posted by Lo)2enz0
you have mixed 2 terms together that don't belong with each other

dsm+college student

i thought it was a wee bit funny

Hah, i worked before i went to college, so money isnt a gigantic concern, till it eats away at my savings.

[Mangina]

College>ricing

[ogpog]

Originally posted by Mangina
College>ricing

Lol, jesus guys, I made a point of saving money SO THAT i could have a project during college to fill the void of my jeep.

Can someone actually answer any of my questions? Without including the word college?

[EK 2.0]

DSM's...they are GREAT cars when they are running. The downside...they don't run for very long when they do haha...Just playing. You can find pristine examples of them out there, although they are getting few and far between.

The DSM curse is that you can find them for relatively cheap, and its the same with making power...doesnt take a lot of money...But here now you have a 10 plus year old car that needs regular maintenance and is neglected by the young owner and the car is going down the shitter...And then something major breaks they dont have the cake to fix it...so the car gets a bad reputation for being unreliable.

It's the lack of people maintaining them that put them in a bad light. I loved Cyclone and would I build another DSM...FOR SURE...

[ogpog]

Originally posted by EK 2.0
DSM's...they are GREAT cars when they are running. The downside...they don't run for very long when they do haha...Just playing. You can find pristine examples of them out there, although they are getting few and far between.

The DSM curse is that you can find them for relatively cheap, and its the same with making power...doesnt take a lot of money...But here now you have a 10 plus year old car that needs regular maintenance and is neglected by the young owner and the car is going down the shitter...And then something major breaks they dont have the cake to fix it...so the car gets a bad reputation for being unreliable.

It's the lack of people maintaining them that put them in a bad light. I loved Cyclone and would I build another DSM...FOR SURE...

Thanks EK, thats exactly the information i wanted to know. ;)

[Hoey]

It depends, if money isnt an issue and you have the skill to rip apart a motor and re-assemble/ your are into fast cars DSMs are perfect for you!

If you have the basic grasp of how things work under the hood of a normal car, it shouldnt be too hard to figure out the turbo part.
All a turbo is is a big fan that blows a lot of air into your engine...sort of like the best ram air money can buy lol.

DSMs are problematic because of this list ill throw together here.

#1 they are CHEAP...so little punks drive them around not knowing 2 shits about how to maintain a car.

#2 They are easy to make very fast (this goes along with the cheap part) SO; people make them fast without the precautionary mods in order to maintain and control a modified car.

#3 They are almost ALL bagged.

If you wanna make one fast, do the right things in the right order.

Typical problems they all seem to have are crappy transmissions, a lot have grinds, and all the tranny are notchy- you cant just bang through the gears like you do in a civic, you gotta play with the revs and stuff. ---This is what I find

Bottom line-if you treat her well she will take care of you.

IMO the best years ever made were;
for 1st gen 1991, 1992, and early model 1993
for 2nd gen late model 1997, 1998

90s have different parts than other 1st gens. (a lot of sensors and stuff are different)

late 93's and 94's come with the 7 bolt engine, it has some differences but the main problem is they have a lighter bottom end, when stock it typically gives you no problems, but once modified the bottom end doesnt seem to be beefy enough for the power your putting down.

I dont know much about 2nd gens.

All these things are based on my opinion from info ive learned from experience and other people...please dont bash me:angel:

[b_t]

The difference between the 6 bolt and the 7 bolt is that the 6 bolt is less likely to "crankwalk." Which is basically what it sounds, the crank moves back and forth and makes it difficult or impossible to work the clutch and so on. The 7 bolt bottom end is still strong, there is a video of a car that made 450whp on a 100k mile stock bottom end (it did eventually blow up) but people seem to be almost religious in the 6 bolt being superior to the 7. Personally I think it's a load of crap.

If you get a first gen, you want to get a 90 to early 92. After that, they changed to a weaker rear end and the 7 bolt motor. If you get a second gen, the 1995s have a EPROM ecu that you can put DSMlink in, which is a powerful enough engine management system you can run 9s if you want. After that, there was no EPROM and then your choices for engine management are the DIY route (megasquirt), swapping for a EPROM ecu, or spending cash on a AEM EMS or Haltech, etc. The 1st gen body style change was in 1992. The pre-change cars are better looking IMO, they are the ones with pop-up headlights

There was a body style change in 1997, from the boring 'smiley' bumpers to the more aggressive ones, and the ever popular 97-99 eclipse front end. But, some stats some guy pulled out of his ass show that the 1997s are most vunerable to crankwalk. Take that as you will.

If you do want to get into DSMs, I would recommend trying to find a 1997 or 1998 since they will likely have less miles. The best bet would be bringing one in from the states, since they go for thousands less down there even after importation fees. You can try to find one with basic mods already - rebuilt, upgraded tranny, rebuilt bottom end, stuff like that, to save serious cash if you want.

Or you could try and do what I did, get a second gen non-turbo ESi that has the Dodge 420A motor and turbo it instead. :nut:

sites for DSMs:
http://www.dsmtalk.com/
http://www.dsmtuners.com/

canadian sites:
http://www.calgarydsm.com/ i think
http://ca.dsm.org/

[EK 2.0]

I miss Cyclone...:cry:

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by EK 2.0
I miss Cyclone...:cry:

:poosie:

My Galant got here with a blown engine, so Honda's are worth it sometime.

But that is hardly the car's fault.

[ryanallan]

as for unreliable, well i have changed my alternator 4 times in 2 years, but other than that; stock turbo, unopend motor and 300,000km's. . .

still pulls strong at 13 psi and can get me to edmonton and back to calgary, which works out to a 700km+ trip, on one tank of gas that is. . .

there are lots of people making lots of parts for these cars, so looking for a project car, you will spend more time deciding which set up to go with, than any other.

also shep has a solid read axel now (they come with IDRS), o the endless possabilities :burnout:

[Hoey]

Actually its the 1gb's that came with stronger rear ends than the 1ga's; the b's had the 4 bolt rear and the a's had the 3 bolt.

also the 1gbs have better LSD in the rear or front:dunno: whatever it is the 1gb launch just that 1 bit harder:D correct me if im wrong on that.

IMO the 1ga's with the pop ups are also the best looking.

[Cody D]

Edit: I didn't read the date on this topic before posting, sorry.


Originally posted by Hoey
also the 1gbs have better LSD in the rear or front:dunno:

I don't believe the 1Gb's had an LSD.

As for DSM's I love em, my last one was my daily driver and it ran 12's (when the transmission was still good), the engine that was in it I had originally bought with my first DSM in 1998 abused the poor thing for 6 years and it still ran strong.