I'm thinking about a 92-94 awd dsm, please let me know your thoughts, both positive and negative about them. I'm thinking for perhaps rally and maybe a occasional driver.
Andrew
I'm thinking about a 92-94 awd dsm, please let me know your thoughts, both positive and negative about them. I'm thinking for perhaps rally and maybe a occasional driver.
Andrew
Got to ride in an ex-Pike's Peak DSM once, awesome, awesome cars!
As long as you plan on only driving it occasionally, they are fun cars.
xci_ed6 wrote: As long as you plan on only driving it occasionally, they are fun cars.
Why only driving occasionally?
Andrew
Actually, this was just discussed about a week or two ago.
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/dsms/13963/page1/
And then the magazine's write up on it http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/diamond-stars/
In the previous thread I mentioned my brothers car died unexpectedly. Well, after a week of resultless diagnostics, it started yesterday. Nothing was changed, it just runs fine now.
Occasionally, because 3/4 of the time it will be sitting on jackstands waiting for something to be fixed. On the bright side, the other 1/4 of the time it will be running like a raped ape.
As an owner of a 92 Talon Tsi AWD, I have too many thoughts to post here. That and I'm lazy. Feel free to hit me up on AIM if you want to know more.
NotoriousZIB
I was almost waiting for the Notorious Z-I-B to make his presence known. Definitely send this dude an IM, he's a good source of DSM knowledge.
They were popular (or should I say notorious?) at one of the car forums I used to spend a lot of time on. I remember them breaking frequently.
Mr. ZIB, please disclose your information publicly. o.o
Had one. When it wasn't melting wires it was good.
Why not go for a '90-'91? Basically the same car, but you get flip-up lights and a 6-bolt motor. (The 7-bolt in the '92-'94 reportedly doesn't have crankwalk issues like the '95+ cars, but people still consider the 6-bolt better for big power builds.)
1G DSM:
Good: Inexpensive buy-in, massive aftermarket parts support still available, lots of engine management options (dsmlink, dsmchips.com, evo 8 ecu, GM MAF Translator, 2g/Evo MAF, VPC, S-AFC, etc.), stock blocks can hold 500+ whp, easy to make big power, cast iron closed deck block can handle a lot of abuse/bad tuning, well documented upgrade path and maintenance procedures (vfaq.com, forums), excellent RallyX performance per $, well developed Internet community with lots of knowledgeable people who have done everything from run 8 sec 1/4 mile in street legal cars to Pro Rally and road racing.
Bad: high maintenance, previous owners mod/maintain poorly, stock transmissions notchy/grindy, rust, stock drivetrain will break or fatigue quickly handling 500+ whp (especially clutch-dump stutterbox launches), heavy motor/bad weight distribution, numb/understeer-y handling in stock form, fugly interior, some earlier cars not equipped with rear LSD, some earlier cars not equipped with "big" 2-piston front brakes, power steering cutoff in 1st gear @ high RPMs (easily resolved), used parts availability in some areas becoming more scarce.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure more will come to me later.
They are cheap to buy and cheap to build, but of all my friends that have ever owned them they seem to be running about 50% of the time!
Anyone have a spare 2G intake manifold they want to donate to my lemons car? I had one lined up from a guy in San Diego but he threw it away before I got there. Anyone in the Los Angeles, San Diego, even Vegas this weekend area with a 2G intake mani they want to get rid of would be a huge help. If you know where I can find one free or cheap, please let me know!
Ah sorry, most of what I would have said has already been covered. I was just feeling lazy that night. I'll summarize my thoughts though. These cars have a reputation for giving a lot of thrills for a relatively small amount of money. Because of this, they tend to be bought up by people who don't have the money to take care of them properly. Too many upgrades come from Home Depot.
I used to daily drive mine, and still race it at the track. In one of the pics you can see me racing in my profile here, I drove that car six hours from Ithaca, NY to Norwalk, OH to participate in the DSM Shootout, and drove back and continued to use the car for DD duties. Eventually, the driver side CV shaft came loose from the trans, and I've been told this is likely because I had bad motor mounts that allowed too much vibration. It's possible as my mounts were torn and I replaced them with prothane ones.
Basically, if you're gonna buy one of these cars, just keep an eye on everything and it should be reliable. They're kinda high maintenance, but they're really fun cars if you take care of em.
And I appreciate the kind words from Dave, but I'm not a DSM go-to guy, I just happen to own a DSM and have a lot of patience, but mine has been on jackstands for two years because I'm one of those people who lacks the time and money to do things right. I'm currently in the process of changing that, and it's slightly frustrating.
I have not found a car as of yet that isn't high maintence. I need something with awd, and I'd like to have something different, because everyone seems to have a subaru. I'll eventually get a 1g or 2g DSM car, but not likey a dd, more of a track whore then anything.
Andrew
digdug18 wrote: I have not found a car as of yet that isn't high maintence. I need something with awd, and I'd like to have something different, because everyone seems to have a subaru. I'll eventually get a 1g or 2g DSM car, but not likey a dd, more of a track whore then anything. Andrew
2Gs make better track cars because they have a better suspension configuration (Front double wishbone vs. 1g's Macpherson strut). If you want to be different, get a GVR4. How many of those do you see on a daily basis? The build quality/fit/finish is better than that of a 1G DSM as well (GVR4s were imported from Japan vs built in Ohio).
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