How does DSM handling compare to other cars?

[TuRBo'DTWiX]

I was just wondering how our DSM handling compares to other cars in the same class or near it. I am talking about the GS-T and GSX.

How does it handle compared to preludes,mr-2's, and such?

 

[ivanr4g63]

well in my opinion early dsm's have lots of play on their suspension, most of us know that the stiffer the better for handling, of course that GST's and GSX's are two diferent things, the way you put it I would say

MR2: better handling, lighter car
Prelude: I believe its slightly lighter than eclipse's
DSM: Not a stiff suspension when stock

Then again this is my personal opinion...

 

[NoRiceTSi]

Alot of people say they are slugs and heavy, especially awd's, but mine handles quite well and i still have all stock suspension, my mx6 handles way better, but its lowered and it has strut bars and rear sway bar, do those mods to a dsm and you will handle quite nice

my buddys '93 prelude vtec has a stiffer suspension than my '90, and seems to handle quite well, hardly any body roll

my other buddy has a '96 probe gt and he seems to be about equal to me in stiffness and overall handling

 

[cait sith]

DSM's flip like paper cranes in the wind. This is why you should never, under any circumstances, try any performance driving that involves turning the wheel.

 

[focusedrage]

Originally posted by cait sith
DSM's flip like paper cranes in the wind. This is why you should never, under any circumstances, try any performance driving that involves turning the wheel.

I assume you are talking about stock ones? cause i understand that dsms are great handelers. and have cleaned up at autox events.

 

[Omega]

Ignore cait sith he doesn't know his arse from his elbow.

My NT 1G wasn't too bad. I could throw that thing around and it would act predicably. My 2G feels better, but the tires are scary.. I need something better than the POS pepboys the previous owner put on. My Formula on the other hand is evil. Granted the suspension isn't exactly stock, but still. Even for its' weight I can do whatever I want in that car and it still asks for more... without hesitation.

 

[Cirus_93TSI]

with stock suspension a dsm doesnt handel all that good, and i would say a 1g handels better then a 2g simpley because it has a lower center of gravity, lower a dsm with a quality suspension(full suspension, not cheap add-on coilovers) and it will handle like its on rails
as for fliping like a paper crane, iv never seen a dsm just roll over when taking a turn, its not a freaking suv, we have takes plenty of highway turns at 130+ in my friends lowered 2g, and its never felt like it was going to flip, actually he tried to take a sharp 90 degree left turn on a back road at 60 mph a while ago, needless to say he didnt make the turn, but the car flew off the road sideways and sorta drifted sideways into the woods on a slight hill, he used the hil toslide the car back onto the road and ended up back in the lane he was supposed to be in, the passanger side door tok out quite a few little trees about 1" in diameter, we silde sideways on soft ground for a good 10 seconds and the car didnt flip or roll, the wheels didnt even start to tuck under like it was going to roll, car felt sturdy and formly planted on the ground the whole time, the thought of it fliping never crossed my mind, i thought we would hit a big tree, but it never felt like it was going to flip

 

[GreddySpyder]

The 1g DSMs may have the edge on 2gs in a few areas, but handling is NOT one of them. The 2gs definitely handle better due to their more advanced suspension system. Preludes are some of the best handling FWD cars out there, I had one before my Eclipse, and a friend of mine still has one, and I have no problems hanging with him through turns even though my Eclipse is a Spyder (which Mitsubishi did a great job of stiffening the chassis on). A fwd DSM is more stable than a car such as the Mr2, but with a professional driver I'm sure an Mr2 would whip a DSM on a road course. I remember seeing the slalom speeds for a 95 GST in an old issue of Motor Trend, it pulled 69.3mph, not too shabby at all. Overall the FWD DSMs tend to handle better than the AWDs, but you can get the tail to step out on a GSX where you can't on a GST, so I guess it would just depend on what type of driving you were doing.

 

[supergoat]

My 1G has a basically stock suspension except for a Front Strut Bar and a Rear Sway Bar. As it is, it definitly handles better than the Probe GTs I've owned as well as the Mustang GT I used to have. I can take corners now much faster than I could with those cars.

It also handles better than my RX-7 did, but that's probably because my RX-7's rear struts were blown.

I really love how my Talon handles. It's very predictable and I can throw it around however I want with little hassel. I've gotten pretty good at taking long sweeping corners in it with the back tires squeeling, and being able to maintain it all around the corner. It's just something fun I like to do.

I can't wait to see how it does once I get my Eibach Pro-Kits on it.

 

[1990EclipseGSX]

Well, in my opinion, DSM's handle like my ass...even with suspension/brake upgrades. My brother has an Audi S4 dropped 2" on H&R coilovers w/ big brakes upfront blah blah blah. Anyway, his car rides 100X softer and handles 1000X better than my GSX. DSM's were definitely not made to turn, just made to go fast in a straight line. Anyway, with that said, everybody be wary through those corners, understeer is a bi***.

 

[cait sith]

Originally posted by 1990EclipseGSX
Well, in my opinion, DSM's handle like my ass...even with suspension/brake upgrades. My brother has an Audi S4 dropped 2" on H&R coilovers w/ big brakes upfront blah blah blah. Anyway, his car rides 100X softer and handles 1000X better than my GSX. DSM's were definitely not made to turn, just made to go fast in a straight line. Anyway, with that said, everybody be wary through those corners, understeer is a bi***.

No offense, but according to your mod list under your profile, you have a crappy set of struts and a crappy set of springs.

Comparing them to a set of true coilovers like H&R is night and day.

 

[abrxy3]

yeah ive noticed that compred to other fwd cars with stock suspension, GST's handling blows. i believe the best handling fwd car is the type r teg.

 

[TuRBo'DTWiX]

wow so many different opinions and perspectives... but thats good get a variety of comments

I will just get an aftermarket suspension wen i buy my gsx... how are kyb adjustables struts and eibach sportlines ?? that should make it handle better... I'll throw on new tires..should i get a strut/sway bar??

 

[cait sith]

All DSM spring sets are terrible and you shouldn't waste a dime on them. All they do is lower your car. Some I hear are actually SOFTER than the stock springs.

Crap, complete and total crap. The only "stand alone" non-pro style shock minimum I'd go for would be Koni. Otherwise, get real coilovers.

 

[abrxy3]

are tein suspensions worth it for dsms?

 

[focusedrage]

i plan on getting jic coilovers, i mean i dont see why everone is giving dsms such a hard time, they can be made to handle very well

 

[Eclipse96Ryder]

my sisters protege handles fricken amazing. Its sweet

 

[bigfoot]

1G's suspension was taken from the Galant, a family car. They are too soft, understeer badly and the car is heavy. But with stiffer springs, rear sway bar and if youve got a grand to spare a Quaife front diff, you can make that AWD work in your favor. Nothing launches or accelerates around corners like a properly set up AWD. It's still not as flickable as a lighter car, but then you wont go off the road on rainy days like they do.

 

[DaveDSM]

Originally posted by bigfoot
1G's suspension was taken from the Galant, a family car. They are too soft, understeer badly and the car is heavy. But with stiffer springs, rear sway bar and if youve got a grand to spare a Quaife front diff, you can make that AWD work in your favor. Nothing launches or accelerates around corners like a properly set up AWD. It's still not as flickable as a lighter car, but then you wont go off the road on rainy days like they do.

you do know that the 1g's are lighter right?

RWD is the best for ultimate handling, but AWD can do a damn good job in it's own right.

 

[1LE]

Well, owning a very lightly modified MR2 and a heavily modified DSM I can say that the MR2 kicks DSM butt all over the place in the handling department My MR2 with stock springs, heavy duty struts, and mild upgrade swaybars is about 1.5-2 seconds faster on a typical regional autox course (around 40 seconds) than my coilover equipped, 550/350 spring, koni yellow, st swaybar, gutted, caged, wider wheel'd, built engined Eclipse.
However, the Eclipse makes 3 times the power which makes it a much better road course car
Oh yeah, before I forget... The biggest problem I have with the Eclipse is the fact that the brakes are so horrible compared to the MR2 (partly due to total weight, partly due to the front engine/AWD layout, partly due to small brakes)

 

[Laser93Nash]

I have a 93 Plymouth Laser RS n/t and it's handling is frickin amazing! Of course, this is my first car. So, I really wouldn't know! But I just felt like voicing my opinion!

~Andrew~

 

[greathuskie]

my moms focus zx3 handles like a beast, i love that car

 

[Fryguy]

I'm sitting on eibach prokit and KYB AGX, and I've got my shocks set up so that I got rid of a lot of the understeer on my car, and I like the way it handles a lot. I haven't had a chance to drive much in terms of performance cars, but my eclipse stiff up front, medium/loose in the rear handles great. That includes taking some high speed turns, changing lanes at 120+ mph, etc.

 

[Addict]

The stock suspension on the 2G GST is not a corner loving one. I just went on an outing with a few other cars, and there's no way I could hit the corners like they were. Hopefully this will all change when I get my coilovers.
As it stands, my 2000 Si would rip my 1998 GST to pieces in the corners.

 

[Addict]

The stock suspension on the 2G GST is not a corner loving one. I just went on an outing with a few other cars, and there's no way I could hit the corners like they were. Hopefully this will all change when I get my coilovers.
As it stands, my 2000 Si would rip my 1998 GST to pieces in the corners.