A Few Newbie 2nd Gen ?'s

[White03S10]

Im new here, I have been poking around looking at a few 97-99 GST, GSX's and was wondering about reliability of the motor with modding. I know a lot of local guys here with DSM's, and wanted to know the limit of the 7 bolt before crank walk. I just plan to do bolt-ons and maybe a 16g or 18g turbo plus some suspension mods. I just want a nice car that is decently quick to drive at the track if I feel like it. I may keep my 95 Accord daily and just use the DSM on nice days and weekends.

 

[kmoore]

Well, one thing is for sure keep the Accord for your daily. No doubt.

Like everyone says about these cars, do the maintanence regularly and these cars will run like a champ.

There is no certain "time" for CW it either happens or it doesn't. CW is overrated. PERIOD. I wouldn't worry about it that much.

 

[dsmmike50t]

^^^As the member above mentioned do all the maintenance. Crankwalk is overated I know two guys one is making 370whp and the other guy is over 400whp and they're still running a 7 bolt engine. I'm running my car daily and its good on gas and great in the winter.

 

[turboglenn]

Yea, 7 bolts are pretty good motors. I made well over 400whp on mine before she popped from a lean condition at the track ( faulty borrowed wideband i was using ). Just keep up on the maintenence as everyone else says and you'll be fine. My 7 bolt was on the service limits of "crank walk" for over 3 years and i never had an issue with that part of it. I later swapped in a 6 bolt build when the 7 blew.

 

[daren_p]

Like was said, crankwalk is not a depending on how much hp thing. It either happens or doesn't happen (& the amount of crankwalk in 2g's is over hyped), though adding a clutch with a heavy pressure plate won't help the situation. I know several over the 400 awhp mark that have run like this for more then a couple summers (& some done on Mustang dyno's, so more like 450 awhp on a dynojet, etc). I'm currently in the 350-370 whp range (depending on tune/boost) on a stock bottom end, & don't have plans on bulding the motor anytime soon (should be around 400whp next year). As far as reliability, alot of guys complain about DSM's but honestly I don't think their any worse then most other cars. You have to remember some of these cars are over 15 years old & alot of guys are pushing much much more then stock power out of them, of course things are going to need replacing from time to time. Off the top of my head, the only thing's I can remember replacing, that broke on mine in the past 4.5 years I've owned it is the brake fluid level switch & the cruise control switch. Other then that it has just been normal maintenance parts.

 

[DGajre777]

Stock 2G 7bolts have been taken to 400whp and beyond. Crankwalk shouldn't be your concern, I'd be more worried about trying to find a car that was taken care of, maintained and not abused by the previous owner. Rust is also a concern depending on what part of the country you live in or what part of the country your car came from. I'm in Florida, my car came from Wisconsin according to carfax.

 

[White03S10]

I was just wondering about reliability because I want a GSX Im not a big fan of big power on FWD. Most of the nice under 80K mileage GSX's I find people want like $12,000ish for and book is only like $9,000. But market value and book value are different I guess. If I sell my truck for what Im asking I could buy a GSX for $12Kish and sell my daily but I think I would rather go with a GST and keep the daily and just mod the GST. I just want a nice moderately fast car to play with and it be daily driveable if I need it to be. Also what does everybody here think of their GSX/GST's as far as the way they drive, handle etc...

 

[White03S10]

Also as far as maintaining it I have a guy I know that has a 10 second 1st gen and he could probably give me some help with anything I would need. He does normal service work on everybody's DSM's around here when he is off work.

 

[matthewdesigns]

I've got a 110K mile 2g AWD. Regular maintainence + bolt ons + 21psi = Reliable fun.

As for the way it drives and handles, I like it better than any car I've ever owned. That being said, it's no Porsche or BMW, but it's grippy and relatively forgiving. With an upgraded set of shocks and at least a rear swaybar, the handling can be shifted towards a more neutral position, if twisty roads are in your future.

I would/will own this car, or one like it, until I can afford to buy a new all wheel drive sports car. Then this one will be gutted and really tweaked for some real fun.

 

[99gst_racer]

At around 400 WHP, the connecting rods become the weakest link. As long as you dont run lean or overboost, you can safely and reliably run 400 WHP on a 7-bolt block.











<------- This was on a bone-stock 7-bolt longblock.

 

[White03S10]

Well all this stuff is great to know, thanks. So far nothing has been said to turn me away which is a good thing, I would really like to find a GSX because I would love to have some AWD fun in the snow.

 

[123212321]

Basically, you have to remember that usually the people who bi*** about DSM reliability are the ones who push a shit ton more power than they can out of their car. You can get A LOT of cheap speed out of these cars, and I mean A LOT of cheap speed. But with cheap speed comes the problems.

Maintain the car, treat it right and mod it how it is supposed to be modified and you won't have any more problems than you would with any other car. Enjoy it, man!

 

[White03S10]

You guys know of any good places to look for some nice cars for sale other than the usual cars.com, autotrader.com, and ebay? I found a few nice ones but not many, I would also take a nice GST or GSX and some cash for my truck if anybody wants a nice truck to take to shows and yes it is a driver not a trailer queen.

 

[123212321]

Craigslist and the classified forums here will help you out. I have a 95 GSX for sale if you want to give me a PM.

 

[White03S10]

I'm looking towards a 97-99 with low miles and totally stock untouched if possible. I want something I know hasn't been run hard so I know it will run good. Plus I still have to get this truck sold or trade it.

 

[99gst_racer]

Don't turn this thread into a WTB add, or it will be closed without a doubt.

 

[2gsxRuiz98]

I too own a 98 GSX and could not be happier, those who ride with me as well as myself love the stability and traction along with the power from just a few simple and cheap modifications. My GSX is also reliable in the snow. I have only had to keep up on maintenance of parts that expierience normal ware and tear as you would with any car.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

I've had my 98 GS-T from 9 miles on, at a touch over 100K now. I run a 16G with supporting mods. Not even a hint of CW, and as stated, that's the least of my worries.


As everyone has stated, it's NOT the car that's either reliable or not, but the owner who takes care of the maintenance.

You can drive off the lot with a spanking brand new car, if you don't take care of it, it will be a POS soon, no matter what car.

 

[DGajre777]

I was just wondering about reliability because I want a GSX Im not a big fan of big power on FWD. Most of the nice under 80K mileage GSX's I find people want like $12,000ish for and book is only like $9,000. But market value and book value are different I guess. If I sell my truck for what Im asking I could buy a GSX for $12Kish and sell my daily but I think I would rather go with a GST and keep the daily and just mod the GST. I just want a nice moderately fast car to play with and it be daily driveable if I need it to be. Also what does everybody here think of their GSX/GST's as far as the way they drive, handle etc...

Go with the AWD.

And damn! Where are you looking? I paid $8000 for my 98 AWD Talon with 52,000 factory miles.

 

[White03S10]

It's all about how nice the car is really, people that know what they have will probably get that much for them. I know I would pay $11K for a nice GSX with low miles unmodded rather than one with low miles heavily modded. I take excellent care of my stuff, but I have friends on the other hand who don't. I had a friend buy a new 04 Corolla in 04 and by the same time in 05 it had 40K miles on it and it was on its second engine because he was a jackass and installed a nitrous kit wrong.