Couple of quick questions from a newbie, Spyder GS-T

[mjfenix]

Hey guys,

First post here on the forums! Hiya! So, I've done some research and I understand how a turbo works and I understand what most (not all) terms mean now-- but I'm still a little lacking in horse power / speed gains from certain parts so I was hoping to get a better picture.

First off, I'm going to take a look at a Magenta Grey Pearl 1998 Syder GS-T tomorrow. It's been adult owned and looks pretty great all around, interior and exterior are a 9/10. I've scoured CL for a while now. I would get a GSX, but they are just too hard to find, and they are a bit over my budget. I'm looking to stay under $5k. To the car itself, it has 145,000 miles on it.. kind of makes me cringe but.. oh well. He has done the following upgrades:

• 14b Turbo from a 1st Gen.
• K&N FIPK with Injen Intake Tube
• 3" Mandrel bent SS Catback
• Dual stage MBC (switch in-cabin from low to high, both sides on lowest setting since install, no fuel support to increase past stock yet)
• Autometer boost / water temp / oil pressure gauges. Autometer water temp gauge lags but gets accurate after a bit of driving (???). Stock water temp gauge still works fine though.
• Koni Yellows and Prothane Bushing kit on all 4 corners with stock springs
• Brand new OEM Mitsubish front lower control arms, lateral control arms, knuckle, upper control arm, sway bar endlinks.

Like I said, it's a 98' Spyder GS-T, 145k Miles, he's asking $4000, and I believe he's pretty firm on that price. How do you guys feel about the purchase?


Here are the photo's he sent me of the car (pretty high quality and really nice):
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=9d54...X.SkyDrive&sc=Photos&authkey=!ADvTsKoeWPfxkBE

Also, what should I be looking to maintain (it will be my DD) / upgrade first if the purchase goes through? What am I looking at with the previous upgrades already? I'm not a kid who wants to race every car that passes by, my main priority is making sure that I have a car that won't break down on me and won't cost me a ton in repairs, but can also be fairly quick, haha. Anyway, thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[spyderdrifter]

well it looks really good, and sounds like a good deal. If you buy it, I would drive it around for a little while first to get a feel for it, and to see if anything noticable comes up that needs to be addressed for maintanence prior to upgrading. These cars can be quite pricey to fix if it's something left unattended.

 

[-Boosty-]

Looks like a fairly clean ride. I would ask him when the timing belt was last changed. Seems like that is a must ask deal these days. Then I would ask him about the clutch. When it was changed, what kind of clutch it is. Of course you'll be taking his word on the clutch, but a visual of the timing belt should be a little bit of an idea. The one I bought had actual chunks missing out of it. I would see (even tho he said low boost setting since install) what the ''High boost" setting is on the boost controller when test driving it. No one spends that kind of money on a boost controller and then doesnt test it out. If he has it cranked and has no supporting fuel mods he could easily be running lean. With a 3'' exhaust, intake and upgraded turbo he could easily be boost creeping and running lean. Just something to consider.

I could talk for a while about upgrades but a common budget path includes a mitsu 16g turbo, larger fuel pump w/rewire, larger injectors, wideband 02, safc or dsmlink for tuning etc. Be prepared to read A LOT in every sense of the phrase. There are several write ups for upgrade paths sorry i cant get you any links right now. Remember a lot of what ive read is anything over 1-2lbs stock boost can potentially put you lean until you upgrade your fuel system. Good luck and welcome to the site.

 

[snowborder714]

Please try again with a more descriptive thread title. A generic thread title like this does not help me when browsing new threads to see if I can offer help or when searching old threads for info to help myself or others.