2G DSM "new" mods

[Spoolin98]

I put this here because I feel like a newb, even though I do have a lot of experience with DSMs.

Been out of the DSM game for about a decade, picked up another one that I plan on having some fun with.

I've been reading and a lot has changed over the years when it comes to these cars.

I plan on going "all out" with this build, street able, I am just wondering what others think are a "must have" for a built DSM nowadays.

Everything is so different now compared to when I owned my last one.

I guess im just looking for some friendly advice from some DSMers who never got out of the game. As you can see, I've been on this site for awhile.

Step one is to get the mil spec harness installed and figure out which stand alone/digital display to go with. I am leaning towards Link at the moment.

Any suggestions? On anything and everything. I care more about having the latest and greatest, then building a car specific to that time era.

 

[Spoolin98]

Opposite.

Ive paid people and found that the only person who cares about putting in good work is myself, that sometimes you cant buy a mechanic who cares about anything but doing the job quickly and being paid quickly.



I hope you wont have to experience that, but its been far too common for me.

Well, you came off as a **** so you got a **** response. Now that you have responded politely, I will do the same.

I too have experienced the same. The guy who will be doing the harness/ecu/electronics install is a small business owner who specializes in EVO's. He's about an hour from me, 1 man business. I sent him pictures of the car, the harness, the custom fuse panel, and everything else and he was not phased.
I have only ever paid 2 businesses to work on my other sports car, the first one was a larger "reputable" shop. Worst mistake ever. The second shop was a performance shop that was ran and operated by the owner, 1 man shop. Had a great experience with him, so I am hoping the same thing happens with the next guy.

 

[Vegas Smith]

You should consider going Fueltech. The ecu is actually your digital dash. Kills 2 birds with one stone. I run Link G4+ ecu with a Powertune digital dash; The absolute cheapest ecu/dash combos for 1g dsms (more expensive for 2g due to the evo owner tax). In a fueltech package, you get a wiring harness that needs to be finished off. I'm sure your guy could finish it for you.

 

[Spoolin98]

You should consider going Fueltech. The ecu is actually your digital dash. Kills 2 birds with one stone. I run Link G4+ ecu with a Powertune digital dash; The absolute cheapest ecu/dash combos for 1g dsms (more expensive for 2g due to the evo owner tax). In a fueltech package, you get a wiring harness that needs to be finished off. I'm sure your guy could finish it for you.

Is there a reason you went with the powertune dash over the link dash?

I already have the full harness for the car, which the previous owner said cost a couple grand, It would suck to throw that to the side. Im not ruling out Fueltech, I just started with Link because that's what the guy who is going to do the work uses in the EVOs he builds.

 

[Vegas Smith]

Is there a reason you went with the powertune dash over the link dash?

$500 vs $1300...

I already have the full harness for the car, which the previous owner said cost a couple grand, It would suck to throw that to the side. Im not ruling out Fueltech, I just started with Link because that's what the guy who is going to do the work uses in the EVOs he builds.

Ahh, I forgot you mentioned that. Link should be good then. Lots of evo runs that. Some DSMs do as well. Very good tech support for this ecu as well.

 

[Spoolin98]

Is there a reason you went with the powertune dash over the link dash?

I already have the full harness for the car, which the previous owner said cost a couple grand, It would suck to throw that to the side. Im not ruling out Fueltech, I just started with Link because that's what the guy who is going to do the work uses in the EVOs he builds.

Ah gotcha. From the reading I have been doing, I haven't seen anything negative yet about Link ECUs. The customer support seems to be a big positive for most.

 

[Shimmer]

If you're a stick guy, Fatboy racing makes a beautiful billet shifter with upgraded cables that fits under the stock console.

I wish that I had heard of this when I was doing all of the bushing upgrades for my shifter a year ago. Now to look for reviews and see if I need to dump my hard earned money on this piece of hardware...

 

[Spoolin98]

I found this company https://makomotorsport.com/ and reached out to them to see if they make a 2g cluster for the 7" link display. They dont have it on their website, but the guy responded and said he can make me one. He did say some modification would need to be done to fit it, because its a bit too large at the bottom. He said "The only issue I forsee with the install will be the display overhanging the lower edge of the mount and you may need to make some cuts to the interior of your dash cavity to fit it in". If I recall correctly, there isn't anything under the bottom of the 2g gauge cluster, besides the steering wheel column plastic. So I may be able to install it without cutting anything.

After speaking with the guy doing the electrical work for me, he said the 5" screen is pretty small and the 7" screen is a lot larger and easier to see. I watched some videos and the 7" screen is definitely a lot larger than the 5". After he goes over the wire harness and I confirm I am going with a link ECU, I will have to make up my mind on the display. I will most likely go with the 7" and modify the mount so it doesn't look like crap.

I have been looking into the fatboy racing 2g shifter as well, what the hell is a strain gauge?

 

[Spoolin98]

I wish that I had heard of this when I was doing all of the bushing upgrades for my shifter a year ago. Now to look for reviews and see if I need to dump my hard earned money on this piece of hardware...

Please report back what you find and save me the time of doing the research

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

I have been looking into the fatboy racing 2g shifter as well, what the hell is a strain gauge?

Did your car ever have a dog box or a transmission with straight cut gears? The strain gauge is used for NLTS.

 

[Spoolin98]

Did your car ever have a dog box or a transmission with straight cut gears? The strain gauge is used for NLTS.

To be honest, I dont know the details on the trans but I know its not a dog box. I was told it was built, but I can't remember by who. It looks brand new, but that doesn't mean much.

Hm, ill have to read up on the strain gauge, never heard of it and have no idea how it works. Thanks

 

[Spoolin98]

Does anyone have any suggestions as far as electronics go? I'm definitely doing a digital dash and aftermarket ECU right away with the harness install. I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for other electronics that I should install at the same time. I'm assuming the digital dash can display anything a gauge could, so I don't think I will need any gauges...

I'm going to figure out something for music, but that's all I can really think of. Besides digital dashes, is there any other newer technology I should add? I like adding new technology to older cars, I am not trying to keep this car original by any means. It's too late for that.

I just don't want to install everything electrical and then think "damn I should have done this at the same time" later.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

This may not be something you need or want but it is useful for me and I will be doing it to a couple more of my "little monsters". It is an electric fan DELAY. It delays your fans from coming on immediately after you have shut the car off and then go to restart it. I hated my fans coming on as soon as I would turn the key so I wired this timer into the thermoswitch's ground. It is over on Instagram but you can click HERE for the link. Go to the 2nd picture, it is an explanatory video of what I did. With you having a 2nd gen car, the ECU controls the fans but I don't know if it can delay them coming on. On my 1g cars, the fans rely on a thermoswitch in the bottom of the radiator but I bet you can alter what I did to work in a 2g setup also.
Marty

 

[Spoolin98]

This may not be something you need or want but it is useful for me and I will be doing it to a couple more of my "little monsters". It is an electric fan DELAY. It delays your fans from coming on immediately after you have shut the car off and then go to restart it. I hated my fans coming on as soon as I would turn the key so I wired this timer into the thermoswitch's ground. It is over on Instagram but you can click HERE for the link. Go to the 2nd picture, it is an explanatory video of what I did. With you having a 2nd gen car, the ECU controls the fans but I don't know if it can delay them coming on. On my 1g cars, the fans rely on a thermoswitch in the bottom of the radiator but I bet you can alter what I did to work in a 2g setup also.
Marty

Is the purpose of this to put all the battery to starting the car?

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Yes.

 

[Spoolin98]

Opposite.

Ive paid people and found that the only person who cares about putting in good work is myself, that sometimes you cant buy a mechanic who cares about anything but doing the job quickly and being paid quickly.



I hope you wont have to experience that, but its been far too common for me.

I have experienced the same, as recently as 2 years ago with a "reputable" performance shop and my C7Z. That was the first time I paid someone to work on one of my cars in about 2 decades, and it was a terrible experience. You're absolutely right, but I am at a point in my life where I don't have the time to turn wrenches, it's not that I can't. As for the DSM, I am admittedly terrible at electrical work. I bought a car with no wiring in it, it would probably take me 2-3 years to get the harness in with my available free time and my limited knowledge of wiring. So instead, I decided to pay another "reputable" shop to install the harness and get the car running for me. After that, I will do the work I am capable of. The purpose of this post was to get suggestions about products that I may not know about since I have been out of the DSM game for almost a decade. Well, according to you, I was never in the game.