Getting back into the DSM game, need help deciding on a car.

[RicciDSM]

Whatsup everyone? Im finally looking to get back into a DSM. My mustang was hit on saturday and insurance is on their way out to tell me if its totaled (which it is)...

So I went to check out a 1998 GSX. Its automatic which is what I want, 99k miles, everything checks out good on the car, besides the paint. It could use a repainting, which isnt gonna be much since I have a friend who works at a body shop. But other than that, the car is great, how often do you find a black gsx in automatic???? Its going for $3000

My other choice is a 1997 Talon TSi, FWD. Again, its auto, no problems whatsoever BUT the car has 144k miles. The owner is a 43yr old man, whos mother (original owner) gave him the car and allllll of the miles are highway. Literally. Theres absolutely nothing wrong with the car, they took very good care of it. Its going for $2900

So whats everyone think? Im looking to get into an automatic DSM, and theyre very hard to come by (in my area at least) without traveling too far...

Any opinions would be extremely helpful. I know a good amount on these cars but when it comes to choosing, I like taking professional advice


Heres some pics:

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[bluegs03]

IMO if you have experienced snow in the mustang then in a fwd car it will be slightly better than the stang. What im trying to say is that if you havent had any problems in the snow with your stang then you are gtg in the fwd.

As far as deciding between the two cars i would honestly see how much you get back from the insurance company. If you get just enough to purchase the cars but nothing else then i would say go for the fwd tsi, simply because you wont have to do as much to it. If you get the gsx, prepare to take that thing directly to a shop and throw a few grand at it, paint maintence etc because i am sure that it needs it. For what its worth im leaning towards the tsi, less hassle and more time enjoying the car =).

 

[RicciDSM]

Stock turbo/BOV's are not loud. Didn't you mention something about the X having an aftermarket BOV?


Mechanically they're the same exact car.

It seemed pretty loud to me, you could hear the turbo spool right up. I guess its because ive never owned a boosted car or even driven in a DSM. Besides a friend of mine's evo 8. It has the stock blow off valve, like I said the kid knew nothing about anything and posted that is has an aftermarket "blow up valve" but really the car is bone stock. To be honest im not worried about the paint one bit, I wouldnt even get that done right away anyway.


But from what everyone is saying, the gsx is worth it in the long run mainly because of the fact that its AWD and easier to mod than the 97? Say if I got the gsx and took it in the day I got it for a complete tune up and to fix any other problems they might find, would I be good? Since the auto tranny can hold a lot I shouldnt have problems with that?

 

[defury]

2gb tsi is the best body style easily, slap some 2ga skirts on there and its a sexy beast.

However, I would not pass up AWD to be completely honest, having owned a turbo FWD car before I can say losing traction in 3rd makes me very angry.

 

[RicciDSM]

2gb tsi is the best body style easily, slap some 2ga skirts on there and its a sexy beast.

However, I would not pass up AWD to be completely honest, having owned a turbo FWD car before I can say losing traction in 3rd makes me very angry.

I never owned a FWD Automatic besides my old 99 GS which always had traction even when you tried to lose it, so I dont know what its like to lose traction in 3rd . How are automatic dsm's by the way? Like I said I couldnt even get my GS to do a burnout because it was auto, I wonder how the boosted version is?

 

[nothingfiction]

i agree. i have absolutely no traction problems at all. the Only time i ever have traction problems is sometimes in first from a stop when it's wet out, but i think most people do as well. Snow can cause some traction problems, but that's fun to drift in.

i can still hook up at 5k with absolutely no problem. with stock suspension and 14 inch swirlys.

 

[Zdrummer15]

Well idk about how crazy id be going with it, my buddy has a stock evo 8 turbo/mani/wastegate and stuff hes willing to give me to if id put them on id definitely get it tuned etc etc... Im not 100% on adding that stuff though.

Just so you know, the Evo 8 turbo, manifold, etc. aren't compatible with our cars. 4G63T's from the Evo 4-9 on are mounted on the passenger side rather than the driver side like our cars.

 

[RicciDSM]

Just so you know, the Evo 8 turbo, manifold, etc. aren't compatible with our cars. 4G63T's from the Evo 4-9 on are mounted on the passenger side rather than the driver side like our cars.

Really? Thanks for the heads up! Oh well looks like ill just be buying my own stuff. No big deal.


Also, one more thing. You said the 98+ ECU is the way to go, well how hard would it be to mod the 97 TSi? Say If I got things like TurboBack Exhaust, Intake, BOV, MBC, and MAYBE bigger injectors etc etc when the time comes. No matter what one I pick im doing all of the above right away, the injectors etc will come later down the road when more money start flowing in. So how would the TSi perform with all of the above on stock 97 ECU?

 

[dsm-onster]

i agree. i have absolutely no traction problems at all. the Only time i ever have traction problems is sometimes in first from a stop when it's wet out, but i think most people do as well. Snow can cause some traction problems, but that's fun to drift in.

i can still hook up at 5k with absolutely no problem. with stock suspension and 14 inch swirlys.

For a fwd? Maybe when running around in reverse . IF you lose traction accelerating with a fwd the front tires losit and you go where ever the front clip has the momentum vector pointing.

I had traction problems with my brother's 420a eclipse (Which he quicly sold for an awd2g). In the rain it would just spin and the STEERING front would give you no control. Turn left or right, nothing would happen.

Fwd is better in the snow when you take off easy because the weight remains on the front wheels. versus not ever being on the rear. But you can't drift with fwd without the ebrake . If you lose it in the front, it makes that much more difficult to break the rear loose to drift.

 

[nothingfiction]

For a fwd? Maybe when running around in reverse . IF you lose traction accelerating with a fwd the front tires losit and you go where ever the front clip has the momentum vector pointing.

I had traction problems with my brother's 420a eclipse (Which he quicly sold for an awd2g). In the rain it would just spin and the STEERING front would give you no control. Turn left or right, nothing would happen.

Fwd is better in the snow when you take off easy because the weight remains on the front wheels. versus not ever being on the rear. But you can't drift with fwd without the ebrake . If you lose it in the front, it makes that much more difficult to break the rear loose to drift.

By my snow comment about losing traction what i meant is, i only lose traction at high speeds when going in a straight line. Doesn't usually happen, but depending on the shape of my tires it has happened. in snow i have no problem taking off, i've lived long enough to know how to drive in it . As for drifting... Yes, drifting in snow is used with the ebrake. Given it's not a true "drift" but works just as well. around here they hold snow drift competitions which are fun and you just go out and (yes, this is close-coursed) have fun and if your not a dumb*** you won't flip your car.

Not sure what you mean exactly by the driving in reverse comment.

and for driving in rain, driving and steering in rain is no problem at all. the take off could be tricky (depending on the amount of wear on your tires AND the amount of wetness/rain on the ground). To solve that all you have to do is take off at a lower rmp and it will eventually hook up. All of this should be common knowledge and i by no means am saying you or anyone doesn't know this. But... there are people in the world who live places where it doesn't ever snow, or doesn't snow for 6 months of the year even. There's places in the world where it may rain once every blue moon. This too is common knowledge and geography. But this is why sometimes it is good to have a car that doesn't have a lot of power because either way traction loss is still traction loss no matter how many ponies you have. With more ponies, that's just more power being lost then you wonder why your spinning out at a red light and the geo metra beside you took off clean.

think of it like this...
600hp corvette and a military tank are at a red light getting ready to drive into a 3 foot swamp...
the tank will make it out and the corvette wont. the amount of power has nothing to do with it. Neither does the aerodynamics or the lowness to the ground. Obviously a tank wins both of those because tank has NO aerodynamics (compared to a vette, and the tanks tracks and cabin are on the ground too).
Sure, the vette may get stuck faster, but ultimately its just the story of the tortuous and the hair. All of the vettes power becomes waisted and the tank just continues on slowly yet surely.

 

[gieri002]

Turbo models are quite a bit different than the n/a, so its kinda hard to compare the two. In my last GST traction was a major issue in first and second gear with just basic bolt ons. I would go with the GSX, AWD is alot more fun not to mention a better strip car!