how reliable are dsms

[gstdsmeclipse]

i just bought a 99 gsx and seem to have no luck with it. it seems like its just one
thing after another. its supposedly a 12 second car at 14 psi with a evo111 16g turbo fmic 272 bc cams 3 in exhaust and a base map tune. what i wanna know before i go any farther with these cars is how reliable are they. done right can i have 500 reliable hp. not think twice about going 500 mile road trip now i understand all things wear out but i read one guy on here say all you need to do for these cars is buy a manual some tools and devote your whole life to fixing them. so what hp is safe {your not gonna break} and am i gonna have to work on it all the time thanks your help dsmtuners

 

[curt-s]

i just bought a 99 gsx and seem to have no luck with it. it seems like its just one
thing after another. its supposedly a 12 second car at 14 psi with a evo111 16g turbo fmic 272 bc cams 3 in exhaust and a base map tune. what i wanna know before i go any farther with these cars is how reliable are they. done right can i have 500 reliable hp. not think twice about going 500 mile road trip now i understand all things wear out but i read one guy on here say all you need to do for these cars is buy a manual some tools and devote your whole life to fixing them. so what hp is safe {your not gonna break} and am i gonna have to work on it all the time thanks your help dsmtuners

wait..
12 seconds at 14psi with an evo 3 16g, with a base tune? ...uh

 

[joescool2008]

They are as reliable as the person who assembles them/tunes them.

 

[98eclipse3493]

cheap, fast and reliable. you can pick two!

 

[Lou98GSX]

the only time something broke on my car is when i did something stupid .

 

[Insane20]

don't beat it to death and remember your car is an older car. things are gona break but if you keep up on everything and don't fly around WOT everywhere you go you wont have too many problems.

 

[Blue37]

Everyone says they don't last, but they last the same as any well-taken care of car. They will not last like any other car that is not taken care of as well. It depends on how well you take care of it

 

[TWOpointFORliter]

Cheap, fast, reliable... pick 2.

I would drive my dsm across the county without thinking twice. I would probably get a different map for 93 instead of E85 since it is hard to find but not because I was worried about it breaking down. My car is not a daily but I drive it everywhere I go besides work 8-9 months out of the year. It does take its fair share of hard driving but nothing I would consider abuse. The track is a different story but I bring extra drive line parts when I go there. The way I looked at it was a wanted a new 2g dsm but they don't make them anymore. So I replaced just about everything right down to the nuts bolts and sensors. The only thing I have done to my dsm over the past 5 years is maintenance and a few small upgrades in performance. There is no reason to own a dsm and it not be a fast fun car to drive. There are much better options out there for reliable, fuel efficient and comfortable cars.

 

[Diamond Star Werks]

I'd drive mine to cali. And back.

 

[LandSpeed-DSM]

How reliable your 20 year old turbocharged toy is will depend almost purely on how cheap or lazy the owner is with maintenance and repair.

 

[gstdsmeclipse]

I would drive my dsm across the county without thinking twice. I would probably get a different map for 93 instead of E85 since it is hard to find but not because I was worried about it breaking down. My car is not a daily but I drive it everywhere I go besides work 8-9 months out of the year. It does take its fair share of hard driving but nothing I would consider abuse. The track is a different story but I bring extra drive line parts when I go there. The way I looked at it was a wanted a new 2g dsm but they don't make them anymore. So I replaced just about everything right down to the nuts bolts and sensors. The only thing I have done to my dsm over the past 5 years is maintenance and a few small upgrades in performance. There is no reason to own a dsm and it not be a fast fun car to drive. There are much better options out there for reliable, fuel efficient and comfortable cars.

aha this idea of completely rebuilding a 2g has been in the back of my mind for a long time now finally i meet one. i wouldnt mind having your dyno numbers to haha thanks

 

[i want fast]

i bought a modded gsx. was all ####ed up. got it fixed right has a brand new 16g mhi. has an evo 8 ecu and i have no problems at all. just the basics... alignment oil change.. etc... i drove 400 highway miles twice and had no problem... drive the car as if its a normal car.. dont smash the pedal all the time and do maintenamce. this car is a beast. i love it. i mean you can spool ## turbo if you want but dont be doing that non stop. so yeah these cars are reliavle of you dont beat the shit out of them.

my eclipse took abuse before. had 3 gears ran on 3 cylinders and was still alive. no car can do that!

there are worse cars out there.. like srt4's.. . everything breaks on those..

but nothimg can beat a toyota. sorry dsm ppl.o

 

[GPTourer]

but nothimg can beat a toyota. sorry dsm ppl.o

BS. There's a reason why most manufacturers AVOID building cars like this. They rack up warranty claims and they tend to get abused and modded. I'll admit the DSM isn't the best out there, but they really got it right when they were building Evos (in Japan). I just don't think the Normal guys were quite up on quality control in the mid 90s like they are now.

You want to prove to me my Evo is not as reliable as a Toyota then we should compare it head to head with Toyota's (or Honda's) comparable 2.0L ~300hpish 4cyl turbo AWD car available TODAY for around 30 grand.

Oh wait...