How to make my car dependable....

[howdeyjake]

For the eight months I have owned my car it has been down pry half the time with stupid problems. My mom is really starting to hassel me about selling it now. I'm 17 yrs old and work just about every day and make roughly 450-500 every two weeks. I have about 400 in the bank and a $450 check coming on friday. I have big plans for my car. Right now it pretty much just has a big 16g turbo on it. I have plans for a ebay intercooler, bigger fuel pump, bigger injectors, fuel regulator, cold air intake, headers, downpipe/exaust, da da da da...basically want to make my car sound good, and make it go fast. But can't really get to that stage because it is always down. Right now it has a oil leak and wont idle worth shit or get up and go(HOPING the engine problem is old spark plug wires) and I'm pretty sure I know how to fix the leak too but that is besides the point. I have this money coming up and want to know what to spend it on first. Maybe a s-afc, wideband o2 sensor, dsmlink, or maybe engine mods like injectors and fuel pump, or a mix. I would really just love to have a car that I could actually drive to work everyday for a month straight. Any suggestions on what I should get first? I really appreciate your guys' help! Thanks!

PS: If there are any spelling errors, I cut a chunk out of my finger on a meat slicer at my work, but I THINK that I really can spell. Thanks again!

Jake

 

[DSMcamaro]

Maintenance! Maintenance! Maintenance! before modding. Don't mod until shes running 100% first.

 

[Perfect Tool]

Rebuild!

 

[fastestdsm]

yeah matinence is a bi***, if I hadnt put any money into maintaining mine, I wouldve ###### already had a dsmlink, injectors, pump, and possibly a bigger turbo.

 

[MrBoxx]

Mom hassling you... car always broken... dealership service manager knows you on a first-name basis and hates it when you call him right when he's leaving work for the day... bank account in the double-digits.... Most of us have been there. Some of us survived, cars and wallets worn out, but still intact.

It's tough being young, thinking you're going to get all these parts and your car's going to be sooo awesome, but then reality/karma/fate sends your turbo into the depths of shaft-play hell, then punches a nail through your tire for good measure. In hindsight, most DSM'ers would rather have done the basic maintenance on their cars before jumping into modifying their cars to make power. The reasons are simple when you look at it: Younger people usually have jobs that make less money and have less leniency when you call in with the "My car won't start" excuse. Older DSM'ers can usually afford to miss a few days of work, cashing in vacation time or relying on a spouse or second vehicle to get them around. You get the idea.

The best advice I can give anyone in your position, and I can only give it because it's the advice I would have wanted to hear years ago when I was there, is take things slow. Get the car to run correctly before adding other parts to it that may make the problem worse. There's no sense in buying a boost controller if you have boost leaks and no sense getting cross-drilled rotors if you're leaking brake fluid, for example. Doing all the major maintenance before you start throwing parts at the car will ensure that they all work to their fullest capacity.
boost leak test

So... do a boost leak test, change your spark plugs and wires (NGK BPR6ES gapped to .028" for plugs, your choice on wires), don't vent your BOV until you have the necessary parts to do so, do a compression test, and remember to monitor your fluids: oil, coolant, brake fluid, your oil again, etc. Check your turbo for shaft play once a month.

If I had it to do over again, and this is the question you're asking now, I'd spend my money on the things I need before I spent it on the things I want. And in saying that, I remember my Dad saying pretty much the same thing after I bought my car.

 

[howdeyjake]

MrBoxx, you hit the nail on the head with the position I am in. I have alreaght bought a new alternator, battery, starter, and my car was searched for shorts. Besides a tuneup and regular oil changes, that is all the maintence I have done to my car. I have tried like 10 times to do a boost leak test, and I CAN'T get it to work!! I will try again tomorrow tho and do a compression test, but I'm pretty sure If I have a boost leak that it is very minor, it USED to really steadly pull when you would punch it. Anyways, hopefully with a couple turns of a wrench, a ACTUAL completed boost leak test, check for shaft play, and some new sparkplug wires and my car should be up and running like it should. What is next then? For the most part the car is in good condition, it did just have a rebuild, and new belts and barings and stuff. What other maintence should I do before I go and dive into tuning and building my car up? And would a S-AFC or DSMLink or wideband not help with keeping my car running at its peak? I REALLY appreciate all the help, especially you MRBoxx, you have helped/saved me NUMEROUS times on several different occasions with problems with my car. I really do appreciate all the help you have given me. If you could help me out with what I should do next to get my car running better that would be great!

Thanks,
Jake

 

[BeerBaron]

take your money and buy a beater. I just got my second dsm , a 90 gst

 

[PSI NRG]

As far as modding your car... Replace parts that break with performance parts... for example... brakes go bad... get some slotted rotors and nice performance pads.... exhaust falls off time for a cat back... Besides the maintenance stuff thats the only way you will have a reliable car.

Take it from me look at my car in my profile and my mods... It didnt happen all at once Its taken me over 4 years to get my car where it is now and looking back on it it has it has its bennifits but for the most part I can only use it to its full potential at the track. I've gone through a lot of rough times dealing with my car and being down and wanting to sell it. And you can never get all the money you spent into your car back. If you want a fast car thats heavily modded your best bet is to have a second car which you'll drive every day and keep your dsm as a weekend/ nice day/track or whatever you want on the side.

DSM's will never be relible once you start modding them and even if you think you've made it indestructable something always happens. Keep your mods to simple bolt ons that wont put any more stress on the motor until you can either A afford to fix it when it breaks big ( trust me it will break big if you get too serious) or B have another car on the side to drive.

Having a fast car at a young age will just get you into trouble... the temptation to go fast on the street will always be kockin on the back door and youre young and have a tendancy to be irresponsible I know cause I've been there too!!

 

[howdeyjake]

I REALLY don't want to heavly mod my car, just put a new exhaust on it, bigger intercooler, a couple supporting mods for the intercooler, and then be able to tune my car. I doubt in the mean time I will EVER go near modding the inside of my engine, like you said I just want to throw some bolt on's on, make it sound and run good. I guess after I fix it this time, I will get a S-AFC, new fuel pump, fuel regulator, cold air, bigger injectors, and maybe a couple little things like a short throw shifter and then some new shocks(I have needed them since I got my car) and a full fluid flush and a 120 pt. inspection. Then in a while I will start throwing some real preformance mods on?? As in the fmic and headers/3" exhaust. Thanks for all the help and support!!

Jake

 

[asian312]

Like most of the members that have posted in here, slow and steady really do win the race here. My story is much like MrBoxx, yours, and many of the others in the DSM community. I made it through the stages and am on DSM #3 =)

It sounds like your diving in too fast. Even if all your maintainence is complete, I dont think your upgrade path is carefully laid out. Back in the day I was a just like you scouring the internet looking for all the cool gadgets and best deals, but in the end I ended up with a bunch of goodies and a car that got spanked by stock 1G with free mods.

So what did I learn in round 3? Stock '99 GSX with full maintainence, fluid changes regularly, SBR 3500 clutch, RRE flywheel, 4-Spider center diff, and a 16g at 10psi. I may not be the fastest on the block (yet), but I drive my car everyday. Point of all this ramble to learn from what you have here. Learn what makes these cars go fast, then approach it with a solid and 'tried and ture' mentality. In the long run it will be the most cost effective and most enjoyable. I know what its like to want to stand out or be the first for somerthing new, but case in point, DSMs have been around a long time. Learn from our mistakes. As a friend of mine says, "Do it right or do it twice."

 

[boostedinaz]

Don't even think about mods until your car runs correctly and well. You said you were not sure what to do next as far as maintenance then you went on to mention is doesn't idle right and the shocks need to be replaced. I would start there. There is no check list to go by because every car and it problems will be different.

The best thing you can do is just fix anything that you know is already incorrect. Idle jumping around...fix that, shock worn out, fix that. Check all wear items such as brakes, belts, plugs and so on, as well as all seals. If the motor leaks fix that as well. Once ALL of that is done then start to mod. This next part is also very imprortant and a huge problem in the DSM community. Please for the love of God do things RIGHT and make them look nice. I see so many DSMs that have a fan that is held on with 42 zipties, the wires for it are 10 miles long and run under the muffler to a half melted relay becuase they THOUGHT they saved .25 doing it that way. In that scenario make some brackets out of metal to hold the fan properly, wire it up nicely and route the wires in a clean short and direct manner, and use new parts like relays and crimp terminals. Not only will it make the car look better but it will make it easier to diagnose problems later or not even cause a problem in the first place.

My car has run very well according to DSM standards because that is what I did. Now I am still going through the maintnenace that happens on all cars, breaks, starter, and such, but my car has had very little gremlins. My car is pretty well modded and I have no fears of driving any distance. In fact I have driven all over my state and taken my car to San Diego once already and will be taking to MOD at the end of this month.