Need Advice

[IcedOut13]

Hey everyone,
I'm new to the DSM scene. Ive always liked them and im after a car that comes turbo from the factory. Ive owned and modded two s13 240sx's one with a SR20 and one with a KA-T setup...so im relatively familiar with modding and what parts to buy ect. 240s are just to old and always have something breaking. The advice i need is...would it be worth it to get a DSM for my new project? I will be graduating high school soon and have a decent cash flow...nothing crazy...i would most likely buy a GSX with the basic mods done to it. Are dsm's reliable in terms of a daily driver? and most important are there any common problems i would need to look out for? Any advice/info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[xioca]

Just a heads up, you'd be better off buying one that was stock. Less likely it was abused by the previous owner.

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

Most people will tell you DSMs aren't reliable... But if you take care of the car, it will be reliable. And if you get a 2g, crankwalk is occasionally an issue (37% of the time)... Other than that, they are great cars. Turbo + AWD = godly...

 

[robmea]

There are some things that you should look out for, but if you take good care of your car, and do all the regular maintanance before modding than a DSM will make a good daily driver. If you get it and dont know when exactly the timing belt was last changed i would immediatly do an entire Timing belt job. It is due at least every 60000 miles. You can learn alot about what to look for when buying a dsm,How to care for it, and several answers to common questions in the Frequently Answered DSM Questions section of the forum Here's the Link http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=44

Good Luck

rob

 

[Michael Z.]

DSM's are getting a little long-in-the-tooth as well, and they tend to break, especially if you're modifying them. You've been warned.

If you're looking into a 2G DSM (95-99), it's going to be the younger version, but they tend to be plagued with crankwalk. Not every 2G or 7-bolt car suffers crank walk, but it's hit or miss. If you can find a 95-99 with a 6-bolt conversion, I would say that's a really good start. There are a lot of great modified cars available right now. Some are guys who have graduated into more expensive toys just want to sell everything off at a loss, often selling for less than the mods are worth. There's a lot of info here, familiarize yourself with the cars, and you'll know what to look for.