New Member New to DSM

[Youngdamage]

K so i just bought a 95 Talon ESI i know i know esi, shoulda got the tsi but this is my first car and i wasn't all too picky . Anyways iv always wanted to be able fix my car up and have some fun with it(watched fast and the furious a few too many times i think) but honestly i really don't know Anything about cars, Let alone DSM's. so for the next little while im going to ask for help with getting my car fixed up, 1 or 2 things at a time. so starting right now my question is goin to be a little bit generic(sorry!) but what would you guys say i should do first to my car. im not really talking just about perfomace im talking general maintenance and what not. Thanks Alot!

 

[NeMiZiS]

Maintenance.
Then look here for starters.
Tech Guide: 2G 420A Power Upgrades - DSMtuners

 

[SpawnedX]

Do all the proper maintenance to keep the car running and driving reliably while saving money for a TSi AWD or GSX.

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Take a look here. Tech Guide: 2G 420A Power Upgrades - DSMtuners

And you might find this area helpful too. Articles: 420A-specific - DSM Forums

 

[Black Widow97]

Welcome to tuners. I agree with above. Get the boring stuff (maintenance) out of the way first. Then go to town modding.

 

[necrotopsy]

...saving money for a TSi AWD or GSX.

anyone who gives you a response like that, just ignore them.

you can get some good power out of the 420a. do some maintenance stuff make sure its running good. that's important.

 

[Tanro]

Maintenance is a must.

Then I would throw on a Cold Air Intake, header, some nice exhaust. Maybe do a wire tuck.

Have fun with her. I would suggest a 420a over a 4g for a first car any day. You can have fun with it, it looks sexy, and well its a nice reliable car. Just make sure to take care of her.

 

[SpawnedX]

anyone who gives you a response like that, just ignore them.

you can get some good power out of the 420a. do some maintenance stuff make sure its running good. that's important.

Normally I would tear you 10 new ones. I guess today is your lucky day.

OP, it should be no wonder that there are like a total of 10 NA (if that) 420A powered DSMs in the 14's or faster. The engine is a dud, and I speak of this from experience since I own one and have boosted it. For starters the block is open deck design which severely limits the power potential off the bat, the structure of the block is just designed in a way that is inherently weaker. The only inherent potential the engine has is for RPMs, with a Rod Ratio of 1.67 you can see some decent higher RPM numbers, but it is still significantly under what the 4G63 engine is capable of.

You are going to be struggling to put more than 150 HP to the ground with simple bolt ons, some serious money is going to have to be spent to crack that number. All in all the amount of money you would spend to get to a stock GST/GSX is encroaching on the difference in cost between just selling yours one day and buying the car outright.

The 420A is a wonderfully reliable daily driver and it should be used as such. However, 16 years later, you will find that almost every person using that platform eventually utters the words "I am looking for a GST/GSX" in one form or the other.

Take it for what you want, but in the end I am hoping to save you from regret, disappointment and a bunch of money you can't recoup on resale.

 

[Black Widow97]

Normally I would tear you 10 new ones. I guess today is your lucky day.

OP, it should be no wonder that there are like a total of 10 NA (if that) 420A powered DSMs in the 14's or faster. The engine is a dud, and I speak of this from experience since I own one and have boosted it. For starters the block is open deck design which severely limits the power potential off the bat, the structure of the block is just designed in a way that is inherently weaker. The only inherent potential the engine has is for RPMs, with a Rod Ratio of 1.67 you can see some decent higher RPM numbers, but it is still significantly under what the 4G63 engine is capable of.

You are going to be struggling to put more than 150 HP to the ground with simple bolt ons, some serious money is going to have to be spent to crack that number. All in all the amount of money you would spend to get to a stock GST/GSX is encroaching on the difference in cost between just selling yours one day and buying the car outright.

The 420A is a wonderfully reliable daily driver and it should be used as such. However, 16 years later, you will find that almost every person using that platform eventually utters the words "I am looking for a GST/GSX" in one form or the other.

Take it for what you want, but in the end I am hoping to save you from regret, disappointment and a bunch of money you can't recoup on resale.

This is true. I can say this from experience as well. Thank god I never dumped the money in it to boost it. I figured I could get a factory turbocharged model for the price of turbocharging the 420A car.

BUT... If you are new to cars, and don't have a lot of time or money to put into the car, you may want to stay with the n/t for now. They are sleek, and you can put a realitively small amount of money into it and have a really fun car. Like said, put an intake and exhaust on, and beef up the suspension and zip around corners and have some fun with it. When you are more comfortable with cars, and don't have a problem with a HG job, and dont think twice about having to drop the engineor trans or both, then I would go out and find yourself a 4G63 DSM.

 

[MN_Eclipze]

I use to have a 99 GS Oz Edition and the 420a is a nice small car to drive around on a daily use. I had the intention on modding the thing up but never did and I dont regret it. (car sold). Personally If I have another one I would just add an intake, headers, and exhaust and leave it. All I did on my mine was maintenance and bought a set of chrome gst rims on it. Drove the car til 100K and sold it. Now drive a 97 GST Spyder. Your choice bro.

 

[Black Widow97]

^ You need to update the profile then.

Unfortunately I stuck over $10 grand in my old ESi, mostly cosmetic, and the thing was nice to look at, sounded good, but was still slow as hell. If it is looks you want, keep the n/t, If you want performance, forced is the only way to be.