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Newbies stop making a list of parts

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pauleyman

DSM Wiseman
9,298
3,541
Nov 19, 2011
oklahoma city, Oklahoma
It's fine to make a shopping list but I think we've seen way too many lists that simply describe a list of parts with no goals in mind and no clue why each part might be "better".
I've watched newbies come and go over 20 plus years and the one common thing I've seen so many times is a newbie bolts on a whole bunch of parts, hates the car and bashes dsms as unreliable crappy cars. The fault isn't the car, it's the user.
It's true DSMs respond very well to basic modifications and many of them CAN be made immediately, easily and will yield results. The problem is SHOULD they be. The cars are obviously not new anymore. You must understand the difference between "driveability" and "working like new". A car may be driving for you find every single day but if you add a power adder suddenly the car behaves badly. It is NOT necessarily the part that caused this. It may be the part simply pushed another system of the car past it's breaking point or made a change you did not expect because you did not understand the part and what it does.
A driver should understand each system on the car and what any changes may cause BESIDES changing a parameter of performance.
Can you answer "what specific area of performance will this part change and what will it affect?". If you can't answer this then you aren't ready to buy that part.
 
Yes im going to call you out. This is very true for you wolf. Enthusiasm is great, just temper it with knowledge. Every person on here has an advantage over those that were forging a path in the early 90s.
 
Why I remained stock - just to keep my 25yr old Laser in the "driveability" factor and that's by replacing parts that are needed to keep this old girl on the road.

And the list was, rebuilt ECU, coil, power transistor, knock sensor, coolant temp sensor, and the CAS.

Future projects is the total motor overhaul since either the oil pump is weak, or the main bearings are weak since something can't keep the pressure up where it should be. But, as long as I see oil swirling under the oil cap at idle, I know the pressure is enough and it builds up enough to support the main crank bearings....and this has been this way since I got the car back in 2008 and 40K miles ago.

This old girl just went over the 200K mile mark this weekend and the way it runs and properly maintained, it will easily get another 200k out of it. I've heard of other DSM owners getting well over 375K miles on their DSM's and that it before the first overhaul of the block. Thus, if they can get these numbers, then I should easily be able to.

I had a bad rash the beginning of the year with ignition problems, but with a replacement of: "blue top" 450cc injectors, power transistor and coil, then finding out that a bad starter was eating some of my current to make the vehicle run a bit sluggish and got that starter replaced, and now the car had more pep than usual.

Only small mod I'm doing is doing the Autolite 63 "side gap" plugs that I studied on by doing google searches along with help of my mechanic friends, and this mod had gained me a little power. Yet, the more important thing, since I drive 50 miles daily on the freeway, is an increase in gas mileage.

Now, not to push the newbies under the bus here, but I've had automotive experience for over 40 years and will share some of my experience, but those in need to learn need to listen instead of just seeking out what they think is right for their setup and fighting those who know better.

Entering the world of the DSM began back in 2002 with my first DSM, a 1991 Base Eclipse with the 4G37 (1.8L) motor and with the automatic. I immediately bought a Chiltons to understand how the vehicle ticked. When I got the LASER in 2008, is when another new world opened up being my first turbo vehicle. When stuff began to happen, I dove in head first to find the problems. I learned about "beep" codes from the port to find a lot of my issues, and a host of other tricks to pick up from my experiences and the knowledge gained from searches and manuals.

Yet, still that is a great post above, Pauleyman - thumbs up for sure.

-DSM
 
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Comes with the territory. Dsm's are cheap and have crazy potential so every young kid with a few grand in their pocket see it as a way to go fast. Every newbie will come post their wants and their dreams without knowing where their knock sensor is located. I see where your going with this but it will never change.
 
I agree. Since i have bought my gsx i read about this car on average about 6 hours a week just skimming this and some other sites. I like to read about peoples problems and upgrade problems. And the good stuff too in order to build a base of dsm knowledge. So when i do have problems i will be ready for them when the time comes. I am still learning alot each day and there is nothing wrong with that. You can't just start off and be a pro. It takes time, practice, research, and patience. I plan on being a dsm lifer no shame in my game!
 
Every time I see some rookies "Parts list" I have to chuckle, they remind me of Ja Rule in F+F rambling off about mods not knowing jack about it. Rookies just don't understand the cause and effect part of "modding" and clearly don't understand the precise engineering that went into making the car "driveable". It will never end though, so cheers to them, maybe we can swoop in and put the parts to good use after they give up!
 
Every time I see some rookies "Parts list" I have to chuckle, they remind me of Ja Rule in F+F rambling off about mods not knowing jack about it. Rookies just don't understand the cause and effect part of "modding" and clearly don't understand the precise engineering that went into making the car "driveable". It will never end though, so cheers to them, maybe we can swoop in and put the parts to good use after they give up!
Its not how you stand by your car its how you drive it. Yea i always laugh when that scene comes on.
 
I just get a bit concerned on if and when the ISC motor thinks about crapping out since the 1990 year, the motor was buried under the throttle housing and comes in at a right angle to the butterfly.


1991's and above is where they got smart and redesigned the throttle assembly where the motor is a straight shot to get at..
 
My sole complaint is its a PITA trying to find info with out sorting through 30 threads until you finally find your answer, this sites search system is useless. There's lots of topic's I'd love to see in the VFAQ section that would solve a lot of problems. The upgrade path from the old site was a life saver as in regards to what bolt-ons are need to run other said bolt-ons (of course there's exceptions) with out trying to find the correct section then sorting through 30 threads then moving to a different section sort through 30 more threads and retain information as to what bolt-ons are needed to run said other bolt-on (just one equation so to speak, before getting to internals)
I was (still am kind of) one of the people your talking about but its not for the lack of trying. I can't count how many useless threads I read through to find nothing I needed and using all my very small amount of spare time. So I'd make a thread in the newbie section looking like a retard because I didn't have time to search any longer for the answer/couldn't find a damn thing.
I know I've learned a shit ton of new things in the last 3 years, but I'm still no where near knowing how to tune.
But I can admit I probably am slightly in your category.
 
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