The Official "What Should I Spend Money On?" Thread [Merged 10-6]

[ClutchHappyDSM]

ive been reading alot on here and i understand the frustration that comes with a dsm but also i havnt seen any other car that gets the et's with so little money and parts if u have any other recomindations for turbo cars please give them... but i have until next sunday to decide

also i wans wondering what problems i should check for (and how to check for them) with this car it has around 140K

 

[peregrine]

use the money for a down payment on a neon srt-4. warrantys rule.

 

[candela]

gets the et's with so little money

You want cheap ET's...

*Honda- crx with a ZC motor and a 85 direct port kit= low 12's easy if not high 11's with slicks.
*GM- any old (88-95) cheap car with a 350, put a 150 shot on it instant low 13's to high 12's
*Toyota- MKII Supra drop in a MK3 7mGTE and give it BPU mods= easy 12's, old corolla with a 4AGE and some NAWS = easy low 13's
*Nissan- 240sx w/SR or CA swap and BPU = low 13's to even low/mid 12's if you take it one step farther. Old corolla with a SR swap = 12's with stock motor..

For these cars, if you want cheap you will have to find a DSM with a motor in great working condition and you will have to trust the drivetrain with all of your heart Yes they are cheap to get good ET's but IMO this is mostly due to the AWD getting up and going. There are plenty of other cars that can easily produce the same power mod for mod, buck for buck as a 4G63 (whic dont get me wrong are badass! and IMO the only good thing about dsms period).... Then beyond the point of dropping exhaust, mbc, good gas and some free mods... these cars are not cheap by any means. Feel free to post a poll, hoping everyone will be honest, about how much everyone has "really"spent to get where they are at. you will find that there are a few people who dont mod beyone a certain point and make great power....but for the majority of us money is a main concern with these cars (especially since they break all the time). No doubt I went very fast with minimal crap... 16g w/barely any support 12.4@110 14b w/decent support 16psi 13.0@106 (106 mph is pretty good for a 14b). But we all end up going past this point because as a guy that likes this crap, you will eventually get used to it and want more.

Im honestly trying to shoot it straight dude. I would say that if your not a drag freak than get a FWD. If you realy want a DSM, enjoy wrenching all the time and fixing stupid ass things, want to have some heartake in your life then go for it! If not just suck it up and buy something else...


Austin

 

[littlemilla3]

srt-4's are so cool...but they're fwd thats the only problem

 

[KRAZYKOREAN]

Originally posted by littlemilla3
srt-4's are so cool...but they're fwd thats the only problem

And...

 

[BoostinAWD]

All you haters
I've drivin 2 dsm's
One has been in the family since it rolled off the line in 89 the only time it let us down was a broken tbelt.

My AWD has been top notch ever since I bought it, aside from a leaky seal that sent me into a winding waisted paycheck upgrade hole.
But what do you expect from a 14 year old car with nearly 200k.

I think it was about time to give it some new life again.
On the other hand I have a couple buddies back in utah who have had non stop problems with theirs. But personally I think they are diipshits for never knowing when to let up on the poor things.

All don't see why everyone has this misfortion in these cars. But maybe I just baby my stuff to much.

 

[peregrine]

my eclipse is my third dsm. the only one i had problems with was my first one (which ironically WASNT an awd) and i attribute that to just not knowing the car. i have had zero problems with my two awds that were not from user error (me being stupid). my friends all have problems with theirs but i think they just suck at cars

 

[RipperXX]

although there are so many anoying things here and there on my car, and im broke and thats not a good thing for a DSM driver loard knows i know some money is going to be spent soon... and i mean ALOT...


but i have to say the most anoying thing to me right now is the shifter... i just can't slam it in 2nd like i can all the other gears and i hate that, becouse thats a VERY important gear for hard launch's...

 

[RnR Racing]

I still love DSM's. I have had small problems over the years, but they are still great bang for the buck. Also keep it simple and don't get carried away like so many do. The DSM do have their bad points, but there is no other car that can do what these car do in full street cond. Meaning steet tires, etc. Put $3,000 into the car and it will be a fast street car. Here is a list of what I suggest, to get you going.

3" Turbo Back $500
K&N Filter $30
Home Depot 3" Intake $15
free mods
boost controller $50
boost gauge $40
fuel pump $90

This is less than $3,000, but will get you started. Next on the list would be

50 trim T3/T4 Turbo Kit $1500
Street FMIC Kit $900
660's $400
S-AFC $270

The second list will really enable you to make some power.

 

[candela]

All you haters
I've drivin 2 dsm's
One has been in the family since it rolled off the line in 89 the only time it let us down was a broken tbelt.

My AWD has been top notch ever since I bought it, aside from a leaky seal that sent me into a winding waisted paycheck upgrade hole.
But what do you expect from a 14 year old car with nearly 200k.

I think it was about time to give it some new life again.
On the other hand I have a couple buddies back in utah who have had non stop problems with theirs. But personally I think they are diipshits for never knowing when to let up on the poor things.

All don't see why everyone has this misfortion in these cars. But maybe I just baby my stuff to much.



...your car hasn't been running for like 10 months

 

[cait sith]

Originally posted by candela


You want cheap ET's...

*Honda- crx with a ZC motor and a 85 direct port kit= low 12's easy if not high 11's with slicks.
*GM- any old (88-95) cheap car with a 350, put a 150 shot on it instant low 13's to high 12's
*Toyota- MKII Supra drop in a MK3 7mGTE and give it BPU mods= easy 12's, old corolla with a 4AGE and some NAWS = easy low 13's
*Nissan- 240sx w/SR or CA swap and BPU = low 13's to even low/mid 12's if you take it one step farther. Old corolla with a SR swap = 12's with stock motor..

And all of these are some sort of magic super reliable cars when you throw nitrous/mods at them versus DSM's?



You want to go faster, you're going to break shit.

 

[zaebst]

wow candela i'm impressed there's people out there that know about the zc engines and g1 crxs and stuff.
i wasted a bunch of money on my 92 2.0n/t talon and now i just bought my second dsm, a 91 laser rs turbo fwd, for 1,100 in perfect condition except for a dieing turbo. the way it looks so far, i'm gonna be ok with this one. it's my first turbo car but i know soem really good dsm guys in my area that can give me tips and help when i need it.

 

[BoostinAWD]

...your car hasn't been running for like 10 months


Read my post again , you missed out on why it hasnt ran in 10months.
It's one of those why I'm there I might as well do it type things.

 

[RU2SLOW?]

I agree with RnR Racing 100%- start with the small/free mods and work your way up. I would, however, like to add a few things to his 2nd list with respect to everything he has already included. Since it's a FWD you're getting, I'd advise you to look into a LSD such as the BM or Phantom Grip or maybe even a Quaife if you wanna go all out. On top of that suspension and good tires are gonna be key as well. The only reason I suggest these things is that with the HP you're gonna be making with that 50 trim, you're gonna need to put it to the ground. This might serve as a challenge without at least 2 of the 3 mods I've listed above. Of course great driving ability will help too, but a little extra help never hurt. Hope this helps to add some perspective...

 

[greathuskie]

EDIT: ive narrowed it down to this (i got about 1300 to spend now)

a.nitrous
b.built head
c.AEM EMS
d.fuel

btw, my mods: built 6 bolt motor, fidanza flywheel, act 2600 clutch, hks 264/272 cams, prothane motor mounts, intake and filter, HKS SSQ bov, dejon UICP, venom cam gears, a few unorthodox pulleys, 14b turbo

suggestions? (dont say exhaust please i know about taht!!)

 

[mccurdy]

intake and exhaust...start with the breathers my friend...u cant make power unless u can release it =) if u got exhaust and that stuff and didnt mention it nm then, but if u dont then get it!

get a full 3'' cat bback exhaust for about 600

 

[greathuskie]

im getting a custom exhaust in a few months when my car is down for the winter, i was also thinking about maybe getting a nitrous kit?

who knows, any other ideas

 

[ellsjer001]

I agree... you should get an exhaust... an intake is not gonna help if your suckin' it all in and not being able to push it out. same with e-01, runnning more boost is gonna strain the hell outta the turbo with no free flow. the e-man. I couldnt speak for that b/c I dont know how much it helps.... but def. go with an exhaust first!! just my opinion.... my first were int and exh. and you notice a huge diff. with comp. exh.... but whatever you get isnt gonna hurt it just wont make as much of a diff.

 

[Tallen]

errumm, You know this post is from nearly a YEAR ago?...right?

 

[greathuskie]

tallen put the crack pipe down

anyways im not getting an exhaust quite yet cuz i have to wait til this winter to get that...but ill see

 

[herostar]

car is down for hte winter? it's the middle of summer? wtf?
, anyways, get boost & egt gauges/boost controller/fuel pump
or... injectors/pump/tuning stuff (afc or something)

 

[NOSLO2PT0]

Sell the cam gears, sell the pulleys and the 14B and go get a real turbo and some injectors. Then an AFC. Then a FMIC.

 

[greathuskie]

my car wont be driven in the winter anymore, thats what i meant down

 

[gritsak]

man you have a odd sequence of mods...im guessing most of the stuff you did because you maybe blew a motor and wanted to do as much stuff while you were in there as you could so you didnt have to take it apart again.

ide have to agree with the full exhaust/DP though...your gain the most HP from that and you will also get a better sounding car.

 

[greathuskie]

gritsak, hehe yep, i figured while the car is apart why not add some stuff