what blows first?

[roadflare16]

ok so i'm new to the whole dsm scene (durr, newb section) and i'm on the edge of getting one. the thing that's holding me back from buying this kids 1g turbo awd manual is that everybody i know says all they're good for is literally blowing up. whenever i ask though, nobody seems to know what blows up, or how, or why. SO, i came to you guys. what's the first thing that "blows up", and is there any reason i shouldn't expect a reliable car if the first thing i do is rebuild the engine/trans and replace all belts/hoses? somebody mentioned the transmissions aren't made well, but i'd like to hear that from somebody that actually knows what they're talking about. thanks in advance.

 

[20psi_GST]

Whose tellin you this? Little boys with 92-95 civic coupes with an B16 motors. Id bet its pure jealousy is the only reason they say they blow. Spend 5 grand on a car and 3 grand on a motor swap and still not be able to run but 15 . Hell i would be pissed to. Buy a 1g for like what 2 grand . Spend 3 grand on it and you got a 12 second car.

 

[10minutequarter]

Any 15 year old high performance car is liable to "blow up" its all in the car, the driver, how it was maintained. If you aren't ready to replace belts, hoses, turbos, motors, then don't buy something thats 15 years old. If you are, then welcome to the DSM scene.

 

[10minutequarter]

Whose tellin you this? Little boys with 92-95 civic coupes with an B16 motors. Id bet its pure jealousy is the only reason they say they blow. Spend 5 grand on a car and 3 grand on a motor swap and still not be able to run but 15 . Hell i would be pissed to. Buy a 1g for like what 2 grand . Spend 3 grand on it and you got a 12 second car.

Honda guys usually don't know shit about DSMs. DSM are the way to go if you want to be fast but be prepared to learn patience.

 

[Black Venom]

Dsm's are like girls, if you don't give them your unrelenting love and attention 24/7 they will get fussy.

But seriously if it's well maintained, you'll have a quick reliable car.

 

[20psi_GST]

Honda guys usually don't know shit about DSMs. DSM are the way to go if you want to be fast but be prepared to learn patience.

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but when ppl tell me my car is a POS and this and that is going to happen i dont really give a damn about what they have to say. If i listened to everything ppl told me was gonna blow on my car all i would have is a shell . DSMs are very good cars to mod and wouldnt still be around today if they werent IMO Ive been told my car looks like shit and is gonna blow up time after time. Its yet to blow and my wheels cost more then most ppl's cars that tell me this shit. If you decide to buy ya a DSM, when someone tells you shit just throw em a peace sign when you drop it down and walk that ass

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_109_full.jpg
This is what ppl have told me looks like shit.

 

[shaunman1979]

I have owned a 90 Laser RS Turbo for about 6 years. I have replaced the head gasket twice, had the timing belt break causing the valves to get slapped. The tranny is grinding in 2nd and 3rd. These are all things that seem to be common with these cars but, after all this I still love this car! My car was hit in the front end totaling it out. I just bought a used 2.0 n/t Laser for a doner body. I should mention my car has over 240,000 miles on it. The motor has been rebuilt once. If you take care of these cars they will take care of you. And once your hooked on DSM theres no going back.

 

[10minutequarter]

Dsm's are like girls, if you don't give them your unrelenting love and attention 24/7 they will get fussy.

But seriously if it's well maintained, you'll have a quick reliable car.

So true

 

[10minutequarter]

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion but when ppl tell me my car is a POS and this and that is going to happen i dont really give a damn about what they have to say. If i listened to everything ppl told me was gonna blow on my car all i would have is a shell . DSMs are very good cars to mod and wouldnt still be around today if they werent IMO Ive been told my car looks like shit and is gonna blow up time after time. Its yet to blow and my wheels cost more then most ppl's cars that tell me this shit. If you decide to buy ya a DSM, when someone tells you shit just throw em a peace sign when you drop it down and walk that ass

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_109_full.jpg
This is what ppl have told me looks like shit.

Thats a nice looking car, even a honda guy should be able to appreciate that.

 

[20psi_GST]

99% of them do but theres always that 1% who just feel like givin ya a hard time.

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_110_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_111_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_126_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_127_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_128_full.jpg

 

[roadflare16]

ok well if i buy my friends' car i planned on rebuilding the motor and replacing all hoses and belts anyway, so that solves those problems. what about the trans though? anyone know what causes it to grind? something easily solved or pretty much just find a different one from a junkyard and throw the old one? is there a shop somewhere that sells beefed up transmissions?

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

Dsm Tranny's aren't that good in the first place.

If you want, you could save and get a shep racing tranny, or just get your tranny rebuilt...

If you get a shep, you will be able to throw anything at that thing... Pretty much bullet proof...

 

[JOEY A]

Sheps trannys and TREs will still break guys, nothing is bullet proof. They are just built much stronger.

AMS told me its possable to blow up either trans, so dont abuse it but it will hold up much better and longer.

DSMs require a decent knowledge of cars, and you should know some things about a turbo car.

If you dont well they can be a nightmare, and honestly I wouldnt buy a DSM from a young person. They are the ones they beat the ever living hell outta these poor cars, thast how they get such a bad name.


They are ok but yes they do have alot of problems, Buy a clean well kept DSM. Most people who cheap out and buy Project cars end up replacing everything anyways in the end.

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

I didn't mean that it was invincible, just much stronger... Sorry for confusion...

 

[JayRolla]

I have a tranny with 100k miles and it still shifts nice. Its a little notchy into some gears but over all its still works good. The reason these trannys go out on people is because the AWD launches put a lot of stress on the tranny.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

The first thing to learn on you average street driven DSM is.....when it starts to wheel hop, take your foot out of it. That is probably the #1 cause of trashed trannies next to trying to "speed shift" the thing. An old Muncie 4 speed it isn't.

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

Throttle control is huge with FWD...

 

[JayRolla]

Poly motor mounts will get rid of most wheel hop you get in a FWD. Poly mounts are essential in a Wrong Wheel Drive car. After doing this the tranny doesnt have anything to stress it like an AWD and usually last a little longer.

 

[MyBeatGSX]

Dsm's are like girls, if you don't give them your unrelenting love and attention 24/7 they will get fussy.

But seriously if it's well maintained, you'll have a quick reliable car.

This is the most true statement in this thread.

They're as reliable as any other 10+ year old turbocharged car. Treat it good and it will treat you good. Nothing in these cars "blows up" unless you abuse it to the point of destruction. My stock tranny has 118k on it and an ACT 2600, it still works just fine. Reverse is rough, but hey, its reverse and I don't race backwards. The motors are fairly bullet proof and probably the strongest production I4 ever built. Its all the little things that get annoying, like oil leaks, minor broken parts, normal wear/tear repair stuff, etc. Nothing different than any other high mileage car.


However...

Whose tellin you this? Little boys with 92-95 civic coupes with an B16 motors. Id bet its pure jealousy is the only reason they say they blow. Spend 5 grand on a car and 3 grand on a motor swap and still not be able to run but 15 . Hell i would be pissed to. Buy a 1g for like what 2 grand . Spend 3 grand on it and you got a 12 second car.

For the record, my friend went 14.1 with nothing but a stock B16 in his full street weight EG coupe. That's faster than these things are stock. The mint condition car cost him $4,000 5 year ago, the motor was $1,200.

Don't buy into this bullshit. I spent $6,000 on my car and another $7,000 in repairs and mods. That's what it took to build a RELIABLE 12 second daily driver. Spend $2k on a car and $3k in mods and that thing will make one pass and explode. These cars need attention to detail and an understanding of how the parts work together and effect each other. Its idiots with this "bolt shit on and hit 12s" attitude that create the pile of "blown up" cars and give DSM's a bad name. I can't tell you how many DSMers I've seen that think they have awsome fast cars, but IMO the things aren't even road worthy. I wouldn't take the thing to the corner store, but these guys will go to track and abuse it for an entire weekend, then beat the piss out of it the entire way home, and to work, and to shop, etc. And yet we all wonder why these cars have the reputation that they do.


Take care of the car, it will take care of you. Owning a high powered 10+ year old car is not cheap and it will be broken. But to answer your question, no these cars do not have below average reliability for the class they're in.

 

[JOEY A]

This is the most true statement in this thread.

They're as reliable as any other 10+ year old turbocharged car. Treat it good and it will treat you good. Nothing in these cars "blows up" unless you abuse it to the point of destruction. My stock tranny has 118k on it and an ACT 2600, it still works just fine. Reverse is rough, but hey, its reverse and I don't race backwards. The motors are fairly bullet proof and probably the strongest production I4 ever built. Its all the little things that get annoying, like oil leaks, minor broken parts, normal wear/tear repair stuff, etc. Nothing different than any other high mileage car.


However...



Don't buy into this bullshit. I spent $6,000 on my car and another $7,000 in repairs and mods. That's what it took to build a RELIABLE 12 second daily driver. Spend $2k on a car and $3k in mods and that thing will make one pass and explode. These cars need attention to detail and an understanding of how the parts work together and effect each other. Its idiots with this "bolt shit on and hit 12s" attitude that create the pile of "blown up" cars and give DSM's a bad name. I can't tell you how many DSMers I've seen that think they have awsome fast cars, but IMO the things aren't even road worthy. I wouldn't take the thing to the corner store, but these guys will go to track and abuse it for an entire weekend, then beat the piss out of it the entire way home, and to work, and to shop, etc. And yet we all wonder why these cars have the reputation that they do.


Take care of the car, it will take care of you. Owning a high powered 10+ year old car is not cheap and it will be broken. But to answer your question, no these cars do not have below average reliability for the class they're in.

So true, listen to him everythign hes talking about hes right. To many hacks and bolton BS dsm people beating the living hell outta almost stock high mile cars.

 

[MrBoxx]

everybody i know says all they're good for is literally blowing up.

These aren't RX-7s here, ya know.

whenever i ask though, nobody seems to know what blows up, or how, or why.

Well, at least they're specific. "They" might be thinking of crankwalk, which usually only affects 2g's, but the occurances of CW have seemed to have dropped off recently, mostly because the cars are getting older. However, ANY car (except the RX7s, but they blow up for different reasons ) can theoretically crankwalk. It's just that 2g DSM's and MKIV Supras are more likely to do it than other cars.

As long as you do proper maintenance on your car, you shouldn't expect too much of an unreliability issue. The thing you have to remember, as someone mentioned, is that these cars are not getting any younger. Parts wear out. Paint fades. Turbos die. Transmissions grind. The good news is that it's not terribly expensive to fix most of the parts on the car. Even with growing credit card debt and a DSM on jackstands, you'll still find that most DSM'ers will stick by their car till the end. And that's the difference between a DSMer and a person who merely drives a DSM.

Edit: By the way, welcome to the site.

 

[AVC-R]

MrBoxx that is the smartest and most honest thing anyone has ever said on here and i think that it is so true. Most DSMers will stick by there car even when it does keep having nonstop one after the other problems.

 

[Black Venom]

I stick by my car, I curse at it sometimes... But I stick by it.

 

[MyBeatGSX]

I'll second that. My car has caused me more than its fair share of frustration, but I haven't given up on it yet. Its become like a part of me, I'm happy when its running good, I genuinely feel bad for it when its broke (or hurt as I like to think of it). Its a better relationship than I have with most girlfriends...

 

[VicBoost]

99% of them do but theres always that 1% who just feel like givin ya a hard time.

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_110_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_111_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_126_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_127_full.jpg
http://www.cardomain.com/member_pag...mages/4/web/808000-808999/808196_128_full.jpg

Nice car and thats so true there just haters...... here some pics of mine...2nd gen = sexy Honda any gen = crap

http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j...urrent=P8250184.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch5
http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j...urrent=P8250185.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch2
http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j...urrent=P8250178.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch3
http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j...urrent=P8250160.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1