Where to even begin

[TRSblader]

First off, I'm new to owning a DSM, but have been around them before. Actually won over a pretty dedicated Honda guy here.

I picked up a 90 awd talon with some mods from a couple college aged guys that really didn't know much about these cars, so plenty of problems with it. Got it cheap enough I figured i'd see how much it is to get everything fixed, and if not, part the motor out and sell the shell and everything and make a good profit.

Not sure what order I should do things in, and what would be most beneficial, so hoping some of you with more experience could give me hints about what order to do things in to not waste time and money. Please keep in mind that I'm a college student at OSU, so I don't have large amounts of time or money to begin with. Thanks in advance

First, a little about the build. 50 trim t3/t4 with 38mm TiAL Gate (atmosphere dump tube)
walbro 255 pump (NOT lph) and HKS knockoff BOV
Hacked 2g Mas
PTE 450cc injectors (why they didn't just keep the stock ones I don't know)
CP Pistons
stock 1g rods
balance shafts removed, ferrea stainless valves, bronze valve guides, titanium springs and retainers
AEM cam gears
GReddy timing belt
Custom 3 inch turbo back exhaust (side exit, by passenger rear wheel)
XTD stage IIII 6 puck ebay garbage. Unsprung 2900lb
Fidanza flywheel
Gauges include A/F, boost, oil pressure, water temp, and voltage
Few other things, but that's the main stuff
SUPPOSEDLY getting close to 60k on rebuild. I cannot verify this though, just had to take his word that he bought it with 77k and instantly started building it, and it now has 12xxxx miles.

First problem. Knockoff HKS SSQV is vented to atmosphere. Will be buying a real HKS or the GReddy BOV come summer if i still have the car. For now, just wondering if i should try to recirc this one, or just mess with tuning to get it decent till summer.

Second problem. Hacked 2g MAS. With my build and current build, just how big of a problem will this REALLY pose if I have DSMLink (Or ECMLink I think it's called now)? I know what the problems with the hacked mas are, but I've heard some of those are over exagerations and that the hacked mas works fine for all the more I have.

Third Problem, those 450 injectors. Thinking of going 680, but not sure how much room to grow i'll have with only 680's.

Fourth problem. Stock fuel rail and FPR. Not even sure what kind of rail to get, but am leaning towards Fuel Lab FPR. Any suggestions on a rail, and reason for it?

Fifth problem. No Engine Management. Going with ECMLink, but what else do I need for that other than a wideband to make the most use of it?

That's all the problems so far that I can remember jumping out at me, but I'm sure there is more. So, please give me suggestions on what is garbage, what is not, and what order to deal with my problems in. PLEASE don't just yell at me about the car. I bought it like this, and I'm TRYING to get it back to a semi working car. Feel free to suggest parts/ideas to me, because I'm open to learning.

Also, if a moderator has a problem with anything in this post, please tell me and I'll change it ASAP. Seemed fitting to put it in the newbie forum since, as you can tell, I'm a total n00b to these things.

Thanks to everyone who reads this, sorry it was so long, but you can tell this car needs help badly.

 

[toofast82]

Stock fuel rail will be fine but id recommend the regulator. Youll definitely need bigger injectors to get anything out that turbo. At least 650s. Dsmlink will have no problem with the injectors and mas. You may want to consider ostrich tuning with the laptop via dsmap(speed density) or tunerpo. If youve used chrome you should pick up on these pretty easy. Also check out the yahoo dsm-ecu group. These are much more cost effective imho. Dsmlink is pretty user friendly though. Theres a lot of options for dsm tuning, it just depends on how much you want to spend. I would definitely get the wideband as well

 

[bluegs03]

first thing i started with and what many should start with is redoing the timing belt, ### your getting close to 60k on a "rebuild" or 120k on the stock motor and it would suck to have to rebuilt the entire motor due to a snapped belt.

 

[soulweaver]

When you do the timing belt do the balancer belt also. I changed my timing belt after my car jumped time and 3 months later the balancer belt snapped and I had the whole mess again.

 

[throwedgsx]

Agreed. Before you do any type of modding make sure the motor is healthy and in good working condition.

 

[TRSblader]

I will move belts up to highest priority on my to do list. I had heard 60k was the magic number to change belts at for DSM's, and it appears that is true.

Stock fuel rail will be fine but id recommend the regulator. Youll definitely need bigger injectors to get anything out that turbo. At least 650s. Dsmlink will have no problem with the injectors and mas. You may want to consider ostrich tuning with the laptop via dsmap(speed density) or tunerpo. If youve used chrome you should pick up on these pretty easy. Also check out the yahoo dsm-ecu group. These are much more cost effective imho. Dsmlink is pretty user friendly though. Theres a lot of options for dsm tuning, it just depends on how much you want to spend. I would definitely get the wideband as well

Thanks for the info. If I get the car fixed up reasonably well I'm going to keep it, and want to do DSMLink because I'd like to keep adding to this car and eventually run some pretty quick times with it, and don't want to pay 2grand for AEM or whatever they are charging now, and DSMLink had a lot of useful things incorporated with it.

 

[SlickGSX]

You won't have to worry about the balancer belt if balance shafts have been removed. Hacked MAF's cause problems on some cars and work decently well on other cars, if your car runs well on a hacked one in addition to not recirculating the bov I wouldn't worry about it. The DSM link has an option to help stabilize a hacked MAF signal or you could just buy another used for about $60 or so.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

Stock fuel rail will be fine. AFPR and injectors and ecmlink will be crucial to get what u want out of the turbo. You might be fine with the vented bov and mas, some cars can do it and some can't. So I would say start with the timing, then afpr/injectors/ecmlink, then worry about the mas and bov.

 

[TRSblader]

Forgot to mention another possible problem. It has the 1g NT throttle body on it. From what I've read it works for some, not for others, as far as a bad idle. Am I correct in this? Be nice to not have to spend money on a turbo throttle body yet.

 

[Turbo Talon DL]

Why dont you get a 1g stock BOV? They work well past 20ish PSI and not too expensive even brand new. They're easy to recirculate if you want to go the sleeper route. Cams, you have upgraded cams yet? You have lots of valvetrain parts to be running stock cams still. Ask some of the other AWD guys what they usually run for a clutch. I know ACT is no longer the most popular anymore.

I really want to say just get the car to run and make sure there are no real serious issues with it. Check the compression, change the fluids and filters, and do a basic tune up time permitting of course. I do recommend recirculating your BOV when able just to eliminate the possibility of something not running right. Boost leak test to find rotten seals and replace them. Grab the manual for the car also. The factory service manual or the Haynes work pretty well. Oh well...that should keep you busy for a while. The members of this forum are always here to answer questions.

 

[91dsmgsx]

+1 to that post. im in the middle of a little mess myself and just recently figured out that the only way you can put all the upgrades on and have a powerful car is to slow down and just work on getting the car started and running at 100%

Theres always time to put in upgrades it doesnt all have to happen at once

 

[TRSblader]

Appreciate the responses guys. I've driven the car some. Had to replace alternator shortly after buying it, but that wasn't a big deal, and seems to be good to go now. I can't drive the car as much as I'd like, or work on it as much as I'd like. My gf's house, a.k.a my garage, is a half hour away, which isn't bad, but no insurance on car yet due to how expensive it is for me, so don't want to risk it.

I've remade my list and taken everything said into consideration, so I'll start at the top and work thru it. If it make it thru and still have any money left, I'm sure i'll be back asking more questions about things

Thanks again to those who repied