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Why did you choose a DSM?

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Ludachris

Founder & Zookeeper
8,053
3,072
Nov 12, 2001
Newcastle, California
Yes, there are other threads out there, but I feel like the answers might be time sensitive... meaning, some of the reasons why people bought a DSM nine years ago could easily be different from people who are just getting into the scene now. Maybe not.

So what made you go buy a DSM?
 
Price! I got a good deal a long time ago on a 91 GSX that was lightly modded and absolutely fell in love with 1gs. The timing belt failed on that car and I had to sell it and I regret selling it to this day, I love that noone knows what they are, ever since then I've been owning and wrenching on DSMs. It's still cheaper, faster, more reliable, easier to work on AND gets better gas mileage then my 04 Forester XT with STi bits.
 
I had just crashed my previous car , and I didn't want a car payment anymore at the time .... I started searching craigslist ... the first car I searched for was a GSX... a buddy of mine had an eclipse GS back in the day and I loved the look on it , but he told me , if you ever buy one make sure it's a GSX not a GS... as soon as I saw my car , I knew it was the one , impecable interior , and car was almost stock , just en exhaust and an intake. That same weekend I went to the drags, and saw another 2G and it was running high 12s, while everyone else was running 14s! I had to buy it ! 3 years later , I'm about to install a roll cage in it because I can no longer run at my local track without one :)
 
Dang, I'm feeling nostalgic seeing a post from Luda. Lol

I became obsessed with Mitsubishis in high school in the late-90s. Originally, my love began with the '97-'98 model 3000GT VR4s. Then I noticed a few 2gb Eclipses that people had in school. The look and sound of them had me hooked.

I couldn't afford them at that time of course. So all I got to do was drive them on GT2. My sophomore year, a senior named Tejus, had an automatic 2gb GS-T and I begged him to let me drive it. He let me take it from the senior lot to my car parked on another street after school. And that was it for me. This was in '99. The 2gb became my dream car. Not a lambo or Ferrari.

In 2002, I finally got a loan for my '97 GS-T that I owned for 10 years. After a 4 year break from cars, I know sit here with a '97 GSX. Call me simple, but I truly just love these cars.
 
I love awd turbo coupes, and don't have the coin for a Porsche.

But way beyond the money, I absolutely love the hands on, figure it out, non stage 876,000 ways to upgrade these cars. It makes every one of them very personal because most of them are built and tuned by their owners. Then the info is shared and the community gets better.


So many other car communities are filled with people that just drop the car off at a shop and pay some money for a fast car. And although a diy attitude leads to a lot of hacked together cars it also breeds a community of knowledgeable owners with fast cars that they built.

No other car forum has the knowledge base available on dsmtuners either.
 
I saw the picture of the car in a advertisement on kijiji for a 1998 Eagle Talon TSI AWD. I loved the way it looked with the red paint and black trim so I went out to look at it. All I needed was to hear the sound of that 4.5 inch APEXI exhaust system and I have him a down payment of everything that I had at the time (around $1,750). The guy was asking $4,500 so I went home and told my parents about the car. The next day my dad came with me and payed the rest (talked him down to $4,000) and I fell in love. Driving down the highway I put my foot down and watched the speedo go from 60 km/h to 160 km/h in a few seconds! I felt like I was going into Light speed! I drove the car for three days before the motor blew on it. I was absolutely devastated. I talked to everyone that I new and ended up finding a miracle worked named Grant that works at On and Off Roads Performance. Grant put my car up on the lift, and later that day I got the phone call. He said that the motor was in fact pretty much shot. And I ended up selling it for parts (only $600). He helped me find a new car that was like the same thing. Later in the week he helped me find a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T. It was a nice black car that was pretty quick and reminded me of the Talon. So we bought it for $2,700 and Grant said it was mechanically sound so that was reassuring. About two months after that I got a call from my man Grant saying that he fixed up the Talon with the help of his friend Tyler. He was so kind to me and sold it back for just $2,200 (the price he spend on parts for it). He just did $7,000 worth of labour on it and he said that it was my dream car so it was the right thing to do. So now I currently have the Talon and Eclipse but the Eclipse now broke on me so I'm left with two DSM's that have both blown up at one point. It takes a special kind of car to make a person fall in love with it after all of that. And that's what these cars are. They are like a drug in sense because everyone's misses them once they are gone. I am only 16 years old and Ann very grateful for getting back my Talon. And that's why I love DSM's.
 
My first DSM was a 95 Talon TSi. Beat to hell, dented all up. Some kid blew the turbo or something and had an eBay turbo kit that he was going to put on it, along with some huge body kit. It sat for a couple years and my girlfriend's cousin told me about it, and told me how much power people make with these cars. I was 19-20 and driving a Neon, so I was all about it. He helped me put it all back together, I paid the owner $900, and then a couple months down the road it spun a bearing. I had never even taken an intake manifold off of a car before, but I pulled the motor out, replaced what needed replacing, and put it all back together. That motor still ran smoothly a couple years later, so I must've done something right. I think I always liked how all the B18 swapped Hondas got so much attention out on the circuit, but this ugly Talon I had could hang with or beat them all, even though there really wasn't anything done to it. The usual little stuff; 14B, front mount, boost controller and S-AFC... For some reason most people didn't seem to know much about DSMs and were surprised by my car. Good times. From there, people kept turning up with turbo Hondas and other nicer, faster cars, so I couldn't just take that lying down. Gotta be faster! :dsm:
 
Need for speed underground. I Always loved the look and later got a 99 oz/anniversary edition cheap. Only had that car a couple months when I found out they made a turbo awd trim. Through the years I wrecked one, bought another and just a couple months ago got a evo 8. With all the stuff I learned from the gsx the evo is cake to work on
 
Went out to a race in Mexico when I was first getting into cars , there was a blue 1ga dragging everything. I then drove my buddies 1ga and loved everything about the 1g. I picked up my 1gb a few weeks later and I've had it for 15yrs now it's now completely torn apart being restored. Life got busy so it's sat garaged for the last 10yrs now I'm able and have the means to make it how I always wanted it to be.

I really want to do a build thread but I've been lazy about that. I've stepped out of my comfort zone on it and tackled the paint aND body work myself and it has turned out awesome.

I had a 2g for awhile I liked it a lot but didn't love it. My 1g is my forever car as dumb as that sounds but I'll never get rid of it. It's one of those platforms that once your in you can't step away. Especially now that I don't see any daily around at least 1gs.

Plus it's not my daily, my daily is a focus st I love that thing to but it's no dsm.
 
It was one of my favorite cars when I was in my teenage years. Remember when I first saw a lime green 95 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST at an autoshow and automatically fell in love with it. Growing in the Fast and the Furious era also helped in fostering the car culture (although I was never keen of stupid stickers, tacky wheels and neon lights).

Long story short, I could not own one back then and suddenly an opportunity arose to buy this one from my boss and I didn't hesitate. It's the right combination of looks, price and power in an awd platform. It's like having an Evo that won't cost you an arm and a leg on parts. Couldn't be happier.
 
Got my first 1G AWD Turbo from are family mechanic sold it to me sonce his daughter could drive a 5 speed very well and wanted something different great luck for me have had it for 13 years and never looked back even after the motor blew years later after i bought it and it sat forever but finally working on it agian and have a monster motor for it waiting to be put in but have had some winter set back shopping caving in under the snow pressure luckly car looks unscaved and motor was in the clean room that was not damaged so god willing the car will be done for are car show in Kalispell, Montana that we put on =)
 
Well I have wanted a 97 gsx, 95 Ts-i ever since I was 12 years old.
This was back in 2002.
I always thought the body was timeless.
The 4g63 engine was easy to learn how a piston motor works for me.
And I had at that time worked on a few v-8s with friends dads and stuff .
I think the first time I saw a 2g and fell in love with the 2g was when,
a guy Matt I knew had one and then I fell in love with all things cars.
I had always hoped to get one but I had no luck finding an A.W.D. for a good price.
Then in 2009 I was looking for a new car due to a motor vehicle accident I was in.
And so it was a sunday and I found the 95 Talon TS-i just chilling really dirty looking at the back corner of a local dealership.
I still have this car to this day.
Asking price was $3500 before tax.
I asked, was there anything wrong with the car...
due to spiders making it they're new home and it looking like it was fished out of a mud and dust hole.
The list was transmissions and transfercase exact.
So I told him how much it would cost to fix.
And the car dealership and I settled on $2,000 cash after tax.
So after a trip to 6 junk year's/ wreaking year's I found a transfercase but no transmission... Only a fwd one...
So I pulled everything out of the car engine tnterior exact and found out the transmission case was cracked so I got someone to weld it up.
After all was sed and dune it all cost me $3,100 for a clean titel 95 Ts-i awd with 106k on the body.
I couldn't have been happier or more excited to drive the vehicle in my driveway then I ever had in my life.
Still to this day I've been dumping money into the car and the only bad things I have to say about this car is...
I've seen may people my self included get F-ed- over on labor and lock up you're parts because if you don't they might get stolen and that sucks.
But the 4g63 is one of my favorite motors of all time.
I love the sound and performance it has.
Oh and I could talk all day on why I have a dsm...LOL
 
When i was a kid i always liked my grandmas "white car" although she never drove it my dad started to use it for work and snow, i remember him taking off onto the freeway with it, of couse my grandma has no idea. When i turned 18 i asked if i could buy it still having no idea what kinda car it even was, she told me no a million times saying its too fast for me. Finally she told me 500 bucks, my step dad helped me tow it home because iti wouldnt start, finally got it running googled the car found out they come awd turbo, ran outside to look. Sure enough i was the 2nd owner of a 1ga talon tsi! Wish i never sold it..if i find it one day ill buy it back. @Ludachris whats your story?
 
I have always had a passion for Dsm's. Started in high school when I had seen a 2gb with full exhaust. It just had a unique sound. Also had a high school friend John that now owns a dsm oriented shop R&D performance in Carol stream IL. He was always putting a whopping on the V8's when he would race. Then I helped a friend build a 1ga with a 2.4 and a shep trans with a welded center diff and it launched so hard without breaking...I knew I was hooked after that. Now I have an absolute street beast that looks way too riced out to really be fast.. And I love that it just catches every one off guard
 
A lot of reasons.

I wanted something turbo. These are about the best turbo cars you can get for the money. These are the best turbo cars to build up. They are pretty. They are getting to be rare as hens teeth in good running, driving condition these days. I loved mine in the Need for Speed Underground games. First turbo car I ever rode in was a 1991 talon. Since then I've been hooked. Only cars I love even half as much are MX-5s.
 
It all started when my cousin found a 1g in a guys garage on jackstands and bought it, it had a 16g and a maft and simple bolt ons, he thought it was the fastest thing and he beat the hell out of it, pushing the turbo to 30+ psi multiple times daily on regular pump 91 and letting it spark knock like a bi***! He finally blew the tranny on it, so I bought it from him for 800 bucks and sourced a tranny and I was good to go! Well after 6 years of sitting in a storage unit LOL.

Now that kick-started a full blown paycheck spending addiction worse than crack, but I enjoy it so it doesn't hurt my feelings LOL attached is a picture of the car while my cousin had it.
 

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I had always thought about owning one of these, as some family freinds had one back in the late 90s and they always said they were fast and fun. I never thought I'd find one really worth getting, then I found line for a steal, at a time in life when I literally didn't have any money, a job, or prospects. I bought it, and it actual helped get me on track with things, going to school, getting better and better jobs, all to support my habit of cars, which my talon takes a lions-share of the attention.

In a way, this car helped me get my life together, which is kinda odd, since I didn't think about that as I started writing this. It was gonna be that I got a great deal and have a problem buying shite I don't need, haha.

@donniekak I like you're sentiments on this, and i agree.

@Justin Lauscher them wheels...are hideous, haha
 
The tao of the DSM spoke to me.

I could appreciate the cars much before I would own one.
Some of what directed me to getting my DSM was that I bought an auto neon which I spent ridiculous time and money on parts for. My cars have always been a personal hobby so working on them and researching how to make them more durable and perform to suit my taste. I enjoy a quick (not necessarily fast) car more than anything else.

When I had my neon I longed for a manual, It was a solid car but its maximum potential was limited by being automatic and being SOHC. It just wasnt what I really wanted. I got it set up to drive and corner well, run better than I hoped and it still left something more to be desired. I was actually looking for an SRT4 much longer than I was looking for a DSM mostly because I always felt I couldn't find one that wasn't beat to utter hell and the ones that weren't were just out of reach financially. So I settled for an SRT4 that's what I was going to buy. Then when I was looking for something to do with the insurance pay out when my neon was totaled I found a totaled AWD talon. I went to look at it fully thinking it was going to be the worst kind of trashed and probably was posted wrong I thought I was just going to look at a car it would be FWD and I would move on. Then I went to look at the car and it was actually AWD. Without popping the hood or anything I told them I wanted the car because I knew even if it had a blown engine I would replace it just because this was a car I actually liked. I wouldn't cringe when I had to spend a bit more for an oil change or spend a bit more for parts because I actually liked my car.
 
Really, I fell in love with evo's first.

I remember that night too. We were sitting at Jack in the Box, in a booth next to the drive thru. Dude rolled up, clean evo (I actually didn't know it was an evo then). I think I know what he probably said, " watch this kids reaction." So he revved up, couple pops from the exhaust and pssssshhhhhh from the bov, and I was the most excited kid ever.

Between The Fast and The Furious, and Need For Speed Underground is where I fell in love with 2G's.

Up until I got my spyder, I knew nothing about dsm's. I didn't start learning to after I had brought it. I over paid of course. 6,300 for a 98 eclipse spyder gs, 63k, one owner in 2012. And then from there the story goes on

I love it, even with it being non turbo, it's still a fun car. She'll be turbo'd before the year is over with.
 
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I financed mine for my oldest son for $1500. Two weeks later it blew the 14b and everything was literally falling off of the car and he decided that it was MY car.....so a few years later, a large learning curve for forced induction and a crash course in DSMLink and here I am, proud as hell of what I have, what I have built and how it turned out. My friends ask me if I am going through the change of life (I am over 50) and I just say, "Nah, these cars are just so much faster than my Chevy's and I like FAST cars". I still have my Camaro's but nothing touches the Talon for your "Need for Speed"!!! :talon: :p
 
Growing up in the late 90's/early 2000's Fast and Furious + Need for Speed Underground planted the 2g in my head. Had a 98 Spyder GS through high school, totaled it and went to the v8 game for a while in the form of a 01 GT. I hated it so I sold the mustang and searched for 3 months before finding my minty 99 GSX. I've had it since 2012 and gone from a t25, 16g, 20g, and now to 500whp on a stock 6 bolt. If you can find a clean shell, these cars are worth every penny.
 
Honestly Fast and Furious was the reason why I liked the eclipse. I was a total noob and had no idea about the platforms and different trims. I just liked the 2gb body style. All I heard was that's a girls car. Probably they were just referring to the name eclipse. Fast forward a few years I finally bought one a 97 gs. Full leather and a clean body. I thought I was the sh t driving around. 2 weeks later it got totaled when a old lady pulled out infront of me. I was devastated. I used the insurance money to buy another 97 this time it was a GST. That's when the addiction began. Built that car up for a few years until the 2nd motor blew and I didn't have the funds to fix. So I basically junked it. Drove a beater car for about 3 years and it was starting to show signs of failure so I just picked up a 97 GSX. Only had it for a week so I guess we'll see what happens. My 3rd 97 so if this car don't work out maybe I should move on from the DSM.
Or pick another year :)
 
I bought my 95 Eclipse RS back in 1999 because it was a great looking car and I wasn't worried about going fast (just graduated high school).

I bought my 92 Talon TSi AWD around 2001 because it was a decent looking car and cheap to make it fast.

I bought my 94 Eclipse GSX because I was stationed in Italy, it was a rare sight there, and still decent looking and cheap to make fast.

I continued with an Evo IV (not really a DSM, but close) in 2007 because it was a great looking far and I wanted the performance.

Now here I am, almost 20 years after purchasing my first DSM, picking up a red 98 GST in a couple weeks because after all these years I still think it's a beautiful car. I chose the GST because I'm approaching 40 and will only be doing minor power mods, mostly interested in making it a good backroads car and restoring it.

It's a rare site to see a clean DSM nowadays, and they are still beautiful after all these years. I've owned everything from a Lancia Delta Integrale to a Civic Type R and I still get goosebumps when I see a clean 2G DSM.
 
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