Thinking about an AWD DSM

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

Speedracer228

Speedracer228

......
Im bored with the Saab and FWD with no traction , which i figured i would be by now and I am probably going to try and trade/sell it for something else.

Ive always liked the 2g awd dsm's, either a talon or eclipse... but i know ill hear the normal "crankwalk yo!!!" and they break alot... but so far all of my cars have tons of stupid problems im always fixing so no big deal on the maintenance.

I just wanted to hear from someone who has actually owned one and their experiences.

Yay or Nay..... 01 Saab 9-3 2.0t 5sp for a 97-99 AWD DSM (def not auto)?
 
i have no experience with them at all. But good luck finding one. Before i decided to get a back and pay bills, i was looking for a few months and could only find high milage ones in crappy condition... or i found ones that were riced the fuck out. Then again, this is new england, i bet they're more abundant elsewhere.
 
the reason for the sudden interest is that i found a red 97 gsx under 100k milage looking to trade for my saab, wants a family car located 10 min from where i live. Mechanic owned, tasteful mods, nothing severe (intake, exhaust, 14b, ported manifold, hard ic pipes, 1g bov recirc, new TB, clutch etc)
 
they break -real- easily


bring a pry bar and see if you can move the crank pulley
 
I just wanted to hear from someone who has actually owned one and their experiences.
Click to expand...

I own one and it rocks... Crankwalk is out there yes, but contrary to popular belief it rare. AWD dsms are awesome and you will be happy with one
 
they are fun little cars. especially with a good suspension. IMO opinion RWD>all tho.
 
damn that car is clean, my fav color combo too

I know they say they break "easily" but i was always fixing my civics+integra, so i really cant believe id be in the garage more than i was with them.

What is the actual split on the awd with these cars 60/40? I wouldnt abuse it until i get a company car in a year or so, i figure keeping it mostly stock and regular maint i should be fine.

so 3+, and hosmer were you being serious when you suggested bring a pry bar and see if the crank pully moves? lol cause i will

get_nick: id get a rwd car but i get alot of snow where i live in the winter, and the negatives really outweight the positives right now as my only mode of transportation in the winter
 
They are VERY delicate.

And the 92 Laser is the best one to get. They have front and rear lockers, and with the sunroof delete they are the lightest.

But yeah, you hit a curb in it and it's major damage. Like a tightly wound watch. Almost as bad as the Mitsubishi 3000GT
 
My friend put his Talon into a soft snowbank. He thought it only broke plastic parts, but it was enough to cause the hood latch to fail while he was on the highway in traffic. You know the bulge on the driver's side? The point where that impacts the windshield is directly in the middle of the drivers view. That snowbank ended up almost killing him.
 
very serious




its an easy way to check for crankwalk...if it moves AT ALL, run away
-especailly if you hear a light ticking while its running. Honda owners get waaay too comforatable with the valve lash sound, but on a DSM it COULD be valve lash, or it could be the crank scraping the crank position sensor...which means its starting to walk
 
I'd be too scared to own a DSM. I don't say that because you always hear on the internet that they break a lot, I say that because every friend of mine that has owned a DSM has had major issues. What are the odds of that?
 
I build a lot of them locally... I know of several that are extremely fast cars.

Drive it like you stole it and itll act like you did.

I have a friend with one: stock trans/axles/shafts/diffs ~800hp motor and the car is good for a 135+ mph trap in the 1/4

Do they break, yup, but in the ones I have worked on, not any more than other vehicles.
 
that sounds about right, im not planning on modding it more than some minor details (i say that now lol) so just like any car but a bit more delicate..

The guy who wanted to trade me for his 98 gsx turns out to still owe 5900 on the car so until he pays it off im not going to bother with that, but im probly put my car up on craigs list and see what i can get

thanks for all the input...
 
They really are not as delicate as people make them out to be. It's just the case with every other car out there on the road--if you drive it like an asshole while making lots of power things will break, that's all there is to it. 36 lbs/min airflow on mine and the engine still has the same compression as the day I got it.

The crankwalk issue has been way overblown, and with that many miles if it hasn't walked yet it most likely won't.

Lifter tick seems to be a common problem with these cars, although mine has recently gone away for no apparent reason.

All in all, these are fun cars if you maintain it and don't expect the impossible out of it (like repeated 6k drops every night and hope the tranny or t-case lasts too long). If you DO get it, PM me or IM me if you want some help/advice.
 
thanks for the input^

along the same lines, anyone have any experience with the other awd turbo dsm : stealth R/T, 3000GT VR4's ? Ive found a few of them that look pretty good

Ive seen that they tend to break once modded, but id keep it pretty much stock, any first hand experiences?
 
The best I can give you is some second hand experience--they're heavy and the cost of modding is more like a "normal" car (versus how cheap DSMs are to mod). The 2nd gen VR4s are more expensive than they should be, and are real whales.
 
I can give my opinion on them because my friend is an Eclipse fanatic, probably owned 6 of them in the time that I've known him. So i've worked on them alot.

My opinion is, its hard to find a good dsm that hasnt been ridden hard and put away wet. Too many ricers buy these cars and rod the shit out of them. I now own one, a 94 Talon AWD, by far the cleanest 1g I've seen. (its also for sale btw) And its on motor #6 or 7, (previous owner had no luck with this car) a bunch of rebuilds of 6 bolt motors, and for various reasons the motors failed.

This time though, the car is running as healthy as ever on a JDM 4g63, got perfect compression, and a fresh rebuild on the 14b. Its tastefully modded, MBC, test pipe, K&N, ACT 2600 XTSS, streetlight flywheel, removed a/c, and its fairly quick. This car has had 100's of awd, 5-6krpm launches, and I gotta admit. That 4 bolt rear end is bulletproof.

They may not break as often as people make them out to, but I will say I LOATHE working on a dsm. They are the biggest pain in the ass to work on, with their cramped engine bay space, to the fact you gotta wait a couple hours for the motor to cool down so you dont burn the shit out of yourself.

Heres what it boils down to. They are heavy pigs but respond very well to mods. They are a pain in the ass to work on. They are pretty comfortable, I love to drive my 1st gen. And lastly, making them RWD is a snap.... ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top