Well fellow brethren, tonight I think my perspective on tuning Hondas may have changed . . .

I got a call from a friend who says a guy has came up to the local pool hall with an Eclipse he had bought yesterday and was wanting to race, for money preferrably. So I ask him "What is it?" and he replies a GS based off what the guy had told him. He says it has a muffler and a K&n air filter and is lowered a lil. So I say alright, I'll come check out the car and see if its really worth me messing with. Now mind you, I dont have a big boy swap, just a simple JDM d15b vtec with a catback and SRI , short throw, VAFC in a 92 dx hatch and I run low 15's.

So when I pull up , I take a look @ the Eclipse and realize the big GS-T emblem on the back. So I'm like wtf? So I talk to the guy and I figure he may not be able to drive and it may be stock, considering I couldn't see any gauges or air/fuel controller. The turbo looked small, ( me not knowing alot about DSM's) and could have passed for a t25, it being dark. No other noticeable mods, besides an exposed K&N. So me not knowing, I told him that I wouldnt run for money, simply because I dont know whats done to the car or whatever. So I told him, he could take me down the road in it, not babying it and I could make a better judgement. He looks @ me and says, "man, i dont wanna take your money, just hop in for a sec." . . . . and off we go down hwy 49, exited on to I59 and he floored it.

My reaction : !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! although I did well to hide it. After explaining to him that I'm not a dumbass and asked , wtf , ya know, he revaled the gauge and controller which were cleverly hidden. He was running 20lbs of boost on a motor with 13k on it, and the turbo was an 18g and he was running 650's he told me. The transmission had a little work done to it but nothing major. He was really a cool guy and is planning to come out this Friday to see if anyone cocky is going to lose some money maybe. The car was an old car a friend of mine use to own and it was a 13 second car then. This ride I took in it, felt faster than it did when it was running 13's. 12's is what he said, but who knows . . . .

MY POINT IS .. . all this money swapping motors in hondas and what not (dont get me wrong, im not hating, i own a honda myself and have always been a fan) , is it worth it?

I mean think about the lowest time you've seen a swapped hatch run without an lsd, not very low, with an lsd yeah better . . . . but even so, by the time you take that money you spent and throw it into a 1st of 2nd gen , with upgrades, omg, you have a way quicker car . . . .

What I'm asking is, for help really, to help me believe that I'm not wasting my time on plannning another motor swap or boosting my hatch . . . tell me that I'm not falling to the other side of considering a DSM . . . . someone please post an explanation that will surely have some kind of influence against what I've posted here tonight . . ..

No flaming please , just advice . . . thanks

 

dsm = broken car most of the time

 

depends on what you consider to be 'worth it'
as much as I love DSM's(and I do) the maintenance of a turbo car is a PITA especially sporty looking stock turbo cars because they most liekly have been beat on.
so if worth it to you is bang for the buck, go with the DSM
if it's getting **** done with the least amount of headaches and breakdowns, you'll be happier with a swapped hatch.

 

I thought only the Eclipse GSX and Talon TSi were DSM's?

 

i cant argue with that, but considering the vehicle as not being your primary driver, its still starting to work on me . .. . SOMEONE ELSE! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

 

Is it worth it?

Thats like asking "is sex good!?" OF COUSE!

Cheap=Reliable=Fast=many accessories=YES ITS WORTH IT

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondaeg8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dsm = broken car most of the time</TD></TR></TABLE>

!!!!

Honda Swaps are worth ever penny
a B series turbo could take a mild DSM or better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ejay Six &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I thought only the Eclipse GSX and Talon TSi were DSM's?</TD></TR></TABLE>
a DSM is any first or second gen Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, or Plymouth Laser(only available first gen).

DSM = Diamond Star Motors

 

i know guys, but **** reliabiltiy, we're talking about a secondary fun car . . . . your telling me for the price of a b series being swapped over and turboing it, I couldn't make a DSM faster with that same X amount of money?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dohcVTEChatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it worth it?

Thats like asking "is sex good!?" OF COUSE!

Cheap=Reliable=Fast=many accessories=YES ITS WORTH IT</TD></TR></TABLE>

cheap?! when one of the first mods to do to your car is swap in a new motor that is not cheap, if the motor was cheap it probably won't prove to be reliable for long, if it motor is reliable and cheap it sure as **** isn't going to make your car fast. especially when the motor generally costs just as much as the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HHB 2185 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i know guys, but **** reliabiltiy, we're talking about a secondary fun car . . . . your telling me for the price of a b series being swapped over and turboing it, I couldn't make a DSM faster with that same X amount of money?</TD></TR></TABLE>

the DSM will be faster... of course, the maintenance bill will hinder you a bit. for me a car is only fun as long as it's working or being made faster

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HHB 2185 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i know guys, but **** reliabiltiy, we're talking about a secondary fun car . . . . your telling me for the price of a b series being swapped over and turboing it, I couldn't make a DSM faster with that same X amount of money?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes I suppose you could, but its all preference I guess.

For people who love the honda spirit, its a simple answer. People that do, know what I mean.

But if you feel compelled then go with the dsm. Its not that we are saying its a bad choice at all

 

its another spirit I adore, no matter what make, and its called the "turbo spirit". After working on friend's cars rather it be a DSM or a kitted hatch,sedan, coupe . . . its what captivates me most . .

 

From reading that story, you made me think of something that i think every guy on honda-tech can agree with. Ok, that guys eclipse was fast and eclipses can be fast. But guys swapping a motor in a honda realize that they arent in it for the " best bang for your buck". we do this because it is a hobbie, regardless of how much money we may spend buying parts and things.

you are asking if it is worth it. it is only worth it if you get pure enjoyment out of driving and building your honda, not because you spent 10 grand in mods and can only get 6 grand by selling it.
if you just want the best bang for your buck, then get an eclipse and slap a fat turbo on it.
its not gonna give you the proudness and appreciation of the honda you built yourself as a hobbie and for the pure sport of it.

just my opinion.

 

i guess an eclipse turbo could be okay. i still look at them and wouldn't mind having one. they look nice and can be made into a pretty quick car with a few mods.

reliability on them is not that good though from what i hear.


when you think about it, it does cost some money to make a honda faster. nobody is really satisfied with just the stock swap. you want to mod after that. add it all up and it comes out to cost a lot.

 

understood, this thread isnt for people who share the "spirit" or do it for a hobbie . . . I'm talking about the hp to $$ ratio. I dont care if I'm in a geo storm laying down the law here in Hattiesburg, MS. Most people generally enjoy winning over losing as do I. Now the style, import culture in general attracts me . . . but for what I'm wanting , I just think tonight proved that to get a head putting money in a DSM would be more rewarding.

 

if you want to be fastest guy out there start with an AWD DSM, or once you make over 300whp you're gonna hate yourself unless you run slicks.
DSM's are great cars, I still want a turbo one myself.

 

thanks for the advice, but I certainly dont expect to be the fastest . . . all im questioning is hp to $$ ratio

 

if you really want one....sell your honda and get one. if you have never been boosted before, you'll love it. i've had a boosted ls motor in hatch before and boost is fun.

my advice to you, find a completely stock one though. a gsx if you can, but just make sure its a stock one.

good luck

 

thats what im planning on doing, after I do a little more research and opinion grabbing. If I dont change my mind a 92 DX w/ d15b vtec, all mods including will be for sale, roughly around 2500.

 

Cool yes, cheap no.
I've talked to sooooo many dsm guys who are constantly replacing trannies at only moderate levels of power. If you want to make any decent power and not have the tranny puke on the launch look at spending about 3g's on an upgrade.

DSM's were what I drooled over when I first got into imports and I still love them.

 

i've been seriously considering selling my b16 hatch for a 1g/2g dsm. my good friend has a 94 gst with just a boost controller and turbo back exhaust and he just constantly whoops on me. either i spend another $2g's on a turbo setup or h22a, or i sell my **** for $4000 and pick up a 1g dsm for ~$5000 w/ AWD....

 

you will definitely get more bang for your buck with a turbo dsm.
but you will sacrifice your reliability, so if you are not using this as a daily driver then you will probably enjoy the dsm much better.

So after you sell you car, and what not, sell me the shell...

 

For what YOU want...go out and find the best dollar ratio for horsepower you can and go that route. Personally and I dont mean to hate but I think they're ugly. But who cares when you just wanna go fast.

Something to think about. You get what you pay for. Sure its cheap power but at what cost in the span of ownership.

 

go get a EG and swap a K20A or hell even a B18C5 into it then come back saying swaps into hondas arent worth it.

dsm's suck anyway call me ignorant but i hate working on them