im looking to get a 1g eclispse gsx as a second BS car and as a project car for later on. How reliable are they? How many miles before i run into any major problems? What should i look for when buying one? Any more useful info before getting one?
1G Eclipse GSX, reliable?
Fusion
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im looking to get a 1g eclispse gsx as a second BS car and as a project car for later on. How reliable are they? How many miles before i run into any major problems? What should i look for when buying one? Any more useful info before getting one?
Best case:
It could be the most reliable car you own. The enginine is good for 150-200K miles if the oil is changed regurally (important on turbo cars). The transmissions don't break for no apparent reason. Transmission failures are a big concern on the awd (massive clutch dumps) and fwd cars (due to wheelhopping). I guess mitsubishi didn't intend 6000 cluch drops on a 350 hp car with a grippy aftermarket clutch. How niave of them.
THis happens to be my case, and my friends case of which he just accuqired a '90 awd talon. I'm a former honda/acura owner, and this eclipse has needed less maintence (including little stuff like plug wires, plugs, cap and rotor like the old honda etc.....) than my '89 civic. This statement is also true of my friends 1990 honda crx si. He spends more money keeping his car on the road with normal maintence than I have spent to gain 50 hp. In 10 months of ownership, and 10,000 spirited miles, I lost my Cruise Control module ($20 at a salvage yard), the power window motor brush lost contact with the commutator rendering it not working (free fix), my #1 injector plug wiggled off because someone who worked on the car previously broke it ($1 for a new salvage yard plug), and I needed to put some new NGK's in their ($6.50).
Worst case:
You get a car that has been abused. The turbo dies out on you soon after purchase. Then the engine throws a rod because of irregular oil changes and oil buildup, starving #1 rod of oil (hypothetically). After getting the engine overhauled, and you get to spend some time in the car, you realize that the 1 and 2 gear synchros aren't smooth. THese cars have small synchros because mitsubishi stuffed the largest gear in the tranny as possible. If you revv match a lot, and don't shove the car into 1st from a 15 mph roll, then the synchros will live a long life. HOwever, if you get a car used, you don't have any bearing on how the previous owner beat the car.
SO, you get the tranny rebuilt. Then you have a act 2100 lb clutch installed, and you break your center diff waxing all your old honda buddies off the line(trust me, after a year you'll wonder why civics even try).
I'd get the car personally. I'm so glad i got rid of my civic for this car, even though its fwd. I went from tieing my friends '90 crx si (i had a modded '89 civic dx hatchback, I,E MPFI swap, and some other "Little" things) to waxing him while shifting at 5000 rpm's. I actually race him on the highway now, 60-100 mph pulls. Him getting a jump in 3rd gear, and me waiting for strong boost in 5TH gear!!!! And yes, I still pull by him by 80 mph or so in 5th gear(when he has to shift into 4th). OH, did I mention he spent over $1000 on a dc sports header, high flow cat, TR&D exhaust, AEM CAI???
TO sum it up. Get the car, you may have teething problems if the car has been abused. Even more so than the average car, because its turbocharged, and they don't take neglect as well. You'll have your ITR for the twisties (thats one thing I miss).
It could be the most reliable car you own. The enginine is good for 150-200K miles if the oil is changed regurally (important on turbo cars). The transmissions don't break for no apparent reason. Transmission failures are a big concern on the awd (massive clutch dumps) and fwd cars (due to wheelhopping). I guess mitsubishi didn't intend 6000 cluch drops on a 350 hp car with a grippy aftermarket clutch. How niave of them.
THis happens to be my case, and my friends case of which he just accuqired a '90 awd talon. I'm a former honda/acura owner, and this eclipse has needed less maintence (including little stuff like plug wires, plugs, cap and rotor like the old honda etc.....) than my '89 civic. This statement is also true of my friends 1990 honda crx si. He spends more money keeping his car on the road with normal maintence than I have spent to gain 50 hp. In 10 months of ownership, and 10,000 spirited miles, I lost my Cruise Control module ($20 at a salvage yard), the power window motor brush lost contact with the commutator rendering it not working (free fix), my #1 injector plug wiggled off because someone who worked on the car previously broke it ($1 for a new salvage yard plug), and I needed to put some new NGK's in their ($6.50).
Worst case:
You get a car that has been abused. The turbo dies out on you soon after purchase. Then the engine throws a rod because of irregular oil changes and oil buildup, starving #1 rod of oil (hypothetically). After getting the engine overhauled, and you get to spend some time in the car, you realize that the 1 and 2 gear synchros aren't smooth. THese cars have small synchros because mitsubishi stuffed the largest gear in the tranny as possible. If you revv match a lot, and don't shove the car into 1st from a 15 mph roll, then the synchros will live a long life. HOwever, if you get a car used, you don't have any bearing on how the previous owner beat the car.
SO, you get the tranny rebuilt. Then you have a act 2100 lb clutch installed, and you break your center diff waxing all your old honda buddies off the line(trust me, after a year you'll wonder why civics even try).
I'd get the car personally. I'm so glad i got rid of my civic for this car, even though its fwd. I went from tieing my friends '90 crx si (i had a modded '89 civic dx hatchback, I,E MPFI swap, and some other "Little" things) to waxing him while shifting at 5000 rpm's. I actually race him on the highway now, 60-100 mph pulls. Him getting a jump in 3rd gear, and me waiting for strong boost in 5TH gear!!!! And yes, I still pull by him by 80 mph or so in 5th gear(when he has to shift into 4th). OH, did I mention he spent over $1000 on a dc sports header, high flow cat, TR&D exhaust, AEM CAI???
TO sum it up. Get the car, you may have teething problems if the car has been abused. Even more so than the average car, because its turbocharged, and they don't take neglect as well. You'll have your ITR for the twisties (thats one thing I miss).
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The best way to find out is to bring it to a certified shop to check it out before you buy it, but remember, thats before u buy it. If you are unable to find one that is good enough for you u can always get the 2g dsm's or maybe even a 3000gt.
What's on the R? What does it run?
My best friend has #219 PY 2000. He currently is running a 5psi JRSC with a Kamikaze SC header,fuel pump and 3 inch thermal catback. In the next month or so he's adding the JDM final drive,lighter flywheel,Clutch Masters stage 3,310cc injectors and a Hondata engine managment system so he can properly tune the car to handle the 8psi pulley he's also adding.
He dynoed 209whp (165whp is stock) with 5psi and with 8psi he'd like to see around 240whp. That should put him well into (or better) C5 Vette territory.
He's mostly an autoxer and currently runs in the street mod class and with the stock suspension he's killing some pretty notable cars. The Type R's suspension is pretty incredible,the thing has almost zero body roll.
I don't know if I'd own one but it does put a pretty big grin on my face after a good romp in one.
My best friend has #219 PY 2000. He currently is running a 5psi JRSC with a Kamikaze SC header,fuel pump and 3 inch thermal catback. In the next month or so he's adding the JDM final drive,lighter flywheel,Clutch Masters stage 3,310cc injectors and a Hondata engine managment system so he can properly tune the car to handle the 8psi pulley he's also adding.
He dynoed 209whp (165whp is stock) with 5psi and with 8psi he'd like to see around 240whp. That should put him well into (or better) C5 Vette territory.
He's mostly an autoxer and currently runs in the street mod class and with the stock suspension he's killing some pretty notable cars. The Type R's suspension is pretty incredible,the thing has almost zero body roll.
I don't know if I'd own one but it does put a pretty big grin on my face after a good romp in one.
Yes, you can check SOME things.Fusion said:
1. do a compression test, for a 1g 160 psi across the board is great. No less than 121 in any cylinder. I would knock lots of $$$ off for each cylinder not up to full specs. My car is 155-127-150-155 but runs great.
2. Make sure the car shifts good, any grinding. Don't expect the perfect transmissions such as in your ITR, it isn't gonna happen in a dsm.
3. Ask for any recipts. Regullar oil changes? What kind of oil and filter, high quality?
4. A pet peve of mine is to see what kind tires are on the car. If they are over $100 apiece, you can be pretty sure the car has had good quality parts for the current owner.
5. DO NOT BUY A MODDED DSM, unless you know what you're getting into.
Have a copetent shop, preferrabley one where you know the owner look the car over good. Do a quick fluid leak check, and just an overall assestment of the car.
i dont like to give my mods, but i can tell u that its not to far from stock, i havent done that much to it
ok, ill make sure i check for that, but what if the compession is low in each cylinder... like 130 or so in each, will i run into any problems?
In good condition, do the 1g DSM's shift the same as the 2G DSM's? cause if so ill drive my friends 99' GST to see what its suppose to feel like
I rather not it have high quality tires on there, cause ill probably replace them with different rims and performance tires anyway. And i dont want them to have any excuse to charge more
Yep, im looking for a bone stock 92-94 GSX AWD. Anyone know what i should pay for this? With normal amount of miles? (maybe 90-110k)
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Well, about the tires, if the guy can't afford to have nice tires, he probably can't afford to keep the car tuned and working right. Not always true, but, its often the case. Take me for example....Stock tires with hubcaps, and I can't afford nothing. I have to do everything myself, which presents a worse case, cause I know nothing about my cars or anything. The only good thing is I'm learning stuff...In preparation to getting my 1g turbo...hehe...
well from one honda guy to another i can tell ya this its another game from all the b series motors but its fun!!! and the AWD OMG!!! gotta love it bought my tsi talon for 700 bucks yea it need some work but i tell ya this if you modded you R and you take your time and learn this 4G63 you WILL have a LOT of fun. and there are so many FREE mods you can do its retarded. plus less than a gran and run 13s not in the honda world. i love my LS teg but this talon is way more fun trust me you love it.
Fusion,
About the transmissions. The 1g dsm's are notchy. You have to granny shift, even on a brand new one. Their will be no speed shifing like you can do in a honda transmission, but it doesen't matter, becuse the car will still be fast. The torque in your backside when the turbo hits is like nothing else. It would be simillar if you had your ITR in 2nd gear at about 6500 rpm's, holding a constant speed. Then nailing the gas, it'll rip you back, and thats on a stock car.
About the compression. Visit http://www.vfaq.com and goto the engine section, they have a compression test and tolerance chart. THeir are guys who run 11 secons slips with 100 psi across the board. Its just that having above 140 in all cylinders is nice, lets you know that the engine is in good shape. You will most likley find that the car ticks a lot. This is perfectly normal, as long as it goes away when it comes up to temp (10 mins of driving). Its the lifers, and all old dsm's seem to have it.
Expect to pay 3500-4000 for a '92 gsx in good shape. 4000-5000 for a really minty one with less than 70,000 miles. You will find some that are 1000 dollars, that people are trying to get rid of because they abused their turbo car, and its falling apart on them.
Visit http://www.vfaq.com and http://www.dsm.org to learn more about these cars than I can type out. THey are very fun, you will not be disapointed.
About the transmissions. The 1g dsm's are notchy. You have to granny shift, even on a brand new one. Their will be no speed shifing like you can do in a honda transmission, but it doesen't matter, becuse the car will still be fast. The torque in your backside when the turbo hits is like nothing else. It would be simillar if you had your ITR in 2nd gear at about 6500 rpm's, holding a constant speed. Then nailing the gas, it'll rip you back, and thats on a stock car.
About the compression. Visit http://www.vfaq.com and goto the engine section, they have a compression test and tolerance chart. THeir are guys who run 11 secons slips with 100 psi across the board. Its just that having above 140 in all cylinders is nice, lets you know that the engine is in good shape. You will most likley find that the car ticks a lot. This is perfectly normal, as long as it goes away when it comes up to temp (10 mins of driving). Its the lifers, and all old dsm's seem to have it.
Expect to pay 3500-4000 for a '92 gsx in good shape. 4000-5000 for a really minty one with less than 70,000 miles. You will find some that are 1000 dollars, that people are trying to get rid of because they abused their turbo car, and its falling apart on them.
Visit http://www.vfaq.com and http://www.dsm.org to learn more about these cars than I can type out. THey are very fun, you will not be disapointed.
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505 Posts
Also price veries greatly around the country and between models. A Talon TSi AWD will run about $1000 less for a ~92 then a GSX, with the Laser right in the middle of the 2.
In 99, I got my 91 with around 70k on it for $3000 from a mitsu dealer selling their mitsu franchise.
In 99, I got my 91 with around 70k on it for $3000 from a mitsu dealer selling their mitsu franchise.
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103 Posts
i love my LS teg but this talon is way more fun trust me you love it.
i agree, i love my talon more than any car i have ever owned. i need new struts and have had to drive my mustang all week,its been like punishment.
paid 600 for my 92 talon awd with a blown motor
[Edited by boostedfoursix on 12-14-2001 at 07:32 PM]
i agree, i love my talon more than any car i have ever owned. i need new struts and have had to drive my mustang all week,its been like punishment.
paid 600 for my 92 talon awd with a blown motor
[Edited by boostedfoursix on 12-14-2001 at 07:32 PM]
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