Hey guys, Ive been thinkin about a 1st gen DSM as a summer project for a while now. Thats the 90-94 eclipse/talon/laser, 2.0 turbo, AWD. I also recently just thought of the second gen (86-92) rx-7s too, probably the turbo TII. What i'd want to do is get one with a blown engine/high miles for like $1500 or less and rebuild that. Theyre both pretty similar in price range, the rx7s not as easy to find as the DSMs though. Im not too familiar with rotaries, but ive heard that they can be difficult to work on and require a lot of maintenance. But i know DSMs are hardly maintenance free themselves. I think the DSM might look a little better/newer. I wont be doing too many mods on it, but that would be after the rebuild. THis would be my daily driver after its fixed, so reliability, gas mileage, and insurance are all factors. Anybody have any comments/suggestions? Thanks guys-

 

A DMS would be a kewl rallying car personally, but for anything else I would rather have a TII.

 

/start biased opinion
rx7 all the way...woo hoo...
ok i dont really like the looks of the 1st gen dsm...and i love the look of the 2nd gen rx7. i think if you get a t2 with a rebuilt engine and a handful of mods you'd be very happy with it .
/end biased opinion

 

To each his own, but PLEASE, the first gen DSM was UGLY! I rarely comment on car looks--just couldn't let that one go.

B

 

^^^^ i concurr:-D

 

Yes the 1st gen DSMs were ugly, but they're so easy to make incredibly fast if you have one without many prolems. I had a 2nd gen DSM and I still love that car, if it wasn't FWD I would easily rather have it than my TII.

 

It really depends on what you will want the car for. I test-drove a 90 laser turbo before I bought my Rx-7. It was damn cheap, not sure exactly why, but it was only $1500. The car was pretty fast, and I know that with a few mods it couldve been incredably fast. But, those cars just dont look very good in my opinion. The driving feel of it sucked. It did not handle very well at all, and just did not feel in the least bit sporty. So I bought my N/A Rx-7, which will never have the potential to be as fast as that turbo DSM. But, I love this car 10x as much as that laser. The handling and feel of the car is 2nd to only a 3rd gen Rx-7. I bought my N/A for $2500, more than the "faster" DSM. But its a much nicer car in my opinion. I think you should really drive both before you consider, as I think the rx-7 will really suprise you in the driving experience compared to the DSM. And if you go with a Turbo2 you can have the speed also.

 

im 17 and i have had both cars. i had a '90 talon TSi AWD and that thing flew. all i had was an intake and a blown out exhaust and Turbo timer lol.
it was really fast, and rallying was really fun. i sold that car to a friend for $4500 with 132K on it cause he like the rims and paint job i put on it, hahaha. but then the day 2 days after i sold it i found my new pride and joy my '87 TII. i raced my friend and kicked his ***. he got me in first (cause of AWD) but as soon as my turbo spooled and hit second bam... he didnt know what hit him. as for gas millage they are about the same, reliability, they both have their probs. the DSM has timing belt, head gasket, and tranny probs, and others. and the RX-7, as we all know, can also be a pain in the ***. so they both have their trade offs, but if my 7 dies i would prolly get another DSM. both are worth the bang for your buck. just dont get a 2nd gen DSM, very ricey and not as quality built as the first gen (my mom has a '95 TSi AWD, i know) so good luck
josh

 

dsm turbos was one of my choices if not to get the 7. those awd turbod eclipse/talons are fast stoplight to stoplight warriors and can be pretty cheap to make fast. but it cant fade the style and handling of an fc

 

nah i didnt like the looks of the 1st gen DSM's, i owned a 96 eclipse gsx and loved it(fun)!! but soory dude i would have to go with the 2nd gen RX7 more fun!! PEACE!!

 

I hate dsm's so I say TII

 

My friend in a DSM Turbo AWD could not keep up with me in the twisties in a N/A Convertible. He later bought a 7 and said the DSM could not handle at all. So while he had the power advantage, the suspension let him down.

 

I own both a 90 AWD DSM and a 90 TurboII. Both cars have their problems. But both have their advantages. It depends on what you like really. My 7 is awesome from a roll and through turns. It doesnt do too bad from a stop with warm tires. The DSM however, is an awesome drag car. And with a lil weight reduction to get it down to match the TIIs weight it can be deadly from a roll as well. It will take serious work to make the DSM outhandle the 7 though. AWDs are just...wierd through turns. Its hard to describe. And I will admit, the DSM is the cheaper road to power, and the 4g63 is a tough engine. But I dunno, if I had to pick one......it would honestly be a hard decision to make. I'd have to pick over each car individually then weigh out their pros and cons. To be honest neither of the cars are "reliable". My 7 is starting to come to the end of its years on the stock motor and before I can rebuild her motor I need to replace the head on the talon so I have something to drive. See the point?

 

hahaha....you guys make it sound like the t2 is a beauty queen.....

if it's just a project car....I'd go for the dsm, sorry guys. Just has more potential to go fast for much cheaper.

 

You mean its not????!??!!??!

****, somebody call the guy that owned the DSM I wasted the other night.....

 

*yawn* Get the DSM...

 

DSM's can be pretty reliable as long as you don't beat on them too much. If you are looking for a daily driver I'd go with the DSM I think. If going by looks I think the FC has that category by far. But you live where it snows alot and the AWD will help there and if you don't have a thing for rotaries(like we all obviously do here ) then the DSM will be a good choice.

 

There is nothing wrong with a 1st Gen DSM, I myself considered getting one but then I saw the fc.

 

one thing I wanted to say though, I've been going to junkyards lately looking for a new tail light cluster for my rabbit, and there are a ton of eclipse/talon/laser/etc cars there. If you need any parts it'd be easy as hell to find them. So that's a definite advantage.
Depending on where you live it can be impossible to find a wrecked FC.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Im still in the process of looking. One thing i realized though, this would be my daily driver and the rx-7 is only a 2-seater. As small as the back ones may be on the dsm, it can fit 4. And the dsms are a lot easier to find too. But id still consider an rx7, id want to drive one first, but im looking for one cheap to rebuild the engine. Thanks for your help guys, keep it coming-

 

Talon's have backseats? oh wait, thats right, mine did before I gutted that lil hoe.

Sports cars dont need no stinking backseats.

 

damn dude what is all that crap in the back of the car?

is that white leather in there? nice if so!!

 

I think its 2 gray racing seats

 

If only I could get the Eclipse GST (i think) AWD turbo, in the 2nd gen style.. i would love it.

 

I always find most DSM's are the preferred choice of ricers (more stickers that a car should be allowed to have) where most RX-7's are bought as a sports car. I would rather stay away from the ricer stigma and get the RX-7.