ok heres the ?'s i got 9k to spend on a beaterish car im thinking getting a gsx for awd and turbo(got the vr4 for summer)but i was tring to find one either modded or possibly one stock low miles for under 9k and mod it.so what do u guys think i can do?im tring to get into 11's is that possible with 9k?or should i sell my vr4 to and spend almost 20k on a super fast gsx?i dunno much about gsx's just about vr4's so any opinions are greatly appreciated.also whats the best things out there for most power on a gsx?i was thinking of getting like either a 93 or a 97.any diffs?which one is better?

if i'm not wrong, the VR-4 is AWD turbo or twin turbo, 320hp? why do you want to change it for a gsx? spend the 9k on the vr-4 i'm sure you will have a lot of fun, just my:2cents: .
But if the idea is buy a car to modded, the best plataform is the 90-92 they have stronger engines (6-bolts) but the 97-99 are the ones with the best looking, so, other thing to have in mind, is that you can buy a 90-92 for less that 3000 and you will have 6k to modded it, but if you buy a 97-99 you will need at least 7k to find one with low milles.
Good luck.
PS. don't even think about getting a HONDA :screwy::disappoin:uhoh:

gsx is a beater? your cars no less of a beater then a gsx.

that said. the 92 gsx is the best performance eclipe they made. it has a 4bolt rearend, wich is much stronger. the 90-92 (production date 4/1/92 or less) is considerd commonly referd to as a 6 bolt engine (6 flywheel bolts) and is almost unhead of developing crankwalk. they say crankwalk is a problem, occuring 20-30% more in the 7 bolts, i have 116k on my 96 gsx, and have 0 problems. but i do currently have a 6 bolt block in my garrage that im working on puting in my car for a winter project. the 6 bolts are just more reliable, they are also less expensive to put mitsu turbos on, there is no need for a adapter kit like the 2g's need (95-99). that will save you $200. the 6bolt motor also has slightly less compression then the 7 bolt, larger intake runners & throddle body for more airflow. i wont get into everything that makes the 1g eclipse better, but you get the point. 1g's are alot lighter, but alot uglyer the the 2g's. and now that dsmlink is avalable in 1g's i dont see a reasion to buy a 2g over a 92 gsx (if you can find one) if your basing this off of a performance thing!! style, i can see getting a 2g. =)

i'd say you can get into the high 11's on a 92, with good tuning, depending on your savy-ness around an engine for around 2-3k if all spent correctly.

ok well thanks i found a 92 with a 16g turbo on it and supporting mods for 5500.is that a good turbo for these cars?also like i said about the 93 model i like it more cuz no popups it has headlights is a front end conv easy to do that?

front end convo isnt too bad if you can buy a whole car to use the front clip from. you have to be able to weld and you have to pull the engine/trans. and then you just change over the whole front end. search dsmtuners.com i think a couple people on there have done it. i can sell you a 93 eclipse if you can come and get it in lancaster PA. ill strip it first so you can have it cheap

yeah, 16g is the typical upgrade from the stock 13-14b tdo5h. do you know what 16g it is? thats a bit high for a 92! i stole my 96 gsx for 3500. but if i was going to pay to much for a gsx it would be a 92, or 99. they seemed to get everything right on the 99's. good luck

i'd go w/the gsx, get a 2nd gen. if you have 20k to spend on it i would make it super fast. you could do a 6-bolt swap, proably stroked to a 2.3 and all supporting mods to push 600-700 horsies. that should make for one of hell of a ride.

well i will only get the 20k if i sell my vr4 im not totally willing to sell it but i dunno

definitly dont sell the vr-4... you can get a 90-92 gsx for like 4 grand, if you spend the other 5 grand on modding it, you could easily have a 500hp car

you can find a 90-92 gsx or tsi for around 3500 or a little more that is already got some mods to it i stole my tsi at 3500 and i just tuned it and it ran a 12.7 it already had all the mods i need but i just have to ad a afpr and ill be set

93 or 97? So you're saying you haven't researched much. Do you want a 1g or 2g? AWD? If you want more of a cheaper, easier to make fast car... a 90-92 GSX/TSI AWD is for you. If you want the 2g bodystyle, decide if you want a 95-96 looking one, or the newer 97-99 look. 95-99's have a smaller turbo.

1g's should be way cheap. Don't pay extra because it's modified. You can get a good 95 GSX for 5,000.

I wouldn't call a 11 second GSX a beater, any more than your VR4. For 9k you can hit 10's with a 1g, or 11's with a 2g if you do your homework. There are people with 2g's with $20,000 that run 12's. Don't ask questions like 'which mods are best' because that isn't what the thread is about. You can search for that info, or just look in my thread called READ THIS FIRST.

well still im looking at a gsx as my beater.any of u guys selling a gsx? lol

just for the record the 1g awd only weighs 20 lbs less than the 2g. Also the 1g does have a bigger turbo but only has 195 hp and the 2g has 210. The vr-4 has 280 hp and 320 tq but weighs almost 1000 lbs more depending if the one you have is a hard top "convertable". But with out a dought a 1g is much cheaper than the 2g. My gsx has almost 150 thousand miles on it and i have not crankwalked yet as i pray that it doesn't. I wouldn't say that the gsx is a beater car a honda for sure but not the gsx..

it all depends on your goals. you can make a very fast DSM for that much $$. i can guess it will be good for a couple months and you will break it though...

My suggestion is if you want a reliable, grocery-getting beater, don't get a turbo DSM. Buy an Integra GSR, leave it stock, and call it a day.

If you want another quick car for $9k, I suspect you'll be pleased with what a turbo Eclipse or Talon has to offer. But you'll also be paying insurance on two cars....

95 Tsi Awd: $5000
6 bolt swap: $1000 (tops if you do it yourself)
50 trim turbo setup: $1000
Supporting mods: $2000 (plenty of room here for a nice exhaust, air filter, gauges, mbc, fuel and tuning mods, etc.--maybe some cams if you get deals on parts or do custom exhaust)

Low 12 second, $9k car? Check.

wow shocked this thread came back to life. but anyways a update on wats been going on. i got my vr4 fixed and sold it to a friend, were changing the title on tuesday.i sold it for 13k so 13k+9800=22800. that is my new budget for a car. Also vr4's arent 280hp they never were its either been 300(91-93) or 320(94-99) all it is a 2 psi difference to get that power. but im still slightly considering a gsx but not as much. i went to dsm tuners and just picked out a bunch of random parts (mainly highest cost) so i can get a idea of stuff and the grand total was cheap to me. but still eclipse's dont look like a mans car unless its first gen, so if i do decide to get one i will get a 92 shell and drop all the parts i have on a list into the car. but i think im just going to get another 93 vr4 mod it and take 10sec's on for 20k and save the rest for insurance and stuff.

A well supported "50 trim" turbo can runs 11's no problem (on race gas, of course). I know a couple guys running VERY low 12's on pump gas with their "50 trims". Of course, these are very well set-up cars, ie. cams/intake mani/ported head/built motor/etc.

I'm going to have to agree with joemathews here. The only thing I'd change is to add another $500-$1000 to the supporting mods pricing. Of course it's doable with less money, but you'll be riding the edge that way :)

Come on now dont hate on the 2nd gen body! :disappoin

Its nice to see that you sold your car and are ready to buy another. Ive got to say vr4's are nice cars and i would mind driving one any day.

Good luck with future deals and keep us updated!