How you know you own a DSM!

1. If you've ever had to explain crankwalk to a mechanic....
2. If you have a garage full of spare engines, just in case....
3. If you've hit your head on the B-pillar during an AWD launch....
4. If you bought half of your performance parts at Home Depot.
5. If your freinds get beat in a race and call you immediately after to rematch for them.
6. You only carry a Palm Pilot to log your engine's data.
7. You know more about the 4G63 engine than some engineers at Mitsubishi.
8. Your wife/girlfriend wishes your car never exsisted. SO TRUE
9. You look at riced out civics and roll your eyes
10. If a junk yard to you is an upgrade yard.....
11. If your car consists of parts from more than 10 other DSMs.....
12. If you take offense to the word Riceburner.....
13. If your DSM is the most unreliable car you have ever owned, but still your favorite......
14. The UPS guy comes over for a beer on a regular basis
15. You can launch your oil dip stick 20ft.
16. If a honda owner ever looked at you funny when you say "free mods"
17. A normal weekend involves removing your transmission 5 times.
18. Your "grocery getter" is a 12 sec car...
19. If you have had to remove your radiator fans, because they just don't fit in front of that Turbo.......
20. When at the strip you sit around with the Z28s and WS6 guys and talk **** about hondas
21. If you can get your 4cyl to a 12.5 1/4 for $775.
22. if you know what Galant VR4s are
23. if you know that you dont need nitrous to run a 1/4 mile in under 12 seconds
24.you have more gauges then an airplane
25. Your best car is still on blocks in the yard and you have another year of payments on it
26. You break at least two tie rod ends on a launch
27. A flat tire means another flower pot for the yard
28. You know that breaking forks during a hard shift doesn't refer to waiting tables at a diner.
29. You know about the automatic windshield wipers 1st Gens have at the dragstrip
30. "Stock" means that the car has all of the parts it came with, you didn't add a thing, you just dremeled or removed a few, that's all...
31. That breaking an axle means replacing the axle and the wheel bearing because they are siezed together
32. When your wife/girlfriend owns and races a DSM just like you
33. When you street/track kills reads something like XX and 0
34. When you've removed the engine from your DSM in your own garage more than once (IN the middle of ####ING WINTER)
35. When you have nightmares about getting into second gear
36. When the word SHOOTOUT means driving your DSM half way across America (for some) just to beat up on it, and not a gun fight
37. When reference to modding a DSM comes up in just about every major argument you have with a loved one
38. You have to add a quart of oil befor you leave to go anywhere
39. You have to rebuild your trans every time you do an oil change
40. People on slicks with 3 times your displacement **** about spots
41. $6,000 is the TOTAL COST of your 11 second street car, not the cost of the mods to get it there
:)

you must have no life if you have all the time to write this

I guess Im somewhat of a DSM owner.... since some of it pertains to me. I know this is a silly question but....

What does DSM stand for?

D= Diamond = Mitsubishi
S= Star = Dodge/Chrysler
M= Motors = the engines were built in cooperation of both companies

Every car manufacturer has some problems with a car.they make stuff to make money not to necesarily make them best.Take Saturn for exampl,they run real good for a long time.they would probaly last froever if the pistons were made right.the pistons are slightly smaller than the cylinder causing blow by and ruining the engine.

Thank you. Now! I can say I am a DSM owner! lol

ah i was expecting much different. a list which would involve people thinking, thats bad there is no way, and dont agree with any of it!!, but reply yup thats me.

oh and kyle about the saturn comment, they do last a long time. the piston/piston ring set up isnt all that bad at all. it can burn oil, dont matter. cars easily put 250,000+ miles on them. lots with over 350,000, and i know one (as of last year) had 750,000+ on it and none of them have had engine work.

but anyways, i guess i partially own a dsm. oh wait i do, but its in someone elses name. hahaha

heres a slightly larger version of the list :thumbsup:

A HUNDRED AND FORTY WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU'RE A DSMER!
1. If you've ever had to explain crank walk to a mechanic....
2. If you have a garage full of spare engines, just in case....
3. If you've tried to bolt your old 14b onto a riding lawnmower....
4. If you've hit your head on the B-pillar during an AWD launch....
5. If you have a running tab at the local transmission shop....
6. If you go rallying in your daily driver....
7. If your driveway has ruts in it cause your car never moves....
8. If people recognize your car by the sound of it's lifter tap....
9. If you drive 5 extra blocks for a gas station that has 1 more octane point.
10. If you get refused on your tread wear warranty every time you have tried, because of poor alignment.
11. If you bought half of your performance parts at Home Depot.
12. If people ask you what's wrong with your car because it keeps making this noise.
13. If your friends get beat in a race and call you immediately after to rematch for them.
14. You have had to send a tow truck back to the towing garage because you needed a flatbed.
15. You always request parts for an Eclipse because the parts stores always lookup the AMC Eagle.
16. You drop whatever you are doing when the UPS man brings a new part for the car. And then spend the rest of the day installing it.
17. You only carry a Palm Pilot to log your engine's data.
18. You change your tires, plugs and fuel curves for the winter.
19. You know more about the 4G63 engine than some engineers at Mitsubishi.
20. Your wife/girlfriend wishes your car never existed.
21. If you think your DSM should have come with a flatbed/tow truck following you from the factory.
22. You don't let people drive your car into the bays because its "quirky"
23. You spent more fixing it than it cost
24. Your eye automatically catches EVERY DSM that drives by on the highway
25. Before racing someone, you 90% of the time know their engine, hp, and Performance specs. And you usually know if you will win or not
26. Right before u start modifying, some damn maintenance thing breaks down (i.e. alternator, starter)
27. You barely have money for fun time, or put fun $$ aside to modify your DSM.
28. You wake up in the morning look out the window and go "ahhh, what a nice car" OR You wake up and see your damn broken car and curse up a storm
29. You look at riced out civics and roll your eyes
30. Right after you get your paycheck, you get online and spend it all on parts the same day.
31. Every tire shop/parking garage/car wash/repair shop guy stalls out when he lets out your ACT 2600 clutch.
32. Every car with an alarm triggers in parking garages as to say "hello."
33. Your exhaust note is so deep and unique that people expect you to pass by 1/4 mile before you get there.
34. When you go to fix something minor you ALWAYS expect a major hassle and something else is GOING to go wrong.
35. If you're on a diet because you ran out of weight reductions for your car...
36. If a junk yard to you is an upgrade yard.....
37. If your car consists of parts from more than 10 other DSM's.....
38. If you have a stick in your car, that's job is to prop up the hatch.....
39. If your passenger window takes more that five minutes to get all the way up.
40. If you never put more than a quarter tank of gas in your car.....
41. If your DSM is the most unreliable car you have ever owned, but still you're favorite......
42. The UPS guy comes over for a beer on a regular basis
43. Your bucket of extra parts pulls 60 bucks on eBay
44. Paypal.com sends you Christmas cards
45. An average oil change involves fresh oil, new filter and draining the catch can.
46. The pages of your shop manual have more wear than the tires on your car.
47. You know the meaning of VFAQ.
48. Some people would like to go to Europe, you'd like to visit Normal IL.
49. You get in a lot of races because your car "auto-revs" for you.
50. You've custom fabricated a carbon fiber cup holder
51. You've almost been strangled to death by the automatic seat belt.
52. You can launch your oil dip stick 20ft.
53. You know that your car has a built in toolbox under the hood....
54. If a Honda owner ever looked at you funny when you say "free mods"
55. You have a bucket full of nuts and bolts and your car seems to run fine and you can't figure out where the heck they go.
56. You carry a hydraulic jack with in your car at all times
57. When being towed you have to lift the front end of the car with your hands so the intercooler clears.
58. When the flatbed finally comes, you ask the tow guy for a piece of wood to put under your right rear tire (or left, if it's a 2G) so you don't scratch your muffler
59. If your AWD is equipped with automatic windshield wipers enabling system after every hard launch... (1G)
60. If every time you launch, you can't see the damn road all the way through 1st gear (AWD)
61. You hear a different vibration inside your car for different RPM points (1G)
62. You are afraid to grab your Crank Pulley and check for play (2G 7-bolt)
63. When people say "is your car running again?" you say "kind of"
64. The tow truck guy lets you accumulate frequent towing miles.
65. You've ever got mad, kicked your car and then apologize to it and swear you'll never do it again.
66. You've ever given yourself whiplash taking off from a stop sign.
67. You can recognize sections in your shop manual based on the color fluid that's staining the pages.
68. You have a laptop with a data logger and manual CD on it in your car at all times.
69. You have ever explained "fuel cut" to a scared female passenger.
70. People that can "drive stick" stall your car out 5 times before they get it out of the driveway.
71. You have gotten in many arguments on how "your car cant be THAT fast," It is a frick'en 4 cylinder Mitsubishi!!!
72. You have to explain to a mechanic of 35+ years what "boost creep" is.
73. You buy a K&N filter and call it an "intake"
74. You thought you blew up your DSM but in fact the dipstick popped out and sprayed oil all over the manifold causing massive smoke (come on, we all freaked out a little the 1st time the dipstick blew out)
75. When someone asks you how the car is running you never say "awesome" or "great," just "its running."
76. Your friend with a 5.0 says "at least my car is reliable."
77. A normal weekend involves removing your transmission 5 times.
78. You work all week so you can fix your DSM on weekends.
79. Your friends think "phantom knock" is some sort of ghost movie.
80. If you drive your car for 10 minutes, park if for 2 hours, come back out...it only takes 2 minutes to have the heat full blasting again.
81. You hear non-informed DSMer's saying that Chrysler over-all as a company sucks, and you have to re-inform them that they are downing their own car.
82. After racing the Honda boys with their "pimped" out cars you have to pop your hood for them to believe your cars almost completely stock.
83. You've owned something with the name Horse-#### in it...
84. You are completely dumbfounded when people say that eclipses and talons are hot but lasers are slow?
85. When you get asked at least once a week if 'That Hump' is supposed to be on your hood.
86. Your friends with the tow company and they stop by every weekend to see what the new "project" is this weekend.
87. You dance every morning when your car cranks over.
88. Your "grocery getter" is a 12 sec car...
89. You have the shop manual memorized.
90. The local shop calls you to ask a question about a broken Eclipse they have in there shop.
91. When people drive your car and ask "what's that noise..." you always reply with "which one??"
92. People driving your car for the first time get a new understanding for the word torque steer.
93. You're a DSMer if you made your own exhaust and IC piping.
94. You're a DSMer if you instigate people to race in the rain.
95. You get Xmas/birthday cards from the tow truck driver's kids thanking you for keeping daddy employed..
96. You are offered stock options at the NAPA.
97. You have better attendance at he parts store than the employees.
98. The tow truck guy bought you a cell phone just so you can call him.
99. The UPS/FedEx guy calls to make sure everything is OK if he hasn't delivered to you in a few weeks.
100. People constantly come up to you in the parking lot and say "you left your car running" or "I wouldn't leave my car running in this part of town..."
101. Your left leg starts developing huge muscles due to your 3rd new ACT2600 clutch.
102. If you have had to remove your radiator fans, because they just don't fit in front of that Turbo
103. When at the strip you sit around with the Z28s and WS6 guys and talk **** about hondas
104. If you can get your 4cyl to a 12.5 1/4 for $775.
105. if you know what Galant VR4s are
106. if you know that you don't need nitrous to run a 1/4 mile in under 12 seconds
107.you have more gauges then an airplane
108. Your best car is still on blocks in the yard and you have another year of payments on it
109. You break at least two tie rod ends on a launch
110. You know that breaking forks during a hard shift doesn't refer to waiting tables at a diner
111. "stock" means that the car has all of the parts it came with, you didn't add a thing, you just dremeled or removed a few, that's all...
112. That breaking an axle means replacing the axle and the wheel bearing because they are siezed together
113. When your wife/girlfriend owns and races a DSM just like you
114. When you street/track kills reads something like XX and 0
115. When you've removed the engine from your DSM in your own garage more than once (IN the middle of ####ING WINTER)
116. When you have nightmares about getting into second gear
117. When the word SHOOTOUT means driving your DSM half way across America (for some) just to beat up on it, and not a gun fight
118. When reference to modding a DSM comes up in just about every major argument you have with a loved one
119. You have to add a quart of oil befor you leave to go anywhere
120. You have to rebuild your trans every time you do an oil change
121. People on slicks with 3 times your displacement ***** about spots
122. $6,000 is the TOTAL COST of your 11 second street car, not the cost of the mods to get it there
123 You have more performance parts ready to go on your car, than on your car
124. If you're idea of the perfect date involves race gas and a turbocharger....
125. If you spend 2.60+ for a gallon of gas and haven't complained about it....
126. If you have the number to on track in your speed dial directory...
127. If you know the flow numbers all of the DSM-specific turbos off the top of your head... .
128. If your palms get wet and you mouth gets dry when you come up behind a Cobra/Firebird/SS/Vette in the freeway....
129. If you spend more money on your car then you do food and rent each month....
130. If you know how to get 4 fullsize wheels & tires, tool box, jack,
computer, and two 5 gallon fuel containers in the hatch of your car on race day....
131. If you drive that same car 1500 miles to Ohio for one day of racing and consider this to be glorious fun....
132. If your wife/girlfriend complains and says you spend more time playing with your car then you do her....
133. If you spend major religious holidays working on your car....
134. If you frequently use 4 letter wors while working on your car and kick a lot of things while using these 4 letter words....
135. If you know what the initials BCS mean....
136. If you spend all day at work waiting to get home just to go out and kick some V-8 butt at night....
137. If you dream day and night thinking "How in the HELL do i push 35-40 psi w/o blowing my engine"....
138. If you find your self staring at every DSM that drives by and almost get in a wreck cause you are not paying attention....
139. You ask more questions about the nitrous hose fittings than about Your teeth while at the dentist....
140. You complain about driving to the corner store for milk but will justify a 15 mile trek to find 101 octane

you beat me to it :laughing:

the one about being in the garage more than the street is DEFINATELY true. I will take a pic tomorrow of the garage I have been spending 6 hours a day in (after work).

inside,,, 97 AWD talon with $25,000.00 in it. 2.3L stroker short block on the floor. 6 bolt N/A short block,,, on the floor. stage 7 1g slowboy head on top of a freshly built 6 bolt block on the engine stand. unibody of our "rail" (FWD alcohol car). more bolts, pulleys, tools than you could imagine (where else) on the floor.

outside,,,,300whp 97 AWD talon. my new 93 AWD talon (sorry I have been saying GSX,, just easier than always typing AWD talon, same damn thing).

I've helped build,or built every engine except the stroker. that engine is just waiting to be unleashed. 2.3L stroker with an eagle crank, and a stage V slowboy head,,,I am like a pig in $hit with that engine. that thing will be nasty nasty with TWO capital N's. we are hoping for 860AWD,HP without nitrous. :banana:

oh dear... i just made mess in my pants :unsure:

Ohhhhh.... my favorite body, the 1g. You should just put all of your money into that one. They are so hot!

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:



to be honest,,, I love my 2g 420, and If i had the money to keep both I would turn the 420 car into the racer ( I think that engine has something to prove and can). but this is the car i have wanted for a long time. It flows so smoothly (well except the driver's headlight wants to poke up and say hi) I will post the pics tomorrow.

:laughing: kinda reminds me of going commando and having your zipper come down. things just tend to poke out and say hi to everyone lol