Thinking of buying a DSport

[tonydav]

Hi All,

I'm considering buying a 2012 DSport. I've owned a number of performance cars over the years including a Mitsubishi Galant VR4 (91) from new that I modified the absolute crap out of.

The DSport looks to be excellent value second hand over here (Australia). Wondering if there is an FAQ on the site about *basic* mods to improve the output.

Thanks,
tony

[BenS]

Hi Tony,

I'm going to assume you want a petrol THP DSport rather than the diesel HDi, but most of these points apply to both.

Most basic: Remap - gets you to around 190 bhp (petrol) or 140 bhp (diesel)

Other options:
Cat-back 2.5" exhaust
Full 2.5" exhaust
Sports cat
Decat (will fail on emissions)
Intercooler upgrade (no power gain, just increases longevity)
Intake revision

Obviously any of these would be best done before your remap to get more gains. Beyond that, there's more complex things like forged pistons and rods, camshafts, hybrid turbos, WMI systems etc.

And one of the most important things for the THP engine: WALNUT BLAST - the direct injection causes carbon buildup on the valves which reduce performance after ~20-25k miles and can cause misfires, all the way to shattered pistons if a piece breaks off in the engine. This is a problem in all direct injection engines and can be solved by walnut shell blasting. There's more info about it on the forum if you search, but I'd strongly recommend finding somewhere that provides the service before buying - a 2012 will probably be caked if it's not had it done before.

[tonydav]

Thanks for that great info. Pretty well exactly what I was after. I'm not sure the diesel is sold in Australia but either way I'm definitely looking at the petrol.

I'll investigate the "walnut blasting". Never heard of this so good to check it out prior to buying and see if it can be done over here and at what cost.

[tonydav]

Just having a look at walnut blasting options over here. People are mentioning doing it every 50,000kms. Is that about right? (Feel free to point me to a thread on this if it's easier

[BenS]

Here's a good thread with before and after pictures. 50k kilometres is probably the top limit of when you'd want to get it done, as some of the aforementioned pictures were from as low as 30,000km.

[tonydav]

Thanks will check it out