Top Ten Gifts for a DSM Owner

The holiday season is practically here and you're wondering what you may want to get someone that owns a DSM vehicle and loves working on it. During the winter season is when a lot of DSM tuners get their work done on their cars since there's a lot of downtime, well since the holiday season is here, they would absolutely love any gift to help them out.

1. High-Flow K&N Filter. A high-flow filter will help get more air into the engine and it'll assist in all future modifications. Along with the filter, there's also an intake pipe for it that's available which will improve air flow even more over the factory rubber pipe. The filter generally costs around $40 and the intake pipe costs around $199. Just the filter should be alright, your beginner DSM tuner would be greatly thankful.

2. Aftermarket Boost Gauge. The factory boost gauge generally isn't very accurate at all and definitely shouldn't be trusted when adding modifications. To avoid engine damage when increasing turbo boost levels, an aftermarket boost gauge is definitely needed. There are many brands to choose from, some of the top brands are Autometer, Greddy, Blitz, HKS, and Apex'i. The cost can range from $40 to anywhere over $100, but a $40 aftermarket boost gauge would definitely do the trick.

3. Cat-Back Exhaust System. If your DSM tuner hasn't already, eventually they're going to need a new exhaust to gain more power. Why not get them one right? It'll give them a lot less restriction in their exhaust and reduce backpressure. A whole exhaust system can cost anywhere from $200 to $800 depending on the type of car. Some brands would be Greddy, HKS, and Borla.

4. High Flow Cat. Does your DSM tuner already have an exhaust system? Well, an excellent addition to their exhaust would be a high-flow cat. It'll free up a lot of air restriction developed in the catalytic converter. You can probably pick one up for around $40-$100.

5. Boost Controller. When raising turbo boost levels, a boost controller is an essential upgrade. It allows the tuner to be able to adjust their boost level according to how the car is running and what they're upgrading. There are two types of boost controllers, manual and electronic. An electronic one can cost you around $250 whereas a manual one would be around $100. Electronic ones look really neat but, they have been known to be unreliable when boosting high.

6. S-AFC. Every tuner needs one of these. It's a "Super Air/Fuel Controller". When making modifications, the factory computer just simply cannot control the changes that have been made. This allows the user to manage their engine's computer themselves. This is a great upgrade and a greatly appreciated gift for your DSM tuner, but they cost generally around $250-$300.

7. Performance Clutch. Is your DSM owner always complaining about their clutch slipping? If it's a really old DSM and the clutch has never been replaced, there's a good chance it's probably going. It's time to get a new one, what a better time to get them one right? Especially if they are adding more and more power, their stock clutch will not last them for much longer. A performance clutch will grab when they need it to and won't slip. A performance clutch will cost anywhere from $300 to $600.

8. Fuel Pump. If the car is getting a larger turbo or boosting higher, more fuel will be needed. The stock fuel pump will not be able to deliver the needed fuel for anything over 16psi of boost, so a new fuel pump is needed. If they aren't boosting very high as of currently, but they plan to, there's no harm in being on the safe side with a larger fuel pump. A good size fuel pump would be one at least 190Lph. The cost of one will range from $100 to $200.

9. Fuel Injectors. Also with adding more power and boost, they're going to need larger fuel injectors along with their fuel pump. They can get away with having a larger fuel pump and their stock injectors but, to give room for upgrade, larger injectors would be good. A good size for injectors would be 550cc injectors if they're not boosting outrageously high, if so, 650cc injectors would be recommended. The larger the injectors, the more it's going to cost. Ranging anywhere from $250-$600.

10. Turbo Upgrade. Is this DSM owner really serious? Are you willing to spoil them? This would really be spoiling them. They would already need to have an aftermarket manifold, external wastegate, O2 sensor housing, and an aftermarket exhaust for this upgrade. If they want to boost horsepower past the 350 horses mark, they're going to need to get a new turbo. A popular turbo upgrade for high horsepower for DSMs would be the Garret T3/T4. It's around the $700 price range.