Project Evolution IX

[RawrImAMonster]

Since my old thread was lost with the website problems, here's the car as it sets:

2006 Lancer Evolution IX SE

Mods:
GReddy Evo 2 catback & downpipe
K&N Filter
Boost controller
Walbro 255
MR bilsteins and swift springs
and a tune

305whp on CBRD's Mustang Dyno


Exhaust Video (0-80ish)
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V_XRsG8-GE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V_XRsG8-GE</a><!-- m -->

Here is when I got it:


Here is what it looked like with the stock SE BBS's:


Here are the new shoes I picked up for it:


And here is what it looks like with the new BBS's:



(Mid July-ish)

Got Curb Appeal in Harrisonburg to repaint the front bumper and hood to get rid of the nasty rock chips. They did an excellent job matching the paint. Whoever buffed my car must have never used a buffer before however. Going to have to get Dan to fix the swirl marks in the hood.

[RawrImAMonster]

Added a few things recently. The biggest one being this:

A Competition Clutch Stage 2 - Good for around 450 ft-lbs of torque at the wheels

Overall I like it way better than the stock clutch. Has a slightly heavier pedal feel, but it just feels much more solid/consistent than the stock clutch. One of the better aftermarket clutches I've used. Infinitely better than the ACT 2600 I had in my old turbo eclipse.


Also added an Infiniti Basslink for some much needed bass. The car didn't come with the factory sub so it was severely lacking.




I also installed the brass and aluminum shifter bushings in an attempt to help get rid of some of the notchiness that Evo transmissions have. It helped some, but I'm still not completely happy with the way it shifts at low rpms. It's perfect at higher RPM's though.

Got some more parts coming in the mail tomorrow (including visual stuff) so I'll update this again shortly.

[RawrImAMonster]

Got my vortex generator installed (AKA roof spikes). They are aerodynamically functional for the evo 9.

[ibjeepin95]

Very clean Evo. I dig it.

[Goodspeed]

Nice dude. I think I mentioned it in the earlier pre-forum dump thread, but those BBS's look so damn good on this car (and that gen body style in black is quite nice). I always stop at those pics in the first post and just stop there for a minute....mmm...yeah....thats nice.

[Jake]

mmm...yeah....thats nice.

You made the right choice with those BBS's. Unf.

Oh, and I guess the little aero wing things are neat, too :thumbup:

[D_Eclipse9916]

mmm...yeah....thats nice.

You made the right choice with those BBS's. Unf.

Oh, and I guess the little aero wing things are neat, too :thumbup:

+1 on those wheels + your car.

If you ever want to see the actual engineering notes on those particular vortex generators let me know. I have it saved somewhere. Really interesting Mitsubishi Technical notes on optimizing those for efficiency. Funny how those look like they would do nothing but actually do a decent bit of overall drag reduction. Problem is getting them located properly (which of course mitsubishi did, lucky you!).

Found an online copy for you:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/corporate/about_us/technology/review/e/pdf/2004/16E_03.pdf">http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/corpor ... 16E_03.pdf</a><!-- m -->

[RawrImAMonster]

Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to keep it or get a low mileage (sub 30k) 04-06 STi or C5 z06 or something else. I like everything about the car except how notchy the transmission is with normal driving. At high rpms, its perfectly smooth, but it's just annoying for a daily driver.

If I do keep it, the brakes are getting redone soon (probably candy purple) like these:

[Ken]

Love this car.

See what you're saying about the notchy transmission, but let's be honest, if going for a better daily driver means switching to and STI; then i'm not sure if it will be THAT much of an improvement.

[Jake]

Love this car.

See what you're saying about the notchy transmission, but let's be honest, if going for a better daily driver means switching to and STI; then i'm not sure if it will be THAT much of an improvement.

Yeah... STi's that I've driven have all felt kinda notchy, too.

[FlaakCM]

I love 9s. And yours looks great!

im not sure i would go from an EVO to and STi. to simular to really make a difference unless you REALLY like the lines of the STi.

[RawrImAMonster]

Love this car.

See what you're saying about the notchy transmission, but let's be honest, if going for a better daily driver means switching to and STI; then i'm not sure if it will be THAT much of an improvement.

Yeah... STi's that I've driven have all felt kinda notchy, too.

I've only driven Shanna's about a year ago and I remember the transmission and clutch being loads better than the evo's. Part of the want to switch is just to get something with lower miles too. One of my problems is I don't like any new cars enough to make the switch to anything after 06 or so.

We'll see what I'm feeling like once it warms up a little. I may just get something else and retire the evo from DD duties.

Edit: As a side note, when I had the clutch put in, I had the guy take the transmission apart and check it out. He said everything looks brand new including the synchros, so I'm pretty sure the notchiness is just how its going to be.

[FlaakCM]

I dont know a lot about EVOs, but is there the ability to upgrade the tranny/shifter bushings to shifter after-market ones or are you looking to not increase NVH?

[ScottyB]

you'll get a better driveline with the STi, but that's about the only significant advantage it has over the Evo. its less razor sharp the the Evo without work, and make more torque down low, which you might want as a DD, but they don't handle the power mods nearly as easily.

[RawrImAMonster]

I dont know a lot about EVOs, but is there the ability to upgrade the tranny/shifter bushings to shifter after-market ones or are you looking to not increase NVH?

Yep, I've already done that, both the bushings at the shifter cable to transmission mount, and the shifter base bushings. It's better, but it still doesn't shift well at low rpms. From what I've heard, this is just the norm with evos.

you'll get a better driveline with the STi, but that's about the only significant advantage it has over the Evo. its less razor sharp the the Evo without work, and make more torque down low, which you might want as a DD, but they don't handle the power mods nearly as easily.

Yeah I know, I did tons of research on both before getting an evo. Came to the conclusion I would be happy with either one and went with the first one I found a good deal on. Because of that my cars worth 3 or 4k more than what I paid for it still.

Either way, I'm not interested in making much more than 300whp in a daily driver, and the STi turbo and motor is very capable of dealing with that in the stock form.

Having said that, I'm not necessarily going to get an STi, just one of the options I'm considering. Any of the newer STi's scare me because of the ringland issues in 07 and up or I would probably be looking at those. I'm not going to be keeping whatever I get stock, so I don't want to have to worry about the motor going and not having a warranty to cover it.

[ScottyB]

the ringlands are a result of the poor factory tune (too lean, det kills the rings + bearings). fix the tune and you fix the problem. i'd never ever keep any turbo subaru on a stock tune. i see aftermarket tunes as a reliability mod, not a power mod (although its a nice bonus)

[FlaakCM]

the ringlands are a result of the poor factory tune (too lean, det kills the rings + bearings). fix the tune and you fix the problem.

+1

The 93 octane tune with no bolt ons made a world of difference over the stock tune. The stock tune felt a little laggy and didnt put the power to the wheels smoothly. After I retuned the ECU, it ran a lot smoother and I was very happy with it.

I just wish i didnt have to spend 600 bones to get the ECU to where it shouldve been from the factory. :roll:

[RawrImAMonster]

the ringlands are a result of the poor factory tune (too lean, det kills the rings + bearings). fix the tune and you fix the problem. i'd never ever keep any turbo subaru on a stock tune. i see aftermarket tunes as a reliability mod, not a power mod (although its a nice bonus)

I've seen that as a proposed solution a lot of times, but a ton of people still have problems even with mild upgrades and a pro-tune or off the shelf cobb tune. I don't think that is the full problem. I think it helps, but there is more at work there than just the tune.

Also, the problem with using that as a solution is that you're voiding your warranty. So if it still happens, and again, it has to many people, you're fucked.

Here's a short thread with a poll where you can see plenty of modded folks still having the problem even with a small amount of votes: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2264969">http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... ?t=2264969</a><!-- m -->

Another potential cause that I've seen thrown around a lot is the way the fuel system was designed on the newer models (i think it switched over in 2007) It's almost always cylinder #4 that has the ringland failure and with the new system that is the last one to get fueled. A lot of people think that this is another part of the problem. Edit: This post explains that a little better than I did: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.iwsti.com/forums/3664763-post34.html">http://www.iwsti.com/forums/3664763-post34.html</a><!-- m -->

I've done a lot of digging into that issue because I thought one of the hatchback STi's would make a great DD and decided that it was a gamble too costly to risk.

[ScottyB]

Also, the problem with using that as a solution is that you're voiding your warranty. So if it still happens, and again, it has to many people, you're fucked.

yeah, i mean that's the first roadblock you hit right off the bat before you can even assess moving forward with that. i just figure if it were me, i'd throw the stock tune back on if i KNEW i was going in to the dealer. if you break down and need towed in though, good luck i guess.

plus, just about everything i own is past the warranty period anyway :lol:

[RawrImAMonster]

Also, the problem with using that as a solution is that you're voiding your warranty. So if it still happens, and again, it has to many people, you're fucked.

yeah, i mean that's the first roadblock you hit right off the bat before you can even assess moving forward with that. i just figure if it were me, i'd throw the stock tune back on if i KNEW i was going in to the dealer. if you break down and need towed in though, good luck i guess.

plus, just about everything i own is past the warranty period anyway :lol:

I was under the impression that they could tell if you've ever flashed the ecu. Maybe not though.

Edit: Looks like AccessPort re-writes the cheksum of the factory flash as it uninstalls itself. All other current methods of tuning are probably detectable and even with AccessPort they can still see the date when it was last flashed.