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Autocross Build Evo 1 - Going Overboard

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Canadian_CD9A

Supporting Member
1,077
833
Feb 10, 2012
Winnipeg, MB_Canada
I noticed I had no build thread here, time to change that.

As some of you know, the Evo 1-3 is very similar to a 2g DSM. Same 7-bolt (minor differences), similar electronics, W5M33 transmission (way better gear ratios though!)...most of the stuff that fits a DSM will fit an Evo. This makes modifying bearable, especially for the engine that I'll most certainly blow up soon.

I bought my car wrecked with 25,000 miles on it, the first owner in Canada had it for about 2 weeks and put it into a curb. It was completely trashed..when I first drove it home, it was a blizzard in rush hour. It was my first time driving RHD, I had bald summer tires, a cracked rim, no 2nd or 3rd gear and the transmission sounded like it was going to die. There was no interior, no sound deadening, a roll cage and a racing seat that was made for a 120lb Japanese guy. It demanded alertness from the moment I started. The chassis is SUPER clean, however, so anything wrong with it just gets replaced.

When I got it - it cost me $2200:

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Shortly after - new paint, new wheels, new tires, same sick 4x4 stance.

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I autocrossed it somewhat successfully for 3 years, but blew the struts, every bushing, turbo oil seals, clutch, pretty much everything that wears out needed replacing. Keep in mind this thing has about 30,000 miles on it now.

It has gone 12.39 @ 110 in temps that were just above freezing (1.9 60' on corded RE-01Rs), the mod list was pretty short when I did that.

I don't even want to calculate the amount of money I have in it, I could have bought something way nicer. However, now that it's almost done, I feel enormously confident in what it's capable of. I'm hoping the weight stays under 2600lbs, hoping for about 375whp/375wtq with its current turbo, maybe a high 10 quarter mile and a circuit racing beast. I set it up for autocross, but it would probably be at home just about anywhere.


Pics after most recent teardown & rebuild:

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Toda Fightex dampers - 12k springs all around :D
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Mod List:


Powertrain:
-Forced Performance FP68HTA turbocharger
-Ported turbine housing & 34mm flapper valve
-Holset wastegate actuator
-Forced Performance Race Manifold
-TPP blanket for FP Race Manifold
-PTP blanket for TD05H turbine housing
-OEM Evo III o2 housing
-A'Pexi 2.5" downpipe
-High flow catalytic converter
-A'Pexi N1 catback exhaust
-RTM Racing driveshaft hanger bushings
-ARC Intercooler & piping
-HKS-RS Intake Pipe
-A'Pexi Filter Kit
-Homebrew airbox
-HKS SSQV blow-off valve, recirculated
-Walbro 255lph fuel pump
-Socketed & chipped ECU
-FIC 660cc fuel injectors
-ACT 2600 Xtreme Clutch Kit
-Ralliart motor mounts (4)
-Ralliart north/south crossmember mounts (8)
-Factory front LSD


Suspension:
-17x7 +35 Kosei K1-TS wheels
-215/45R17 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec tires
-Toda Racing Fightex Type DA-G coilovers (12k/12k springs)
-Evo III front subframe for more track
-Loki Fabrication lower control arms with extended balljoint
-Loki Fabrication tie rods with spherical bearings
-Ralliart front control arm bushings (2)
-Whiteline caster-adding control arm bushings (2)
-D&D Performance rear lower control arms
-Whiteline 20mm rear sway bar
-Ralliart trailing arm bushings
-Megan Racing camber & toe arms with spherical bearings
-Ralliart differential mount bushings (4)
-Ralliart strut tower bars
-Ultra Racing door braces
-SuperPro steering rack bushings


Brakes:
-Wilwood Superlite 12.2" brake kit with 2-piece rotors (front)
-Carbotech XP8 brake pads (front & rear)
-Volvo S40 rotors (rear)
-Goodridge stainless steel brake lines
-Cusco brake stopper brace


Interior:
-Sparco Ring steering wheel
-Bride Ergo I racing seat
-Bride seat rail
-Blitz SBC i-D boost controller & Power Meter
-Autogage oil temp, oil pressure, water temp gauges
-Razo pedals
-C's Racing short shifter
-Tegiwa shifter extension
-Ralliart shift knob
-RTM Racing brass shifter bushings (transmission end)
-RTM Racing brass shifter bushings (shifter end)
-Cusco HyperGum shifter base bushings

Even with the best parts picked together, I ran into silly issues from my combination that has never really been tried. Example - after fully replacing my front suspension with (rare and expensive) Ralliart bushings, I found that my front wheels were way back in the wheelwells. The Evo III had a wider track and longer wheelbase than the Evo I - since I had the Evo III front subframe, I figured all would be well. Long story short, the Evo III gets its wider track from the subframe, but the longer wheelbase from its control arms. My arms are modified Evo I arms, so I had to address this problem somehow. I had Whiteline caster-adjusting bushings imported and installed - and was aghast when they REDUCED the wheelbase and made my tire rubbing issue so much more painful. The shop that installed them put them in backwards, so that had to be redone. The alignment has never been right since then.

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The car had issues like crazy; the tune sucked, the alignment was never right, it has suspension hardware issues, the transmission isn't happy, the brake pedal did nothing for the first 50% of travel after driving hard. It has been an absolute nightmare getting to this point; anything that can go wrong, has. The brakes were gone for weeks of machining, and "simple fixes" are never simple.

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Car weight with me in it and 1/4 tank of gas. It's 2554 lbs. without me.
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Filthy.
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Finally racing!
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Blew off a charge pipe on my first run and got pushed across the finish line. Didn't figure it out until I limped it back home. This was a bad, bad day.
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This covers to the end of 2014.
 

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What's cooking for 2015?
Well, I'm addressing every flaw the car has, and making every effort to improve along the way. Parts arrive daily!

View attachment 262612

I have a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 1 1/16" master cylinder to fix my brake pedal issue and all new suspension hardware to keep it from backing off (again).

The tune sucks and I can't do anything about it. So, DSMLink to the rescue. The Link, GM IAT and Omni MAP are on loan to me from my buddy Mitch from Brandon, Manitoba. No reason for him to do it, but I sure appreciate it! It's going on Speed Density with the big 4" filter. Brand new Bosch sensor for my LC1/XD16 wideband to go with it, and 1000cc injectors to stretch out the HTA68.

View attachment 262613

My gauges have never worked, so I'll be tossing them and installing a Defi DIN setup with oil pressure, oil temp and water temp gauges. Also incoming is a Defi Blue Racer boost gauge for the steering column, and a sheet of carbon fiber from China to mount the Blitz SBC i-D boost controller and completely ricer Blitz POWER METER i-D!

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The cylinder head has always been a concern since I've been doing all of this on stock head bolts. So, I have a Fel-Pro composite head gasket, ARP head studs, revised lash adjusters, JUN cam gears, Manley valve springs and titanium retainers, and Tomei 260 cams. These are actually bigger than HKS 272s by a big margin, bigger than BC272s and roughly around Kelford 264 size - don't let the "260" fool you, it sure fooled me.

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Greddy/Trust oil cooler, couldn't hurt. Not pictured, but a Sard fuel pressure regulator with braided lines is also going to make its way in.

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I just completed my dream trifecta of differentials - a Ralliart front plated LSD, Ralliart Super Traction rear LSD (designed for EvoX RS but will work in any RS-model Evo), and I got my hands on my 3rd Adelia Magic mechanical coupling. These things don't grow on trees (there were maybe 25 made), I'm not selling it this time. I also picked up a Cusco MZ front LSD, but it might not be better than the Ralliart for my purposes so it will probably end up for sale. I desperately need to rebuild my transmission, so I'll be sourcing a transmission's worth of bearings and synchros for it. I have a worn out transmission from an Evo III stashed away, so it will get the E3 3rd and 4th gears (same as my 3rd and 4th but the E3 got double-synchro) to go with my 1st and 2nd, which have longer ratios than the E3, but still have a double-synchro 2nd gear. This is ideal for my car.

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And then there's this. I dreamed of one day finding something like this. Well, my prayers were answered last month. This is an OnGreenPerformance replica of the HKS divided T4 manifold, probably less than 20 made, I doubt I'll ever see another. I don't have to give up my TD05H spool time when I bolt on a twin-scroll HX35 - due to the nature of this cast equal runner manifold, it will probably spool quicker than any Holset ever has on a 2.0L 4G63, but still kiss 500whp. I cannot wait to get this leg of the project in motion.

Plans include an 8-blade HX35 (I can't get E85 so the 7-blade's potential is wasted), 38mm low-profile wastegate if it will fit, T3-to-T4 adapter and turbine housing blanket. I will need to get a new intake pipe fabricated, along with a new downpipe and possibly a new radiator & fan setup.

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I also picked up a set of quarter panel flares from Truth Racing in Japan so that I won't be limited to my wussy 215/45R17 tires anymore. I will join the real tire crowd with 255/40R17s!

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I enjoyed reading that. Looks like it's coming along nicely. Keep us posted!
 
Thanks guys! Things are progressing fast now. Just acquired:

-Good condition WH1C (basically an 8-blade HX35 with 12cm divided housing)
-T3 to T4 adapter flange
-Turbine housing v-band flange
-ARP turbo studs for the adapter
-T3, T4 and oil gaskets
-Oil feed and return lines from ExtremePSI
-T3 turbo blanket
-Wastegate flange and gaskets
-Various couplers and clamps
-Adapter to put my borrowed Synapse diverter valve on my piping's HKS flange

Now just to find somebody to fab me a downpipe and modify my intercooler pipe!

My HTA68 with ported flapper, Holset actuator and turbine blanket will be up for grabs, along with the FP manifold, Evo III o2 housing, A'Pexi N1 downpipe, and HKS RS intake. I'm hoping to cut even on the turbo sale, but make more power, more faster with the twin-scroll WH1C on the cast divided manifold.
 
Thanks!

I spend a lot of my free time and time at work fishing for parts. I buy most of it from Japan from their auction sites and second-hand parts shops, it really takes consistency and keyword searching; a lot of the stuff I buy is based on small details, or part numbers. The front LSD was advertised as being from a base-model Lancer, the Adelia appeared on a parts site I check every 6 hours, and the Ralliart bushings were all bought individually from all over the world, found by using their Ralliart and Mitsubishi Motors part numbers on Google. I think the simple answer to that question is "I have no life".
 
Wow! What an adventure and it still going strong! Keep at it!
 
Time for an update. I've been fighting many battles with this car, and I always seem to lose.

Problems that have arisen this year:
-Needed the caster-adding lower control arm bushings re-pressed because they were installed backwards, fixed. Went looking for clunks, found a worn out balljoint.
-Waited 2 weeks to get a new Howe Racing ball joint, but the clunking continued. Turned out to be a year-old axle that stuffed itself.
-Burst a coupler (the one that would always come off). Awkward size - 2.25", 110* angle, 6" legs. Took awhile to find.
-Had an IAT bung welded on the intercooler pipe to the throttle body. Turns out it was welded in the one spot where it interfered with something on the car. It got rewelded and now houses the IAT sensor.
-Finally started tuning on Speed Density. Stopped to upload new settings, blew the clutch hose.
-Brought the Ralliart rear LSD to a shop to install. They thought it was the front diff, pulled the trans, and I lost another week. While the transmission was out, the ACT 2600 clutch showed that it is wearing very awkwardly and needs to be replaced. And to do what I want with the transmission will cost $2000 or more. Great.
-Switched subframes from Evo 3 back to Evo 1 to reduce track and hopefully get back some tire clearance to the inner fenderwell. Didn't work.
-The brakes brought back an old problem - the first half of the pedal does nothing. I thought I fixed this with a Mitsubishi GTO 1-1/16" master cylinder, but no.

The engine without the clunky MAF, and with an actual filter. Still gets a lot of blowby and oil in the pipes, but compression is good.

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Dead coupler, limped it home from autocross like this:

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I bought two pairs of 17x9 +37 Kosei K1s in 4x114.3 (buying anything 17x9 4x114.3 that isn't from Taiwan takes patience), also a set of 245/40R17 BFG Rivals to go wide.

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As of now, I can't fit the 245/40R17 BFG Rivals, they interfere with the inner fenderwell and fenders. Even on stock-sized tires (215/45R17), I can't use the Evo III sideskirts because they interfere. The Rival is 24.7" overall and my 215/45R17 24.6". I don't know how it's possible to interfere like this on stock-sized tires with stock-style suspension, but I digress.

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It did look good with them though.

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So, I have a new plan. I'm going to lose the extended ball joints (not happy), but in order to gain wheelbase that is absolutely critical, I have to buy:
-Evo 5 lower control arms
-Evo 4 knuckles
-Evo 3 front sway bar and endlinks
-Re-press the 4-lug hub into the Evo 4 knuckle

Option of adding $400 Moonface extended balljoints that reportedly last a year, or going 5-lug all around and needing to buy a set of 5-lug hubs, 10 extended wheel studs, Altezza 307mm rear rotors (and spacing out my stock caliper), drill my aluminum brake hats for 5x114, and of course, buy a set of 17x9 wheels in 5x114.3.

On the up-side, tuning with ECMLink v3 is a lot of fun! I knew my burned chip tune was terrible, with AFRs in the 9s on WOT. There is so much to learn about tuning a car, and an endless wealth of information online to learn.

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Old Virtual Dyno on 22 psi - notice the power tanking at high RPM because it's so rich.

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Then untuned at 15 psi:

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I'm actually making close to the same peak power now with boost set at 15 psi than I was with 22 psi! Duty cycle is getting close to 80% so I'll be installing a set of FIC 1000cc injectors shortly to crank up the boost. This is just after the first round of tuning, there is a lot more power in it, especially as the boost goes up!

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The Ralliart rear LSD goes clunk-clunk like a proper LSD should. It's configured to be a 1.8-way diff with 80% of total lock. Throwing away streetability one piece at a time to have a faster car!

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I gathered up everything to put a twin-scroll turbo on my car. It turned out that I bought the wrong turbo and I don't have a replacement right now, but all that it needs is to have a downpipe fabricated, and maybe a radiator if things get too close.

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It's a toss-up between a Holset HX35 with divided T3 12cm housing, and a Borg-Warner EFR 7163 with divided T4 turbine and internal wastegate. I have everything to install the Holset, I would need to change the whole setup for the EFR, but the EFR is by far the superior turbo and has a better internal wastegate.

Using an external wastegate is impossible on this manifold, I have no clue what they were thinking here. It needs to be divided up to the wastegate flange and then blocked off. External wastegates are big, and turbine housings are bigger.

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Basically I need a significant amount of money and a lot of wrench time to keep improving, and both are in short supply right now.
 
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Some minor updates, but no work done yet, and not for awhile.

I have some minor acquisitions and ideas to talk about, any feedback is always welcome.

I've decided to move on from white. There is something special about a white Evo RS, but there's something more special about choosing a color for yourself. I had a minor crisis when I saw this car, and knew mine just has to be red.

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Right now I'm on the fence between BMW's Sakhir Orange (first picture) and House of Kolor's Kandy Red (done in a silver base)

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And then, I dumped the Holset idea and bought a BorgWarner S200SX-56 (aka 7670). The single-scroll T3 turbine housing on it has got to go, it will get a .83 twin scroll T4 instead. Part of the reasoning here is for space and the ability to bolt it on my T4 manifold with an EWG, but the BorgWarner turbo is the better turbo, and it's a true twin-scroll turbine housing instead of a simple divided turbine housing on Holsets. The 4" inlet is a rare model, and I really didn't feel like buying a 3" intake either, so it's perfect. It'll spool like a bastard with the short runners of a burning-hot cast manifold and a small twin scroll housing, I can't wait to kick the 68HTA to the curb.

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Example of a S200SX-56 with a small single-scroll T3 housing on a 2.3L DSM. It's ideal power-wise, but the torque would obliterate the Evo transmission, so I'll have to stick with a 2.0L.

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I also found out how to run an external wastegate with the manifold and turbo. On my setup, that tube has to be divided all the way to the wastegate too, yikes. A local fabricator assured me he could do it, so I'm optimistic.

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And lastly, what my roommate here in Ottawa wants to steal badly for his drift Evo III, I now have a Cusco Tarmac rear-biased 35:65 center diff. I'm still unsure what center diff to use - Tarmac with VC, Tarmac with no VC, Tarmac with the Adelia, or stock diff with Adelia, but at least I have choices.

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If there was an award for buying awesome parts but never doing anything with them, I think I'd win.
 

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I have the first version, MHI parts with 7cm housing. It's probably the best version, but TD05s have their limitations.
 
So, even if the dump tube is divided, it doesn't make a complete seal at the manifold outlet, correct? I'm just confused on how this will actually work.

Basically, you'll need the dump tube to completely seal to the divide in the manifold. That sounds impossible in itself. Then, you need to find a way to divide that dump tube in half equally. If your fabricator pulls this off, he'll have done the impossible.

PS, that color should look sweet on the Evo.
 
The manifold needs a 2" divider in it to be sealed, it's really not the problem. As for the tube, just cut pipe in half, weld in a piece between it, weld the tube back together. Corners are trickier, but it can be done. Labor-intensive to say the least.

And yes, I love the colors. I think half the battle there is learning what base to use and applying the correct number of coats so it turns out like factory.
 
Just a FYI.

You can't press your 4 lug hubs into the Evo 4 knuckles, completely different wheel bearing design. Also If you want i'll take that cusco center diff off you. :cool:
 
Really? It's quite common to put DSM/Evo 4-9 hubs and bearings into Evo 1-3 knuckles, how can the inverse be impossible?

I already canned the idea of Evo 4 knuckles anyway. I'd lose the ability to run my Wilwood brakes and I'd have to redrill the front rotor hats to 5x114.3. It's going to be a simple Evo 3 control arm setup.

This diff is so popular, I really don't quite get it. It might be available if I change my mind again (and I do this frequently). For now, I have a rabid cat guarding it.
 
Yes 1G DSM 5 lug hubs can be pressed in. Evo 4-9 and 2G DSM use a bolt in bearing and can't be used. Guys who are using Evo 4/5/6 parts are swapping the whole knuckle and lower control arm. The Evo 4/5/6 swap is well worth it, gives you the ability to run Brembos, which you have much more pad/rotor selection to choose from. Much better than any Wilwood setup out there.

The Cusco tramac is for guys like me who like power on oversteer. Some people like it, some don't.
 
Ah, you're right on the 1g hubs, my apologies. The 1g hubs alone don't do much for me, they really only allow for 5-lug wheels, again redrilling my rotors. The wheels I want (17x9.5 +15 Volk TE37V) are available in 4x114.3 and I don't think I'd ever want to replace them if I had them. Pictures are 5-lug, but the listing is for 4-lug and theprice would be under $2000 landed - http://page15.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t415977547

As for the Evo456 conversion, I see that as:

-Evo 456 knuckles
-Evo 4 RS rack known to work and a good upgrade, but I don't think I could run my tie rods with them
-Evo 5 control arms for increased track and weight savings
-Evo 56789 Brembos up front - rears are more difficult with the handbrake. Not sure about distribution.
-I'd lose the 2-piece rotors which save a lot of weight and are worthless on resale

I think the full front/rear conversion with a new pair of 2-piece rotors would run $2000, and the result would be 5-lug, longer/lighter control arms and a slightly quicker rack. I'd like extended balljoints, but MoonFace discontinued their $400 E456 units that wore out in a year. The Brembos and Wilwood Superlite calipers are basically a draw to me. My rotor blanks are $30 and Carbotech makes great pads, so the value is lost a bit there. And then I'd need wheels too :( I've basically built myself into a corner with the setup I have. RaceFab NZ makes tubular Evo-III lower control arms with extended balljoints that would work nicely with what I have, and that's where my suspension modding would end. With minor tweaks, my setup can be really good, but getting that quick rack would require a clean slate and significant investment. Rear Brembos might be nice to have on a 4-lug setup, though.

The Tarmac does have its use of course, but I've always thought that there are other ways to set up a car for throttle-on oversteer. I had to detune my rear LSD to keep it from doing the same thing. I love what the Tarmac does, but lack of locking makes me sad, especially because DSMs and Evos can absolutely kill it on wet autocross tracks. The VC is too slow to make the Tarmac launch well, and the Adelia could either fix all of the Tarmac's shortcomings, or neuter it completely. I'd pay to upgrade to ACD, but that's further into the realm of impossible.
 
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It's been a long-ass time since I updated this. I haven't worked on the car, but things are progressing slowly. I graduated around a year ago with my Master's degree, and have been busting my ass to pay off student debt, put enough money aside for a house downpayment, and buy car parts.

I bought this car in 2008. It's been ten years! I really don't care about where it's value sits, since I'll be holding on to it forever. It's my car.

Here's what's new:

I'm still stockpiling parts like mad, so things should go pretty quickly once I tear into it.

I have a 2.3L Manley stroker motor, thanks to a local, Alex Pisarski. Basic 2.3L build with pump-gas friendly pistons, and a few bolt-ons. The engine's history is murky, but I believe this engine made 580ish WHP in a drag car before, so it will take me where I need to go. It has BC 272s, BC single valvesprings & titanium retainers, BC valves, and light porting on the head. ARP bolts everywhere. I'll be pitching the eBay cam gears and pulley, and swapping the valvetrain to GSC S3s with Kiggly springs & retainers, Fluidampr pulley, and other minor stuff. I'm searching for a decent vertical-flow intercooler, preferably made by Hellion or Sheepey, I just don't want to pay a fortune for a new one. I'll be redoing all of the piping in 2.5", deleting the BOV, and making things nice 'n tidy. The downpipe, of course, needs to be fabricated, the radiator needs to be tucked, and a whole lot more. A local chap offered to have the whole EFR setup fabricated and installed for me, in exchange for my 68HTA setup, which I'm on board with. I just need to collect a lot of parts to do it.

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The turbo that is sitting in my basement - EFR 7670 with .92 IWG T4 TS back-end

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Gonna do something like this for the intercooler:

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I got a basket full of goodies for the transmission, including all of the major parts for a rebuild. I'm staying with the Evo I first and second gears, and converting to the Evo III third & fourth gear setup. I've got all the replacement parts before they disappeared forever, thanks to Tim Zimmer (TMZ Performance). I did have to find a hub & slider assembly in France, since the rest are gone. It's a DSM HD unit, which I'm hoping I never break. I still have a Ralliart front LSD, freshly rebuilt by Route6 in Japan, and a brand new Adelia Magic coupling. I'll have Tim build the transmission when he's up to it. Clutch is still undecided between one of Tim's South Bend setups, or an OS Giken R2CD.

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I found a pair of RaceFab front control arms to put my wheelbase issues to rest. It took me a YEAR to finally buy and receive these, once I expressed my interest in them. Good thing I'm not in a rush! Also have the replacement rear trailing arm to bring the car's geometry back to normal.

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Body-wise is pretty much settled. It will look pretty much like this. Yes, I own that car's wing.
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With this car's front end, and different side skirts:
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(lip and taillights not pictured here)

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One-off (?) pair of JDM Gsquare sideskirts

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And these. Ohhhhh gosh yes, these. I looked for years for even one of these. One is still brand new in the bag, the other is in great shape. Original Ralliart racing seats, a factory rebadge of the kevlar Bride GIAS II. I picked these up in Edmonton, and I'm absolutely in love with them.

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Don't expect this car to be done anytime soon. It's 1,500 miles away, but I want to change that as soon as I can.
 

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I found a video of my car, this was when it first came to Canada in 2008. Yes, that odometer shows 40,230 Kilometers (around 25,000 miles). It's original.



For reference, this is how I bought the car in late 2008. Absolutely trashed. It was wrecked, bent suspension, bent subframe, cracked wheel, treaded tires, scrapes on every body panel, all the window mechanisms were broken, the door lock mechanisms were broken, no 2nd or 3rd gear, no boost because the wastegate arm fell off, and cobbled fire hazards. The car has come a long, long way.

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I got rid of the 110 pound roll cage. It was a bolt-in unit, so probably wouldn't have done anything in a rollover anyway. I'll put a proper rollbar in it one day. This is the interior when I left it, I can't wait to exchange the red Brides for the set of Ralliart Brides, and for some actual gauge pods.

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The car hasn't really aged since I dropped it off here a few years ago. A bit of rust build-up on the rotors and it's dirty, but this chassis still looks beautiful.

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Not much to report, but last night, I pulled the transmission since it's going away next month for a rebuild. I've asked TMZ to do it, and trust his experience 100%. I guess this would be close to a Stage 4 build?

Full spec:
-Evo I base (W5M33-2-WQFE)
-Evo I 1st & 2nd gears (2.571 & 1.600, respectively)
-Evo III 3rd and 4th gears (new)
-Evo I 5th gear (0.617)
-DSM HD 3rd/4th hub and slider (late 91-early 92 spec, new)
-Evo I 1st/2nd shift rail and fork
-Evo III 3rd/4th shift rail and fork (new)
-All new OEM Evo-spec synchros
-Detailing/deburring/REM/shot-peening of the stuff that matters
-Boostin Performance 300m output shaft (new)
-4-spider conversion with TMZ/Beyond Redline cross-shaft
-Adelia Magic mechanical coupling (new)
-Ralliart front LSD (rebuilt by Route6 Performance in Japan)
-Evo I 64-tooth crown wheel (4.266 ratio)
-External oil cooler with Tilton pump, Mocal oil cooler and -8AN lines/fittings
-OEM Evo I RS shift fork (beefier than Evo GSR/DSM, and comes with chrome tips)

Fingers crossed that it won't break gears as long as I have it, but I'll have some back-up gears on standby.

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I picked up a Haltech patch harness for the Evo123 since I want to run it on the PS1000 one day, with flex fuel and boost control. This also helps me get around the limitation of ECMLink Lite's RPM & boost limitations. No harness hacking necessary, thank goodness.

I found something really cool that I've never seen before. Carrosser (a Cusco branch for rally-spec parts and audio) made a really neat chassis reinforcement kit for the Evo. I can't find any evidence of a kit like this online for any platform, but I picked it up in Japan and will put it to good use.

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I've been trying to move back where the Evo sits, but it's been a nightmare hiring process for the job I was offered. Stockpiling parts right now, biding my time, and TMZ thankfully hasn't touched my transmission, because it's not like I need it yet. I abandoned that 2.3L stroker motor because I don't want to wreck my transmission with the torque of a 2.3L on mildish cams and a big EFR. Instead, I'll be tearing out the motor when I'm back there next to build it, I just need to buy the minor stuff (gaskets, etc). The new engine setup is a 156mm longrod setup on the stock crank with Howards billet rods, Wiseco HDs at 8.5:1 (which need to go out for coating), King XP main bearings and coated rod bearings, Fluidampr pulley, Curt Brown 2G racing head, JUN cams, Competition Clutch cam gears, ARP L19s, main studs, cam/crank bolts, crank scraper/windage tray, BSE, Evo IX OFH, the OS clutch & flywheel and all the little supporting stuff. I'm still running after RaceFab to build me an oil pan, and I'll be redoing the whole fuel system to run a surge tank, two pusher pumps and an E85-friendly system. I have a Haltech PS1000 harness but I may go with the Elite 1500 for the added features. For bulletproofability, the transfer case out for 300M treatment, the rear diff will get a refresh (if it even needs it), and I'd like the DSS carbon fiber driveshaft to shave weight and clean up the awful stock design.

I've been super impressed with Morrison's work, so I will be ditching the cast manifold for one of their manifolds and downpipes for the EFR 7670, and I have a titanium exhaust in my plans. It's turning into a full restoration/race car at this stage, I'm afraid. I have it all planned out on paper and every tiny detail worked out to the last bolt.

The car is truly going overboard now though. It's going Evo 4-9 rear suspension, since I figured out how to install everything without welding anything. I have RALLIART bushings for all of it, and I have a tubular diff mount bar with billet diff cover. This alone should save 10+ pounds, plus a 25+ pound weight saving by converting the suspension. This lets me use the Evo 5-9 rear Brembos in my closet and I have Evo X front calipers on the way as well. I'll be ditching my Toda dampers and getting a set of Ohlins DFVs for Evo 456, with K-Mac caster plates, Whiteline rear sway bar, Girodisc rotors all around, and I'll be using 18x9.5 wheels with 265/35R18s, which I have confirmation will fit my setup (I'm trying my best to resist a set of 1990s tarmac rally spec magnesium wheels in that spec that are for sale at the moment). I'll be ordering a RaceFab front subframe to save another 25lbs (and match the arms I have), I'm just trying to scoop some unicorn knuckles to tie it all together. To make room up front and transfer weight rearwards, it will be going with a remote electric PS pump (in the trunk) and a relocated Saturn alternator. Overall I'd like the car under 2500lbs with half an interior and a roll bar. Bodywork and paint obviously need to be done (underneath and engine bay, too), I'll stitch weld the whole chassis myself when I add the chassis reinforcement kit, and it will need a carbon roof because the stock ones love to rust.


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