rabenne's EVO X MR

[rabenne]

rabenne submitted a new DSM Profile :

rabenne's EVO X MR


Read more about this vehicle here...

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

SAWEEEEET Will !!!!!
Love the model, love the color.....jealous but super happy for you.
I think I deserve one too, but man, the property taxes in KS are OUTRAGOUS on stuff so I can't do one.
Marty

 

[rabenne]

thanks buddy! I have been secretly wanting and Evo since 2003... I didn't really get to choose the specifics on this purchase, but that's okay, because I STOLE IT!

that said, I love the color too - and I am not even bothered by the lack of a clutch pedal - so far.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

You'll learn to LOVE it if you do any mods my friend, I know. I was surprised to see it was an auto myself.

 

[rabenne]

Put the stock BBS on and put the winter wheels in the basement. Looking decent. Could use a wash & wax...

Michelin Pilot Sport 4s tires

 

[rabenne]

You'll learn to LOVE it if you do any mods my friend, I know. I was surprised to see it was an auto myself.

Yea I have already come to love it... no missed/slow shifts, no clunks or grinds. Even my TMZ trans just doesnt shift like it should after 7k. I enjoy manuals because they are very connected to the driver. This thing there is never a worry of missing a shift, or money shifting. It's a trade off but I AM IN LOVE with this thing for my daily.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

When my 40 is LIT and it progresses thru the gears, it is a totally different feeling then bangin gears, and I'm an old guy that always had 4 speed muscle cars. I don't want to give up either so I have both like you.
Glad you are enjoying it......droool....

 

[rabenne]

Well, today I got the Tactrix cable out and started playing around with MUT-3, mitsu's scan tool software. I wasnt able to attain the correct (paid) driver, so I started to see what else was out there. I stumbled across a program called ETACS decoder. It is a paid software that has a lot of the MUT-3 functionality, but in a sort-of "pay per use" way.

I purchased 5 "credits" for $7.xx via paypal. Once the credits showed up, my balance updated in the application. I used my first credit on a coding change to tell the EVO X ecu that the car came without a TPMS system.... I did this because I have two sets of wheels, and not 3 good sensors between them. I am working on figuring out which sensors are duarable and affordable enough to use as OE replacements. Once I purcharse them, I can go back and use another credit on turning the system back on.

Its amazing how powerful this ecu is. The fact that a simple line of code could be all that's necessary to disable factory systems you dont like is awesome! There are a boatload of options for things you can change, like automatic timers for the dome lights, and even changing stability control system settings to match a car from a different market (say EUDM). The ECU is so universal, that for every feature that is relevant on the evo, there is at least one more that isnt. It shows me that they are setting these systems up incredibly well these days.

It will be much harder to diagnose this car, with its 750+ page chassis electrical diagram, and CAN only access to the computers, but between ETACS decoder, EvoScan, ECUFlash, and PassThru CAN, I think I will be able to communicate with all the modules if nothing else.

I also discovered a low battery indicator for Key #2, so I switched to key 1 until I replace that battery. Otherwise, no faults in any systems, aka ALL SYSTEMS GO!

 

[rabenne]

Went in to the office after hours today (still working from home) and while I was there I grabbed the TPMS-4 scanner we sell. I decided to check if the car even had TPMS sensors in all the wheels. The factory evo sensors have aluminum stems, and these are clearly pull-thru rubber stems....

So I went tire to tire and each one had a working sensor in it. Weird - why was the light on? I decided to fire up ETACS decoder, re-activate the TPMS system - re-flash the ETACS, and see if I could use the Zeus scan tool we sell to reprogram them... Turns out it can - in conjunction with the TPMS-4 scanner. So I reprogrammed the aftermarket sensors to the ecu, in the specified order, and the light turned off...

TPMS back intact, no faults. Clearly my assumptions about the TPMS system were wrong. Shame on me for not starting with the tools available to me at work. That said, I think the time invested in learning about the ETACS and dealer coding was valuable, and was still worth it.

 

[rabenne]

Based on the service history this thing hasn't had new plugs in nearly 50k miles. These are "laser iridiums" or whatever, so the autozone price was crazy... Got some coming from rockauto for about half the price of the local parts store. GO ROCK AUTO!

I am also noticing some weird rear brake noise, and after pulling the e-brake cable and getting the noise to change, I concluded I need to pop the rear rotors off and take a look inside at the parking drums.

I think I found my first real mod. These SST trans takes a lot ($) to build for power, so I am going to start with the transmission before I start changing the tune (stock is actually still pretty fun). Item one will be a fluid and filter change ($450ish) and a heated sump/pan. Based on the "research" I have done, a heated sump will help me prolong the life of the stock clutches in the DCT. To bring itself up to operating temperature it allows extra slip that slowly-but-surely wears them down. The heated sump runs coolant lines thru a much more solid trans pan, which brings the trans temp up much quicker (like the engine) and keeps them there in harsh driving. Similar to the stock oil "heater / cooler" on the dsm.

This pan will be beneficial if I try to exceed the torque limits of the transmission case as well... Its billet aluminum construction should help support the sst case similar to how the FF rear differential covers work.

This item is going to come at a cost of $1200+shipping+tax. OUCH! For a trans heater? WTH? Well, I am slotting 7k into the budget for trans rebuild on this car, so knocking out the first 1200 will make the next 5800 more manageable to swallow.

 

[rabenne]

EvoScan gauges, playing with templates. Ait is displaying sst temp

Highly recommended. See below coffee stain on suede recaro seat.

 

[rabenne]

Well, this car had a pretty damn rusty exhaust. How rusty was it, you ask? So rusty that I took a very aggressive turn, and both hangers between the downpipe and muffler broke clean off, and allowed the weight of the exhaust to break the mid-pipe into two pieces! WOW

So needless to say I had a pretty large exhaust leak, and the midpipe dragged as I pulled it into my driveway. Bummer.

But on the plus side, I was able to score a nice used catback. The Blitz Nur Spec R-Ti might not have been my first choice, as I have never really liked the "burnt tip" look, but it doesn't actually bother me too much. The exhaust note changed slightly, and the volume had a very minor increase over stock (super quiet). The best part I have noticed so far is that I can now actually hear the turbo on this car...Cool beans - turbo noises without an obnoxiously loud exhaust for my daily driver!

While I was in there I got a better look at the underbody - which is in overall amazing shape for a car that drove through 12 Illinois winters. There are a couple spots on the underbody that have some surface rust (that I can probably still correct) and the subframes were both pretty rusty. Nothing seems to be severely rotted on the subframes, so I might just clean them up and powdercoat them while I still can...

 

[rabenne]

Decided the stock downpipe just wouldn't suit. So I ordered the AMS widemouth downpipe. I figured the engine moving relative to the chassis was probably contributing to the stresses that ended up breaking the stock midpipe, so I ordered Torque Solutions poly roll stop mounts and Prothane side, engine and trans, mounts.

I also started picking up a few things for refinishing the rear subframe. I started with Whiteline differential bushings, but I will dig deeper and be sure to have everything I need before I drop it. I hate having downtime waiting for parts. Finally, I ordered some stainless 3" downpipe gaskets from RTM. They look to be quite reusable, but I still question how well they will actually seal. I saw good reviews and they are fairly cheap, so I'll give them a shot.

 

[Ludachris]

The Evo is a great platform. You’re going to enjoy modding this thing. Lots of good stuff out there for it still.

 

[rabenne]

I have to admit it is winning for attention in my fleet ... and money at the moment. Hoping the new MFab twin scroll gets me looking at the silver car again. It could be ready any time now... not sure how long it takes once hes rolling on it.

I am super impressed with the X platform so far... this dual clutch tech is pretty sweet. I actually raced a modded charger today and while he pulled a few cars at the hit and then walked away, the stock evo put up a respectable fight thru 5th. Why I never encounter those guys in my dsm is beyond me... maybe someday... I see this car turning into a sleeved block and built trans car in the next couple years..

Tbh, @Ludachris I cant find any evo x forums that compare to what you built here. Sincerely, thank you for this site.

 

[Ludachris]

Tbh, @Ludachris I cant find any evo x forums that compare to what you built here. Sincerely, thank you for this site.

Thats a huge compliment man, I appreciate that. Sadly, all the notable Evo forums are now owned by big corporations, which has largely destroyed the soul of their resource. I considered trying to buy up SocalEvo to try and revive it and apply some of what I’ve done here but it’s completely dead and the owner wants way more than I’m willing to invest in what might turn out to be a futile effort.

 

[rabenne]

Got the Torque Solutions front roll stop on, but the rear will take a bit of work. Apparently I have to drop the steering column, so I will have to align it when I am done. Luckily we have a portable John Bean alignment setup at work because we bought John Bean a while back!!

The poly mount did everything one would expect it to... It vibrates quite a bit, with just one mount. The shifts feel a bit harsher in S-Sport mode (just feeling more of the harshness that was already there?). The engine feels more secure when going over bumps and on hard turns. I absolutely love it, as it reminds me of the DSM a bit more now. Can't wait to toss on the downpipe and the other mount on this weekend!

 

[Ludachris]

Got the Torque Solutions front roll stop on, but the rear will take a bit of work. Apparently I have to drop the steering column, so I will have to align it when I am done. Luckily we have a portable John Bean alignment setup at work because we bought John Bean a while back!!

The poly mount did everything one would expect it to... It vibrates quite a bit, with just one mount. The shifts feel a bit harsher in S-Sport mode (just feeling more of the harshness that was already there?). The engine feels more secure when going over bumps and on hard turns. I absolutely love it, as it reminds me of the DSM a bit more now. Can't wait to toss on the downpipe and the other mount on this weekend!

To have access to an alignment machine... so nice.

 

[rabenne]

To have access to an alignment machine... so nice.

Right!?? Next toy to play with will be the corner weighting scales on the silver car... along with the alignment rig. That feels like a very very long day, or possibly weekend to get everything correct, and even then, I have my doubts. I had this idea of laser scanning the suspension pickup points for accurate modelling in a suspension sim, but seriously where is all the time to do this going to come from??

 

[rabenne]

As I mentioned, I hate downtime, and afraid of the turnaround on blast and powder for the subframes, I decided to pick up a spare rear subframe from ebay. It has 22k miles on it out in Washington state. The photos show virtually no rust, and it is a much much better piece to start with than my rusty subframe. It was $160 shipped, so its probably cheaper than blasting and powder as well...

 

[rabenne]

nothing to see here

 

[Ludachris]

nothing to see here

 

[rabenne]

You (I) blew it up! Ah, damn you (me)! God damn you (me) all to hell! [Falls to knees]

 

[rabenne]

Fresh longblock from Mitsu due Tuesday. Here's to the next 212k miles! Lmao!

 

[rabenne]

Out with the old, in with the new mitsu longblock

Motor mounts with stock bushings removed

I'll take all the NVH please

Splines before and after "evaporust" - wow

Transmission bolted to the new motor, lets go!