TouringBubble's Evo

[TouringBubble]

This is my daily driver and Autocross weapon. I bought it new in Sept. 2006.

2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR (SE, or "appearance package" on the MR)
Graphite Gray

WHEELS/TIRES/BRAKES
MR BBS wheels - 17x8+38 - Black Diamond finish - wrapped in 255/40/17 Kumho XS (race setup)
Rota Torque wheels - 17x8+35 - Currently blue - wrapped in 235/45/15 Conti Extremem Contact DWS (daily)
OE Brembo 4-piston caliper up front w/ EBC Yellowstuff pads
OE Brembo 2-piston in rear w/ Ferodo DS2500 pads
DBA 4000 slotted front rotors
Braided stainless brake lines
Amsoil brake fluid

EXTERIOR
Stock, including "SE" front lip
MR includes aluminum roof, vortex generator, gurney flap on spoiler, front air dam and brake cooling scoops

SUSPENSION
GTWorx street/track springs
OE Bilstein struts
Poly bushings
Whiteline 26mm front sway and 24mm rear sway
-2.8º camber front, 0 toe
-1.3º camber rear, 0 toe

ENGINE/TRANSMISSION
Injen intake pipe and upper IC pipe
5" K&N filter
Cutsom aluminum lower IC pipe
eBay sourced 3" FMIC
Stock turbo (16G w/ 10.5 hotside)
3-port EBCS
Stock cams
EPM external dump O2 housing
3" downpipe (can't remember brand)
eBay resonated test pipe
Monster Sport catback
Tuned by me using ECUflash
~355 awhp on 93 octane @ 25 psi
~400 awhp on E85 @ 29 psi
Amsoil 10W-30
OE 6-speed transmission
SPEC Stage III clutch (sprung 6-puck, single disc)
Gruppe-S lightened flywheel
Amsoil 75W-90 MTG oil in the trans, 75W-90 SVG in the TC and rear diff

INTERIOR/OTHER MISC BS
OE Recaro seats with alcantara insets and red "SE" stitching
Sony head unit - relocated to lower DIN slot
DB Link 2-way door and 3-way rear deck speakers
Turbo Timer (can't remember brand)
OE boost, oil temp and voltage gauges - relocated to upper DIN slot

First (and only) dyno pulls with around 5000 on the ODO ... 255 whp, 253 tq

Hanging out in the garage with the R33. I borrowed this from a friend while doing brake work on the Evo and needed a ride for about a week. You get a lot of attention driving a Skyline around Alabama. It was not a GTR, sadly. RB25 powered. Still a cool car!

I also got to spend a weekend with his bigger, but younger brother ...

Older engine bay shot. Here you can see the Megan manifold I used to run. Horrible piece. Fit poorly and cracked multiple times. You can also see the MPFab intake heatshield that is a wonderful part, but sadly doesn't work with the Injen intake system, which moved the intake pipe up to reposition the diverter valve.

Color #2 on the Rotas ... they were bronze originally.

Photoshoot with some local guys.

Some early autocross.

Gave RallyCross a shot too, but the autocross setup didn't like the surface. Tried to rip off the front bumper on a recce, so I decided to not give it a go at full speed.

The "red" Brembos after my first track session. The MR comes with brake cooling scoops, but I didn't know that my right side one had broken at some point. This is the cause of the notorious "Brownbo" situation on Evos that track. You can't see it, but there was a bit of smoke coming off this side ... not so much on the other. So the scoops do work.

Here are the Rotas in blue, the current color.

A couple of years back I went to a national level SCCA event in Atlanta. I picked up a couple of sponsors so I did a livery for the race and ran it for a couple of months.

And about 2 events later, I had a clutch failure ...

 

[TouringBubble]

A few videos too ...





This is what passengers think about that boost level ...



This one is pretty cool I think. Myself (left) and my co-driver compared. At the end of the day I was about .5 quicker than him and we took 1st and second in class. It's cool to see where he's faster and where I'm faster and how we leapfrog one another throughout the course.



And this one is just for fun ...



I'm such a ricer. lol

 

[Punknoodle]

Awesome stuff man, these Evos are an awesome package from the factory and look pretty good too. Congrats on your Autocross achievements so far, too.

 

[TouringBubble]

Thanks! And yeah, they are great cars. I've learned a lot and also met a lot of great people through the scene it got me in to.

 

[Katiegan]

Sweet car! I'll be interested in the updates for this thread, especially since you daily it. 👍

 

[Harry6784]

I would LOVE to have a MR as a daily up here in Washington. Nice ride

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

I'm such a ricer. lol

I see nothing wrong here... Oh, there's a flame!


Are you still running with or without your catalytic converter? I'm confused, because my car will - on a cold day - shoot steam out of the exhaust probably 5-10 feet back, but not flames, despite being almost straight-piped (minus the cat.)

 

[TouringBubble]

No cat on mine. 3" all the way from the turbo. Resonated test pipe instead of a cat. Monster Sport exhaust has a large resonator and a large oval muffler at the end. But no cat in there, so nothing to melt when I do this.

I'm basically just dumping raw fuel in to the exhaust off throttle until the injectors cut out. This would cause cat failure within a few hundred miles probably.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

No cat on mine. 3" all the way from the turbo. Resonated test pipe instead of a cat. Monster Sport exhaust has a large resonator and a large oval muffler at the end. But no cat in there, so nothing to melt when I do this.

I'm basically just dumping raw fuel in to the exhaust off throttle until the injectors cut out. This would cause cat failure within a few hundred miles probably.

So, I take it your EFI wizardry has changed the pulse length? Nice.

 

[TouringBubble]

Not a ton. It's within the normal operating range, but I am dumping a bit of fuel in the off throttle areas. I did have to tweak the maximum allowed timing retard value though. It drops to -15* off throttle in order to let the unburnt fuel pass by.

I got my new radiator and hoses installed on Saturday. I've had a coolant leak for a while due to a failed seal on the stock part. It had plastic parts on it and they are known to fail. Took the chance to upgrade to an all aluminum unit and multi-ply silicon hoses.

 

[TouringBubble]

The Evo got to exercise "Snow" mode this week ... the South was caught off-guard due to a missed snow forecast, leading to panicked drivers with no snow/ice driving experience. Roads were littered with abandoned cars that couldn't make it home.

Evo ain't care ...

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Video unavailable, (or at least on mobile) but the 70/30% torque split... Do you actually like it?


I'm happy with my Impy's 50/50 torque split in snow. It works well on gravel, too.


I honestly think that (70/30) would be too much understeer, too much power routed to two wheels which will likely give up the grip very quickly...


So, what do you think?

 

[TouringBubble]

The Evo is always 50/50. The diff adjustments only change the lock timing of the center diff. Snow mode allows front and rear to work more independently as to not have all four slipping at once.

I actually prefer gravel mode for performances on slick surfaces. This was for safety and slow driving.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Really? I guess they changed it for the X, to go from 30/70 to 70/30 depending on usage. I had a brochure for the X on my bedroom wall.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Oh wow how did I miss this thread!? Always wanted an Evo but they are VERY hard to find in this area for a reasonable price. So I settled for a WRX. That is a sick evo! Thanks for posting all the pics and videos. Enjoyed all of it. Do you have any plans for coil overs? I am looking for different options.

 

[TouringBubble]

Really? I guess they changed it for the X, to go from 30/70 to 70/30 depending on usage. I had a brochure for the X on my bedroom wall.

Could be. I know that years back there was speculation that the VCD settings did change the torque split, but it's been known for years that it doesn't. Maybe they did change it on the X. The X has yaw control and a different drivetrain, so it's quite possible.

 

[TouringBubble]

Oh wow how did I miss this thread!? Always wanted an Evo but they are VERY hard to find in this area for a reasonable price. So I settled for a WRX. That is a sick evo! Thanks for posting all the pics and videos. Enjoyed all of it. Do you have any plans for coil overs? I am looking for different options.

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you like it.

I am looking at coilovers. Specifically, the Fortune Auto 510 series. US made and they provide dynos for each shock so you know they are paired properly and you can see how the adjustments affect stiffness. Options for Swift springs, etc. Great parts from what I've seen.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

With Camaro and I here, Subaru has two "representatives" (if you can call us that??) On a Mitsubishi thread.


Either way, though, the VCD sends power left-to-right as well, right? So then, the torque split isn't the only part of the diff that matters... So that answers my question. My Impreza has a similar drivetrain, so I'm always curious about what sort of AWD drivetrain does what.


I love my AWD. I can take on roads that most other people don't even see (or know about) because the snow is deep enough to make it look like a field.


Edit: Fortune Auto 510s? A friend of mine has them on his Impreza. We (the whole local club) love his coilovers. Good choice, tough springs.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you like it.

I am looking at coilovers. Specifically, the Fortune Auto 510 series. US made and they provide dynos for each shock so you know they are paired properly and you can see how the adjustments affect stiffness. Options for Swift springs, etc. Great parts from what I've seen.

Np. I just love how you use your Evo for EVERYTHING. Snow, autocross, rally, AND its your daily driver. That's truly impressive to me. I really wish I could use my WRX for road track or autocross but that's what my Camaro is for. If I break my WRX I only have the Camaro to daily drive. And that's not any good for winter. haha. Looking forward to the future updates of your Evo.

 

[TouringBubble]

With Camaro and I here, Subaru has two "representatives" (if you can call us that??) On a Mitsubishi thread.


Either way, though, the VCD sends power left-to-right as well, right? So then, the torque split isn't the only part of the diff that matters... So that answers my question. My Impreza has a similar drivetrain, so I'm always curious about what sort of AWD drivetrain does what.


I love my AWD. I can take on roads that most other people don't even see (or know about) because the snow is deep enough to make it look like a field.


Edit: Fortune Auto 510s? A friend of mine has them on his Impreza. We (the whole local club) love his coilovers. Good choice, tough springs.

The VCD doesn't send power left and right, only front and rear. It controls the connection between the front and rear differentials. There are three differentials in total ... a viscous front LSD, a clutch-type rear LSD and the electronic center diff. I don't know exactly how the center one works, but it's got its own computer and mapping and all for the different modes.

I'm really looking forward to getting the 510s. The 500s are better for street use and less expensive, but I'm hoping to retire the Evo from street use soon, so the ultra-digressive dampers on the 510s shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Maybe in a few years after my insurance rates go down I'll get an Evo. It's one of a few new cars that I really enjoy driving.

Nice work on the build!

 

[TouringBubble]

Thanks. Yeah, insurance and registration was a pain for the first few years. Got mine at 24 I think.

 

[Punknoodle]

With Camaro and I here, Subaru has two "representatives" (if you can call us that??) On a Mitsubishi thread.

And a Toyota one 👍

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

And a Toyota one 👍

World Rally Championship, anyone?

 

[TouringBubble]

World Rally Championship, anyone?

I'm in!

 

[Punknoodle]

Have bumper, will rally.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Have snow tires, will rally... Have driver talent, will win. just kidding, I don't have enough power for dealing with you guys.