the rule at CBRD is plain and simple-

do NOT remove the front bumper beams-

on evo 8/9 we've seen cars without them in a 25 mph front end collision with the fmic pushed into the ac fan which was pushed into the ac condenser which was pushed into the rad-

we've had track cars nudge the tire barrier with the beam and save everything but the plastic on the front bumper and lower edge of the fmic-

food for thought.

cb

 

I could not agree more. Without the beam, even the lowest impacts are going to destroy your intercooler and radiator. I think the topic of debate is how much is the beam weakened by the intercooler ventilation holes, and at that point, is it stronger than the JDM or USDM Evo X beams.

 

Im the one that said cutting a few holes wont make much difference in case of frontal collision.

 

So, to offer some closure, the JDM EvoX beam DOES fit the Ralliart. There are a couple minor things you need to do in order to get it to work (like sliding the clips down the wire loom a bit to line up with the holes) but I managed to install the front beam, while doing an oil change and taking a bunch of photos of different things, and the whole process only took me about an hour start to finish. Pics to come as soon as I upload them onto the computer.

 

So here they are:


and


And here they are on the car:


and


It was a very straightforward fit. Once the bumper is off (we have a how-to for that) you just need to unbolt the horn (1 12mm bolt), remove the rubber hangers for the FMIC, remove the ambient temp sensor (plastic clip retainer), and pop out all of the plastic wire loom retainer clips. Then remove 4 12mm bolts on each side of the beam where it mounts to the frame and finally 3 10mm bolts on the bracket below the hood latch mechanism. Then lift up slightly on either side to clear the retaining hooks and wiggle it on outta there. Removing the duct for the trans cooler would have made moving the beam in and out a bit easier, but it can be accomplished without doing so as I just did.

This would be a perfect alternative for those trying to achieve greater airflow into their FMIC without cutting their stock piece. Just a slight bumper modification and you're in cool-city. Although I now have an extra stock beam laying around, so if someone wanted a spare to cut up I may be inclined to work a deal... lol.

 

Where did you source the JDM beam from?

Apologies if its mentioned previously, I stopped following the thread when all the internet engineers started debating.

 

http://www.japanparts.com/db/parts_d...Y=&SEARCH_page

Chi got his from dealer.

 

So, the JDM beam appears to be MUCH thinner. Is this just an illusion, or do you need the JDM styrofoam support to keep your bumper from denting in when you lean on it? I would also be super curious to see how well the cut-outs in the JDM unit lines up with the Evo X Ralliart bezel. Hmmmm....

 

Thanks

 

That's correct: I ordered from my dealership. The one listed on japanparts is correct, but very highly overpriced. Wholesale pricing on the JDM beam through the dealership is only $175 so depending on your relationship with your parts department, you should be able to get it for no more than $200-250 as a standard walk-in customer, though you should be able to negotiate it down lower than that.

Plus, ordering through the dealership, there is no additional cost for overseas shipping. Japanparts charges an arm and a leg to ship their stuff but since Mitsubishi has to send parts overseas constantly anyways, there's no additional charge as your purchase will just be allocated with the dealership's regular stock-order. You just wait 3-4 weeks and you're good to go. I recommend going through the dealership for any and all OEM JDM parts because of this reason.



The JDM beam is WAY thinner, though not much lighter. Maybe 7 lbs at the most.



I did not install any foam on the front and have tried pushing and leaning on the bumper. Deformation is actually minimal and takes a lot more effort than you'd expect. I don't forsee any long-term issues as far as that is concerned.



As you can see in the picture here:

You can order the ducting and front nose overlay for the EvoX from your dealership and they should line up perfectly, although I would recommend ordering the US variant for those pieces since they will need to reach back deep enough as though they were going through the wider front beam since the bumper is still US spec.

 

would you happen to have the measurements for the vents & also the exact weight of stock & jdm beam? thanks.

btw: you were right about my mistake on airflow calculation. thanks I knew there has to be someone else here that knows about airflow. I knew I did something wrong.
Having to work at early age, I had to sacrifice edumacation.

I hope we dont have people talking about how much less safe is JDM crash beam. Thin aluminum beam! VERY VERY unsafe.

So you swapped the rear beam too Chi? Can you supply the weigh difference? plz?

 

Stock front "crash beam" and foam pad: 21.4 lbs
JDM EvoX front "crash beam": 14.8 lbs

I haven't gotten around to doing the rear yet, but I'm listing all that stuff here too: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/09...-thread-2.html

I didn't manage to measure the vent locations, but I will try to do so later in the week if time permits.

 

I'm not certain, but I imagine that is going to be almost an impossibility without swapping the whole thing, unless you do some major surgery on the front fascia. I think you will have to cut the entire section within the "chrome" ring of the RA and try to make the X inserts fit in there with custom brackets. I could be wrong, but after parking my car next to an X, the front section in the "mouth" where the intercooler vents are is alot flatter (straight across) in the X than the RA. Essentially, the RA has more curvature to it, so I don't think the X piece will fit over the existing bumper anywhere near cleanly. But now you have me very curious. Let me know what you find out.

 

I don't expect it to be an easy match. Like you said, the overall shaping is somewhat different between the two models. After some careful trimming, though, I don't think it'll be anything that can't be done of course. With the Evo nose piece, too, you will at least have the proper location for cutting the stock bumper to feed the ducts.

 

You know, after analyzing this preliminary with some photos, it looks like the holes in the bezel may line up VERY close to perfect with the holes in the JDM beam. I need to take a picture of my car from the same angle with the bezel installed to see the exact position mine is in, but since the bezel mounts to the bumper skin, it can be moved. But like I said, first glance looks like it will work perfect.