nrcooled

iTrader: (4)

That is basically what you are saying when you don't monitor or manage your Evo properly.

I just want to share my experience with the rest of the community here so someone possibly won't make the same mistake I did:

I have had my Evo since April '04 and I have loved every minute of it. The car has been fantastic and didn't require anything from me except regular maintenance and good gas. I put my exhaust on, intake, MBC, flashed (for safety ), and got my fuel pump. Now someone tell me that is excessive modding....I thought that I was running within a very safe region of the engine and that "there are plenty of guys making more power then me and their cars can handle it" This statement will kill your engine and your bank account.

It killed mine and now my bank account is quickly getting smaller. Driving around one day I started getting a ticking sound. I ignored it since it sounded like it was coming from the dash area and a ticking dash on an Evo should come as no surprise to anyone reading this. Well, that was the slow destruction of my rod bearing eventually causing rod knock once the bearing wore down enough.

What I did wrong was:

1. Trusted the internet

Most people on the internet know just as much as you or less. Do your own research and become more savvy so you can question the advice and formulate your own hypothesis. Don't take anything for face value!

2. Trusted a flash

A flash is a great way to make power and very economical. The problem is I never monitored the engine parameters. No WB O2, no data logging, no oil pressure gauge, oil temp. I just thought that everything would be fine since I was flashed for my mods. I was very wrong!

3. Trusted people who's intent is to make money off of me

"Of course this mod will work with your setup" is what the vendor will say. Well no ****!!! If he says it won't work then you won't buy it.

Gentlemen, make sure that you are doing your due diligence to ensure your car i running properly and smoothly. Just because someone else's car is making the same ticking noise doesn't mean that it's supposed to be there. Here is a short list of things you should be doing for your car right now.

Ensure your engine monitoring is up to par
Monitor everything! I will say it again...Monitor everything! I always hated the look of 1500 gauges all over the car but it's worth it. Also, find a way to log it. With out good data logging all your gauges will be worthless if you can't reference it to a particular condition or parameter.

Understand everything you are doing to the engine before you do it
Don't take a vendor's word for it! Do your own research and make sure you understand what you are changing and the effects it was have on the rest of the car/drivetrain. Ex. Going with high lift cams and no springs is not a good idea Ex2. Putting a MBC w/o management and fueling is a very bad idea. Ex3. Putting in clutch that has 2600 lbs pressure plate...not a good idea

Ensure your engine management is correct
Make sure you understand what changes are being made to your ECU/EMS before you or your tuner does them. Ask tons of questions and if your tuner won't explain everything to you I suggest you leave immediately. You have to understand what is going on and why they are making a change. Remember that this is your car and if it dies the tuner is not going to pay for it (most make you sign a disclaimer for this exact reason).

There seem to be an influx of spun bearings and dead engines on EvoM lately and I hope this may help just one person not have to spend the ridiculous amounts of money that I am shelling out right now.

Have fun and speed safely!

-Bakari

Derek888

iTrader: (54)

thats why I have a custom tune....

3000ways

Sorry to here about this man, but thanks for offering advice.

S2Kstephen

iTrader: (19)

Good post with good point!




...need to get my springs/retainers done for my 280's I guess

C6C6CH3vo

iTrader: (9)

A proper flash gives a safe window of operation, but despite being mechanically sound, less octane, more boost, and less fuel removes the window. Good luck with the stroker project.

broddey

iTrader: (5)

What caused the rod knock? Overboosting, leaning out, oil pressure lost? What parts caused the failure i.e. just the flash, or a combination of the parts?

nrcooled

iTrader: (4)

I just re-read my post and I am not saying a flash is bad!!!

Flashes are GREAT. Just make sure that you are monitoring the engine properly.

nrcooled

iTrader: (4)

yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Hence the reason why I say monitor as much as possible. That way you can tell when your oil pressure starts to drop or you can see that you are running lean etc.

Kwman

iTrader: (4)

Its always good to do so, but you will not need them. You can trust me on this as I run 280s in my car with no springs and retainers. Reason that it is ok is because they have the same lift as the 272s, only with longer duration. The stock springs can easily handle the low lift from the cam lobes. But if you've got the $$$, DO IT.

EVIL_EVO_VIII

iTrader: (5)

Damn! I have similar sound like that but it comes from the driver side by the dash close to the windshield, i dont know if it a vibration after the motor mount install or what! I hope its not the rod bearing ...Good luck with the rebuild

Derek888

iTrader: (54)

while your at it do it... they are not that expensive anyways.

deanmeon

iTrader: (16)

great post

nrcooled

iTrader: (4)

Also, I am not trying to scare anyone but I just want to make sure you guys don't have to go through the same crap as me. Just make sure you are logging, mapping, monitoring everything.

Even if it doesn't save your engine atleast you will know what NOT to do next time.

Evoryder

iTrader: (55)

good post.

Spooldyou

iTrader: (52)

Very important post, Think im going to stick with the HKS 272's anyways. I guess forget about the comp cams.