The local Mitsubishi dealership sold me my car with 20,000 miles on it as well as some aftermarket upgrades (turbo timer, MBC, etc..). They have done warranty work on my car multiple times since I bought it. Now, my car blew a spark plug out of its hole (I think the previous owner stripped the threading out when he changed them) and melted the coil and boot as well as the threading and hole which the plug fits into. So, they are denying me warranty work now because they say it is the MBC that did it, even though it is set at 19 and it was with the car when I bought it (with a full warranty) and when they did previous warranty work.

THE IMPORTANT QUESTION: I have to take the head off and replace gaskets as well as have the plug hole machined. While I have the head off, what should I do to upgrade the top end (or maybe the bottom end if necessary) to achieve my 450 whp future goals reliably?

I was going to sell the car before this happened and get an 04, but I think I will just build this one since the warranty is now void and I have no more excuses.

 

First off you should fight it.

If that doesnt work....Might as well do a little head work although youre not really removing much to retap that hole. HKS 280's and gears should be a step in the right direction. The stock internals will hold fine @ 450whp. Wouldnt hurt to do springs and retainers as well but by no means are they necessary.

 

I tried. I called the district rep and he told me the same thing. The only thing I could do now is sue the dealership and I doubt that would be terribly fruitful.

I have been told I should port and polish as well as add cams and gears. However, I was just thinking that 450 whp on the stock engine might end up being a little rough after a while. I want reliability first and foremost as I would hate to have to tear everything down again once it has been built up.

Thank you for your comments Sap12687.

 

In that case go to town. What kind of turbo setup were you looking to run? Stroker?

Also what kind of fuel are you planning to make 450 on? Meth? Pump/Alky?

 

If you want a fun street car, run a stroker and the stock Turbo with all the support mods! You will have FUN FUN FUN!!!

 

I would prefer to make the power (400-450 whp) on pump gas alone.

I am still not certain on the turbo. I have been looking at 2 or 3 different ones.

FP3065 turbo, or 50trim with .63 a/r GT3076, or 20G. For now, I am just going to upgrade the hotside of the stock turbo until I can purchase a new turbo kit.

 

I would love a stroker, but that is a little more involved than I am willing to get right now as I need my car back to running order soon. I may upgrade to the stroker in the future because more low-end torque would be perfect.

 

So the stock bottom end can hold 400-450 whp reliably?

What I have gotten so far is that I should replace the cams and cam gears while I have the head off. Any other suggestions?

 

I haven't really gotten the answers I was hoping for as of yet. Does anyone have anything else to add? Please? :-)

 

ARP head studs for sure while it is off. Make sure you get a reputable shop if you are going to port and polish. Make sure you get the head checked/resurfaced by a machine shop before you put it back on.

 

You dont really need cam gears at this point. Cam gears are good for when you're up in high horsepower and you're trying to tweak every last power out of it you can get. As for 400hp on pump gas, i've seen it a couple times with the 50 trim (Idk if there are more or less times). As for the head, i'd definately get Cam's and ARP headstuds. Ported and polished head is more of a drag car set up and will give you big power up top, but not much down low. A stroker is good for let's say if you have a 35r, it will help the low end spool up and the 35r will take care of the high RPM's while the stroker helps you get there quicker pretty much. But i would definately have the head looked at, and if it is fine, get an upgraded turbo kit (If you have all supporting mods), Get Cam's, headstuds, and a tune. If the head is not ok, then definately fix the head and possibly think about having it ported and polished.

 

honestly dude, I would just do what you have to to fix it. Any of that stuff youd be doing to the head would be kinda like going from step 1 to step 5 then having to fillin 2-4 later. Fix the plug hole and call it a day. The money youd save in porting it, doing springs, over sizes valves and all that stuff wouldn't really help much now while your still on so much stock equipment. The only thing you need to pull the head off to do is springs(which they have jigs to allow you to do it without pulling it). Save your money do some cams and a 50 trim or 3076, 3071 even.

my .02

 

Cool, thanks guys!

I am going to go with Helix 272's, a new head gasket, new timing belt, get the head ported and polished, ARP head studs, get the plug hole fixed (obviously), and possibly upgrade to a 10.5 hotside and put my o2 housing on (might as well have it ported while I am at it), and maybe get my exhaust manifold ported and polished.

My car will run fine on the 272's without having to get a reflash, correct? I am going to get a dynoflash but I want this stuff done before I send it away.