Let me first start off by acknowledging my inexperience. I have not modified cars, and I have not modified my Evo IX. My Evo is my only car, when I need to get from point a to b, I take my Evo. Now, I love the way it handles, and I think it packs quite a punch. But like most of you here, I want more power, more torque.

So I'm weighing in my options... I have a good warranty, I intend to keep it intact as much as possible.

I've been scouring these forums looking at the most common upgrades to stock Evo IXs. And I find an issue with consistency....

My first thought was, Intake and Exhaust, these I would think, not upset my dealer, and provide a noticeable increase in power, and sound.

Parts I was considering were: Injen full intake, Buschur Cone filter. Now what I cannot get straight is with regard to tune and engine. I understand I will not get the most out of an intake without a tune. But I do want a performance gain, not my ECU taking away power. I also understand that this is not the best entry performance upgrade and I do want to hear my turbo.

As far as exhaust, there were a few routes that I was considering: TBE exhaust w/ resonator or high flow cat or QTP Downpipe Cutout. The most common choice is the TBE exhaust, with a test pipe or test pipe resonator. But I don't want check engine lights, and I want to pass my PA state inspection. I also don't want upper RPM hesitation, which my friends TBE Evo VIII experiences. I like the QTP Cutout, because I can be stealthy, or have max power.... Or will I? Will a cutout totally freak my ECU out?

And because I have searched extensively, you may be thinking: just get a TBE, and an MBC, and boost gauge. But I don't want to do that much modification, I know the dealer will laugh in my face if I have a problem.

Another common theme is get a tune. Well, unless I can revert to stock easily, I don't want to do that. I don't want Mitsu to know I've touched my ECU. But is it true that any of these mods are pointless without one? That they will do more harm than good?

Thanks for reading.

 

My 2 cents


Turbo back exhaust with high flow cat( daily driver you may not want to get super loud might want to consider works or related quet exhaust)

ecu tune from ivey

manual boost controller


this setup will give you a great power gain
and will still let yu pass all emissions


the qtp sounds good in theory but i wonder how good it will hold up during the winter. I could see exhaust leeks in your future

 

You need tune for power and to be safe

I would consider it mandatory


If you dont want to due that then look for other ways to make power


light weight fly wheel( fidanza 400)

carbon fiber drive shaft(2k)

 

If you want to maintain your warranty, then you can't do any mods.

A tune is the only thing you can make power with without the dealer noticing. It is the most important and cost-effective mod there is other than maybe an MBC. It is also extremely easy to revert back to the stock tune using EcuFlash - our free flashing software.

 

Mitsubishi dealers do not get paid well from Mitsubishi to do warranty work. For this reason, if a dealer can find a reason to ask Mitsubishi to void your warranty, they will. People have had warranty work refused for something as simple as tires. If you want to play, you'll have to pay... you can always return to stock in the event of complete disaster, but the more you do, the more difficult that will be.

An intake is not a Stage 1 upgrade, however a drop in filter would be. A turbo-back exhaust is a good place to start. Also consider a manual boost control and a tune of some sort.

The cutout is fine, it's not going to "freak your ECU out". But as with any significant mod, a tune is strongly suggested no matter which way you go.

As stated before, you can either suck it up, or choose to revert to stock in the event of a problem. No way around this fact. You will not make good power until you get at least a downpipe & HFC/test pipe, and an MBC + tune is a great starting point.

You can revert to stock easily, as long as you have a laptop with an OpenPort cable. You can do the flashing yourself, and purchase tunes from vendors, or attempt to learn and tune yourself. As far as mods doing more harm then good, there certainly are some that will do this, but an exhaust isn't one of them.

In summary:

You want to keep your warranty, but the only way to do this is to not mod, or be prepared to return to stock.

Research a drop in filter, exhaust, boost control, and tune - These are typical stage one modifications that will get the best bang for the buck, with fairly easy reversion back to stock

Plan on a tune, and utilize the great resource that is EvoM.

 

From reading this, I think you should not mod your car at all, it seems it would be just much more of a hassle and a lot of spending money for little to no gains. Maybe just a catback will suit you well.

 

If you want more power and torque all you need is a TBE and a flash. This is what I have and the car is amazing as well as reliable. You can get more than 300whp/300tq those two mods alone. Exhaust takes about an hour to install and uninstall. If you ever needed warranty work you could simply put the stock exhaust back on.

Get a 3" turbo back exhaust from ebay shipped to your door for less than $300. Search the ECUFlash forum for a good tune or ask for help on building your own and walla you have a street monster. If you dont like it loud install the silencer and enjoy stock like noise levels. Take it out and enjoy the growl of performance.

 

if you want max civility and minimize the risk of warranty rejection, i would advise a drop-in k&n filter, no catback but maybe just a decat, and a flash. all three will combine total of about 280-290whp on evo9 and still plenty fun. best of all it would be extremely hard for a thick headed dealer mechanic to detect.

 

Listen to Jeske - Exhaust and a tune. Good for +60whp in most cases.

 

MBC and tune = more power for far less money. Tune alone is very cheap, undetectable, doesn't change anything visibly, doesn't increase noise, and makes the most power of any single mod.

 

If you want to get a quite and an exhaust with pretty good gains, you can look up on the Road Race Engineering stealth exhzust and their high flow cat. I got that combo and like it pretty much.

 

Here is a summary of what you will need:
TBE with high flow cat
MBC
Boost Gauge
Flash
Drop In
+/- 330whp on Dynojet with 93

 

Well, I'm convinced now that a Tune is definitely what I want. I would like to hear my exhaust, so I'm going to want a Turboback system.

So my follow up questions...
What TBE system? I would like something that will fit nicely, that isn't too difficult to install. I would like to run a high flow cat. I like a deep growl, but I'm not into fart cans. I hate that tuner image. I'm assuming that most 3" exhausts will have similar hp gains with a tune, but can somebody link me to dyno results? And finally, I'd like something that will give me a good weight loss from stock. More power and weight reduction is going to equal more performance in my eyes. I've heard of the Greddy All TI system weighing in at 15 lbs, but that seems a little expensive for 1,500.

And intakes seem unpopular here, I kind of like the turbo noises and it seems stupid easy to install. And if I'm getting a tune, seems like I might as well do it. I want decent filtration so HKS is out IMHO. But anything that doesn't require a mini-battery is good. Any suggestions? Or is the answer still a drop in?

Thanks.

 

Good info in this thread. Subscribed.

 

+1

First get tune or tune and MBC. That would be the most stealth and you could make it stock in 30 mins (MBC & tune).

Next you'd want a TBE and a retune. You could do a fuel pump at the same time, but you dont have to.

You can get a quiet TBE, but usually less noise equals more restriction.