Hey guys, I just got my first Evo last week (05' GG MR) and it already has a turboback and an intake. This car is my only car so I drive it everyday and I am looking to get a tune. First, I would like to replace the lower ic piping and intercooler itself.

SO, I have been looking at set ups that range from the $300.00 ebay complete kit to just $1000.00 for an intercooler alone. I read the Buschar Racing thread on intercoolers but I dont plan on building my motor and car any more than it's current performance, unlike they have. So I am contemplating the performance necessities of mine compared to a racing company.

Now I ask, is it ok to run a somewhat cheap set up? Are the OEM parts better than some of the cheap ebay set ups? I dont want to spend more than $700 on the ic and lower piping. Suggestions? Thanks.

 

1 Suggestion: ETS

I would not waste my time or money on those cheap Chinese units

 

An ets fmic and lower intercooler piping would still be within your budget. The VRSF kit would also reach your goal. Stay away from ebay for those parts.

 

Sweet thanks guys! Cannot wait until I get a tune. My gas mileage is suffering right now and I don't even get too crazy on the road.

 

1. Intercooler - ETS or something comparable, except AMS. No Ebay or Chinese intercoolers.

2. Intercooler pipe - There are 2 pipes; lower and upper. Lower pipe is the first one you want to replace. For that one, don't spend too much money - AMS/ETS clone from Ebay is fine. Upper pipe - do some research first, because some upper pipes require a different battery tray setup. Avoid INJEN pipe kits - these are 10 year old pipe kits. There are much better ones to choose from now.

3. Respect your Evo - you strike me as young driver. Take it easy when you are driving your Evo, especially if it's your daily. They can get away from you VERY easily, and are not cheap to fix.

 

No need in changing out the intercooler on your setup. At least until you start tracking the car, running high boost, or live in a really hot area.

 

Check out our intercoolers at

www.extremeturbosystems.com

We have a wide range of intercoolers and piping kits available. If you plan on getting a tune, grab an intercooler. You will be able to run more timing and more boost. The factory intercooler may be good for 1 or 2 pulls, but heat soaks extremely quick. The bar and plate (ETS) intercooler does a much better job at recovering between pulls and keeping intake air temps down.

Thanks!

Michael

 

^^^ OP, the above is the best advice you've received yet! With your mods, you'll be pissing money away into the wind. If you're trying to make horsepower, upgrading the intercooler at the stage you're at is not the way to do it. For the money a good intercooler will cost, there are much better ways to spend it & actually make horsepower.

You have a fairly rare Evo.. 8 MR's are getting exceedingly harder to come by, expecially those that haven't been ruined by owners who had money but no sense of direction of where they wanted to go with tuning, and/or any idea of the proper way to do it. So don't just buy random parts for the sake of buying parts. Sit down & draw out a plan of what your goals are. The search feature on this forum is your friend. There are very good threads on here that are for people new to Evo's that cover basic mods.. what works, what doesn't.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...g-dummies.html
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...-100-time.html
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...n-regrets.html

That should be enough reading material for you for now enough to make an impression to hold on to your money while you get to learn your Evo the way it comes. It's a lot of car in stock trim & has a lot to offer. Enjoy it the way it is for now, educate yourself, make a plan, search, ask questions.

 

The tune will help a ton on the MPG if you can keep out of it These cars run really rich from the Factory. I remember my 03 Evo 8 had the worst gas mileage possible until it was tuned.

Michael

 

Understandable. To be honest the OEM intercooler that came with the car looks like **** (small dent on the bottom left corner, painted unprofessionally) and definitely needs to be remounted so it's straight. I just wanted something that looked nice, and upped the performance a little. Originally, I was just going to replace the LICP but I only want to tune my car once, so I figured what the hell, it's better to get one now then later and retune.

BTW I ended up getting (what I thought) a pretty decent setup for my level of performance. Ordered a VRSF IC and LICP for just over $500 shipped. Just my last two mods pre tune. The rest of the mods I plan to do are cosmetic and chassis.

Thanks a lot on your input everyone!

 

OMG dude I get just over 200/tank when I drive conservatively. I believe the '05 MR has upgraded injectors and possibly a fuel pump?

Since I live in the PNW, and have had many friends go through him, I am getting it done by English Racing in the next two weeks.

 

+1 agreed best advise

 

No, injectors and fuel pump are the same. MR offered the 6 speed trans, and a few other options but not related to fuel system.

If you daily drive your evo, keep it reliable.

Keep the stock inter cooler if it's in decent shape, repaint it if it bothers you.

Aftermarket LICP, intake, exhaust, some 272 cams, and a walbro 255 will do you wonders with a good tune. Skip the fancy inter cooler, UICP, injectors, etc.

You can make 330awhp safely and reliably and still get decent mpg when not boosting. And most importantly keep it reliable.

When going for the inter cooler, I also recommend ETS.


Consider other expenses as well. Is it time for a timing belt? Fluid I change? Brakes or gaskets getting work? Any leaks?

Don't forget about regular maintenance. This is more important than anything else you do with your evo.

When you're ready for a good tune, and if you don't have a tuner, contact me and I can set you up with a very reputable tuner to get you car running safe and efficient!

 

Where are you located? I haven't committed to a tuner yet. I'm in Seattle. And if you didn't see I ended up getting a VRSF IC and LICP for 500 shipped. The stock one works yes, but it looks like crap. And honestly I don't want more performance or power I'll be ok at 300 everyday. I just want these two things and a tune.

 

Agreed get a tune asap,when I bought my 2nd evo 9 I installed an Aem afr gauge and under wot afr were around 10.1-10.7 gas mileage was averaging about around 100 miles mostly freeway had it tuned and it's a completely different car, one word of advise research A LOT especially with who your gunna take ur car too to get tuned, u don't want a inexperienced shop working on ur car and messing it up there's too many horror stories out there about that