Just joined the Evo family, and bought an already built 700 hp Evo 8. I live in CA, and want to do my best to make the engine bay look as stock as possible. Currently the car is running an GTX3582r Gen 2 (external waste gate) with the ETS stock placement single scroll turbo kit. My goal is to switch to the Gtx3582r Gen 2 with the internal waste gate and change out the exhaust manifold to something I can hide-ish with the oem exhaust manifold heatshield. I have some plans for other ways of hiding other stuff. Some questions for you guys:

1. Do you think I will have any issues controlling boost with the internal waste gate? Anyone on here running >35 lbs of boost on this or a similar internally waste gated turbo? :/
​​​​​​2. Any recommendations on an exhaust manifold? How much hp has been pushed on a ported oem manifold? I am guessing no where near 700 hp, but figured I'd ask...
3. Anyone running high power numbers with the Tomei unequal length exhaust manifold? It is roughly the stock shape and has the stock mounting holes for the stock heat shield so figured I'd ask.
4. Any other exhaust manifolds that can easily be hid with the stock heatshield and maybe some welded on threads or a bracket or something?
5. What are my CA brothern with high hp numbers doing to stay stock looking?
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Who are you trying to fool: LE, or SMOG inspection visual? "Stealth" is going to be a real challenge and require some compromises with anywhere near your power level. I don't know about SD, or whether you have "connections" but in my experience up here in NorCal, you won't be fooling just about any CHP officer or SMOG inspector, no matter what, with any of those options unless you make ALL the sacrifices to look as stock as possible.

In my experience, you're nowhere near stealth without AT LEAST:

Stock or stock-appearing DV. Forget VTA BOV.
Some sort of OEM airbox to cover an open element intake, with a stock looking tube. No shiny aftermarket looking metal, no smooth silicone. Maybe you can find a stock diesel tube and retrofit it.
Gutted stock cat (OEM cats are highly coveted in CA for smog, it's hard to find one and nobody wants to gut it)
Black FMIC ideally.
STOCK AF looking exhaust. No test pipe, no high flow looking cat,
Stock-frame turbo with any obvious branding removed.
No External WG.
Make sure your injectors look stock. No visible FPR.

I wouldn't even put gauges in full time sight if you're trying to be so stealth you want to be able to try to BS an officer if you get pulled over.

I tried to build my entire Evo around the same intention, and have completely given up. I once got pulled over leaving an E85 station in Redwood City, by a Stater, who said he pulled me over for an "illegal aftermarket exhaust" (COBB-one of the most stock-looking!), made me get out, pop my hood, first giveaway, open air filter, busted out flashlight, started pointing at ****, said my STOCK IX DV was "illegal aftermarket", he could tell my FIC injectors were aftermarket even though I removed the labels because of the blue part, etc. etc. He probably would have gotten down to look under the car to look for a cat etc.if it didn't start raining. ******* even gave me a full sobriety in the street. And all he had seen me do was pull out of the station, no "spirited" driving.

I was stock turbo, perrin intake, FMIC, FIC injectors,TBE, THATS IT. A year or two later to renew reg, went to a supposedly "cool" smog place, and that dick threw the entire ****ing smog book at me, even for **** that was stock.

After that, I went through two different stock airboxes I hacked up to try to cover the intake, and just felt silly because I just wasn't going to fool anyone.

My $.02 build your car how you want, or keep it how it is, figure out your smog and reg., and just try to duck the cops. There might be a reason so many CA Evos are "hot boy" or mostly track.

Between that kind of BS, taxes, and gun laws sometimes I wonder why I even still live in CA.

 

That sucks man, and that could be my future as well. My experience has been the opposite with the police. I have been pulled over twice, both times modified (different car) and one thought an oil cap was an aftermarket BOV. The goal of doing this is to fool a smog tech or cop doing a very basic inspection. Anything more and I can't hide it.

To hide my coil on plugs I am putting the spark plug cover back on with a little spacing to get it to fit. It fits pretty flush surprisingly. As for the intake I will be putting putting the stock airbox back on and cutting out the bottom of the box to keep it stock looking. I need to relocate the BOV to under where the stock airbox will be. Last problem I have is the gates and exhaust manifold. I will likely have to hide/relocate a few other things as well.

 

I forgot to mention, the Stater said the only reason he let me drive away was because he "forgot his reference book of pictures of what the stock everything is supposed to look like"
If I were you I would just put as much back to stock as possible, or figure something else out.
I can tell you from experience though, it suck A$$ to go through all that hassle, only to have a supposedly "cool" smog tech throw you under the bus anyway!

 

I vote fp cast manifold, I believe people have done close to 800 with it on the fp zero. If you don’t coat it with anything after a while it gets that rusty look like the factory manifold. And you can bolt on the factory heat shield on it. As for everything else, there is really nothing you can do because anyone that knows anything about these cars will be able to catch any mod, even the fp manifold.