Its like a drug for me. Im ready to pawn **** to get mods. The stock thing isnt a bad idea tho if your strong enough

 

Well, I still got a bunch of stuff left from the '03 EVO that I modified extensively. So far my MR is still stock except for the JDM MR tail lights and the EVO8 Enkies I put on it with the all season tires for the winter...... I already sold the AEM EMS, the intake, FMIC and a few other things. The full 3" exhaust is in a garage and a few other goodies are laying around here and there

The truth is that after all the mods I did to my GSR, I was not very happy with the results and the compromises I had to make for driveability. Also, somewhere along the line between the SAFC and later the Dynoflash and later still the Busted Solutions final debacle, the car developed pressure in the crankcase and low compression. Add to that a whole host of issues ranging from clouds of smoke, gas smells, lousy mileage, stalling, hard stating, etc. I decided I would not repeat that experiment again.

The Exede twin clutch, although a good, strong unit, was hellishly difficult to used when coupled with the terrible stalling and low speed behavior with the stand alone. For sure, the only mods I can recommend from my experience are the Vishnu XEDE & Xflash. Those corrected all the driveability problems and produced excellent power at low boost (along with the cams, gears, FMIC, injectors, fuel pump and exhaust). The stock intake was put back and worked better.

I guarantee you one thing for sure, I'm gonna be very careful what I do to my car next and who I'll trust with it. For the simpler stuff, I'll trust myself and a few friends. For tuning and all other work that I can't do myself, only Andrew at Dyno4mance will touch my car until further notice

 

I'm going with the Vishnu stage Zero,that's it.If something happens it's an easy path back to stock for warranty work-

 

Mine's "stock" by my definition of "stock".

I see no reason to upgrade the performance of my car until I learn how to use everything it's got.

I spend plenty of money on mine, but I spend it on track days. Learning to drive.

I have aftermarket tires and brake pads because they're cheaper than OEM, and DOT 4 brake fluid for safety. That's it.

One comment on other people's comments: I saw someone use the fact that UK-spec Evos put out more power as their proof that the US-spec engine is de-tuned. That person is overlooking the fact fact that UK gasoline is 98 octane.

 

You make a very good argument for keeping the car stock. I definitely agree with you in that the vast majority of people cannot use even 80% of the cars' performance in stock form. There sure are enough valid reasons to stay stock.
OTOH, it's much easier to spend some time and money changing the car instead of the driver and particularly in the 1/4 mile tracks, the higher WHP and TQ modifications can give instant gratification....

Personally, I think that any modifications to the car need to be carefully considered. Also, I really need to know what I want. If I really want a very fast road race track car, the best I can do is take tons of driving lessons and spend lots of time driving in a track. The only mods needed for the car in this case might be a set of racing tires.

If I'm more interested in making my car unique or personalizing it. I can spend lots of cash on things like wheels, body kits, suspension packages and lots of other cosmetic or electronic goodies. Or if I want faster straight line acceleration, there are tons of modification options for more power. Only the depth of one's pockets is the limit .... There is also the possibilty of taking more than one approach. It's all a personal choice. I say it's fine to do whatever I want and it's great that others can do what they want. Enjoy your car anyway you want

 

Well, that being said, I have NEVER left anything stock. Hell, even Shelby couldn't stand a stock Mustang. My first new car I bought went under the knife after 3 days, rebuilt the entire top end of the engine at 3 weeks.


edit
By the way, my idea of stock is:
Looks like showroom or maybe some hiding going on.
Quiet exhaust with better flow.
Factory radio and seats.
Factory height, non-modified wheelbase.
Factory bore and stroke.
end edit

 

It's OK to to do all that and more. You'll get no argument from me about any of that

Well, it's OK I guess to define what "stock" means to you but with all due respect, what you describe is not "stock" but maybe some kind of sleeper disguised as a "stock" car.... Cool idea, but definitely not "stock"

 

Agreed!

 

If boost didn't taper off at 5K RPM's I could have kept the car stock for a few thousand miles. Now I'm thinking P2 flash and a CB exhaust. Not a big deal...I bought this car for the handling and have no intention of touching the suspension. It's perfect IMHO for my needs.

 

I think engineered the boost taper for reliability reasons. I know that manipulating the boost in the EVO can yield the greatest power increases by the simplest and cheapest means. The problem is that without careful fuel and ignition tuning the safety of the engine is compromised........ That's why there is this huge proliferation of reflashes, piggy backs & stand alone computers. Frankly, I think that raising or maintaining boost longer could be done very safely if there is a way to see what the fuel & ignition do as the boost is gradually manipulated. I'd guess if a guy knows what he is doing and monitors the fuel, ignition and knock control, he can prolly get a fair amount of safe extra power by just kicking up the boost.

 

I agree. There's something unwholesome about simply throwing a $50 MBC on a $30k car though. Most of the ECU flashes take into account a wide spectrum of engine factors, not just the amount of boost.

 

==================================
DISCLAIMER: I don't mean for the stuff below to start an a argument or anything. I'm already on record as saying that while mods aren't for me, I think it's great that we're all free to enjoy out cars as we wish. But I just stumbled across this article this morning, and thought I'd share.
==================================

The lastest issue of Car and Driver (April 2005) has the wrap-up of long-term Evo. They had it 2 years and 40,000 miles.

Just for grins, before they got rid of it, they tried having a Vishnu Stage One Plus kit installed. The article is titled "The Perils of Being Power Crazy" (page 130).

They got it down to 12.7 in the 1/4. When it was running. Which it usually wasn't.

They experienced a knock that put them into limp mode, an exhaust leak from the 02 sensor backing out (twice), and uncontrollable revs beyond redline to cutoff. Plus they destroyed the clutch and started experiencing shifting problems. Their quote: "...even when it was running right, you always felt you were driving on borrowed time."

 

yeah, drive it "like a rental" for 40K miles and that's what happens to any car!

 

Well, although we all like to read and hear only success stories, it's OK sometimes to hear or read about other outcomes. I don't believe that C&D are a bunch of ignorant fools when it comes to cars. Perhaps they have their biases one way or the other but I think they probably did try their best to achieve success with their EVO. Although they obviously did not get Shiv himself involved in the tuning, they probably used the best techs and tuners within their ability. I'd guess that C&D has a better than average chance of finding good, experieced tuners and they prolly have as much time and $$ to do the job as most people out there.

Fact is, all modification projects do not work out as well as one would like. My personal experience and that of others will attest to that. I wish that my previous EVO would have worked out great, unfortunately it did not. I'd guess C&D's experience is more along the lines of my experience. I'm definitely taking a more measured and careful approach with my MR

 

Me too.

Actually there are lots of mods allowed in Stock: tires, wheels, drop-in air filter, double adjustable shocks, turbo timer, stereo, catch can, harness, brake pads, spark plugs, alignment, shift knob, gauges, and I'm sure there are others. And you can't change the exhaust from the cat back--you can't touch the cat itself.

So far I've done the Buschur muffler delete, replaced the head unit, bought wheels/tires/lugs for autocross, gotten a free turbo timer from the dealer, and I've gotten an autocross alignment. I'm also hanging onto the stock HU and muffler for potential restoration of resale value.