03 evo has plenty of mods including stiff-*** clutch. Unless it was done before I owned it, transfer case service hasn't been performed (service bulletin for this on 03's I believe?). Two things are happening:

-Going from a stop in first gear, if the clutch and gas pedal ratio isn't perfect, the front end has a tendency to 'hop' until the clutch is fully released. Sometimes it will just 'throb', if that makes any sense. Since the clutch is aftermarket twin disc, it's very heavy and thus difficult to get perfect every time, even after having it for almost 8 months.

-During deceleration while still in gear, a grinding sound comes from the front end. Almost sounds like something dragging on the ground. Once I put any amount pressure on the accelerator it completely stops, and it doesn't do it coasting out of gear.

I'm not the most technically-minded person, but my suspicions lie in the transfer case as that seems to be a common issue on the evo. Assuming it's the tc, I expect a great deal of resistance from mitsu dealerships fixing this given the sheer amount of mods the car has. Any other ideas?

 

wow time for new clutchy... and practice driving on a beater first before you destroy your new one.

 

I don't believe it's simply the clutch as you're getting grinding on deceleration...but it does sound like a drivetrain component. It's difficult to say without more details (internet diag's aren't the most effective things ) I would take it to a shop that you trust to see if they can give you a better idea of what it may be before you goto a dealer.