Well, my input on whether or not it comes out is:

YES.

Entirely possible..

 

I read a review of the Evo VIII FQ300 in the latest issue of Evo magazine. They said the performance wasn't drastically different than the stock Evo VIII. Europe will also get a FQ320 upgrade.

 

There are hp upgrade packages available for the Evo, elsewhere in the world, through the dealerships.

It isn't entirely unreasonable to think that Mitsubishi may have an upgrade package in the works for the US market also.

To think it is not possible is a bit close minded I think.

SC

 

its probably cheaper for them to offer the chip then to loose buisness to the STI later on down the road...

 

Ok I have said before if they come out with a chip ,,,they will have my $1500 then and there!!!!!

After the STI stole the Evo's fame a day after its release with 300 hp........ Isnt it going to be sweet for to steal their thunder in June when most all Subby dealers will have STI's on the floor!

Hahahahaha,,,,, people sitting on the fence between the two cars,,, oh my god,,,, this is not going to be good it is going to be one of the best marketing SLAMS ever!!!!!!

A chip that will probably be 300+ hp, to out power the STi,,, this is going to happen and it is going to be sweet sweet revenge for them raining on the EVO launch!!!!! Good job Mits. you will make many many people happy.

Not to mention the Evo, even thou less power has won every magazines pick for first place between the twoo cars. This factory backed chip is going to make people run from the STI showroom and striaght over to the Mits store.

I really dont see Scubby having anything left to one up Mits now.

ps..... people keep it positive ,,,, Mits is watching this board.
AND IT WILL HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!
TO ,,,,,, THEY ARE VERY SMART COOKIES

 

Let's assume this is true and make additional assumptions based on this "information."

1) This chip will not increase HC/CO/NOx exhaust emissions. If it did, then any Mitsu dealer that installed one would be subject to EPA "tampering" regulations and could face huge fines. And, if MMSA doesn't want to exclude its single largest market from such a chip, it will also have earned a California Air Resources Board EO (Executive Order) number.

2) The Evo's warranties (new car, powertrain, Fed and Cal emissions) will not be diminished in any way when this chip is installed by a Mitsu dealer.

3) This chip will produce, approximately, an additional 29 peak horsepower over the stock ECU. (STi's 300 - Evo's 271 = 29).

4) The chip will still permit knock-free operation when fueled with premium "winter gas" (oxygenated 91 AKI gasoline), which is the highest quality gasoline available in large parts of the West during certain times of the year.

The question one must ask is: If Mitsu can meet these goals now with a new chip, then why couldn't Mitsu have met them six months ago with the stock ECU? I guess we're supposed to believe that Mitsu engineers could have programmed the stock ECU to produce 300 hp in the US but arbitrarily decided on only 271 hp because it was thought, at the time, to be "enough?"

There's no way that just a "chip" is going to safely add 29 horsepower to the Evo. It is instructive to see what Porsche includes in its recently-introduced Powerkit for the 911, which increases peak power by only 25 hp. Yes, it does include a "chip" (new ECU), but the list of necessary upgraged internals that it supplies is quite long. Anyone care to guess how much the Porsche Powerkit costs, installed? I have no idea, but I'll guess it's well north of $10K.

 

Good points. It's a rhetorical thought, but kind of makes you wonder how all these tuner's reflashes / piggyback computers really perform with regards to meeting the standards. Despite their claims to the contrary of rigurous testing on different gasoline, different parts of the country etc, I suspect at the end of the day they really fall short of the mark. But then again, we already know that don't we.

 

I'm not sure how your emission stuff works over here - I'm not American. But, in England, cars have to pass their 'MOT' every year and, to be honest, I'm not sure what emission requirements they have to pass. Having said that, I believe it is illegal to sell a FQ300 as a new car in the UK, instead they sell it as a regular EVO8 and then 'add' the FQ stuff after it's registered. They apparently do this to get round certain laws, and I'm sure the car really starts out as a FQ anyway. I believe ProDrive also do the same with the STi. Now, I could be wrong, but that's what Tiff said on Top Gear . So, I don't know if such a practice would be possible in the US if it is, in fact, true.

 

Oh? How do "we" know this?

-- DavidV

 

I am a current Subaru WRX STI V.6 owner but am thinking of getting the EVO I saw this thread and just thought I might burst a few bubbles. The STI is currently being dynoed and modded with a few simple things to see the potential of the 2.5 litre advantage,

http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/showth...0&pagenumber=1

Now here is the bubble burster for the lazies! with only a Blitz intake and A GODSPEED Down-pipe. Here is the quote on page 4
"Hit 301.5 whp and 312 ft lbs of torque this morning. This was with just Godspeed downpipe and Blitz SUS filter with boost set to 16.8 PSI."
Now if you keep reading this thread over there he is still tuning and will hit rediculous numbers quite shortly for little less then $1500 for the new ECU if that is the final cost!

Again I am a Huge EVO fan but also have owned Subies for a long time and they have good machines being built with tons of potential for little cash. Just a thought for those undecided.


__________________

 

It definitely makes sense for them to offer it as an upgrade instead of a free patch for one reason alone: legal issues. When Ford found that the cobra was not making the rated horsepower, they offered to retrofit all cobras with upgraded parts to meet the hp rating, but several owners sued saying that Ford is diminishing the "showroom-fresh" value of their cars by offering a post-sale upgrade, thus not making their cars stock anymore. By offering it as a low-cost upgrade, they avoid some of those issues because they are not claiming that the car is stock anymore post-upgrade. Of course, I'm still highly skeptical, but we'll see...

 

Maybe I should clarify a little. Mitsubishi has to meet all the regulatory standards in the US in order to sell the Evo, and it must make good on any parts that go bad during warranty ( well we hope so anyway). Aftermarket tuners in general DO NOT.

While I don't disbelieve that any aftermarket ECU / piggy back will improve power over a stock EVO (especially if it is custom tuned to the engine on a dyno), I do take things with a pinch of salt when they just say that all laws / standards will be met, safety limits are as good as stock. Like UFO pointed out with the FQ300 in the UK, even there Mitsubishi doesn't offer the upgrade on a new car - most likely because even they wouldn't be able to meet all standards.
To add more "evidence" to the pot, have a look at Ralliart's ECU upgrade available in Japan for Competition use. In "Competition use" read "tuned more on the edge without regard to regulatory standards or Engine longivety". They offer it for different levels of gas quality :

Domestic High Octane spec
AV gas spec
FIA gas spec

in order to get more out of it. But of course the compromise is that put Domestic Hi Oc in a car tuned for FIA gas spec and it'll probably knock like ****. The stock ECU is tuned for overall compromise, move away from it and yes you will gain in some areas, but you will lose in others.

 

I will just wait and see

 

Nobody is gonna flame you, but your post is off-topic and prepresents a snapshot of a work in progress. Your conclusion is unjustified in my opinion.
Speedlimit...

 

Yes - a chip can add 25HP safely, on a Turbo car. The Porsche kit you show is for a NA car. The chip kits for the 944 Turbo (just chips) add on average about 30 RWHP on stock cars. The rule of thumb on turbo cars is 1PSI boost =10HP. We all know that the Evo does 19PSI at 3500, but drops down to 16.5 in the upper RPM range. Keeping 19PSI all through the rev range is going to add at least 25HP (2.5PSI). Lean the mixture out a bit, from the pig rich levels they are now, and the gains are going to be much larger.