Modding advice / questions
May 3, 2019, 11:47 AM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Modding advice / questions
Hey everyone. I'm looking at looking to change out my clutch soon and I figure I might as well get the remaining things fixed with my car at the same time to save me some hassle. I have an Evo IX RS with approximately 110k miles. My end goal for the car is 500whp on pump or e85 once a gas station with e85 opens near me. I know with the mods I am putting on the car I will not reach that 500whp mark, but this is to merely start the process. Please let me know if you have any experience or have any recommendations on things to change. I want to get the best parts without breaking the bank more than I need to.
Known problems:
Boost leak at the throttle body shaft seals
"Thumping" noise while accelerating and turning right (I believe this to be the axles on their way out, are 900whp axles worth it over the level 0 DSS axles?)
High Pitched brake squealing. (Newer pads on the car, believed to be OEM rotors)
Very rarely the car will shut off when the car comes to a complete stop. (Has happened only 2 times in over a year of ownership)
Mods currently on the car: *Besides exhaust, everything else was on the car when I bought it
Exhaust: Buschur TBE Exhaust
Intake: Unknown but definitely a blueish gray K&N filter
Gauges: Autometer Boost Guage and "Dead" Defi Gauge
Camshafts: Unknown, believed to be Greddy easy cams?
Brake Pads: Hawk HPS. I had these on my previous car and never had any issues with braking or noise
Mods planned to go on the car:
Clutch: Exedy Twin HD with Exedy Throwout Bearing
Intercooler: ETS Cusco Intercooler (Friend will be replacing his Cusco intercooler after stroking his Evo to 2.4L. Is there any benefit to running Cusco vs Wide Tank from ETS?)
Lower IC Pipe: ETS LP2
Throttle Body: Skunk2 68MM
Fuel Pump : STM Walbro 450 Fuel System Upgrade Package
Axle: DSS 900WHP Axles
Rotors: R1 Concept Carbon Geomat Slotted I had these on my previous car and were perfect
Gauge: AEM UEGO AFR Guage
Tune: Shop I plan on going to is known for building Evos
Known problems:
Boost leak at the throttle body shaft seals
"Thumping" noise while accelerating and turning right (I believe this to be the axles on their way out, are 900whp axles worth it over the level 0 DSS axles?)
High Pitched brake squealing. (Newer pads on the car, believed to be OEM rotors)
Very rarely the car will shut off when the car comes to a complete stop. (Has happened only 2 times in over a year of ownership)
Mods currently on the car: *Besides exhaust, everything else was on the car when I bought it
Exhaust: Buschur TBE Exhaust
Intake: Unknown but definitely a blueish gray K&N filter
Gauges: Autometer Boost Guage and "Dead" Defi Gauge
Camshafts: Unknown, believed to be Greddy easy cams?
Brake Pads: Hawk HPS. I had these on my previous car and never had any issues with braking or noise
Mods planned to go on the car:
Clutch: Exedy Twin HD with Exedy Throwout Bearing
Intercooler: ETS Cusco Intercooler (Friend will be replacing his Cusco intercooler after stroking his Evo to 2.4L. Is there any benefit to running Cusco vs Wide Tank from ETS?)
Lower IC Pipe: ETS LP2
Throttle Body: Skunk2 68MM
Fuel Pump : STM Walbro 450 Fuel System Upgrade Package
Axle: DSS 900WHP Axles
Rotors: R1 Concept Carbon Geomat Slotted I had these on my previous car and were perfect
Gauge: AEM UEGO AFR Guage
Tune: Shop I plan on going to is known for building Evos
May 3, 2019, 02:00 PM
#2
Known problems:
Boost leak at the throttle body shaft seals
Easy fix with new seals and an 8mm (IIRC) socket to drive them in
"Thumping" noise while accelerating and turning right (I believe this to be the axles on their way out, are 900whp axles worth it over the level 0 DSS axles?)
Unless you are drag racing with 900whp, you don't need anything more than stock axles.
High Pitched brake squealing. (Newer pads on the car, believed to be OEM rotors)
Put some brake quiet on the back of the pads
Very rarely the car will shut off when the car comes to a complete stop. (Has happened only 2 times in over a year of ownership)
Search for this. There are about 100 threads. It's mostly likely the BISS screw out of adjustment. The process isn't too hard. The threads are very detailed and give you the list of stuff you will need. I even made a youtube vid. It's not that great, but I got tired of typing out the process in all the threads
https://youtu.be/33-OVELrTDA
Mods currently on the car: *Besides exhaust, everything else was on the car when I bought it
Exhaust: Buschur TBE Exhaust
Intake: Unknown but definitely a blueish gray K&N filter
Gauges: Autometer Boost Guage and "Dead" Defi Gauge
Camshafts: Unknown, believed to be Greddy easy cams?
Brake Pads: Hawk HPS. I had these on my previous car and never had any issues with braking or noise
Mods planned to go on the car:
Clutch: Exedy Twin HD with Exedy Throwout Bearing
You may want to do some research on the down sides to running a twin to make sure it's worth it. 99% of the time it's overkill. So be suuuuuuuuure it's what you want.
. Not needed for the wtq you will reach with 500whp, IMO (unless launching the car a lot).
Intercooler: ETS Cusco Intercooler (Friend will be replacing his Cusco intercooler after stroking his Evo to 2.4L. Is there any benefit to running Cusco vs Wide Tank from ETS?)
I've never heard of a Cusco intercooler. ETS sells good stuff, though.
Lower IC Pipe: ETS LP2
Throttle Body: Skunk2 68MM
Aftermarket TBs are temperamental and don't always bolt right on. This is another part I'd be SURE you need. I see lots of posts with people having trouble getting everything on them to work. Worth the headache? Definitely up to you. Not needed for 500whp, IMO.
Fuel Pump : STM Walbro 450 Fuel System Upgrade Package
Axle: DSS 900WHP Axles
Not needed.
Rotors: R1 Concept Carbon Geomat Slotted I had these on my previous car and were perfect
Centric Blanks are pretty much the standard. Even those of us that road race our cars have success with them. Slotted isn't a necessity.
Gauge: AEM UEGO AFR Guage
Tune: Shop I plan on going to is known for building Evos
But do they build reliable Evos?
kidding.
Boost leak at the throttle body shaft seals
Easy fix with new seals and an 8mm (IIRC) socket to drive them in
"Thumping" noise while accelerating and turning right (I believe this to be the axles on their way out, are 900whp axles worth it over the level 0 DSS axles?)
Unless you are drag racing with 900whp, you don't need anything more than stock axles.
High Pitched brake squealing. (Newer pads on the car, believed to be OEM rotors)
Put some brake quiet on the back of the pads
Very rarely the car will shut off when the car comes to a complete stop. (Has happened only 2 times in over a year of ownership)
Search for this. There are about 100 threads. It's mostly likely the BISS screw out of adjustment. The process isn't too hard. The threads are very detailed and give you the list of stuff you will need. I even made a youtube vid. It's not that great, but I got tired of typing out the process in all the threads
https://youtu.be/33-OVELrTDA
Mods currently on the car: *Besides exhaust, everything else was on the car when I bought it
Exhaust: Buschur TBE Exhaust
Intake: Unknown but definitely a blueish gray K&N filter
Gauges: Autometer Boost Guage and "Dead" Defi Gauge
Camshafts: Unknown, believed to be Greddy easy cams?
Brake Pads: Hawk HPS. I had these on my previous car and never had any issues with braking or noise
Mods planned to go on the car:
Clutch: Exedy Twin HD with Exedy Throwout Bearing
You may want to do some research on the down sides to running a twin to make sure it's worth it. 99% of the time it's overkill. So be suuuuuuuuure it's what you want.
. Not needed for the wtq you will reach with 500whp, IMO (unless launching the car a lot). Intercooler: ETS Cusco Intercooler (Friend will be replacing his Cusco intercooler after stroking his Evo to 2.4L. Is there any benefit to running Cusco vs Wide Tank from ETS?)
I've never heard of a Cusco intercooler. ETS sells good stuff, though.
Lower IC Pipe: ETS LP2
Throttle Body: Skunk2 68MM
Aftermarket TBs are temperamental and don't always bolt right on. This is another part I'd be SURE you need. I see lots of posts with people having trouble getting everything on them to work. Worth the headache? Definitely up to you. Not needed for 500whp, IMO.
Fuel Pump : STM Walbro 450 Fuel System Upgrade Package
Axle: DSS 900WHP Axles
Not needed.
Rotors: R1 Concept Carbon Geomat Slotted I had these on my previous car and were perfect
Centric Blanks are pretty much the standard. Even those of us that road race our cars have success with them. Slotted isn't a necessity.
Gauge: AEM UEGO AFR Guage
Tune: Shop I plan on going to is known for building Evos
But do they build reliable Evos?
kidding. This is my minimalist point of view. You will get people from the other side that say to change out everything you can to make it better/stronger/faster (debatable). It's up to you to weigh the two and figure out what you wanna do. Either way, have fun and good luck!
[/novel]
The following users liked this post:
KingTal0n (May 15, 2019)
May 3, 2019, 02:30 PM
#3
Newbie
Thread Starter
As my sig says: everything I type is just my opinion. I build my car by changing only what HAS to be changed (I got tired of doing the bespoke/custom/make fit stuff and having my car down all the time). I prefer to look stock (I live in CA and have to pass smog), all show and now go, and be able to source/replace parts in a hurry. Nothing on my car is "overdone because I plan to bigger later". IMO, that results in a car that drives like crap in the mean time. If I go "bigger" later, then I'll mod the car to support it. Until then, naw.
This is my minimalist point of view. You will get people from the other side that say to change out everything you can to make it better/stronger/faster (debatable). It's up to you to weigh the two and figure out what you wanna do. Either way, have fun and good luck!
[/novel]
This is my minimalist point of view. You will get people from the other side that say to change out everything you can to make it better/stronger/faster (debatable). It's up to you to weigh the two and figure out what you wanna do. Either way, have fun and good luck!
[/novel]
I'm torn about throttle body issue as I kind of agree that putting new seals would fix the issue, and be quicker, but haven't looked into whether it's capable of my 500whp goal.
Axles I can definitely save $$$ with if going to DSS level 0, by about 400$ IIRC, so I'll look into those more.
Brake squeal / rotors i'm willing to bet is due to the rotors being old, and I'd rather just put new rotors on so I know they're good
As far as the BISS screw, thank you so much, I'll have to look into this later on today. When the car died on me, it was more towards the first month or 2 of owning the car and has not had any issues since. I never bothered googling it since it hasn't happened in about a year.
I chose the Exedy Clutch because I've heard nothing but great things about the clutch. Everyone I've talked to highly recommended it
The Cusco Intercooler is just made be able to be used with the Cusco Power Brace, but wasn't able to find any other information comparing to the other ets intercoolers
The Skunk2 TB was recommended by the shop. Some threads I found said they worked perfectly and had no issues so didn't put a 2nd thought into it.
I looked up the Centric rotors and they looked good, but another factor is the R1 rotors were cheaper for a full set of 4. I'm not picky on drilled/slotted, but was recommended slotted is better for auto-cross
LOL at the shop comment. Everyone I have talked to about the shop has said good things. Haven't heard any horror stories at all, so hopefully if I choose to go there, I won't be the first!
May 3, 2019, 03:16 PM
#4
1. I also plan on auto-crossing the car which is why I plan on over-building it a little bit.
Oddly enough (for the most part) stock cars often do better than modded cars at AX, unless in the hands of an experienced driver. A have a local guy, in a relatively stock car, that destroys me. No substitute for seat time. Also, no need to over build the car. The Evo doesn't really have any parts that need to be replaced for competition, especially AX. For daily driving and AX, you are mostly wasting your money if replacing things at random and before finding fault in any of them. Most things that break during AX are going to be due to age/abuse/being consumable, not because they weren't replaced for a part that is allegedly stronger.
2. My current mindset is I'd rather replace something once with a stronger part than replace a weaker part multiple times and save me some $$$ in the long run.
It's not that simple and that's not always the best route to take. Refer back to #1
3. Eventually I plan on having the motor, transmission and transfer case rebuilt to.
Everyone does, but realistically, when? Even still, most stock parts are good up to 500whp, depending on what torque level you are at. Keeping a realistic time line will save you a lot of headache in the mean time. With a built motor, you will be doing regular rebuilds, so any of those are a good time to have some trans or TC work done. "...two birds with one stone", etc.
4. I'm torn about throttle body issue as I kind of agree that putting new seals would fix the issue, and be quicker, but haven't looked into whether it's capable of my 500whp goal.
The stock TB does just fine at 500whp and more.
5. Axles I can definitely save $$$ with if going to DSS level 0, by about 400$ IIRC, so I'll look into those more.
Also, look for OEM. I found a nice set of used axles on ebay that I have stashed away, just in case. Keeping in mind I'll never see more than 500whp and I don't launch the car, so I'll never, ever, eeeeeeever break a stock axle. Your situation may be different.
6. Brake squeal / rotors i'm willing to bet is due to the rotors being old, and I'd rather just put new rotors on so I know they're good
Old rotors don't make noise. You could always have them cleaned up (not turned, but have them run them through to get cleaned/cross hatching). It's usually just the pad, though.
7. As far as the BISS screw, thank you so much, I'll have to look into this later on today. When the car died on me, it was more towards the first month or 2 of owning the car and has not had any issues since. I never bothered googling it since it hasn't happened in about a year.
That's the easiest thing to check and seems to be the most common cause. Good luck! Hopefully, that's all it is.
8. I chose the Exedy Clutch because I've heard nothing but great things about the clutch. Everyone I've talked to highly recommended it
Of course. {bigthumb}
9. The Cusco Intercooler is just made be able to be used with the Cusco Power Brace, but wasn't able to find any other information comparing to the other ets intercoolers
Ah, gotcha. Widetank ETS to fit the Power Brace. The Power Brace doesn't serve any purpose, but if you have one and need the intercooler to fit, then = makes sense.
10. The Skunk2 TB was recommended by the shop. Some threads I found said they worked perfectly and had no issues so didn't put a 2nd thought into it.
Just do a quick search here to be sure, so you're going in with both eyes open. It would suck to put something on and have to deal with it until it works right.
11. I looked up the Centric rotors and they looked good, but another factor is the R1 rotors were cheaper for a full set of 4. I'm not picky on drilled/slotted, but was recommended slotted is better for auto-cross.
If you are only doing AX and daily driving the car, I'm sure any rotor will do. Centric is just most of our preference since we kinda beat up on our cars and don't want to risk the car by going any cheaper. Slotted doesn't help nor hurt for AX. You would honestly never know the difference. Rotors used to be drilled and slotted to allow gasses to escape (possibly expel water if racing in the rain), but newer pads don't have that problem. Drilled rotors are ancient history. Slotted rotors help keep the pads kinda sorta clean but wear them down at a faster rate. Honestly, you shouldn't need to worry about any of that. If your rotors only come that way, then no harm.
12. LOL at the shop comment. Everyone I have talked to about the shop has said good things. Haven't heard any horror stories at all, so hopefully if I choose to go there, I won't be the first!
For sure! Just giving ya' a hard time.
Oddly enough (for the most part) stock cars often do better than modded cars at AX, unless in the hands of an experienced driver. A have a local guy, in a relatively stock car, that destroys me. No substitute for seat time. Also, no need to over build the car. The Evo doesn't really have any parts that need to be replaced for competition, especially AX. For daily driving and AX, you are mostly wasting your money if replacing things at random and before finding fault in any of them. Most things that break during AX are going to be due to age/abuse/being consumable, not because they weren't replaced for a part that is allegedly stronger.
2. My current mindset is I'd rather replace something once with a stronger part than replace a weaker part multiple times and save me some $$$ in the long run.
It's not that simple and that's not always the best route to take. Refer back to #1
3. Eventually I plan on having the motor, transmission and transfer case rebuilt to.
Everyone does, but realistically, when? Even still, most stock parts are good up to 500whp, depending on what torque level you are at. Keeping a realistic time line will save you a lot of headache in the mean time. With a built motor, you will be doing regular rebuilds, so any of those are a good time to have some trans or TC work done. "...two birds with one stone", etc.
4. I'm torn about throttle body issue as I kind of agree that putting new seals would fix the issue, and be quicker, but haven't looked into whether it's capable of my 500whp goal.
The stock TB does just fine at 500whp and more.
5. Axles I can definitely save $$$ with if going to DSS level 0, by about 400$ IIRC, so I'll look into those more.
Also, look for OEM. I found a nice set of used axles on ebay that I have stashed away, just in case. Keeping in mind I'll never see more than 500whp and I don't launch the car, so I'll never, ever, eeeeeeever break a stock axle. Your situation may be different.
6. Brake squeal / rotors i'm willing to bet is due to the rotors being old, and I'd rather just put new rotors on so I know they're good
Old rotors don't make noise. You could always have them cleaned up (not turned, but have them run them through to get cleaned/cross hatching). It's usually just the pad, though.
7. As far as the BISS screw, thank you so much, I'll have to look into this later on today. When the car died on me, it was more towards the first month or 2 of owning the car and has not had any issues since. I never bothered googling it since it hasn't happened in about a year.
That's the easiest thing to check and seems to be the most common cause. Good luck! Hopefully, that's all it is.
8. I chose the Exedy Clutch because I've heard nothing but great things about the clutch. Everyone I've talked to highly recommended it
Of course. {bigthumb}
9. The Cusco Intercooler is just made be able to be used with the Cusco Power Brace, but wasn't able to find any other information comparing to the other ets intercoolers
Ah, gotcha. Widetank ETS to fit the Power Brace. The Power Brace doesn't serve any purpose, but if you have one and need the intercooler to fit, then = makes sense.
10. The Skunk2 TB was recommended by the shop. Some threads I found said they worked perfectly and had no issues so didn't put a 2nd thought into it.
Just do a quick search here to be sure, so you're going in with both eyes open. It would suck to put something on and have to deal with it until it works right.
11. I looked up the Centric rotors and they looked good, but another factor is the R1 rotors were cheaper for a full set of 4. I'm not picky on drilled/slotted, but was recommended slotted is better for auto-cross.
If you are only doing AX and daily driving the car, I'm sure any rotor will do. Centric is just most of our preference since we kinda beat up on our cars and don't want to risk the car by going any cheaper. Slotted doesn't help nor hurt for AX. You would honestly never know the difference. Rotors used to be drilled and slotted to allow gasses to escape (possibly expel water if racing in the rain), but newer pads don't have that problem. Drilled rotors are ancient history. Slotted rotors help keep the pads kinda sorta clean but wear them down at a faster rate. Honestly, you shouldn't need to worry about any of that. If your rotors only come that way, then no harm.
12. LOL at the shop comment. Everyone I have talked to about the shop has said good things. Haven't heard any horror stories at all, so hopefully if I choose to go there, I won't be the first!
For sure! Just giving ya' a hard time.
I'm sure that if i lived in another state, my car would also have some fancier stuff, just because I'd like it..whether it helped or not
The following users liked this post:
AKillEaze (May 3, 2019)
May 3, 2019, 05:42 PM
#5
Newbie
Thread Starter
Again, I take a minimalist approach. I understand the desire to swap out every part you can; it's fun. If that's your thing, I say go for it and have fun! There's more than one way to skin a cat. My advice is more from a "save your money for stuff you need to do" (Driving school? Rent an instructor for the day? etc) to make you actually a better/faster driver. I sometimes forget that some people are a lot more casual about AX, HPDE, etc. than I am.
I'm sure that if i lived in another state, my car would also have some fancier stuff, just because I'd like it..whether it helped or not
I'm sure that if i lived in another state, my car would also have some fancier stuff, just because I'd like it..whether it helped or not
May 3, 2019, 05:53 PM
#6
Hey fellow RS owner 
If youre going to be AX'n it, you can do w/out the 500 WHP. 500 on the stock block is on the limit IMO
Shoot for mid-400's on E85
You can forgo those 900 hp axles. The stock replacement will be OK
Speaking of AX, what have you done w/the susp?
If youre going to be AX'n it, you can do w/out the 500 WHP. 500 on the stock block is on the limit IMO
Shoot for mid-400's on E85
You can forgo those 900 hp axles. The stock replacement will be OK
Speaking of AX, what have you done w/the susp?
The following users liked this post:
AKillEaze (May 3, 2019)
May 3, 2019, 06:27 PM
#7
Newbie
Thread Starter
I haven't touched the suspension yet, and that will be in the future. I have to do much more research into suspension. I've heard Ohlins are great, but I don't have that kind of money for just 1 part as of yet.
The following users liked this post:
MinusPrevious (May 3, 2019)
Trending Topics
The following users liked this post:
AKillEaze (May 3, 2019)
May 3, 2019, 07:12 PM
#9
Newbie
Thread Starter
May 5, 2019, 12:22 PM
#10
Looks like you got a plan, but I would recommend looking at Curt Browns work on his website. I have had his ported intake manifold with a 70mm Full Blown TB and never looked back. I am making 500HP stock block on 110oct. Unless you are a tuner find a reputable tuner that isn’t focused on revenue.
The following users liked this post:
AKillEaze (May 5, 2019)
May 5, 2019, 03:36 PM
#11
Newbie
Thread Starter
Looks like you got a plan, but I would recommend looking at Curt Browns work on his website. I have had his ported intake manifold with a 70mm Full Blown TB and never looked back. I am making 500HP stock block on 110oct. Unless you are a tuner find a reputable tuner that isn’t focused on revenue.