2014 Evo GSR

My car is paid off I have a good job finally, I can start building this car.

there are a couple of mods that I would like to get on before the year is out and I need some advice on which parts to put on.

Intake. So originally I was going to put a K&N typhoon on but due to a recent test showing that their air flow is better than everybody else because their air filter literally lets everything get sucked into your engine. So that one's kind of off the table now meanwhile I was looking at the Injen 08-15 and it looks all right but I've heard mixed results. Can I get a straight answer on what is actually good?

Exhaust. So far the answer that I've gotten is do what you want on this so I thought about getting the borla type S. Worth?

Front bumper. No before anybody asks I did not James May my car. It's missing the front part of the bottom side of the bumper where that black lip should be and my struggle is both finding a place where I can buy a replacement and if I shouldn't just buy a new bumper all together that's a little bit more aerodynamic.

Ideally I'd like to get all of these parts before May and preferably dynoed before July.

 

I personally have HKS Super Turbo cat-back exhaust. I chose it because it is not too loud, stays under the radar, and makes the Evo X sound like a JDM luxury car. Other exhausts I looked at were Blitz Nur-Spec C-Ti Quad with diffuser (too pricey), Tomei Expreme Ti (too loud), and Invidia Q300 Titanium (too much drone for me). HKS Super Turbo, Tomei Expreme, and Invidia Q300 are all 3" exhausts. The Borla S-Type is unfortunately a 2.75" exhaust.

For intake I would order the AMS one. It comes with both a 1/2" fitting (for plastic valve cover) and a 3/8" fitting (for aluminum valve cover). However, I would ditch the oiled K&N filter (bad for our Evo X's MAF sensor) and use an AEM Dry Flow equivalent 21-203D-XK. The AMS intake is a 3" one, large enough for a full bolt-on (FBO) Evo X and even a turbo-upgraded Evo X, but installing it will require a pro-tune. A step down might be the AEM cold air intake. It comes with an (although smaller) AEM Dry Flow filter. It's a little restrictive for the track or a FBO Evo X, but it doesn't lean out the mixture too much and is unlikely to require a tune. That is, as long as you keep the stock cat.

If I can travel back in time to inform the old me, I would recommend the following baby stages towards FBO:
　　
^Everyone says DILKR8B6 (hot) is the same as stock '11-'15 (hot) spark plugs, but learning from my experience I beg to differ. My (2014 MY) stock spark plugs misfired as if they were too cold. They weren't as bad as ILKR8E6 (cold) spark plugs, but the misfire would certainly interfere with tuning. The authentic NGK DILKR8B6 I bought in store has been insanely smoother with no misfire, which is ideal for the fresh plugs required for tuning.
　　
^This is because the AMS downpipe comes with the bung needed to install the AEM wideband.
　　
^This is because the OEM aluminum valve cover uses a 3/8" breather, smaller than the stock '11-'15 Evo X's 1/2" breather. And the AMS performance intake comes with a bung just for that.
　　
^The stock lower intercooler pipe is already a hard pipe. So instead of replacing it to prevent or to fix a leak, a simple silicone coupler with 2 worm clamps will work without draining your wallet.
　　
^Either do it proactively, or when the stock manifold leaks. The MAP manifold comes with turbo bolts including flat washers. This is very misleading. If you use the included flat washers, the manifold-to-turbo bolts will stretch and back out, causing an exhaust leak and even melted engine bay wires. Instead, use double OEM MR187848 washers for all 4 manifold-to-turbo bolts.
　　
^Either change the coolant and radiator proactively, or when you notice your FBO Evo X overheats. The 4 upper clamps can instead be CTWG–54 stainless steel for a more consistent engine bay appearance, but the lower 4 clamps should be CTWG–54GD because the plating helps prevent corrosion.

I would forgo an aftermarket BOV. The stock BOV is arguably the best choice for stock, stock-ish, and FBO Evo X's. It's smooth under partial throttle, and properly leaky over 25psi which hilariously counters overboosting. Aftermarket BOV's like the HKS or Tial QR (use 8psi spring for stock turbo) unnecessarily complicate things. There is no need to go through the headache unless you are upgrading the turbo to TF06-18K. Same with aftermarket catch cans. Same with aftermarket fuel pump and injectors.

 

Thanks for the reply I have been slaving away at work trying to drum up the money for everything starting with a brand new set of brakes.

Eventually I do want to make this car ignorant levels of fast so the input is greatly appreciated. I sent my reply to my buddy to make sense of everything and he concurs. I think on the 1st of next month I will buy the AMS intake but it won't go in until I buy the exhaust with the cat back. I'm trying to do this thing where I Balance power with sense and I'm also thinking coilovers if you have any suggestions.

 

I have the Q300 exhaust and it sounds really good imo. It does have a little drone, wifey doesn't much like it, but to me it's pretty quiet. Another thing I like about it is the muffler section is similar shape to oem so you don't create a ballon pocket in the center section of the rear defuser. Everyone loves the AMS intake, but I went with Tomie tube with the cobb box, stock maf housing. If you are considering upgrading the exhuast manifold, Artec Performance > MAP all day. It's much newer thus far less people have had the opportunity to use it tho. Also, the OEM radiator is actually quite amazing, so I would skip this for now, even on track from reports.

I'm planning coilover for next year, and as of right now i'm leaning towards Ohlins R/T Track specs from Works. Cuz I can't afford $5k for 2-ways *cry..

 

You are welcome! If I were you, I would prefer factory-level rebuild with a Brembo specialist. You are close to PMB Performance at Murray, Utah, right? I heard that's a known shop for performing factory-level Brembo rebuilds, although I don't have any personal experience on whether they are as good as some people say.

Among the handful of choices, I prefer Bilstein PSS10. They require the stock top hats. I ordered them with the default springs at 6.4kg front & 6.1kg rear, with the dampers set at 3F/2R. They made the Evo X incredibly nimble, while retaining excellent comfort for the highway and road trips.

My friend has the Ohlins R&T coilovers, with the default springs at 10kg front & 7kg rear. It's stiffer and feel like a purpose-built autocross car. If we are talking about a daily-driven Evo on the bumpy city roads, I'm not sure. If it's a weekend warrior, then the Ohlins are great.

 

As an unfortunate development I have replaced my brakes and I have found that my bearings need replacing. I'm buying some precisions and putting them on here this month and then the intake will follow after.

for the Cobb tuner should that be installed before the intake and the exhaust?

 

I'm not sure what you mean here. While it's true that Evo X's wheel bearings can fail after years of service, I personally would trust only Mitsubishi OEM wheel bearings.

If you are talking about the Cobb Accessport, that's mostly dead now, as people are switching to Tactrix Openport tunes.

If you are talking about the (Cobb or Grimspeed) 3-port boost controller, it could be a good idea to:
　　
The starter tune limits the boost and is extremely conservative, so even by installing the 3-port the Evo will not over-boost. Since the old days before e-tunes, there has been an alternative way which is to simply unplug the 3-port's electronic connection after installing it. With the 3-port installed but powered off, the Evo will default back to the ~12 psi boost, allowing you to drive to the tuner (then re-plug the 3-port, confirm the check engine light is gone, and then give him the key) for a dyno tune.
　
　
Anyway, are you sure you want to spend all the hard-earned money for power mods? A lot of headache could come with those. It might be more prudent to do only an aftermarket exhaust as you fix things. Regular maintenance, wear-and-tear repair, and rust repair could already cost a lot. Keep $10k or more saved in the bank specifically for the Evo could provide comfort.

I have the exact same model year GSR. Among all the recent repairs, only the coolant/radiator replacement, fluid change, and valve cover replacement went smoothly. Everything else was a pain. The coilovers took the master mechanics 3 days total back-and-forth to adjust to finally feel right. The replacement clutch master cylinder has been reworked twice and it's still noisy. The MAP manifold still has the suboptimal hardware on and may need to be taken out completely to re-install OEM belleville washers. The rear wing metal skeleton rust took the body shop 6 hours to sand-blast and rust-proof; Now it's installed but rattling.

The old folks like to say "keeping up with the maintenance." Well, "keeping up" is the right word. It's like the navy sailors having to spend much of their day maintaining the ship, as only so she can be sea-worthy.

 

That is outdated tech and it never properly worked for the platform.

You should sell that antique and switch over to TephraXMOD. You can either have a shop in Colorado do it or you can do it on your own.

 

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...l#post11969012


This will be the new permanent post that I will be using. The replacement wheel bearings have went in flawless and the vehicle is now even safer to drive the joke of keeping up with the maintenance isn't super difficult I just picked one part a month and just kind of roll with it.

Because my buddy racked his forehead on my T case this weekend I may be doing the next two mods, while under supervision, mostly on my own so any assistance and tips would be helpful.