I thought we could get a thread going for those of us who have experience modding Xs and have dyno results with different parts. What has worked for you? What hasn't worked for you? What order did you put your mods on? Would you do the same again?

Baseline: 222whp
Drop in filter: +9whp on best run, but inconclusive run to run
Tuning: +52whp (w/o MBC, but global gain)
Cat-back: +17whp
downpipe and test pipe: +6whp
MBC: +21whp, but only from 6800rpm and up.

Keep in mind these are peak values.



Here's my overall observations so far of parts I have on my own car

1) Tune: Since the factory mapping is so rich it caused a Mitsu issued reflash to be released to make the car not break up at higher RPM, of course a tune is going to produce the most results. My opinion: Best bang for the buck, period.

2) Cat-back: I got a good gain out of mine, and it was barely any louder than stock. The stock cat really kept things quiet. My opinion: Great bang for the buck.

3) Test pipe and downpipe: I gained a little torque in the middle, but at my power level, the car didn't get any astronomical gains. I did have a mini muffler put in the test pipe to help muffle sound, but its straight through and very tiny, so I cannot imagine it killing much power at all. The test pipe and downpipe are probably good groundwork mods, but all they really did was make the car louder and help power a bit. My opinion: Its the next best thing to do after the cat-back, but the law of diminishing returns is starting to set in.

4) Panel high flow filter: Initially, this seemed like a good part. Its not really as repeatable as the paper one was on the crappy stock tune, but I don't think it was bad either. Some people have reported crazy gains with this mod, but I didn't see it. On the very best run, it made 9whp over the stock run. Still, not a bad bang for the buck if you were planning to wait on a tune. If you plan to tune immediately, the stock paper filter will probably take you anywhere you need to go and not be a restriction whatsoever. My opinion: Skip it and save your money for something else unless you just want a lifetime washable filter.

5) Manual boost controller: Initially, this gave me a bit of gain at super high RPM, but on a drive by wire car, the cons well outweighed the pros of this mod. They cause CELs, high EGTs at partial throttle & high boost, and limp modes. As cars are tuned, I believe the X community will have substantially less users with MBCs since the car is CAN & DBW based and the factory solenoid setup is nicer than the older cars. Also, ECU based boost control has much better control, has several RPM dependent adjustment points, and correction for different load cells. ECU boost for the win. My opinion: Run away screaming.



Parts I've seen on other Evo Xs

1) Intercooler pipe kit: These lean out the airflow reading, so they will increase power on a stockish car. I have not yet seen a tuned car with these, so the jury is still out.

2) Aftermarket intercooler: Again, will change AFRs, but I have a hard time believing that the stock IC cannot keep up with the crappy stock turbo.

3) Open element air intake: IMO, these are not good. The MAF in these new cars is more sensitive to the one in the VIII/IX. I've seen two Xs with these, and they idled like total crap on the stock tune. With the hood closed, they are not a sealed unit like the stock airbox, and I suspect they will ingest hotter air and produce less "real" whp. The stock airbox on this car is more of a straight shot than the one on the VIII and IX, and I have personally seen VIIIs go 125mph in the quarter mile with the stock airbox and stock paper filter, so they can't be too much of a restriction here either by the look of things.



Jury is out/things I have not seen personally, but lots of speculation

1) "O2 housing": The correct term for this is a "Turbo exhaust outlet housing", since the front O2 in in the DP. This made good power in the VIIIs and IXs, and it should here too. The stock turbo drops boost so fast; maybe this could help a little bit

2) Aftermarket fuel pump: This car supposedly has 660cc injectors, but on this tiny turbo running a mere 16psi by the rev limiter, I am seeing close to 90% IDCs. That is way too high IMO. I have read that a Walbro 255 is not a drop in replacement without some modification, so I would want a drop in.

3) Turbocharger: The cylinder head is baller on this car. Peak power sustains to ~8000rpm even when boost has dropped substantially. A 16G 4G63 could never claim that. I think a bolt-on 20G with a healthy hotside would turn this car into an absolute rocket.




Finally, the biggest hinderance to this car in my eyes is the weight; It is a full 300 pounds heavier than the IX! I know its easy to pull a lot of weight from the back with the sub, exhuast replacement, mini battery kit, and spare, but I would love to see someone pull weight front to preserve the awesome weight distribution this car enjoys compared to previous iterations.

Please feel free to add anything you have found in your testing or ideas. Let's all work together to get the Evo 10 moving as fast as we would like it to be!

 

This is a great topic!

I just ordered the following:

ETS 4" Intercooler
ETS UICP/LICP
ETS Intake

I also have a Hallmann MBC coming in, but am weary to put it on..

I am still waiting on my turbo back to be finished, so I am sure I will get good gains from that, although it has a High-Flow cat, instead of a Test-pipe, damn track rules...

I will edit my post with the gains and hopefully I can get up on the dyno to show some numbers..

 

Nice points on the mods....just had the second reflash done, and I'm a little hesitant to push the car over 5k now with my mods. Cant wait for a tune...not many here in MN....nice post!

 

Not to go offtopic, but has anyone seen a map of the AFR's with the second reflash?

 

My reviews on my mods:

Buschur Intake filter kit : Great bang for the buck. I definitely felt a gain on the butt dyno. Perhaps the biggest thing it did was make the spool and BOV sound EXTREMELY noticeable.

Nisei UICP: Slight sound gain from the turbo spooling with this one. maybe a slight butt dyno gain. Definitely worth the 190 though.

Buschur BIG *** FMIC : Definitely an improvement in keeping the intake air cooler. You can spool around all day in hot weather and the car doesnt feel heat soaked as before. Power up top for sure. I no longer mind revving the engine up for fear of power loss.

Mistubishi Reflash #2: Huge top end improvement. Slight mpg increase.

Going for my first dyno session on saturday. I need a tune but they dont have anything yet for the X so that will have to wait. Also have a MBC i might throw on to see what it does on the dyno.

 

I can get that done saturday, but it wont be on a stock car.

 

I would prefer it on a stock car, but we will see.

I am thinking I want to go get the 2nd Reflash.

 

I have both flashes and I encourage someone to drive behind my car with a bucket and catch all the unburned fuel

 

NOIZE, I have an open element air filter and it didnt hurt the idle AT ALL. Idle and drives around fine. I didnt notice any power increase though.

As far as best mods to date, the mod that CBRD suggested (wastegate rod adjustment) DEFINITELY made a noticeable difference. 1 clockwide turn and the butt dyno registered 15+wtq at least. yes its just changing how boost hit but i noticed no loss up top.

-Steve

 

No dyno proof yet but...

1st Reflash (late April) - got rid of all the 5k + rpm stutter, car runs solid after this.

Ultimate Racing Test Pipe - huge decrease in lag, spool up is 500rpm sooner is some places, very noticeable around town and sounds just barely louder than stock even at WOT which I was suprised.

AMS Intake Kit - definately felt the gains on the butt dyno and the audible improvement of hearing the turbo spool up and really hearing the bypass when you let off the throttle. Car pulls really good in the midrange-up top

Catback is coming next (undecided on brand) then Buschur Upper/Lower IC piping, then the Buschur FMIC and a tune.

If I decide to get that new turbo wheel installed I'll do that before the tune then get it tuned once for everything.

 

I think that is a really solid point, Steve. All intakes (and especially the velocity stacks before the MAF) are not created equal. One of the cars at the shop had a pretty eloquent intake. Andrew had to shut his hood because the dyno fan was enough air on the element to make the car stall. Even off the dyno, the idle hunted too much for my liking.

But you are right. Some intakes could be good stuff and have zero idle issues. To me, if I can't record a gain comparing a tuned car with intake and same car with stock airbox, I won't change it.

I have been a chicken wuss to try this, but I think I need to do it next time I go down to the shop. Since the car is tuned on ECU boost, I don't want to mess with it unless I'm on the dyno.

IIRC, another vendor tried this and got no gains. But that won't stop me from trying it in hopes of picking up more!

 

I want to try this wastegate trick as well, but I want to do it on a dyno!

im scurrred!

 

I will edit my post later, but to answer the original post "Would you do the same?"

Yes of course, the X stock was a real let down. Modded I couldn't be happier, well I will be when the car gets more power ()......but this car is really great when you get a tune and a few parts, I'm definitely happy I sold my IX!

Again, I'll go more in depth later, wanted to get a spot

Ryan

 

I agree with Noize on the intake situation, the only one that I have seen that really appealed to me is the Cobb intake system that has not been released yet. That intake looks like a well engineered intake system, but I am still not sure that it would make any more power then the stock system once both are tuned. From what I have read the aftermarket intakes are tricking the MAF into running a leaner afr and that is where they are making their power, but it is possible that some are just more efficient then the stock system. I am sure that time will tell.

 

i have a gruppe m carbon ram intake system coming in from japan, and they advertise a gain of 27 hp. also ordered intercooler piping, thinking about a mbc and tune now