So I purchased a 2008 Evo X GSR over the summer from a small dealership (not Mitsu) and they were unable to provide me with the previous owners contact information so I was unaware of all the things done to the car. I'd usually be hesitant to buy a car without talking with the previous owner and knowing everything done to it, but it was a good deal, low miles, all the packages I wanted, and right down the street from me so I couldn't resist.

I finally took the front bumper off to look at the intercooler because it was painted and wanted to see if it was the stock intercooler or an aftermarket one. I also wanted to look at the fog light set up but thats another story. The dealer said it was the stock intercooler but I wanted to take a look anyways.

So I wanted to make a thread about what I found when I took my bumper off and see if y'all could help my noobish self out. I took some pictures and was hoping you guys could shed some light on me.

The intercooler is black, but I don't know whether it came black or the previous owner had it painted black when he added the Evo X writing to the front. I thought the stock intercooler was like 2.75-3" thick and this intercooler seems to be 4-4.5" thick. Most intercoolers I've seen have their brand name on the side, this one doesn't seem to have that. And the only intercooler I was aware of being 4" was the ETS intercooler.

I figured this would be the perfect place to post some pics and see what everyone says. I was looking in to purchasing the AMS FMIC and piping for a Christmas present to myself and wanted to make sure it's worth it based off whats on the car now. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of the Evo X writing on the intercooler, it looks tacky to me.

On to the pics: (from my phone so there not great quality)

Top view down:




Other pics:











A concern I have is that the crash beam isn't fully intact. It doesn't seem to be fully bolted down on the far right and far left. Is this a problem or nothing to worry about? I would think it'd be pretty serious. I provided some pics as well of this:






So hopefully you guys can help me out with this. My main question is what intercooler is this? Not stock right? Also, should I be concerned with the crash beam not being fully bolted down?

 

If it's 4 1/2 then its either Buschur racing or Ultimate-racing

 

1. Keep your upgraded I/C.
2. Rattle can paint the front of the I/C flat black, to cover the tacky red text.
3. Hard to tell in the pics, but could you drill some new holes for the crash beam?

I'd download the ROM to see if your new-to-U EVO has been tuned. In either case, I'd suggest doing some data logs so you can confirm the engine is properly tuned. Do you have a wide band AFR?

 

Yeah it looks like it could be the Buschur or Ultimate racing intercooler. It looks to me like its the ultimate racing intercooler. I really want to ditch the black intercooler for the classic silver, but don't know if I should pay money for a new intercooler (which would be 3.5") when I have a 4.5" intercooler in there already. I do want to see the AMS logo in the front but that's just visual preference. I guess i could go without. I definitely want to get rid of the tacky Evo X writing so rattle can spray may have to do. Will that hold up?

Also, the new holes that would have to drilled for the crash beam look like it'd be too close to the edge and wouldn't work. It seems to be securely in place but not having those four bolts intact worry me a little.

I do not have a wideband afr, I'm looking in to getting one in the near future hopefully. Once I find out what kind of gauge placement I want. It came with an AEM tru boost gauge in there, but thats it for gauges. I also noticed yesterday that under the hood it had an AEM boost controller solenoid, first time I noticed that.

I do not know about the tune. I believe the car was tuned previously. A problem is that the car was taken to Mitsubishi for service right before I purchased it and they re-flashed the ECU, among many other things (oil, tires rotation, etc), so I'm guessing everything was erased/reset when that occurred? What would the problem be if the car's ECU was reset after it was tuned for all it's aftermarket upgrades? The car is still running 20 psi, should this be a big concern on the factory ECU or is the tune still active? I figured when they took it to the dealer and the dealer did the factory ECU reflash that whatever tune was performed would be gone?

I'm a big noob to turboed cars so help me out a little. Thanks for the replies so far!

 

This might help with your bumper. Does not seem there are bolts that go in those holes, or at least none in that picture. One issue is that its the crash box and it seems to be back from original locations, so i'd be worried that car was in a previous crash or something. I could be wrong, so don't take my word for it.

 

well the couplers on the intercooler say ultimate racing.. so guess one would go with ultimate racing intercooler? lol

 

No problem not being tuned if the I/C is the only mod on the car.

The problem is that you don't really know what you have.

Are the injectors stock? Is fuel pump stock? Is there an MBC or does it appear to be using ECU boost control? Stock exhaust? Intake?

If your EVO has a full complement of bolt-ons driving it un-tuned might not be wise. I'd move up your plans for the WB. Then you will know if you are safe.

 

The switch to another brand of IC is definitely not worth it in your case. The red Evo X writing not only looks tacky...it definitely IS tacky

 

Yeah the bolts for those holes are not there. It appears the previous owner moved the bolts inward and drilled new holes for the crash beam. The ultimate racing intercooler is 4.5" thick requiring some trimming (just as the ETS 5" requires), my guess is the previous owner didn't want to do any trimming to make room so he found space by moving the crash beam slightly outwards. I think drilling new holes would be tough since it'd be right on the edge of the crash beam. It's stabilized in place through the other bolts he drilled in, but I'd like to have the factory bolt locations in place too. I'll figure something out.


Haha yeah, that should've told me right there. Wasn't familiar with the Ultimate racing or Buschur Racing intercoolers so wanted to post just for confirmation and for concerns about other areas i mentioned.


Yeah that is my main problem, not knowing everything done to the car. The intercooler is not the only mod done to the car. From what I understand and what I was told by the dealer, the only mods done to the car, are the bolt-ons visible; Injen intake & upper intercooler piping, HKS bov, Ultimate racing intercooler (just realized), Invidia Q300 exhaust w/ cat delete. As well as AEM boost controller solenoid, AEM tru boost gauge, and HKS turbo timer.

The dealer said the previous owner had the car tuned and was running 20 pounds of boost. Then they took the car to Mitsu for warranty recalls, oil change, and tire rotation before selling it. Mitsu said they reflashed the ECU. My question is, if the car was previously tuned, then Mitsu reflashed the ECU, does that cancel out the tune? Does that mean the car is no longer tuned through whatever program that was used. I am clueless when it comes to this stuff so I could be completely wrong, just thought I'd ask.

I'd like to get the car tuned anyways. So if this is a problem and I should be looking to tune the car asap, Then what would you recommend I tune with? My buddy has a Cobb AP in his WRX Sti and loves it. Heard a lot of people use the Cobb AP for the Evo X. Is that a good program to use (the Stage 2 maps)? Just want to make sure I'm doing things correctly. i wouldn't tune the car myself, i would definitely take it somewhere. Don't know of many great tuner shops for Evo Xs in my area though. Everyone always tells people in my area to make the drive up to PA or NY to all those reputable tuner shops.

Yeah definitely not gonna pull the trigger on the new IC with an upgraded one already installed (and it's 1" thicker). And yeah, the writing makes me mad every time I see it. It's extremely tacky. And I always see it when walking to my car cause i always back in

 

i guess the previous owner wants to let everybody knows that he's driving an evo x with that tacky writings? anyways, on the serious side though, you might want to get that thing tuned asap and keep it off boost. i highlighted in bold the reason. if that aem solenoid is a 3port(?) and the dealership flashed OEM boost tables, you'll have problems there. so keep it off boost just to be on the safe side. not sure if you have boost gauge or afr gauge in the car to check on it. but in any case, it's best to touch it with your tuner at your side.

regardless, congrats on the purchase

 

If reflashed by Mitsu then any custom tune is gone. I'd get this car to a tuner just to be safe and he might be able to help you identify stuff.

 

Thanks. But yeah the Evo X writing bugs me every time I see it, so I'll respray over it with some type of rattle can spray. Just need to find a spray that will hold up well in all type of conditions.

The car has an AEM tru boost gauge in the car so I can monitor my boost levels. I need to get a wideband afr soon, just trying to figure out what kind of gauge placement I want to go with. Cause right now my boost gauge blocks my rpm levels which kinda annoys me.

So sounds like I definitely need to get a tune. Just need to figure out where to go and what to use to tune.

 

Yeah that's what I figured. Thought I'd ask to get confirmation. Thanks

 

nice pickup.. going to a tuner would be wise.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's illegal for a dealership to resell a vehicle without a cat installed

Imo, think it would be wise to get a custom tune asap.. and drive it easy until then, just to be safe.