Putting a 3.8l mivec in a 2008+ Lancer..
 

So I know everyone's going to think I'm that guy with a lancer who thinks it's basically an evo, but I know the difference between the two. Getting that out here first off.

So I have a fully loaded 09 lancer es, which is great for all the commuting I to do school and work. Recently I got the idea of swapping the 3.8 mivec from a last Gen eclipse, giving it a snail and making my car strictly RWD. Essentially what I'm looking for at this point is advice. I was thinking to keep it a 5 speed manual, or even a 6 speed if I can find a transmission suiting enough. My primary issue would be the wiring harness. Is there a plug and play system, or would I be forced to splice wires until my eyes start bleeding.

​​​I know this is a money pit, and I could buy an evo or a 240 for drifting for a fraction of the price; however I want something unique and that will turn heads. All help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. :D

Generally around these parts we talk about 4B11s.

Generally around these parts we talk about Evos.

Generally around these parts we chit chat about putting larger turbos on our 4B11s rather than swapping in favor of a 3.8L v6.

Essentially I think you're looking for help in the wrong place since the only part that pertains to what you're wanting to do will be the aft drivetrain.


-asher

Where would you recommend looking? I've looked around the internet and honestly can't find anything. Just the fact that people have done it before.

I had a 4G Eclipse GT. The 3.8L Mivec is a great engine with bolt ons. But notoriously difficult to tune for boost. You'll find there aren't many pelope running boosted 4G's. There are some superchargers, that are no longer being made. I heard of one twin turbo setup that was underwhelming and a few single turbos. From what I remember 400 WHP is about the max that engine is capable of boosted due to tuning related issues. If you ran E85 or better you may be able to improve on that some.
My GT was putting about 300 HP to the front wheels. A large part of the problem is it's 10.5:1 compression ratio. I heard talk of installing 9.5:1 pistons, but don't actually know anybody who's done it. It's reasonably cheap to mod, long tube headers, 3in catless exhaust, cold air intake. 300 HP on 93 with a good tune.

It's more so for getting sideways from time to time and being loud. Essentially I want to still keep this a fully mitsubishi vehicle which is why i opted for the mivec. Do you have any other suggestions? I definitely want to swap the engine.

4G63 would probably be the best bet. But if you want a V6 then a 6G72 is a better option than the 6G75. There are lots of boosted 6G72s out there, people to tune it and lots of aftermarket parts. The 6G75 out of the 4G has very weak aftermarket support for performance parts. Plenty of cosmetic, but performance mods are in short supply. If you want to stay NA then the 6G75 is still a viable option. Mine had an impressive amount of low end TQ, spun wheels at the drop of a hat. It's hard to imagine what it would have been like with RWD though. 350+ HP would make the Lancer fun in RWD. God though, like you said. It would be so expensive to do that conversion.

I am increasing my post count by posting this, so I hope that you appreciate what I am about to impart to you.

The only vehicle in the Mitsubishi line-up (that I am aware of) that came with both a 4B1x engine and the option of the V6 was the Outlander (2G and 3G). The V6 offered in those vehicles was the 6B31. If you could get that engine to work, and I am not saying that you could, then it would be the only known V6 option for the Lancer platform. However, this assumes a number of things and probably would require bringing over one whole hell of a lot more than just the engine.

Mitsubishi releasing a V6 that can fit in place of a 4-cylinder is not unprecedented. Back in the day, 3G Eclipse guys overseas used to use 6A13TT motors in place of the 4G64. That was a ridiculously good swap. I much preferred that to the 6G74/75.

But, in regards to your original question, no the 6G75 (especially in MIVEC form) is probably not a viable option in this platform. I have long wanted to transplant the guts of an AWD Endeavor into a 4G Eclipse, which might work and might not, but I never considered taking the AWD Outlander V6 and transplanting that into a Lancer. That might be nuts. This is a project that interests me.

To answer the question of "where" I'd say dsmtuners and there "engine swap" category is a great place to start. That said, I think I need to start tracking that more lol!

Have you considered doing something like megasquirt and seeing if there's any PNP for their engine loom and just taking and wiring the rest yourself (if needed).

I am aware of one 4G Eclipse that had a successful AWD conversion. It was in Russia though. It's been years, so I can't remember the specifics. But the drive train components out of a Mitsubishi SUV were used. It was an epic build. Pretty much upheld as the ultimate 4G Eclipse in that community. More info can be found in the 4G forums.

www.club4g.org

Alright, one more post.

I am familiar with the 4G AWD swap. I am not a fan of how that particular swap was done. As you may or may not know, there is no perfect AWD manual transmission in existence (at least from Mitsubishi) that works in that situation. Therefore, adapter plates and all manner of other nonsense were fabricated to drop in a manual, which I believe was from some Evolution model. However, the 4-speed INVECS-II W4A5A (AWD version of the tiptronic transmission in the 3G Eclipse, which worked great) is in my estimation the right way to go. BUT, and this is a big but, you would need the entire harness and computer cluster out of the Endeavor to make the swap work. Essentially, everything from the Endeavor would have to be used (mechanical and electrical). It would be a colossal undertaking, but I believe that the end result would be spectacular. It is something that Mitsubishi should have done and sold but didn't.

If Mitsubishi could build an AWD Eclipse and keep the weight below 3500 lbs with 300 HP or more, then it would be a really great alternative to a WRX/STI, Evo etc.
actually, lately I've really been liking the Ford Focus RS AWD. I've hated the Focus until this year, I would actually consider buying one if I didn't have an Evo. I really like the EcoBoost engines. Actually I can get a supplier discount on a Ford too, so the price would be reasonable. 350HP/TQ stock, very impressive

Thank you everyone for the replies, sorry life has been a little hectic lately. After reading what everyone has said I definitely think I'll either go for the 6B31, or the 6G72. In response to Rasperin, I was going over some wiring in my lancer yesterday for something un related and I'd essentially have no choice. That is by far going to be the hardest part. That and finding a transmission but I'll worry about that once I decide on the engine. I was honestly not expecting to get anything productive out of this lol.

Because I'm a full time student I'll at the soonest have to wait until the beginning of summer to truly start pursuing this project; hopefully there's far less hiccups than I expect. The next step however, before any of the engine swapping begins, is going to be new brake assembly, new suspension, finding motor mounts, a differential, price out the several kilometres of wire I'll need, and pick up the engine. I hope to post updates soon.