i did the blue tape before, it came off easy

just remember to start at the top / hood and work your way down to the bottom of the bumper, and do overlap with the previous piece of tape. it has to do with aerodynamics

 

WOW, are you kidding me?, I never thought it could get that bad. Just a simple question for you:

Have you ever consider putting some mud flappers? how about some clear 3M gravel protectors?

It just sounds absolutely ridiculous and insane that you are already painting the car because of the gravel. Do you realize it could happen again?

Carlos

 

Thanks for all the compliments on the paint. I would have new pics to put up but they are letting the clear dry for a couple of days. Monday I will be able to give you a much better update. Ya we haven't even been on a dirt road with this car. Though now that it is here in wichita we wont have that problem again. Not to mention we have other cars to drive on bad days. I will also post pics of the sand and gravel that they removed from the car. Seriously I can't even beleive the amount of damage that can be done on a highway. Again it had nothing to do with tail gating. It was done from being passed or passing big rig trucks. They would throw the rocks into the other lane. Thats how it chiped up the side and the front of the car.

On a better note I think i'm going to order some wheels this week for the car. So fresh custom paint plus new wheels = hotness

 

I think anything would help. Something needs to be there to protect the paint, though. I am going to look into mud flaps from Ralliart or something cool like that.

It has nothing to do with either of those on the back of the center sideskirts. They are in a direct spray line from the front wheels. Mine happened from just driving down the interstate.


Three cars already is BAD. I'm going to take pics.

 

OK class, school is in session. Here in this first pic is our buddy the orange OBDII port scanner. The spot you will be looking for on your Evo X is directly above Mr. Scanner here on both sides of your car. Report back and please take pics if you see anything.





If you look in the bottom right corner of this pic, you can see where Mitsubishi has already added what looks like 3M tape to the bottom of the door.




Sadly, all the little specs in these pics are not dirt. They are chipped paint that was damaged from the spray from the front tires. This is not from driving in gravel, this is driving on a standard interstate, the front tires catching everything on the road, and hitting the back of the car. Over longer periods of time (like a year) the damage will be simply awful on any car at 12k miles or so. Clearly something must be done quickly. The pic where my finger is pointing is the spot that was cut the deepest.

 

I wonder if Mitsubishi will cover it under warranty?

 

Odd, the new STI's have the same exact problem.

 

will they fix this with later production

 

Exactly what was going through my mind. "Didn't I just see someone showing pictures like this, complete with the patch of 3M clear shield applied from the factory ... but on IWSTI?"

 

that sucks

looks like the hood on my VIII

 

This is going to be my first mitsubishi, and it's already giving me a headache. Synchro problems, antenna denting the roof, poor paint quality, idle jumping around, stalling, hood getting stuck, the list goes on and on. Well, I pick mine up in about 3 days, and can't wait! Hopefully the wheels don't fall off on the way home. Man, the evo is one of the best driver's cars in the world, and one of the most capable performance machines on the planet, but jesus does mitsu build a poorly made product or what. Well, I guess that's the tradeoff for getting a ferrari for 35 grand. Ugh...

 

wow..the OP's pics look like the car ran the gumball. Good luck with the new paint job, if you havnt considered already, 3M the whole front end once its cured.
I have been considering the X but with reviews like this, i may wait out the rest of the year to get a better consensus of what to expect under normal everyday conditions.

 

Glad to see Mitsubishi is keeping up their awesome quality Thats too bad about the paint...the X's were starting to grow on me but damn did they try to save weight by putting on only one coat of paint?

 

I see broken down Harley Davidsons all the time and their hard core owners pushing them down the road w/ no regret. Same w/ Evo owners usually, Amazing what we will go through for our fun....I say add mudflaps early on w/ X....at least the CT9A car was in WRC before and mudflaps are native to that chassis.

 

3M the whole car at place that will put a lifetime warranty on the work... A buddy of mine did this on his 05 STI and he is getting the clear bra replaced under warranty because its getting dull (I couldnt really tell). Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, every 3 years get a new clear bra put on. If i ever get my evo re-painted or buy a new one, the first stop is at the body shop to get the clear bra put on, it works pretty well, cept for it starting to dull in 3 years, but hey, thats what the warranty is for!