Hello I'm new to these forums. I purchased a 08 Evo X GSR a few weeks ago and the engine blew (blew a rod) last Friday while driving 70 mph on the interstate in cruise control. I was in 5th gear not sure on the RPM's. The car has 23500 miles on it.

The car had a....
Bucshur racing intake,
Buschur racing intercooler
Buschur racing exhaust.
AMS downpipe

The dealership I took it too claimed the wastegate was changed or something. Which at the time I was unsure exactly what a wastegate did, and I did not know the cars engine had been changed at all. He claimed the car had too much boost and and that's why it blew up.

I got a Vehicle One premium service contract with the car. I have not touched anything or upgraded anything. I got the contract for the car as it was. The dealer sold it too me with all those upgrades. I am in the process and working something out with Vehicle One and the dealership right now. Either Vehicle One needs to take care of this or the dealer needs too because when I got the contract I asked if this contract would cover the car with all the mods it had and they told me it would. I've talked to the guys at the dealer and they keep telling me they will make it right and will do whatever it takes to get the car fixed. So we'll see. If this all goes to crap then I will have to get a attorney and go to court and I really don't want that but what choice to I have? The Mitsubishi dealership said this would cost around 11 grand.

I have been doing some research on the performance parts and the warranty and had some questions. The Magnuson-Moss act prevents any warranty companies to deny coverage unless they can prove that the parts were the cause. So when I do get my car back and a new engine, I would like to have those parts I listed above that I knew about (exhaust, intake, downpipe, intercooler) to go back in the car. I obviosuly do not want anything else back like the performance wastegate or anything else that might have been done to the internal engine.

My questions are can any of those parts (Intake, exhaust, intercooler, downpipe) actually be the cause of making a engine blow? I'm pretty confident that a exhaust system would not, and neither would a cold air intake. But what about the intercooler and downpipe? Has anyone ever heard of a engine failing or throwing a rod becuse of those parts?

I just really want to know what I'm getting into this time around. I want to be certain that none of those parts can come back to bite me in the *** if something this catastrophic were to ever happen again. I'm paying for a premuim service contract so everythig should be covered. I don't want them coming back saying the engine failed because of one of these parts and deny me coverage.

 

No. None of those parts should result in that kind of damage.

The problem comes from the tune. Since you have an '08, the tune should be rich enough that it would be too bad. I'm thinking that the car has an aftermarket tune on it. It was prolly tuned for more parts.

It's weird that it has a DP and not a catback or test pipe/HFC. The DP doesn't do too much honestly so I'm thinking the car could have been tuned to accommodate more mods and somebody just took the other mods off and left the tune on..

Edit: Also, get them to check the fuel pump relay. All the 2008-2011ish, maybe even the new ones, have had problems with the fuel pump relay. When it goes, the car can go lean and would result in a blown engine.

 

Well I keep hearing that I should get a tune with those kind of upgrades, but if a bad tune can cause major problems such as a blown engine then why would I ever do that? Why risk it because I don't know anything about tuning and I would have to take someones word for it on what they did. Those 4 parts are mainly bolt on parts that should be fine with a new engine and no tune right?

 

You get what you pay for with a tune! Awd tunes are 225$ an hour. That kinda money gets you something safe and reliable.

 

Just go to a reliable shop. If you get tuned by a good shop you don't have to worry. It's about 500-600 but that's what it cost.

Plus, the stock tune is really for stock parts. When you change any parts, the stock tune isn't for the car anymore. It can work, but it's better to get professionally tuned for the parts on the cars. It's like of your car is supposed to take premium gas, you don't just throw regular in. If you do you are risking damage because that's not what the car is supposed to take. It's the same idea. The car is set up to run with no mods. It can work with some, depending on brand and type of parts.

Which is why I'm wondering if you already have a tune, but maybe for more parts that aren't on the car anymore. That could be why the engine blew..

But again, I still say check the fuse relay..

 

I understand all that but having those parts with no tune isn't going to make the motor blow is it? I think it's ridiculous how much it costs to get it tuned. And from what I've seen on the net a engine can blow from recieving a bad tune. I sure as hell don't have the money to send me car up to who knows where to get AMS to professionally tune it. I'm not looking for a race car. I understand that the parts would work better and I would get more out of them with a proper tune. But without the tune the car should still run fine right?

The guy at the dealer told me the wastegate is why the engine blew. It had been altered or changed and the turbocharger was producing too much boost.

I just need to know if I get back new engine put back in with all of those parts back on the car (intake, downpipe, exhaust, intercooler) that the car will run and not blow up. I know I would be safe with the exhaust and intake, the question really is with the intercooler and downpipe. Also if those parts have even been linked to a blown engine I need to know. If they haven't, then everything should be covered with my service contract so should this ever happen again.

 

A car with those parts on it was probably tuned and set to a higher boost, as the tech said. As such, you are SOL as to trying to get the warranty enforced via federal law. Those mods will raise the output of the engine, so they make trying to use the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act against them a lost cause (unless you get a judge that really hates car companies). If you have documentation to back up your claim that they promised to honor the warranty, then you might be OK. But I'd forget about the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act.

ps. I am not a lawyer, but I can read

 

If you modify the car you need to have it tuned. Really. I would think, possibly, that one blown engine might convince you. It's a good motor but, obviously, if you make changes you need to make sure the tune is set to handle the modifications. I suggest you don't jut rely on "it is an 08, it will be fine because they run rich". It's your car, it's expensive, take care of it.

You bought a modified 08 with 30k miles and are complaining about a couple of hours tuning cost? Just you wait... I suggest, when you get a new motor put in, you find a good shop that will help you with mods and tuning. Pay to play.

 

You clearly don't understand. A poorly tuned car is a time bomb.

more proof you don't understand, tuning requires training and capital investment. It takes time to do it well and risks destroying your engine.

two things you should NEVER skimp on. tunes and tires. there's probably a ton of other things but those two will cost you your car and/or your life.

I've been driving a professionally tuned modified car since 2003 and i have yet to blow a moter. my parts were installed by a well regarded pro and my car was immediately tuned by a well regarded pro.

you are probably out of luck. that's a shame and you have my sympathy.

 

Reading stories like this reminds me why I didn't buy a used evo. I understand money is always an issue but unfortunately these cars are beat on and modified improperly yet still expected to be just as reliable as a stock car. Hopefully everything works out for you in the end and either the dealer or Vehicle One takes care of it. You really don't want to have to go to court, it will probably cost more money to fight it then to just fix it if it turns out your SOL. Both the dealership and Warranty company have very deep pockets.

 

+1
mag moss act isn't going to hold an ounce of water with your setup.... Anyone that tells you otherwise is an ignorant/naive fool.

 

As stated before, a bad tune likely caused your problem. After the rebuild you will need a new tune at least back to stock or you may have the same problem again.

 

OP, don't know how to say this w/o sounding like an A-hole (I'm not doing it on purpose) but it's VERY clear you have no clue what you are talking about. These cars are not for you.
The Internet told you it was safe? Well the Internet also says the world ends in 3 weeks, sooooo.....
My crystal ball says:
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results"

 

Well, if you were truly cruising at 70mph in 5th, boost pressure is out of the question. Your engine would be in vacuum under those circumstances.

Like others have said, YES! no tune + aftermarket parts CAN = boom! Bad tune can/will = boom! After market parts + reliable tune = happy engine/owner! Every time you change the way your engine breaths or ingests fuel it needs to be re-tuned. Tuning is the most important thing you do when modifying your car.

 

So if boost was out of the question then how could the engine have blown? Any ideas?