Hello,

I have been looking for an unmodified Evo X GSR for a long time without success. I guess they simply don't exist anymore?! Anyway, my question now is:
What mods should I avoid? For example, most evo I have seen so far have the Cobb stage 3 tune on them. Will that potentially damage the engine internals? How about the Bov and downpipes? Do all the aftermarket down pipe and exhaust always require a tune, which could be a problem for longevity?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Daniel

 

Im not a fan of the cobb accessport, leave that to subarus. Most evos will have an exhaust, intake, intercooler piping, boost controller and tune. No stock, or close to stock evo should have an aftermarket BOV as there is no need for it. Downpipe and test pipes require a tune, a catback is ok without one. Intakes depend on what the manufacturer recomends. Find the lowest mileage, stock or closest to stock one you can get and dont buy it until you take it to a specialized evo shop for them to do a complete look over. I personally bought mine new as I didnt want to deal with that.
These cars are very reliable when owned by someone who takes care of it. I wouod be more nervous buying a brand new STI than I would a lightly used evo. Goodluck!

 

Hey Viegasjuice,

Thanks for the reply. Your comments are very helpful!

Other than looking for missing clips and loosen bolts, is there a good way to tell if the engine have been modified before? Maybe a OBD II scan at the dealer? Also, is there a way to tell what stage (how aggressive) the tune is?

One of the car that I am looking at now is a 2008 MR with Cobb ap v1 tune on it. From what I have read so far, it is a very old tune now. Should I walk away from this car?

Thanks in advance.

 

The best, honest advice I have for you is find a local evo shop and have them inspect it. Pay the $100 or whatever and ask every single question you got. Goodluck man!

Edit- reason I dont care for COBB AP is because its just off the shelf, one size fits all maps. Open source tuning is far more personalized for the specific vehicle.

 

There is nothing wrong with a Cobb tune that will hurt the car provided the user is running the correct tune for the parts he has put on (and most are because Cobb caned tunes are built for the stock car, stock+intake, stock+3" exhaust, stock+3" exhaust +intake). As Viegasjuice said below, a custom tune is a better option to get everything out of the car. That being said, I'd sooner buy a nearly stock car with a stage 1 or 2 Cobb tune than a car that was tuned by some rando (unless you know enough to check out the tune). The Cobb tunes are more conservative than most custom tunes because they have to have additional safety margins built in to allow them to work with everyone's car. You always have the option of buying the car and then unmarrying the Cobb AP and getting a tune from whoever you want. Buying a car that has already been tuned by a well known Evo shop is probably the best case option, but I surely wouldn't worry about an AP tune hurting anything.