So now that EVO ownership (14 GSR) is finally a reality I need to get with the crew of resident experts and find out what's the recommended prioritization on a wish list of desired mods for a mild street build
The biggest cost being the car itself I want to ease into it for obvious reasons
Other than cosmetics, shifter etc. my list would probably start with:
1) Cold air intake (COSWORTH ?)
2) Springs (to lower SUV ride height - Eibach ?)
3) Chip (which one)
4) Boost gauge
5) Aluminum/Carbon strut tower brace
6) Exhaust system (Cat-back or full with headers)
7) Shocks (Bilstein ?)


What do you guys think, am I on the right track ?
What have I missed, what's the correct order to mod/build a streetable X
Cheers !

 

Just get a drop in cosworth panel filter and drive the car. As for handling, a rear sway bar is usually recommended, but even pushing this car hard I find very little I 'need to correct'.

It sounds like you are wanting to retain the warranty. If so, the filter above is your best bet. Past that you need things like a test pipe etc. to get properly tuned.

There are no 'chips' so not sure where you are getting that from. You get your car protuned, or since you have a GSR you could get a Cobb Accessport and just run a simple stage one tune. (still voids your warranty)

Exhaust is your preference. There is everything from an Akropovic which is 'money is no object'. I'm partial to the Sakura street exhaust for overall sound and reasonable cost.

 

IMO, for budget purposes, the best bang for your buck:

High flow cat (or test pipe for your racecar)
FMIC
Tune
Stock muffler mod
Panel filter

Lower if you want but the car is fantastic in stock form if you can live with the appearance. A fresh alignment will help too.

 

add

-3 port boost solenoid
-upper ic pipe

fyi, the evo comes with a strut tower bar.

 

Uhh forget about getting a new strut bar, evo has a good one already. There is no "chip" for our cars. Get basic bolt ons and you will be happy. Intake/exhaust/3 port/open source tune. I netted 340/363 on a 100 degree day with those mods. I also like having my boost, afr and oil pressure gauges. My recomended brand is ETS.

 

Not quite sure what the 3 port or upper ic pipe do ?

 

When you shop for parts, ETS and AMS are the most talked about here.

 

The 3 port refers to the Boost Control Solenoid. It replaces the factory boost control with a more accurate/faster responding unit that can still be controlled by the ECU (after reprogramming). Definitely a must when getting a tune, IMO (can't believe I forgot it).

Upper Intercooler pipe just replaces the stock unit. This is where the largest stretch of rubber hose is. It's not going to really gain you any power but you might get a little more responsiveness as the aftermarket piece doesn't expand under pressure like the OEM part. It can probably wait until the next phase of mods, IMO.

 

No, I actually felt the UICP was a great mod. The throttle response felt noticeably better afterwards.

 

If your going with just springs, I'd say go with the swift spec-r's. It doesn't sit as low as eibachs, but still look and perform great

 

Are Aftermarket intercoolers a must? I was thinking of getting one but not sure what to do after that... New to the Evo X mod game.

Can i just get the ETS intercooler without the piping? Will it bolt right up with our stock pipes?

 

Honest recommendation?

Just put in a drop in filter, the cosworth one works well, and leave it there for a bit. Learn to drive your car at a high level, and once you are comfortable with it and see what it's missing, modify then. In the meantime, spend time reading threads, stickies, researching terms you don't know, and just getting to know your car better. Too many times people buy a car, start throwing things on it, and they end up not liking the results. A lot of times it's because they didn't just take time to smell the roses.

Relax and enjoy is my suggestion. The filter will smooth things out and give you 10hp or so with nothing else done. Then learn the beast

Good luck

 

How I did it was I went with a ETS intake which you can run w.o a tune. I did that for awhile then bought all the other parts and had them sit until I was a ready for a tune. I did turbo XS exhaust, Map 3.5inch intercooler and piping, Testpipe, downpipe, 3 port boost controller, Cobb Diverter valve/BOV, Cobb tuner, and lowering springs with a tune all at once.

 

This is my mod list in order, and I recommend it to all newbies. Hope it helps.

1) HKS High Flow Filter
Now drive the car and get to know it for a few thousand KM's
2) Cobb Access Port
3) Cobb Test Pipe, and Cat Back Exhaust
4) Swift Mach Springs. I will also recommend Swift Spec-r for slightly more low, but don't use Eibach, they're too low, and can blow stock struts.
5) Cobb DP, 3-port, TF UICP, ETS Intercooler AFR and Boost Gauges. I was going to do the ETS intake, but my tuner felt that stock is best. Also stock Lower Intercooler Pipes are hard, no need to change them yet IMO.
6) Pro-tune.

I cry some times when I drive her now. She's just perfect.

Cobb, ETS and AMS are good brands to choose parts from.

 

sounds like a good plan and I'm for sure going to follow through with it
Should I drop the Cossie filter after the first oil change or at how many miles ?
Only other thing I want to do early on is the springs as I'm all about that stance
Cheers !