I did a search on this topic just to see if someone had already made a thread like this, but the newest one was 3 years old and only had 1 suggestion in it: wheels and tires.

I just bought a Final Edition 10 days ago and I've already added 35% tint all the way around and a 1400 watt JL sound system, but I am chomping at the bit to do some other upgrades. The guys at my dealership are cool and wouldn't rat me out, but they say the problem is that if they ever hook up their diagnostic thing and there's any kind of issue with anything, regardless of whether or not they'd want to keep quiet about what I had or hadn't done to the car, Mitsubishi would ask them for pictures to show the associated equipment with whatever the diagnostic unit had flagged, so their willingness to be discreet is absolutely beside the point.

I am trying to determine what mods would be warranty-friendly while I am waiting to hit 5 years or 60k miles. Feel free to mention both cosmetic and performance mods. I am fairly sure that I could do a wing and carbon fiber hood without any issues, and depending on the size, wheels and tires possibly. What about brake PADS if the rotors and everything else were left stock? I was already told that an exhaust was out, as I would assume, an intake would be as well. I am brand new here, so try and not be too abusive if you think this is a stupid question.

 

I just got a final edition last week brand new my salesman and one of the techs said intake and cat back 99% of the time won't void anything. Once you start doing down pipes, bov, intercooler piping, and tuning your beat. Although he did say buying a new ecu from Mitsubishi unmolested is an easy way to keep the warranty

 

I also think it depends on the dealership as well, some are probably more **** about mods. I just have a drop-in and uicp so far and dealer hasn't said anything to me about it(ya, those are very minimal mods).
I also believe you are protected from being denied warranty if you mod your car(forgot the name of the law), but I believe if the mod caused the issue then it's on you etc. I'm sure others who know more will chime in.

 

I was in the same boat when I bought my Evo about 5 years ago in regards to modding and voiding the warranty. I held out for my 3yr/32k mile warranty to wear off before I started buying parts (only getting the windows tinted).

Trust me when I say, don't hold out for 5yr/60k miles before you start buying parts. I understand the worry of breaking something and having to cover it out of pocket but if you do your research and find a reputable shop/tuner you should be able to do light mods w/ a tune and still have a reliable daily driver. Also, by the time you get to 60k miles you might start running into normal wear and tear items that need replacement.

Enjoy the stock for a while, maybe until your bumper to bumper is gone, and then take the plunge.

**Forgot to mention too, I've been taking my car to the dealership for my oil changes since I've had the card (they're covered under an extended warranty I purchased) and they haven't said a word about any mods**

 

Like I said in the OP, the guys at the dealership already told me they wouldn't say anything, but they said that if I ever brought it in for some issue, and their diagnostic doohickey registered a code, that Mitsubishi would ask them to take pictures of the relevant components, and at that point, it's out of their hands - but as a couple of you have pointed out, that would really only be an issue if a mod was the direct cause of failure. I also like what I heard about not waiting 5 years to start modding - that makes sense too.

Is there a "chip" for the Evo? I know the 1.8 turbo engines in Audi's and VW GTI's could just be chipped (REVO was the company that did it) for a substantial power increase with no hardware to buy! Does anything like that exist for our cars?

 

we don't need to chip our ecu's. We can flash new roms straight onto them. Check out the ecuflash sub forum. Also this http://www.tephra.it/v3/

 

Its called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act take a read, its here to protect us.
http://www.mlmlaw.com/library/guides...s/undermag.htm

 

It usually isn't a dealership decision, but a mitsubishi regional rep that makes the call on big ticket items (anything drive train related).

With that being said, anything in front of the MAF, and behind the catalytic converter are usually ok. Exterior mods, brakes, wheels, tires, interior mods are also safe.

I would at a minimum put 5k miles before you start going beyond that. If there is a defect in a part in your car, it will usually rear its ugly head by then.

Try to refrain from modding for a bit until you have some mileage. Some people believe you shouldn't even go over 5k rpms until you have 2k miles on your car. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

There is plenty of power in this car, and so much it can do without mods. Try working on the driver mod once the engine is broken in. Go to autocross, hpde, etc and work on getting to know the car. Then figure out what you want out of it and realize which mods would be best for you vs what other people do. Just my .02

 

I want to take a min and just thank all the people who have posted so far... there is some VERY good advice here. SMART advice - which is something you rarely see on internet forums these days. This makes me feel very very good about the community I have just joined and I look forward to meeting some of you and getting to be a member of the Evo family. Thanks everyone.

 

Another vote for driving the car stock for a while. Makes ya really learn the car. In that time, you discover it's capabilities. Limits. You realize you can push it a little more. A little faster in the corners. A little faster on the corner exits and straightaways. I drove my GSR bone stock for over 2 years before any performance/suspension mods.

 

Like everyone said get to know your car and your limits first, if you can track it do it. I personally don't have any tracks nearby, so I settle for some windy roads. I personally haven't pushed my car to the limits(never taken a corner where traction control blinks on), I've had some high speed pulls and maybe short bursts of WOT, but that's it.
As I would love to mod my car for a lot more power, I'm thinking of buying a home, which I should of done years, and years ago, so any serious modding is out. I'll probably do a cat back exhaust, FMIC and probably that's it(possible tune). The rest will be exterior and interior mods. I'm personally not worried about the warranty with what mods I have or possibly going to have.

 

I had the parts installed on my car and had it dyno tuned when I was at 1200 miles back in 2010. I'm currently at 38k miles and it's been flawless. I realized that my warranty was done when I did the mods, but I went for it anyway. I went to a very experienced tuner and he helped guide me to mod the car correct way.

These cars are designed for racing and the engine is overbuilt for a casual stock daily driver. I don't track my car or abuse it, but I do get on the throttle every now and then.

Aside from the warranty being voided from modding, if you do mod it correctly and used quality parts and work with an experience tuner, it will be an upgrade from stock. Out here in NM, my aftermarket AMS front mount intercooler is a big upgrade with the summer heat. The aftermarket UICP is a hard pipe instead of a hose which is an upgrade. You get the idea.

The reason dealerships void warranties is because so many people mod their cars on a budget. There are people slapping on cheap *** parts, street tuning and doing it wrong which blows up motors or causes other issues. Of course the dealership will not be responsible for a half *** job with mods.

If you are on an extreme budget and can't afford to break anything, keep it stock. If you are on a budget, just put a cat back exhaust on it so the car sounds good. If you have some extra budget, trust the car and the incredible engineering behind it and put some power to the wheels.

Keep in mind that the stock power for a stock EVO in the US is way lower than it was designed in Japan. They choke down the power and put a huge cat in the exhaust so it can be sold in dealerships in the US. With the mods I have and the power I make, it might be as it was designed. I don't know for sure how much power the car was designed for as stock, but there is the FQ400 being sold in the UK. Who knows, maybe my mods and power just put it back to "stock" for how the car was designed.

 

Well I couldn't resist buying a UICP after I saw the GORGEOUS anodized titanium from Extreme Turbo Systems, and I also went ahead and got a Works drop-in...that just seemed to be a no brainer - when else are you going to get 18hp for $100? I am also probably going to go for a catback dual 3" with anodized titanium tips to kind of start a theme along with the UICP, but I haven't *definitely* chosen which one yet. The one from Ultimate Racing sounded the most to my liking from what I've heard recordings of - I prefer a very deep sound.

Since Y and Z rated tires wear out incredibly fast anyway, I will probably wait until the stock YourMomma's need replacing and then go with Michelin Pilot semi-slicks for summer and slap on some aggressive wheels, along with Ferodo DS2500 pads, but also not until the stock pads have quite a few miles on them.

That gives me an 11% power increase (18hp from intake and 11hp from exhaust), a few cosmetic upgrades, and a bit more stopping power and I'll stop there until about the 2 year mark, at which point it will be time to go all-out with bigger turbo maybe, FMIC, BOV, turboback, wing, carbon fiber hood, boost gauge, tune and probably coil overs. This way I still get some fun upgrades during the first 2 years, but not enough to seriously threaten having any warranty issues.

I don't want to go off-topic in this thread, but can someone knowledgeable volunteer to answer a couple questions in a private message - dealing with the difference between catback and turboback exhaust, and I'm also curious how many miles ppl have gotten out of their first set of stock tires and brake pads, but like I said, let's take those to PM so I'm not going off-topic here. Thanks for everything guys - I couldn't have made these decisions without you!

 

I remember the service guy saying to me that it could be from the BOV that my service light is on!
*******s ftw!

 

I unfortunately had to have my trans warrantied on my 14 at the dealer a few months ago and I mentioned briefly that I put solid shifter bushings in i, explaining that I wanted them back on the car and not in someone's tool box. The service manager went "ooh I wish I didn't hear that. I'll let it slide this time but any mod voids the warranty on these cars." Then further explained that the bushings are probably the cause of a trans failure in a car I hadn't even owned a month? Either way I'd do basic bolt on stuff that'll net you some power/drivability. If **** hits the fan and needs warranty work just take a day and swap it all back.