We live in a not perfectly free world. For the convenience of going back to the stock tune at times, I'm thinking about a bolt-on list that will work just as well both under the stock tune and a pro-tune:
     
These are basically identical to the generally accepted list of full bolt-ons (before turbo upgrade) that most Evo X owners use, except omitting the 3-port boost controller and the high-flow cat. I'm aware that, ironically, those two make the most horsepower gains, but I can accept a much lower whp figure from my Evo X.

I have also thought about fabricating a bracket to keep both the stock 2-port and an aftermarket 3-port, so I can manual switch the vacuum hoses as I switch the tune (using Tactrix OpenPort 2.0 or the likes). But that might become tedious and it could be better to keep the stock 2-port boost controller in the garage.

Will these work well together? Is it worth it considering how restrictive the stock cat is? Do you have comments or advice regarding modifying the Evo X in this way?

Or should I look for a knowledgeable tuner who can tune our car and make the tune appear just like stock?

Thanks in advance for any inputs.

 

If you want to be cost effective for power with stock turbo and stock fuel setup, roughly 320-350whp depending on elevation and fuel. All you need is a drop-in filter, catback, test pipe, upper intercooler pipe, definitely recommend 3 port and a tune. Can use COBB ap for just basic bolt ons. Could dabble with opensource tactrix and learn how to tune. It's very easy to tune a stock car.

Why do you have to switch to stock tune? Do you have emission testing in Vancouver?