Hey guys, new to this forum but car forums aren't a new thing for me. I currently drive a tastefully modified 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 6MT. I absolutely love my car but the rear wheel drive is tough in the winter time and I really want to get something AWD. I love evos and would love to have an EvoX but thats not in the budget.

I found a 2005 Evo MR in my town with about 98,000 miles (the miles definitely scare me. I've never had a car with more than 70,000 miles on it. Its grey and I'm pretty sure has intake, exhaust, BOV and a tune. Other than that I really don't know what to look for. I think it might be lowered, but from what I could tell it has bilstens (yellow) shocks, which from my understanding is factory on the MR.

A couple of questions: Is there anything with this specific model I need to look for? Any factory problems with this year? It has a turbo timer, honestly I don't even know what that does. It has a CEL and the boost and oil gauge aren't working. There is an a pillar gauge bezel in the trunk, so I'm guessing the previous owner was in the process of switching over and just gave up. How can I tell what tune the car has on it? I couldn't locate the ECU.

Any answers or advice would be greatly appreciated!
-Taylor

Also: I am a complete noob when it comes to turbo cars. I read enough on the genesis forums about its 2.0T that I have a general understanding but I have plenty of learning to do.

 

The mileage is not necessarily a concern if the maintenance was kept up on (service records?). More concerning to me would be the non-working gauges and CEL light. Such things speak of an owner that did not exactly keep the car in top working condition.

I would suggest having the car taken to a local shop that has experience with evos and have them do a full inspection. At least then you know the cost to get all the cars "issues" sorted out.

 

Ok, so I went and drove it again but this time drove it to a Mitsubishi dealer and they said it needed a tune. Apparently it fuel cuts at high rpm due to a boost solenoid? He said if you remove the solenoid that it will pull hard. I think thats what he said at least. I feel like a total noob with bossted cars. I got into boost this time though and the thing has some *****. My butt dyno is telling me at least 300 awhp, but it could just be the boost. Feels way faster than my 306 hp (to the crank) genesis. Could be the torque too, idk, whatever it was I liked it haha. Didn't take her past 4500 rpm though.

The mechanic ultimately said the car ran strong, it would just need a new solonoid and either a tune, or a manual boost controller and just tune the boost myself.

 

Did the dealership check the CEL? The non-working gauges? A boost leak and compression test? What did they check?

Also, if you feel like a noob with boosted cars, I would highly recommend not tuning it yourself.... Save yourself the headache and take it to your local tuner shop that specializes in Evos

 

yeah, there are shops there in TX. I know JMS does a lot of evos. as far as removing the boost solenoid, do not do it. if you buy it, it will need a tune from what you are explaining. it sounds like the previous owner did not know either.

 

TFP in San Antonio also does a great job and has excellent customer service.