DaveStatik

Sup guys, I've been on an N/A performance mod quest for a bit, I have been reading that several people have swapped in Evo X camshafts for 08+ lancers, but any thread I read always dies before the final review. Who has done it and lived to tell? What's the scoop? Obviously springs and a tune would be required. I have both cams and springs already, and I'm lining up the tune. But before I pull this thing apart...how does this effect day to day driving, how does it effect MIVEC's performance?

Abryant1985

I have them installed what motor to you have? I put them in a 4B12 I'd imagine the 2.0 guys feel a decent increase. I just did cams in mine kept stock springs I drove around for a day with stock tune just fine. Now I have the mivec all tunes to match for the cam for the price I got the cams it was definitely worth still get same gas mileage. But like I said that all in the 2.4 which it's stock cams are a lot closer to the Evo x cams than on a 2.0

Abryant1985

If your going to install your self definitely order the timing belt tool I would of been done in a couple hours but was told I could just use a wood wedge and it got stock and I had to take the timing chain stuff all apart to get it out

jajk

This is the low down based on several engine cam swaps and tunes....
Springs are not required for an evo x stock cam swap. The stock 4B10/11/12 stock springs are good for 7500rpm on stock evo x cams. Stage 1 evo x cams can generally also run on stock springs. I do not recommend stage 2 cams at all - these are a very good way to destroy the engine and power production. Stock evo x cams will extend the powerband dramatically over stock 4B11 cams and will idle solidly at stock rpm. The effect on a 4B12 is minimal since these already have a respectable intake cam.
Most of the time you will get away without having to replace buckets but check the clearances on the stock cams before removal (you might get a fright) and then note the bucket thicknesses while the cams are out. Handy to know all this before installing the new cams....
I have said this before somewhere..... there is no need to replace the exhaust cam, the evo x exhaust is no different and possesses no magical powers. The 4B10/11 exhaust cam is actually the best choice as it has a 3 degree better centerline.
Now for the harder bit...... the evo x intake cam opens at 10 degrees, a 4B11 at 3 degrees and a 4B12 at 0 degrees i.e. all 3 cams have a different centerline. To properly tune the ROM to the new cam, you must tell the ROM about the new centerline as well as tuning the mivec maps to suit. 99% of pro-tuners know nothing about how to do this because they only ever do evos and most aftermarket evo cams are designed to just drop in without too much thought to tuning (says a lot about evo owners.....) So before racing ahead and bolting stuff to your motor, make sure you know how to follow through with the necessary tuning otherwise you are just decorating and usually with a negative impact on performance....
One of the dumbest things I see, and way too often, is tuners copying evo mivec maps into a NA Rom thinking somehow that is called tuning..... Nothing from an evo tune has any place in a NA tune!!! In case people haven't noticed, the NA Lancer does not have a huge obstruction in the intake and exhaust paths (called turbo impellers) and has a tuned-length intake and exhaust so optimum mivec timings look completely different.

So is it worth it? Yes if you can see it through to the end and get it tuned correctly. 4B10/11 benefit from an evo x cam swap more so than the 4B12. The evo x intake gives the 4B10/11 some useful extra lift and a huge boost to duration whereas it only gives a 4B12 a very modest 8 degree duration increase and no lift increase. A 4B12 intake cam into a 4B10/11 works very nicely too.....but you must take the 4B12 intake sprocket too - still a great boost to cam duration and the same lift boost as the evo x cam