The chassis is the same (save for some extra welds) but the actual body panels are not. The fenders (front and rear) are different, the hood is different, the front and rear bumpers are different and the doors may be different depending on the fender arch design. The fundamental mechanical bits are also different. People end up in bad situations quite often because they get led astray by false information. As I said, please do not post false information.
The FQ400 is indeed a UK only car and it is indeed not a factory car. However, the cars are contracted out by Mitsubishi for modification and are sold in Mitsubishi dealerships. The FQ series, especially the 400, has been about exclusivity, not the raw machine. Sure you could buy all the parts to make an FQ400 but if you went with the exact parts used, it would cost a small fortune and if you went with parts from other manufacturers, it would not be a true FQ400. Sure they spend 79000$ on it but I'd be willing to bet that in 10 years, it'll still be valuable while a regular modified Evo will have depreciated substantially.
My point was that Mitsubishi itself does not trust the TC-SST to be used in the FQ400. That is a good indication to what they feel it is capable of power wise. Moreover, if it's able to handle 400 HP, how long do you really think it will last running its maximum capacity?

 

I was not aware the unibody was the same. My bad on that one.

Personally I didn't know much about the FQ-400, but i did some research today and i'm thinking the suspension and brake setup could jack the price up close to $10k-$15k in addition to the motor mods and tune. Bilstein shocks can run you almost $300-$1000 per corner (depending on what type you buy) but they are f'in badaxx dampers second only to penske dampers which cost almost $1500-2000 per corner. Sounds like a good track car setup to me. 70k seems like alot of money but comparing it to pro ITA and SOLO cars it's not that much. Consider the following example:

This car never won nationals but could with the right driver:

http://sccaforums.com/forums/thread/381580.aspx

My codriver met the couple in houston. The bought the car for $12k (fire salvage) and put another $70k in the car. They are selling the car for $30k.

Bottom line is he won't get near what he puts into the modded lancer. The EVO and RA will hold their value much better. I agree with you in the fact he has alot of research to do.

I also think he needs to drive a 400+hp car to understand what it is like to drive with that much wheel hp and torque. even if it is all wheel drive he can get into trouble real quick. Here is a video clip of a 480whp lingenfelter corvette. it's only rwd, but the driver (very good driver with a miata) had the nanny (stability control and traction control) on and still, see for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O769bEojSUk

 

you cant say why mitsubishi wont use the tc-sst...it could be an executive decision that over rules any engineer. anyways...this is a dead topic and pretty much all opinion. without someone actually tryin to swap parts from an evo or raliart to a lancer the world will never know lol. but with a little mechanical know how u can pretty much do anything u want

 

I've driven a 760 whp dodge viper a couple of times...i must say that much power is super addicting. For that much power, it was a lot more drivable than i thought it would...but man when u hit it ur gone.

The viper is my dream car and I can't wait to get one

 

The viper is an awsome machine. Hope you get one. Don't ever drive a car on hoosier a6's. that is an instant hit off the racetire crackpipe. You have never experienced grip till you've driven on those. we are way off topic. damn car add bug;-)

 

We can use a bit of logic here. Mitsubishi is pushing the TC-SST so hard that they've made it the only transmission option in the Ralliart. They also offer it in lower level FQ cars like the FQ-300. However, that stops once you get to the 400 where a 5-speed is the only option. Price isn't a logic answer since this would be passed onto the customer and it's not a matter of drivetrain differences either (ie. I don't think there would be an issue with aftermarket diffs only working in the 5-speed version). Even if we choose to ignore the FQ issue, a number of people, including tuners like TTP have hit torque protection mode. This limits the amount of power you can run through the transmission.
Once again, we can use logic to see what parts will and won't fit. Given that the bodies are different and people running wider wheels on GTS and Ralliart Lancers have run into rubbing issues, the wider track of the Evo would present issues as would wheel choice. The issue isn't even whether it's possible, the issue is how much money are you really willing to **** away just to turn a Lancer into an Evo clone. We're not talking about someone building a truly unique and special car, we're talking about basically doing what OEM does but for 2-10 times the cost. That's just stupid. It'd be like me modding my car to be an STI, I'd be better off going out and buying a damn STI.

 

I'll address both of these at the same time. A high HP AWD car is very different from a high HP RWD or FWD car. With AWD, there's no wheel spin so the car gets up to speed very very quickly. Unfortunately this also means things like axles, differentials and transmissions break because rather than having the power go into wheel spin, it goes directly through the previously mentioned parts. It's also a matter of what you want to drive daily. I have the equivalent of stage 2 STI power right now (less than 300 WHP, around 300 WTQ) and it's far more than I need or use when driving around town. I hit full boost maybe once a day and for maybe 2 seconds at that. However, I have to live with a louder than stock car that makes weird noises and eats gas. With 400 WHP, these problems would become even more apparent. Fuel economy would plummet, the car would be very loud and temperamental. I love the idea of a high HP car but not as my daily and certainly not if it was my only car.

 

I don't think anyone will argue with that. It is very apparent how well the AWD cars (mainly EVO and STI) do on the autox course. Especially sice we have moved our events to a site 3-4 times the size of the one in the vid. I have been shopping for a "track/autox/hobby" car to drive and retiring the lancer to just my daily driver. In my opinion, and based on discussion w/ other drivers, you are better off financially if you buy a preformance car from a dealer (EVO, RX8, STI, vette, etc) or buy something already setup buy someone else. You will save alot of money/ time/ aggrevation in the long run.

 

If you're into autocross, I would look at a Miata or S2000. I'm likely going to buy a Miata myself for track and autocross duty. Remember, a good track car is one you can also afford to write off. It's very hard to drive at 10/10 if you're worried about the financial consequences of a mistake.

 

My price range is $3k-$5K, and I have heard many times the buy something you can write off statement. That being said you can get a fairly decent Miata or s2000 for that. Check out this CSP miata:

http://sccaforums.com/forums/thread/384424.aspx

That is a good price for what you are getting. It would easily cost double that to get a stock miata to competitive CSP trim. One of my freinds just added the Individual Throttle Bodie's to his miata and he said they are great for low and mid rpm torque. Damn I'm off topi again. Car ADD is a real b@#$ch.

 

dead topic but I must say my only dd was a 300+hp mustang for 3 years and i drive a 400+hp G8 regularly. I cant boast that i have ever driven an awd car though. Right now a manual swap with a turbo kit and internals are my only concern.