I've got a 2012 Evo MR and I am planning my budget for a future build. With my current plan I am looking for around 400whp on E85 possibly more. I've got a couple of questions about that...

1. Do I start worrying about transmission upgrades now or can I afford to wait?

2. Is a wait and see approach reasonable? Should I expect to pay significantly more to fix it if I break it first than if I had done it right away?

 

Your E85 tune must limit the peak torque. The SST is rated to 400Nm = 295ft lbs, but I'm running 360ftlbf and the SST slips when the oil is cold but is OK when the oil is warm. The SST is temp sensitive. I have 32000 miles on it. Keep peak torque down and stock clutches are fine.

You might want to thing about a set of Dodson clutch plates (dodsonmotorsport.com) if you want full torque capability.

 

Thanks for the input, I'll be sure to address the peak torque with the tuner when I get my project off the ground.

Based on your response though it sounds like upgrading on demand when/if the problem actually occurs is a relatively safe course of action. Would you agree?

 

Yes, you should be OK. I live in NJ and E85 is hard to find here, so I don't know much about using it. Look on this forum in the Evo-X Dyno Results section for E85 tunes on an MR. Keeping the mid range boost to 24psi or below to limit torque seems to be the key to keeping the SST happy on the stock clutch plates. Sorry, I messed up. The SST is a Getrag DCT470, = 470Nm = 346ftlb, which is about where I start to see clutch slip.