EvolutionM - Mitsubishi Lancer and Lancer Evolution Community - STU #86

Hey everyone, my name's Jimmy and I'm an autocrosser from California, and a member of the SFR region. I've been running my 2006 Evo IX SE in STU for the past 3 years now and I've finally decided to make a build/progress thread to serve as a brain dump/sounding board, plus it might help to encourage others to come play in STU :) . Though they're underdogs in STU, these cars are very fun in STU trim and can be very competitive regionally. You'll have your work cut out for you in order to compete with the very best at the National level, but like the STi, I don't see a reason why we can't get reasonably close to the 350z/C5 on the right course :)

Before I start, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's shared knowledge with me on this forum, or just shared knowledge in general through posts and threads on this forum, as well as anyone who's ever co-driven with me or critiqued my driving. Hopefully, I can give a little back through this thread :)

Parts list

Power:
Magnaflow Ti catback exhaust
Mil.spec 100 cell hi-flow catalytic converter
MAP 02 eliminator downpipe (recirculated)
Grimmspeed 3-port EBCS
OEM Evo X 3-port MAP sensor
ETS LICP
Amsoil cone intake
Samco intake tube

Wheels/Tires/Brakes:
18x10 Enkei RPF-1 +38
265/35/18 Yokohama A052
18x10 Enkei RPF-1 +38
265/35/18 Falken RT660
17x9.5 Enkei RPF-1 +38
245/40/17 Continental DW Sport
CiroDesign 19mm lightweight spacers (front)
Ebay 5mm spacers (rear)
ARP extended wheel studs (front)
Ferodo DS2500 pads (front + rear)
Baer Eradispeed front rotors (need to trim backing plates on rear brake pads before installing rear set)
Centric blank rear rotors (for now)

Suspension:
Shaftworks remote double adjustable coilovers
Eibach/Hyperco springs (600f/700r)
CiroDesign caster/camber plates
Cusco FSB brackets
Cirodesign FSB endlinks
Whiteline RSB endlinks
Whiteline 26mm adjustable rear swaybar
SuperPro Duroball Offset Lower Control Arm Bushings

Alignment:
-4.5* of camber (f)
-2.2* of camber (r)
0 front toe, 1/8" rear toe out
5.9* of caster

Other:
RaceTech Road bucket seat (driver only)
PLM seat rails (driver only)
Schroth Rallye 3 4-pt harness (driver only)
Deka EXL-14 battery
Restacked OEM rear differential clutch plates
Rolled rear fenders

A little background on me and my car:

My first autocross event was in 2010 and I bought this Evo shortly afterwards with 54k miles on the clock; fast forward 6 years and she's still kicking with more than 141k miles on the on the clock now :) . 2015 was my first trip to Solo Nationals, where I finished 8th out of 36 competitors and was able to earn a trophy in the process (only car in the class on the BFG Rival S that year). 2016 was a different story however, as I drove poorly on both days at Nationals (only started to get my head out of my *** on my final run) and I ended up finishing near the back of the field; however, my co-driver was able to nab the final trophy spot in STU (11/39) and my car ended up being the lone Evo in the trophies.

Post 2016 Nats

Now that Nationals has ended, time for some testing! At Nationals, I saw that several of the STi's in the trophies were not running the max allowed tire width (265mm for AWD cars in STU) and some were using the Rival S, which may have helped them dig out of the slower corners even better compared to the cars on 265mm wide tires (I think all of the Evos and some STi's were on these). I started 2016 on my 17" wheels and with a set of 255/40/17 RE-71Rs but didn't have a chance to test them vs. my 265/35/18 RE-71Rs. However, I never felt that the car with the 255 RE-71R was faster or even as fast as it was on the 245 BFG (no data or back-to-back testing to confirm though). Since the set of 255s is heat cycled out/corded (alignment was knocked out of whack during drive home from Lincoln), I'll probably buy a set of 245 or 255 BFGs to test against the 265 RE-71R set I still have. I think on most National-style courses, the extra lateral grip/taller gearing of the 265mm RE-71R is better to have than the better acceleration/shorter gearing/less rotational mass of the narrower RE-71R/Rival S, but on this year's East course, it may have been the opposite. Either way, the BFGs are quieter than the RE71Rs and I don't want to drive the car around on a set of $1100 tires :lol:

Post 2017 Nats

Drove a lot better than I did at Nats in 2016, but left time out there on Day 1 due to cones and had to deal with a leaking front right strut both days (also had a rear endlink shear through the upper rear control arm on the left side, but that was fixed before competition runs). Fastest Evo at Nats 2 years running, but no hardware this time to show for it, hoping to change that next year :). Made some changes after Nats that helped a good amount with rotation, but now dealing with more hopping. Also learned that setting the car up more for Marina Airport than Crows Landing should be more helpful, as I (and lots of others from the SFR region) feel that Lincoln's grip can be roughly approximated at Marina (though Lincoln has slightly more grip than Marina).

Post 2018 Nats

Didn't drive well at all on Day 1, but recovered a bit to snag the 10th place trophy in class after day 2. Plan for the next year is to test a lot more and to try some more suspension tweaks that will hopefully make the car easier to drive, and faster :)

Post 2019 Nats

Drove fairly well at the Pro Finale but left some time on the launch on my fastest left side run, ended up .067s out of the win and the STU ProSolo Championship, as 3 of us had 40 points going into the Finale so it was basically winner-take-all. Didn't drive all that great at Nats but I was encouraged by the speed the car had, even on the "wrong tire" (hope to test this in the coming weeks). Final run on the East course was a few hundredths quicker than my second run even with a big mistake and a few small mistakes, confident that the car has the speed to hang at the top of the class and challenge for the win next year!