What will different shifter bushings really do for me? The car already has the best feeling shifter I've felt in any car ever. Seriously... better than a Mazda Miata, Mazda 3, Subaru BRZ, Porsche 989, Porsche 993 C4S, Porsche 997 S.. (only other manual trans cars I have driven). One of my favorite things about the Ralliart.

I have a solid aluminum shift knob already... I wouldn't say it's "super heavy" but I'm sure it's heavier than whatever it came with stock.

I'll look into the motor mounts. Will I really notice a difference in daily driving? With all the audio gear, it's not like I'm ever out doing drag/autocross events.

I like the ricey door sills :mitsu: I like crans list but if your not going to like or use it get something that's for your needs.

the bushings make the shifter have zero slop in between being in and out of gear...i also have driven many varieties of manual cars and i know the stock shifter in our car is pretty decent, even my co-worker's 2012 STI has quite a bit of "floppiness". solid engine mounts will add a fair bit of vibration to the cabin, so if that worries you, go with a stock evo 8 or 9 mount. the advatange is your engine won't flop around like a dead fish when it revs, so power deliery from transmission to road is crisper in every situation. a heavy steel shift knob just makes shifting physically easy...like you can basically just "slap" it from 3rd to 4th :D...none of these things make the car faster or more powerful, but makes the car "sprint" quicker because of faster, easier shifts, and quicker, sharper smoother power delivery to the road...

I like the lighted Ralliart ones the best too, but I just can't believe they'll fit well, so I decided to go with the OEM ones.


The car is rough enough with the lowering springs - I don't want to add any more vibration, that's for sure. And I still need to get the balance shaft checked after having the timing belt replaced to hopefully smooth it out more around highway cruising speed.

cool work man...

New wheels? Could be too pricey but you could always start saving. Interior lighting accents. Similar to what you have in the trunk. If it could match the shades in the trunk that'd be awesome too. Evo 8/9 steering wheel, always looks dope in the car. I didn't see any video equipment in the car that could be interesting as well and still follow the style you have going with your car.

If you want more performance/power there is a massive list I could give you... lol I keep giving the list to my family every year and they pretty much laugh at me. :P

Maybe new wheels someday when it's less of a daily driver and more for show. I'd like to do some more lighting in the interior, especially in the back. You can't see anything in the back seats at night since there's no dome light. Quite annoying sometimes. Don't have any sources for video in the car, so maybe later on that. Sound quality is main priority for the competitions.

I know there's a bunch I could get for performance, but for a N/A car, the dollar per HP gain ratio just isn't there, especially for what I use the car for. I was thinking about a timing box though. Not sure how much difference I'd notice. Mainly I just want the car smooth and quiet inside so the music sounds best. My next car will be the fast car :)

I've been thinking about this too. Whenever I pull my headliner out to fix my sunroof (where the infamous loose motor screws dwell) I was thinking about cutting some holes in the C pillar and putting in some reading lights or a small mini domelight at the rear of the headliner near the rear windshield. I'm not a wiring expert, but for a mini dome light I think all I would need is power and ground if I connect it to the main dome light switch. :dunno:

Just a quick idea , but I think it could look good if done nicely. Some pros are, it's cheap, LEDs, no wiring, installed and removed with Velcro so battery replacement is easy.... Just a thought :mitsu:

http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/...E525302C7D.jpg

Interesting idea. Would definitely be easy. Thanks!

Hey guys, figured I'd post some pics with the newest additions from Christmas. Bunch of new Ralliart and other parts :)

Door sills:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...07_163426r.jpg

Ralliart pedals:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psbb4f1f85.jpg

Dash mat: (helps protect the dash since it will be sitting outside for the next few months, but also helps the sound in the car by absorbing high frequency reflections that can cause imaging to be less focused)

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps879555ca.jpg

Carbon fiber brake handle:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...107_163556.jpg

Ralliart oil cap:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psb6ef6b97.jpg

New leather steering wheel cover with red stitching: (same as old, but stitching was faded and leather was worn in some places)

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...107_163347.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps78345a1f.jpg

Ralliart valve stem caps:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...pse10c446a.jpg

Ralliart leather shift boot with red stitching, custom trim ring, and aluminum shift knob: (trim ring was painted aluminum to match the knob, and 8 Allen head screws were added to hold everything together)

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps575cbc9f.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...107_163200.jpg



Thinking tail lights will be next, and maybe the CF license plate cover.

Nice , now no one better ever call your Ralliart an evo :D , keep it up :mitsu:

Looking good, looking good.
I spent all my christmas splurge money on blood work and an ultrasound for my dog. She wasn't doing to well. :crap:

There is always the tax refund though

Alright, time for an update.


To start with, I was completely happy with how the car sounded after finals. It was the best it has ever been and there was no pressing need to change, other than that I wanted to see if it could get even better. After studying some of the top cars, reading up on sound power response and some other stuff, I decided on what I wanted to do.

So the goals were:

1. Re-aim the 3's to be more on axis, and try to equalize power response from both speakers to eliminate the need for as much independent L/R EQ, and to get better high frequency response from these wideband drivers
2. Increase width and depth
3. Install the speakers behind the pillars, so that there was no indication of a speaker there



Now on to the build. Luckily, the Lancer has fairly wide pillars with a good bit of space behind them, so I was able to accomplish goal number 3. But to do so, the dash had to come out...:eek:

Starting:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2694414e.jpg

Done:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psfeacbe4b.jpg

The area we're working with:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psa62994e4.jpg

Why not make a true enclosure while we're at it?

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6c83fac5.jpg

Aiming angle we're going for - much more on axis, following the slope of the windshield:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8871e1f7.jpg

Glass 'em in:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psd95fd3c3.jpg

Bit of carpet and reconnect the speaker:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps746c56a3.jpg

Installed:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psdbaa3ebb.jpg

Dash back on:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps59ae8fd1.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps955e6f82.jpg



All in all, some aspects were improved, and others are not as good - namely high frequency response. I wanted to get the speakers more on axis to help this, but at this point they're too low so much of the high content is being blocked by the dash, so I'll be changing it again soon.



To finish up, got some high open area hex mesh:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7b83ccd1.jpg

Spent waaayyyy too long trying to form it to the right shape:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps870da6a7.jpg

Covered in grill cloth:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psfc14e929.jpg

And back in the car:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...psaa66e8eb.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...pseb155fbe.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2124a76f.jpg

Then ghetto rig some Dayton 5/8" tweets running off a simple capacitor high pass to add some temporary top end until a more permanent fix is devised:

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...ps03547aca.jpg

With these, it really does sound pretty darn good. 14KHz high pass on the tweets, -6dB. But of course I want something better and more permanent than this.

I know this forum doesn't really care that much about audio, but if anyone is interested, the speakers are currently for sale to fund new ones for the new season.

As always let me know if you have any questions.



Along with fixing the aiming, I'm also going to be trying out some Plasti-Dip with Metalizer on the wheels.

dude, those A pillars look great! nice work.