When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
good work man, culd do with some better coilovers tho, are they d2 coilovers ?
Yeah, I am torn on what to do suspension wise. If I go coilover route, I think I will go with Ohlins. However, those are a bit overkill for what will be a street and occasional drag strip car. Starting to heavily lean towards Bilstein HDs and some springs.
Let me preface this with the following: This is not going to be a short or cheap project which I am well aware of. I am more concerned with the time aspect as this is a hobby which unfortunately means a lot of things take priority before the evo. That being said, let's move on.
Given the magnitude of this project, I've decided to attack it in 2 Parts (with each part having multiple phases). Part 1 will be mechanical, Part 2 will be body related and aesthetics. Since this is my current main DD (the gf gets the edge normally) I really can't afford to drop the car off to a body shop for a time that I am guessing will most likely be 6-months+ for the extent of body work needed at this time. We could make it work, but mainly I would feel bad making her run me to the airport constantly as I travel almost every week for work. Plus, I really could give two s**ts less about what people I don't know think of me based on what my car looks like or in general for that matter lol. So let the haters, hate. No sweat off my back.
So onto the fun part, let's call this Part 1, Phase 1: Engine Mechanical and Suspension. I decided to split the project a while ago and have been working on my plan for a little while. For the time being, I've decided to go speed density w/ stock turbo on E-85. I will be getting a dual map tune to also run on 93-octane as the closest E-85 station is about 15 minutes away from my house. My time has been extremely limited lately so the list of accumulated parts is growing way faster than the installed parts.
Parts Purchased (Not Installed):
Parts Purchased (Installed):
Still Need to Order:
That's where I stand as of today. I will try to get some more pictures up soon, but they would be mostly a stockpile of parts for now.
I have done as much research as possible but am still extremely new to Evos in general so if anyone has any recommendations, questions, or thoughts please speak up!
Cheers,
Josh-
Last edited by rosuegk7; Jun 23, 2017 at 08:20 AM.
Reason: Ordered More Parts Last Night
Yeah, I am torn on what to do suspension wise. If I go coilover route, I think I will go with Ohlins. However, those are a bit overkill for what will be a street and occasional drag strip car. Starting to heavily lean towards Bilstein HDs and some springs.
tein street coilovers would be grand , ohlins be awesome but way costly
tein street coilovers would be grand , ohlins be awesome but way costly
I've heard mixed feeling about Tein, but nothing but praise for the ohlins. I'm not worried about it being costly but if I can find a cheaper solution that will fit my demands then I will go that route.
Small update, was able to get the OEM exhaust and English Racing cutout installed over the weekend.
If I could find and publically shame the prior owner(s) of this car I would.
The Megan catback was "welded" to the cat and by "welded" I mean they thought since the 3" pipe could slip over the cat after cutting the flanges off that all that was needed was a few tach welds. Once I unbolted the hangers I was able to pull the exhaust right off and the cat stayed behind.
There also wasn't a gasket between the downpipe and the oem cat.
Even further, the o2 housing was missing both lower nuts and the three remaining bolts were literally finger tight.
Needless to say, the OEM exhaust with all new OEM hangers, bolts and gaskets, with the ER testpipe and everything tightened is a MAJOR improvement. The cutout starts opening almost exactly at 7 psi and sounds amazing.
With all of the exhaust leaks fixed, the car runs so much smoother even with the rear o2 throwing a code with the cat removed now.
I would highly recommend the oem exhaust catback with the cutout for anyone who wants a nice quiet car while cruising and casual driving but wants the high-flowing aspect when the car is pushed and doesn't mind it screaming during that time.
Pics and Video to come once I get back from my business trip.
Other fun notes, completely overlooked needing to remove the exhaust manifold to make installing the new o2 housing bearable so I am ordering a new manifold gasket and turbo gasket which leaves me in a pickle.
I was planning on running stock turbo on e85 for a while before building a motor to handle anything bigger, reliably. However, if I am ripping everything hotside apart I am considering buying a FP manifold and 71HTA CHRA so I can increase the efficiency a bit. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Also, I think I have settled on just biting the bullet and ordering a set of Ohlins. By the time I put together bilsteins, with new mounts, springs, bump stops, etc. I am most of the way towards the cost of Ohlins anyways.
Is there anything else I should consider for struts/springs or coilovers?
Luckily I should finally be able to get some quality time with the car for this Holiday weekend, with the following plans:
- Install shifter bushings and shifter base bushings
- Rebuild ACD
- Install new cluster/troubleshoot wiring issue if needed
- Install new accessory drive tensioner and belt
- Install o2 Housing
- Install Intercooler
- Install COP
- Install Walbro
- Finish Gauge Wiring
- Fluid Changes (Dif, TC and Trans)
I promise pictures will happen this time during install .
Josh-
Last edited by rosuegk7; May 23, 2017 at 01:33 PM.
Well, for the most part, this weekend was a bust for working on the car.
Two stripped exhaust manifold nuts, an ACD hydraulic line that won't budge and two extra unexpected days at my client left me with pretty much nothing off my list crossed off.
The plus side, I did get the COP installed and it is quite literally a night and day difference in the car's manners. No more stutter on decel, smoother idle, etc etc..
Out with the Old
In with the New
I was also able to swap out the windshield washer nozzles for a set of Galant flat sprays and repainted the hood mesh and heat shield matte black with some high-temp paint.
OEM exhaust manifold stud and nut kit ordered as well as new manifold to turbo hardware.
Hopefully the ohlins will be delivered this week and I can start making some real progress.
So I finally had some time to install a few items and make some progress on the evo.
Started with removing the ACD pump to begin the rebuild. The pump and bracket assembly actually came out very easily, but of course, my luck would end there:
A lot easier to remove than I thought.
Rusty bracket off to get powdercoated.
Well this explains alot.
damn o-ring is just hanging out.
So it appears my pump housing is shot. I am still going to attempt to disassemble it, clean it, and possibly weld the housing to see if it will work. I figure why not give it a shot, it's already broken so it can't get much worse if the weld doesn't hold.
Since I had to remove the front bumper I figured I might as well get the intercooler and pipes installed too:
The fins have seen better days. Please excuse the rainbow paint :|
Pretty big difference for the ETS 3.5" core
So long old pipes and couplers.
Out with the old
In with the new!
So pretty.
Even prettier uncovered.
Fills up the grill much better!
Also, my most exciting package showed up while I was traveling for work!
Hello you beautiful, beautiful coilovers!!!!!!
A huge thank you to Chad Block at CBRD for taking the time to answer all my questions and give me a killer deal on the coilovers assembled and valved for my needs.
Thanks, Chad!!!! (if you ever read this lol)
Got a good deal on an ETS mini-battery kit and ordered the Gates AC removal belt so I can pull the compressor and figure out why it isn't working.
Have a wedding this weekend about 6-hours away so doubt I will make any progress on the evo but I do have the entire week of July 4th off work so hoping to knock out the remaining general maintenance items needed.
So after a few days of talking back and forth with Chad at CBRD, a brand new set of Ohlins are heading my way! Will post pics when they arrive!
That's a great decision.
After modifying my suspension with a high-end setup, I will probably never put something aftermarket on my vehicle unless it has "Bilstein" or "Ohlin" written on it.
You go away from those two, and you severely diverge from OEM-reliability.
May 10, 2017, 01:44 PM
.
