Man that first drive home after getting tuned is a lot of fun. Car looks great!

 

Looks nice ! great build

 

You drive to the dyno?! Lol.

I thought step 1 in Evo ownership is never trust your Evo.

 

Been a bit...driving it daily - with a smile!

Cool weather means another trip to the Ring tomorrow!

Cleaned the K+N filter for the Australian ATP intake set up:






And drained the oil catch can...after 600 miles - seems to work and nothing out the breather! I think an acceptable amount (tablespoon worth):






Looking to go a bit faster now without boost cuts, etc.

 

4 laps completed - all fouled with an Audi TT in the wall - bummer! Still great fun and only casualty was an injector clip popped off and car started to miss - ended the ~500 mile day.

-Brakes were excellent...after 'cleaning' the rotors of PMT the initial shudder disappeared.
-Suspension still too soft - bottomed out on the carousel, but didn't scrap the inner fender.
-Oil temps didn't exceed 240 with the Evo 8 cooler.
-Touched 7300 rpm in top gear on the fast part of the track - bit over 150 mph...seems quite short geared!
-Quite happy with the BFG Rival S tires
-Catch can didn't work as well as hoped...some oil residue came out the breather...
-Any secrets to keeping the backside clean due to all the soot?
-Should I be concerned with melting the rear bumper? Gets discolored...
-Still need to work on my driving skills! Really fun car!

 

I've found that nothing I do keeps the soot of the rear of my X, but regularly cleaning with a clay bar, makes it easy to wash the soot after it builds up. I imagine a nice coat of ceramic coatings would make it even easier to clean as well.

 

RobbieOh: Thanks for the recommendation! Regular waxing to remove it seems to be another laborious answer...;-)

Attempting to address the insufficient catch can dilemma...4 laps on the ring fills one of these canisters full! Interesting, on the street hardly anything is caught.

Added a second as a reservoir more than doubling the capacity, theoretically. Maybe I'm just jerry rigging it...


Installed:


Also installed the OEM fuel injector clips - to avoid another engine miss because a clip came ajar...

May get a lap in tomorrow...putting my son in a Swift 'race' car to turn a few laps on the Ring. See how he heel/toes that thing!

 

Well, bit dated info, but the second ring visit was 4x 60% laps and a catch can system that filled again. So the ebay specials aren't going to cut it!



We elected to purchase a nearly 4 liter model from Australia:



https://atperformance.com.au/product...oil-catch-can/



We are running their air box setup and pleased with the quality.



This catch can supposedly uses existing bolt holes and is pretty hefty size which is likely our current problem (not enough space for air/fluid separation). Not inexpensive, but if it solves the issue...and won't curtail our next Nurburgring visit...well worth it!



Current work:



The original radiator stays were a bit of an eye sore. Planned to have them powdercoated, but in the end new ones from Mitsu was a cheaper way to go (hopefully they don't rust like the originals!)



The kit:




Comparison:






Mechanic getting after it:






Thumbs!






Trunk detail:






Few more projects this winter...

 

Decided to look at what will be involved with freshening our rear suspension...swapping the cast iron Evo 5 pieces with later OEM aluminum arms.






Attempted to use a nylon wheel to remove the heavy undercoating that was applied to the UK sourced arms...no luck. Brass wire wheels made mince meat of it, however changes the finish unfortunately. We had investigated soda blasting, but minimal options in Stuttgart that are not cost prohibitive.






A bit over restored...we also have Hardrace ball joints to install...unsure what to do about the other bushings:






3 years ago, we were bothered that each arm was going to cost $200 (x 6). Now most are not available...only the bottom arm is at ~$300+. Ouch!

 

The cold storage for the winter hasn't been kind to the Evo...



AYC motor leak:






Engine oil leak:






Guess, we've got our work cut out for us...along with new hydraulic tappet adjusters, new oil separator system, and possibly a new clutch and flywheel.

 

Got your winter work cut out.

 

well yeah, new motor and break in tune had to work for 1k miles before dyno day 🙂

 

Temps are warming so Evo energy is growing!

Few goodies showed up...

From Australia - premium ATP catch can...installs with no mods to the car - love it!:


Also, fresh rear suspension from Japan - OEM Evo 6 aluminum will replace the OEM Evo 5 cast iron pieces:


Quick weigh in:


We'll see what the heavy metal ones come in at...

 

Got my Goodwood Festival of Speed tickets in the post this week! Sadly they won't let an Evo 5 into the Performance Car Parking area!


Should be a great time nonetheless!

 

Great weather today...did a bit of brake bleeding today filling up on Motul 660:


And swapped front engine mount for a fresh OEM example - hope to cure a bit of vibration:


Looking forward to spring!