I finally decided to go full race car with my 2011 Phantom Black Evo MR. For now this is more of a project than a build, although I do have a spare drive train that will eventually be built for ~650 whp. I registered the car non-op in California last December because; 1) I did not want to deal with the CA smog crackdown, 2) I have two pick-ups to daily drive, and 3) I no longer commute to an office.
My short term goal is a solid track day car but my long term goal is a track day car that can hang with the fast cars in the top run group and perhaps be competitive in some time trial competitions. My current mods are listed below. The car is currently at the shop getting an ETS V3 Quiet turbo-back exhaust and intercooler installed with a more track specific. Also adding some more venting to the hood and deleting the side vent grills. By the end of the year I hope to also do cage, a proper racing seat and harness, and replace the four piece underplate with a custom made one-piece set up.
· 500 hp transmission from Jacks with deep pan, Sep 2017 at ~55K
· AMS transmission cooler, replaces stock
· SSP auxiliary transmission cooler
· Auxiliary oil cooler (not sure what brand)
· Harness bar and 4 point harness
· Boost, A/F, oil and water temp, and oil pressure gauges and AIM Solo data logger connection
· C-West front bumper
· Front and rear tow hooks
· Four piece aluminum under plating
· Works custom Ohlin R/T with 10K rear and 12K front springs. Originally on my first Evo in 2016, transferred to current Evo in 2017 (also roll center kit)
Now a little background. I bought an Evo X MR in Concord, CA on my 50th birthday in August 2011. I did my first HPDE at Thunder Hill six months later and was hooked. Over the next five years I did the requisite track mods and did about 40 track days before putting the X into the turn 9 wall as Sonoma in November 2016. Bought my current 2011 and had most of the parts transferred from the wrecked car. Kept the drive train and the Brembos. In 2018/2019 I suffered a series of unrelated mechanical failures and had to limp home early from a number of track days. After suffering catastrophic turbo failure at the track in mid 2019, I decided to take a brake from the track until I could get a proper tow rig.
Last year I bought a new 2019 F-150 that had been sitting on the lot for over a year. I also bought a new 16 foot Carson trailer. I got a camper top and air bags and an awning the goes on the side of the truck. I still need to build some tire racks in the back of the truck. The picture is before I got the air bags.
If you want to set the car up to be with the top dawgs, I would just copy my build. Totally capable of sub 2's at Thunderhill with no aero, very basic suspension work and no weight reduction. Full leather, heated seats, and sunroof! Also, not much could touch it in the straights.
I unfortunately was never able to before I moved away because of some mechanical issues I was sorting out. Best before I moved was a 2.00 with old heat cycled NT01's and still getting used to the car again.
If you want to set the car up to be with the top dawgs, I would just copy my build. Totally capable of sub 2's at Thunderhill with no aero, very basic suspension work and no weight reduction. Full leather, heated seats, and sunroof! Also, not much could touch it in the straights.
I'm not quite ready to commit the kind of $$$ for a full engine build yet. Besides the engine, there's the Tranny, transfer case etc. Car is never going to be streetable in Ca ever again. Besides a cage and aero will be relatively cheap. But I do acknowledge that until I build the engine I be hanging with the momentum cars and badly driven muscled cars.
Well I was supposed to pick the car up yesterday but got a call Friday afternoon that they were still chasing down a boost leak. The ruled out the new ETS stuff and now they think its at the manifold. Best case its just a gasket (for once maybe I'll get lucky).
I'm not quite ready to commit the kind of $$$ for a full engine build yet. Besides the engine, there's the Tranny, transfer case etc. Car is never going to be streetable in Ca ever again. Besides a cage and aero will be relatively cheap. But I do acknowledge that until I build the engine I be hanging with the momentum cars and badly driven muscled cars.
Fair for sure. I have sunk way too much in the car the last five years. Plus, once you go away from the OEM motor there are way too many what if's.
Are you still on stock turbo? You can upgrade to a GTX3076R and get some great power still on the OEM motor. I run my lower boost/timing (24.5 psi) map for track use. Low 500's. You could run a GTX3076R with mid to high 400's and if tuned correctly, would be perfectly fine with the stock motor.
OEM transfer case and rear is totally fine for track use. None of my drivetrain is upgraded. I had planned on going to a non-AYC rear end but all the motor gremlins put that on hold. The only reason I was going to go the mechanical rear is I wanted more lock up than the AYC could do at my power/grip level. Car was still fast and driveable.
Fair for sure. I have sunk way too much in the car the last five years. Plus, once you go away from the OEM motor there are way too many what if's.
Are you still on stock turbo? You can upgrade to a GTX3076R and get some great power still on the OEM motor. I run my lower boost/timing (24.5 psi) map for track use. Low 500's. You could run a GTX3076R with mid to high 400's and if tuned correctly, would be perfectly fine with the stock motor.
OEM transfer case and rear is totally fine for track use. None of my drivetrain is upgraded. I had planned on going to a non-AYC rear end but all the motor gremlins put that on hold. The only reason I was going to go the mechanical rear is I wanted more lock up than the AYC could do at my power/grip level. Car was still fast and driveable.
When I blew the stock turbo I had it replaced with the turbo from my first Evo. For now I'm sticking to basic bolt-ons and will revisit power later. An upgraded turbo and fuel system upgrade would be a relatively cost effective way to get a bit more power, but I'd still like to build my old motor and SST eventually. I figured that building the transfer case and diff would be some cheap insurance considering what I will probably need to spend to build the SST.
Well I was supposed to pick the car up yesterday but got a call Friday afternoon that they were still chasing down a boost leak. The ruled out the new ETS stuff and now they think its at the manifold. Best case its just a gasket (for once maybe I'll get lucky).
MAP manifold is good, turbo not so much. Crack in the wastegate housing.
Picture of said crack. Not going to repair because I'm looking for excuse to replace.
Oh I thought something related to the wastegate failed. This is on the turbo hotside. You can buy a replacement hotside on ebay, used turbo, or a new turbo. Definitely not a cheap fix like swapping in a new wastegate.
Last Friday I got to drive my Evo for the first time in seven months … for 20 minutes. Went with a Garrett GTX3071R Turbo. Took over a month to get tuned because the dyno was booked up and the shop where the dyno is located shut down for a week due to a Covid outbreak.
So I drove my trailer down to Sonoma Raceway where my shop is located, went to the morning drivers meeting, then picked up my car. The exhaust sounded badass. I took it real easy the first few laps because it's Sonoma and it was a bit greasy but I could feel the added power (~ 60 whp over my prior tune). By the time I started pushing harder I was already loosing power and by the end the exhaust note had that familiar exhaust leak sound. Took it back to the shop and they found that the downpipe/turbo bolts had backed off, even with Nordlocks.
I have had reoccurring issues with bolts backing out between the exhaust manifold and CAT ever since I got this car. My mechanic thinks it might be that the OEM motor mounts are trash and causing excessive engine vibration. So replacing those with some Torque Solutions Motor and Trans Mount is my next step. They are also going to safety wire and nordlock everything.
