uzumaki

This build thread is all about my JDM Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GT Wagon. I've owned it for a while now but I thought some of you guys in the US, or around the world, might enjoy following its never ending progress. Subscribe if you like

Sorry it has taken me so long to start this thread here but I am copying some of my posts from my build thread in the Australian Evo Forum, so you will be up to date very soon. I hope you find it interesting.

I first saw this car in the flesh in 2011 at World Time Attack Sydney. I almost bought it in 2012, then again in 2013, then actually bought it in 2014 and since then I've done a lot restoring and modifying to "make it my own" and to bring it up to my OCD standard. I would've preferred to buy a completely stock wagon and mod it all myself but wagons are very hard to get here in Australia.

Heres is a recent-ish photo:

uzumaki

Clickable links to updates will go here:

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Mod List: (will go here)

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Fun Facts:

Less than 2,900 evo 9 wagons were made by Mitsubishi and only 10-20% were GT ie. manual transmission and MIVEC engine. The others were GT-A variants with Auto Transmission and non-MIVEC engine.

I have a lot of info & receipts from when the car was owned by Hidetaka Degawa who lived in Nagano Japan. It was still road registered but it was modified for track days by Auto Produce Boss workshop in Nagano and by the "JUN Machine Shop". A Sydney car importer brought it to Australia in 2011 and he had a few modifications done including a 5 speed transmission swap.

uzumaki

Some History in Japan copied from "Superstreet Online" USA article about my wagon when it was still living in Japan.

2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GT Wagon - Not Your Everyday EVO
Get Off In Two Pages
Jonathan Wong –
Sep 1, 2009















Built For The Track But Can Still Haul A Proper Load - Why Do The Japanese Always Get The Really Cool Stuff?
It's too bad wagons never fair too well in the States. We're a far cry from the beater cruiser the Griswold's took to Walley World back in the 80s but these days you better be a fan of European makes or the STI if you want something with four doors and a hatch. Japan's domestic market (shockingly) has an Evolution model wagon and is just one other level of cool that I wish would have made its way over when Mitsubishi decided to sell the damn thing here, but all we got was a standard level Lancer. But the Japanese are probably oblivious to this fact; we know Auto Produce BOSS out of Nagano is, and helped out Hidetaka Degawa, the owner, by putting their tuning skills to work on this cool Evo GT wagon.

With intentions of making this a circuit racer - since Degawa-san is at the track as often as his time and the weather permits - AP BOSS built the car with the best compromise between power and response, hence the selection of the Evo 6 RS Turbo since it has the capability to make good power while retaining factory turbo response, according to Phi Phung of AP BOSS USA. Of course, Degawa-san went through many sets of brake pads and tested a number of spring settings to find the best combination to match his driving skill and style, settling on Prodrive Japan/Ferodo-DS pads and Swift/Hyperco springs in the end.
Other than the engine and suspension mods, there's nothing out of the ordinary here - but it's the little details that count. Being a wagon, it gets used regularly and at the end of the day, it's still an Evo. Phi adds, "Other than the added weight from the glass and hatch, it handles and reacts like an Evo." And until someone figures out how to carry the Evo drivetrain over to a US model Lancer wagon - or perhaps in some cases, decides they want to spend the money to do such a conversion - we have the upcoming Ralliart Sportback to look forward to. I think any turbocharged wagon from Mitsubishi would be welcomed at this point.

Fast Facts

2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GT Wagon
Owner Hidetaka Degawa
Hometown Nagano-ken, Japan
Daily Grind Nissan tuning specialist
Stiff Stuff Swift 12kg/mm springs and DG5 shocks (front); Hyperco 12.5kg/mm springs and factory shocks (rear); Cusco rear sway bar and Type OS rear strut bar; Rigid front strut bar; Ralliart engine, transmission and arms bushings; front sway bar adjuster
Rollers 18x8.5 +34 Prodrive GC-06H wheels with 235/40R18 Bridgetstone RE-01R tires (street); 17x9.5 +25 (front)/+35 (rear) ADVAN RS wheels with 255/40R17 Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 tires
Stoppers factory Brembo calipers (front/rear); PFC two-piece aluminum hat rotors (rear); Prodrive Type-3 front brake pads; Ferodo DS rear brake pads
Inside Ralliart Super High Back driver seat; Bride seat rail; MOMO steering wheel ice Blitz oil temp and oil pressure gauges

uzumaki

Are Evo Wagons any good?

Tim Shrick's from D Motor does a test between an Evo IX wagon and the Audi RS6 V10 twin turbo wagon.

Part 2 is best


Part 1 of 2 with English subs

If it gets boring skip to 6m25s

uzumaki

I had to change the registration over to a different state so I had to prepare the car for a roadworthy inspection.

Removing tints on a hot day with Heat Gun help. Came off pretty easy with most of glue staying on the tint film. Except for the rear heated window where all glue stayed on the window!



Next, fluids changed. Brake Fluid, Engine oil & filter, Transmission oil change, ACD oil change, Rear Diff oil change.

The rear diff on the wagon is different to the Australian delivered Evo 9 as it has the stronger RS rear end as standard, but the inside was upgraded to a CUSCO 1.5 Way when it was in Japan. So I drained out the old oil and filled with Cusco LSD oil, which quietened it down a lot.



The Ralliart Super Traction Centre Diff started making some knocking noises as it must need repairs or servicing and it seems like they don't like normal street driving. So I replaced it with a stock Evo IX ACD and its much nicer to drive on the street. I'll get the Super Traction ACD serviced at some point and might use it in the future. This is the Super Traction ACD on the bench. Opened it up and it looked fine so maybe just needs new plates and preload adjustment.



At the same time I replaced the front driveshafts with new "Drive Shaft Shop" 900 WHP drive shafts. I will replace there rear driveshafts with DSS 1200 WHP in the near future.

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I painted the nose badge too but its not perfect



The front brakes were discoloured as Evo Brembos often are so I re-painted them.

uzumaki

The car didn't have a BOV so I installed a stealthy Turbosmart Kompact BOV



ESP also a fitted a Haltech Platinum Pro ECU, Haltech 12 I/O expander, Haltech duel wideband module, an Air Inlet temp sensor, oil pressure sensor wired back to the ECU for safety, a GM 3 port boost solenoid and a Haltech eFlex sensor to monitor the Ethanol content on the return line. I also had to install new Cam Angle sensors and new Denso Coils into the M&W COP kit as they weren't coping with more boost and e85.

I don't have a restrictive MAF before the turbo so tuning was done with the help of the inlet manifold MAP sensor. This is the OEM MAP:



But I replaced it with an OMNI 4 bar MAP sensor for higher boost options



Fyshwick Exhaust fitted a new resonator and a Magnaflow 3" internal piped muffler which is e85 compatible. Needs a tip to make it sexy.

And finally here's a drawing that SK3TCHMONSTER did last year. You can find her on Instagram

uzumaki

I really need to wash, polish and detail the Evo so excuse the dirty pix. More important to get all the mechanical and electrical jobs done first.

Windows Tinted! to match the privacy glass so I'll take some full car photos soon.

Engine Bay attention:

I've done a bit more tidying up the engine bay, replacing lots of bolts, brackets etc with new OEM parts. Still more to do but its getting there.

I replaced the OEM exhaust manifold cover with a Tomei stainless steel cover and stainless allen bolts.



Replaced the OEM timing belt cover with a Carbon Fibre one and stainless allen screws.



Added a "Garage HRS" carbon fibre radiator cooling panel



New Toyota Denso coils under the M&W Coil on Plug setup

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I wasn't happy with the number plates and the big OEM front number plate mount so I fitted a Beatrush number plate bracket and a slimline number plate.

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New Coilovers!

The Bilstein coilovers that were on the car when I bought it were a special Japanese spec damper that were really really stiff. Combined with 12.5kg/mm front and rear Hyperco springs made the car terrible to drive on the road. So after a lot of research I ordered some new coilovers that I have always wanted to try out.

OHLINS R&T DFV 10kg/mm front springs and 8kg/mm rears

Thanks to S2-13BT (Christian) for giving me a hand with the install.

















Corner weighting / ride height fine tuning & alignment still to be done.

While I was at it I removed the heatshields from the front rotors for extra cooling and replaced the brake caliper bolts & washers with new ones.

Too many colours...

I don't like the CUSCO blue paint on their braces, so I removed the front and rear strut braces and repainted the end plates with gloss black VHT calliper paint and gave the aluminium bars a polish. Neatens up the engine bay a lot.

uzumaki

Got some new wheels too. RAYS, Volk Racing, TE37SL 18x9.5

First RAYS hubcentric rings



Performance Friction Rotors:



+ New RAYS steel open ended 17 Hex nuts



bye rear wheel gap



Here's a quick snap on the day when the coilover install was finished.

I want some more aggressive wheels though. Maybe bronze or black TE37 18x9.5" +22.

uzumaki

ITrying to give the car a neater OEM look, especially in the engine bay.

The engine bay always had oily film on it because it didn't have enough breathers on the engine and a badly designed catch can/ breather tank.

Firstly I removed the valve cover



Remove baffles



Drilled out two existing small holes in valve cover then used die grinder to enlarge further and to make sure new fitting sits flush



Installed two big -10 AN Aeroflow valve cover fittings. I much prefer this new design because the old style fitting have a risk of unscrewing and falling into engine.



Then I made a jig so the cover could be held securely in a vice. The valve cover is made from Magnesium so you have to be very careful not to damage it. The jig is angle steel 50mmx75mm. 5mm thick and 500mm long.





Drill out the old rivets with 4.2mm drill. You need to take care how deep you drill some holes because there are some places which line up with holes coming down from the top of valve cover. So you can accidentally drill right through in some place if not careful.




Tap holes with 5mm taps. Tap Magic is a great lube for drilling and taping



Then clean clean clean

uzumaki

Next replace baffles. Valve Cover in big vice

Attachment 326031



High Temp thread locker





Before re-installing the valve cover I also replace this oil regular on the top of the head



Kiggly Racing HLA to stop possible over supply of oil to the head
• Actively Regulates Lash Adjuster Supply Pressure to a Constant 15psi
• Reduces Oil Flow Into the Head, Keeps More Oil in the Pan
• Air Bleed at the Highest Point Helps Oil Quality and Aeration to Lash Adjusters
• Does not reduce pressure to the turbocharger feed, this is still full pressure




Then I made some hoses to go to Catch Can







Having the right tools makes it so easy



I made a thick aluminium bracket to mount the Aeroflow breather tank discretely inside the front guard. It has a 1.1 litre capacity but only one inlet but i really need two inlets, so ATM one hose has to vent to atmosphere. Lucky the valve cover has great baffling especially for the front fitting so no drips have come from that hose. I'll get a custom 2 litre tank soon.