Sup guys, I've been on an N/A performance mod quest for a bit, I have been reading that several people have swapped in Evo X camshafts for 08+ lancers, but any thread I read always dies before the final review. Who has done it and lived to tell? What's the scoop? Obviously springs and a tune would be required. I have both cams and springs already, and I'm lining up the tune. But before I pull this thing apart...how does this effect day to day driving, how does it effect MIVEC's performance?

 

I have them installed what motor to you have? I put them in a 4B12 I'd imagine the 2.0 guys feel a decent increase. I just did cams in mine kept stock springs I drove around for a day with stock tune just fine. Now I have the mivec all tunes to match for the cam for the price I got the cams it was definitely worth still get same gas mileage. But like I said that all in the 2.4 which it's stock cams are a lot closer to the Evo x cams than on a 2.0

 

If your going to install your self definitely order the timing belt tool I would of been done in a couple hours but was told I could just use a wood wedge and it got stock and I had to take the timing chain stuff all apart to get it out

 

This is the low down based on several engine cam swaps and tunes....
Springs are not required for an evo x stock cam swap. The stock 4B10/11/12 stock springs are good for 7500rpm on stock evo x cams. Stage 1 evo x cams can generally also run on stock springs. I do not recommend stage 2 cams at all - these are a very good way to destroy the engine and power production. Stock evo x cams will extend the powerband dramatically over stock 4B11 cams and will idle solidly at stock rpm. The effect on a 4B12 is minimal since these already have a respectable intake cam.
Most of the time you will get away without having to replace buckets but check the clearances on the stock cams before removal (you might get a fright) and then note the bucket thicknesses while the cams are out. Handy to know all this before installing the new cams....
I have said this before somewhere..... there is no need to replace the exhaust cam, the evo x exhaust is no different and possesses no magical powers. The 4B10/11 exhaust cam is actually the best choice as it has a 3 degree better centerline.
Now for the harder bit...... the evo x intake cam opens at 10 degrees, a 4B11 at 3 degrees and a 4B12 at 0 degrees i.e. all 3 cams have a different centerline. To properly tune the ROM to the new cam, you must tell the ROM about the new centerline as well as tuning the mivec maps to suit. 99% of pro-tuners know nothing about how to do this because they only ever do evos and most aftermarket evo cams are designed to just drop in without too much thought to tuning (says a lot about evo owners.....) So before racing ahead and bolting stuff to your motor, make sure you know how to follow through with the necessary tuning otherwise you are just decorating and usually with a negative impact on performance....
One of the dumbest things I see, and way too often, is tuners copying evo mivec maps into a NA Rom thinking somehow that is called tuning..... Nothing from an evo tune has any place in a NA tune!!! In case people haven't noticed, the NA Lancer does not have a huge obstruction in the intake and exhaust paths (called turbo impellers) and has a tuned-length intake and exhaust so optimum mivec timings look completely different.

So is it worth it? Yes if you can see it through to the end and get it tuned correctly. 4B10/11 benefit from an evo x cam swap more so than the 4B12. The evo x intake gives the 4B10/11 some useful extra lift and a huge boost to duration whereas it only gives a 4B12 a very modest 8 degree duration increase and no lift increase. A 4B12 intake cam into a 4B10/11 works very nicely too.....but you must take the 4B12 intake sprocket too - still a great boost to cam duration and the same lift boost as the evo x cam

 

I'm sure this thread is dead but incase you miraculously respond, I've been doing a lot of self road tuning on my 2017 4B11 Lancer 5M/T I was wondering if I do the Evo X or 4b12 Intake cam swap, do I need the Cam Sprockets to achieve the longer lift aka degrees in ECUFLASH or just drop in the Camshaft itself and tune? Thanks in advance.

 

A miracle is about to happen.... @Minho731
If you install an evo x cam into a 4B11, no need to change the sprocket. You do need to edit the ROM to tell it the new cam timing - lie to the ecu and you get lies back in logs so you can't really tune the mivec timings.
Downside of installing an evo x cam in a 4B11 is it reduces the dynamic compression ratio and a 4B11 does not have enough of that even on a 4B11 cam. What this means is the cam switch result is somewhat less than expected - in fact a 4B12 cam swap can give better results as these do not crash the dynamic compression ratio as far plus the powerband is better suited to the unfortunate intake manifold that starts strangling power after 6300rpm. A 4B12 cam needs to run on a 4B12 cam sprocket otherwise you will not get enough cam advance to tune it. A 4B12 cam gives better midrange power and will keep going until 6800rpm if unconstrained by other things. An evo x cam is good for 7100rpm but loses a bit of lower midrange.
If you replace the pistons with 4J11 pistons (drop in replacements), that will bump the CR from 10:1 to 10.5:1 or use 4B10 pistons to get slightly higher CR (with attention to the length of the skirt that may need to be shaved to clear the crank) which in itself, is good for power even without a cam swap and better with a 4B12 cam swap but still not enough to really get the use out of an evo x cam. There are more options like using Hyundai/Kia GDI pistons and rods or Brazilian 4B11 high CR stock Mitsi pistons (made for high ethanol fuels in local build Mitsis).

 

Thank you for the information!! So if I swap to 4B12 Intake Cam + Sprocket it should be a direct install obv with a sight tune adjustment, will this require CAM Sensor swap also or should work just fine?

 

@Minho731 The cam and sprocket are drop in affairs. No need to change cam sensor - they are all the same.
The new opening points of the cam need to be told to the ecu by editing the ROM as the cam sprocket timing marks and lump of metal that passes the cam timing sensor only set the "Straight up" alignment of the cam blank - the lobes can be anywhere without the ecu knowing hence having to tell what rotations the lobes open and close the valves.

4B11 mivec limits
In this pic you see the stock 4B11 cam rotation limits for a 25 degree rotation available with the 4B11 cam sprocket. +3 degree cam start timing with no sprocket rotation to +28 with maximum sprocket rotation.
A similar deal with the ex cam: -3 degree starting rotation to max 20 degree rotation of the ex sprocket to give a potential -23 degree cam timing.
In your ROM if you search for the 2 hex words that define the +3 and +28 values (0F 66 and 0A 66) you will find the address of the intake cam limits of rotation. Modifying these values to suit a 4B12 cam will mean that the start point is 0 degrees and the end point is 40 degrees. You must tell the truth for these settings otherwise the ecu will tell you lies about what is going on - a case of **** in - **** out.
Drop these lines into your def and change the address to where you find the values in your ROM.
<scaling name="MIVEC timing 2" units="degrees" toexpr="(4096- x)*0.01953" frexpr="4096-(x/0.01953)" format="%.2f" min="-80" max="80" inc="0.019" storagetype="uint16" endian="big"/>
<table name="MIVEC Intake limits" category="MIVEC INTAKE" address="5236c" type="2D" scaling="MIVEC timing 2">
<table name="FUNCTION" type="Static Y Axis" elements="2">
<data>5236c min .</data>
<data>5236e max .</data>
</table>
</table>
<table name="MIVEC Exhaust limits" category="MIVEC EXHAUST" address="5249e" type="2D" scaling="MIVEC timing 2">
<table name="FUNCTION" type="Static Y Axis" elements="2">
<data>5249e min .</data>
<data>524a0 max .</data>
</table>
</table>

Then the hard bit..... the stock 4B11 mivec maps bear no resemblance to a tuned state. Forget what you see in these maps - they are hideous and cannot be unseen. Do not use stock mivec maps as a starting point to build tuned maps!
Start with as close as you can get to these (these maps are higher accuracy than stock)

 

Not quite sure how using Evo X stage 2 cams is a quick way to destroy performance
If you go hunting back through this forum many years you'll come across guys who used Brian Crower stage 2 , 272 degree cams on 4b11 sprocket with raging success

That's exactly what I have done also , BC 272 cams, stock OEM springs
Works well

Mind you there's a ton of motor work done
Oh and dont be freighted to toss the plastic inlet manifold over your shoulder
Something else that Mitsubishi did to deliberately detune the NA was that plastic thing.
Have a chat to CNC engineering , i spoke to them some years ago and got them to custom make me a billet CNC inlet manifold , it flows 30% more air over stock, works quite well, highly recommended
Mind you, so is ethanol
E30 works quite well in the NA
Grab an in line ethanol fuel content analyser and whack that in near the fuel rail
Feed the wiring for it back in to the cabin and in the glove box have the ethanol gauge there so you can see what's going on when needed
Rest of the time, close the glove box
Give yourself a few tanks of fuel and you will quick figure out how much e85 to add to e10 to mix it in the tank

Here's a great calculator to help you on your way

https://www.tuneplusinc.com/pages/tuning-tools


I have this down to a fine art now
I have taken photos of the fuel gauge on the instrument cluster and made notes as i go
I can now pretty much get the fuel spot on to e30 most times
Some times i come up a little short
I have 5L of e85 in a jerry in the boot
Throw a little in and go for a drive to bring it back to e30 and off we go
Works a treat

 

"Not quite sure how using Evo X stage 2 cams is a quick way to destroy performance"
Simply put: The 4B11 does not have the compression ratio to make use of a stage 2 cam so the gains are diminished and even become losses. The other obvious thing often overlooked is as the cam gets wilder, the powerband is shifted further up the rev range so a stage 2 cam would not work with the plastic fantastic stock IM that limits the powerband at 6300rpm. Match the cam to the intended operating rpm range that the engine is built for! You could spend mega bucks on custom CNC manifold and custom forged pistons to make a average Lancer perform a bit better, there is a cheap and simple way to boost the CR anything up to 12.5:1 and fixing the rpm limitations of the stock IM without emptying your wallet but I won't go into that again on this forum - not enough technical, engineering or mechanical skills kicking around on here anymore

 

Brian Crower Stage 2 cams for the win
The NA plastic inlet manifold the biggest issue is the small plenum
Hence why the CNC billet manifold wins, it gives 30% extra air flow over oem

Some photos of mine when it was getting built after spending about 2 months talking to their engineers

https://imgur.com/a/4drFOsm#COZunWf

https://imgur.com/a/4drFOsm#UZWO0tm

This photo tthe plenum is around the wrong way but you get the idea

https://imgur.com/a/4drFOsm#8GLXHbS

This is the air flow of my inlet manifold

https://imgur.com/a/aV8QxHr#Mx1ppKF

https://imgur.com/a/aV8QxHr#FzK7lPl

3.3 litre plenum compared to the wimpy plastic OEM one thathat runs out of puff at just over 6000 rpm

Like i said earlier
Over 10 years ago there's a post on this forum about it
There's a guy i think in Mexico I think it was
They had a 4b12 with those cams etc and i even found the video on YouTube of it at the drag strip it did around 10 seconds, it was insane quick
Sometimes
You just need to put your $$ where you mouth is, buy it and try it
Maths is all well and good
To a point
Avoid heavy valve springs with the 272 cams
Use the OEM NA springs
Thats why i got the 272 cams
The biggest you can go on OEM springs
And some extra lift

And

When you want more
Ethanol for the win

Inline analysis
https://imgur.com/a/CsYLCir#ii9GbXI

Shove it up behind the glove box

https://imgur.com/a/CsYLCir#1IHIXWU

https://imgur.com/a/CsYLCir#nVk2tOx

Display lives in the glove box and when the motor starts it will tell you the ethanol contents down the fuel line

https://imgur.com/a/CsYLCir#F3V24zQ

Enjoy