Mitsubishi Evo Prior Blog Posts by Date Category of blogs from DrivingEnthusiast.net covering the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, focusing on the all-new Evolution X. Also news of other Mitsubishi performance cars. RSS feed available. Be sure to see our site Evo.DrivingEnthusiast.net for complete information. June 2008 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30           May   Aug RSS Feed for DrivingEnthusiast.net About DrivingEnthusiast.net Index of prior posts by title Use this calendar to navigate thru prior blog postings by date. Saturday, June 07, 2008    Edmunds: 2009 Nissan GT-R vs. the World   Edmunds.com has untaken a test of the GT-R versus several other cars, both on the Streets of Willow Springs and on back roads outside of Los Angeles. This is a very valid test, because this is exactly what driving enthusiasts do with their cars - take them to the track on some weekends, and alternately drive them hard and fast on back roads on other weekends. Cars like this would rarely get a rest... that is their fate in life. The comparees are the 2008 Audi R8, 2008 Lotus Elise SC, 2008 Porsche 911, 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR and 2008 Subaru WRX STI. Dodge and Chevrolet declined to participate so that their cars wouldn't have to go up against the GT-R. A Racelogic VBOX was used to gather the test results. The overall test, as you might expect, was won by the 2009 Nissan GT-R ($75,925 US) with a track time of 1:25.68. 2nd place in both tests was taken by the Audi R8  ($134,545 US) with a track time of 1:26.92. 3rd place will surprise you : the 2008 Evo MR ($38,940) won third in both tests, with a track lap of 1:29.02. And note that's the MR edition, with the TC-SST transmission, Bilsteins, and Eibachs. Above the standard Brembos, Recaros, and torque-proportioning rear diff. 4th place will also surprise you: the 911 Carerra ($85,765 )with a track time of 1:29.25. The Lotus SC was next @ 1:29.49, followed by the STI @ 1:30.05. My own conclusions: Bang for the buck: Evo MR. Hands down. With tuning and suspension mods ( http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/categories/evo/2008/03/30.html#a2348 ), it'll just get even better. Don't go to a Posche Club of America event with the MR - those snobs will all hate you when you pass them in the middle of turns. Or if you do go, mark "not sure" on your application form where they ask you what you will be driving. Ye olde 911 is a car that's happy to rotate, but at the wrong place in the turn. Perhaps Porsche will put the engine in the right place someday, but then that's what the Boxster and Cayman are for. While the 2009 model year's direct injection and dual-clutch tranny will undoubtedly make up the .23 seconds difference, that fact that there isn't already an enormous gap between the 911 and the Evo is very telling. The GT-R remains the ultimate track day vehicle, as long as you're willing to spend in the $70-80k range. And assuming you can even get one at list from the dealer - which for the first year will probably be impossible. The STI continues to dissappoint. It badly needs an automated dual-clutch manual (which is two years off, according to Subaru) and a torque-proportioning differential (no word yet, but it's an expensive peice of work to develop). Amazon Store: View and add comments: Trackback: Trackback Link and count:;[] Permalink for this post:  See similar posts in these categories: Mitsubishi Evo | Lotus | Nissan GT-R | Nissan-Infiniti | Subaru Search for similar posts on the web: Google It! RSS Feed for DrivingEnthusiast.net About DrivingEnthusiast.net  Evo X: increasing boost via the wastegate   Looking thru various sites for information on preparing an Evo X for track use (HPDE, open track events, etc), I've come across lots of information on the importance of straightening out the factory tune for the car. From the factory, the tune is less than optimum - more concerned with longevity, emissions, and mileage than ultimate power. In terms of modifications, only a little can effectively be improved on this engine without re-mapping. Intake and exhaust mods are proving to be less than optimum without a proper remapping... and all the major Evo vendors have this or are working on it. Yes, even for the TC-SST equipped cars: http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/categories/evo/2008/03/30.html#a2348 which is already a cost-effective hot ticket for the track ( http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-blog/2008/06/07.html#a2420 ). As more is learned about tuning the engine and tranny computers, the MR will be a giant killer. One question that needs to be looked at when modifying a factory turbocharged car is the wastegate. Is it adjustable, can the diaphragm handle extra pressure? In the case of the Exo X, the answer is no straightforward. The following two images are from the Evo X shop manual - note the warning about damage. The following slides warns about adjusting the factory wastegate actuator. Part of the answer may well be that the actuator assembly is locked to prevent over-boosting on the factory tune. But even then it's range of adjustability is narrow. Two answers here: 1) Replace the factory wastegate. The following is a new wastegate offered by JUN in Japan. It's adjustable across a wider range. More details here: http://www.junauto.co.jp/products/exhaust-part/turbo-actuator/index.html?en (suggest <right click> and <open in new tab>). 2) Fool the factory wastegate into believing it hasn't yet reached maximum. This is an old trick, one that many of us did in the old days of turbo tuning (I can report I did this to two of my factory-turbocharged Mustangs). The following valve is offered by AMSPerformance, as installed on the Evo X of gates311.com  (suggest <right click> and <open in new tab>). So while the question of the wastegate actuator is one tiny part of the entire equation, a remapping is absolutely necessary to acheive any major results. And once the engine questions are out of the way, serious suspension tuning can take place. The gates311.com site is the only one I'm aware of that is documenting the preparation of an Evo X for track use. It's not updated often enough for eager trackers like myself... but it is well worth following.   View and add comments: Trackback: Trackback Link and count:;[] Permalink for this post:  See similar posts in these categories: Mitsubishi Evo Search for similar posts on the web: Google It! RSS Feed for DrivingEnthusiast.net About DrivingEnthusiast.net
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