Tryx's Evo IX history, build and plans

Builds
1

Kinda long… cliff notes at the bottom.

Some history first. Some know it, some don’t. My Evo 9 had it’s first round of mods last year after I met Justin, JVG, and Adam and they helped me come up with an initial build, which consisted of:

Injen FMIC
Injen u/licp
Injen Intake
HKS 272 Exhaust Cam
Walbro 255lph Fuel Pump
Greddy 720 cc Denso Injectors
Greddy Catch Can
XS Mini Battery
Turbo XS TBE w/ Test Pipe
Ichiba Exhaust Manifold
TTP o2 Housing
Forge WGA
Forge DV
AEM Uego Wideband o2
AEM Tru Boost EBC
Justin McGrath tuned
Adam Hennessey built

Shortly after we put in an AEM Meth kit with a Snow Performance SafeInjection wastegate solenoid. Unfortunately when we finally got it on the dyno after Justin’s road tune, we found that it was spraying too much meth (using the large size jet). I decided to hold off on anything over the winter and to get it dyno tuned for the meth (medium jet) when it got warm. I was also having an issue with partial throttle bucking/ surging. While waiting to get in for a tune from Seth I switched the dv to a APS Dual Vent dv, and it totally cured my bucking issues. I also threw in some Buschur Racing shifter bushings and Mynes hood dampers.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a response back from Seth to set up an appt to dyno tune it for meth, so I decided to give CBRD in York, PA a shot. For those not familiar with CBRD they are a Evo/ STI specific shop that has tons of experience working with Evos, and are currently building a shop time attack Evo IX. Anyways, after talking with Chad we set up a date to do the tune, and I also decided to finally add a HKS 272 Intake cam while I was there.

The tune went pretty well, however Chad felt that I was missing about 25hp and tq. He recommended that when I got back home that I change out the spark plugs, change out the meth (the 50/50 meth mixture had been in my meth tank since last fall), search for a boost leak, and to run some logs after. Well I did all this, and did find a pretty bad boost leak. I sent the logs to him and he said that there is some room for more timing. At this point I am still waiting for him to send me the updated map.

Shortly after getting all this straightened out I decided to finally look into going with a bigger turbo. After talking with Chad once more we decided a 50 trim would be my best bet. Unfortunately after doing some research we found that for me to fit a 50 trim in there I would have to change out the intake, intercooler pipes, exhaust header, etc… I wasn’t too thrilled to be paying another 2k to upgrade parts I’ve already upgraded, so I decided to look into a stock appearing turbo from FP. It didn’t take long before I decided on the FP Red and placed my order for a ported Red with head studs from Buschur Racing. I also order a new O2 housing with a divorced dump from evopowermods.

So that’s where I am at now. Waiting for the turbo, O2 housing, and head studs to come in then I am heading back down to CBRD for install and retune.

Current mods (Updated 8/20/08, and format copied from Justin):

Intake
-Injen Intake

Exhaust

  • Ichiba Exhaust Manifold
  • Turbo XS 3" TBE w/ Test Pipe
  • EPM O2 Housing w/ divorced wastegate to atmosphere
  • Forge WGA

Chemical Intercooling

  • AEM Methanol Injection Kit
  • Snow Performance SafeInjection WG Solenoid
  • VP Race Fuels M1 (50/50)

Fuel

  • Walbro 255lph Fuel Pump
  • Greddy 720 cc Denso Injectors
  • Denso Iridium 1 step colder plugs

Engine

  • HKS 272 Cams
  • ARP Head Studs (Ordered)

Forced Induction

  • FP Evo Red (Ported) (Ordered)
  • Injen FMIC
  • Injen u/licp
  • APS Dual Vent DV

Monitoring

  • AEM Uego Wideband o2
  • AEM Tru Boost EBC
  • Autometer Steering Column 2 Pod Gauge Mount

Suspension

  • Blox Front Engine Roll Stopper

Misc.

  • Buschur Racing Shifter Bushings
  • Mynes Hood Dampers
  • 35% F/18% R window tint
  • Greddy Catch Can
  • XS Mini Battery
  • Perrin Shorty Antenna
  • Greddy High PSI Radiator Cap
  • CBRD Tuned

Planned for this winter:
Exedy Twin Disc Clutch w/stainless steel clutch lines
JDM Evo IX SE Front Lip

Future mods next spring/ summer:
Helix DNA Sport Coilovers
Whiteline Bump Steer Kit
Whiteline Front Roll-Center Adjustment Kit
Works Rear Adjustable Sway Bar
Works Rear Strut Tower Brace
Enkei RPF1 wheels

Cliff Notes: Evo IX with basic bolt-ons, cams, meth injection, CBRD tuned. Ordered FP Red stock appearing turbo, evopowermods O2 housing with totally divorced dump, and headstuds.

Some current pics

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/New%20Evo%20Pics/DSCN0923.jpg
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http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/New%20Evo%20Pics/DSCN0924.jpg
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http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/New%20Evo%20Pics/DSCN0925.jpg
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http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/New%20Evo%20Pics/DSCN0926.jpg
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http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/New%20Evo%20Pics/DSCN0927.jpg
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2

Mike glad to see you’re keeping the car! Talks of selling it in the past out the door…good!

Chads’ a good guy, he’ll do a good install for you. BTW…get you ass over here to the shop…the old MR is back and cooking up something real good this time around…you have until next Tues!! hahah!

3

I know Adam. Every single time I have planned to come down to the shop my wife either pulls out a last minute honey-do list or I have to watch the kids. This Friday if your gonna be there I can shoot down. I would love to see the old MR again.

4

Nice! That FP Red turbo has been making quite a stir on the evom forums, everyone seems to love it. Good luck with the build!

5

Clean looking evo :nod

6

Ya, you really can’t beat it as far as bang for your buck goes. I think it was $100 more than a green. The best part is that I can retain all the parts I currently have on the car. I can’t wait to see what it put’s down and to pair it up with the EPM O2 housing. It sounds just nasty dumping to atmosphere! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a68ZxzZxSo

Thanks. I’m not big on external mods, and try to keep it clean looking. I do plan on replacing the front lip since mine got scraped pretty bad one day going through a construction zone. Oh, and I am not fond of the stock rims either and the monster truck like appearance of the stock suspension, but that will come once all the other stuff is done and I leave the snowy winters. :nod

7

Here’s another pic. One of my favorite pics of my engine bay area. It was taken last fall at the Moon Dyno day by Bryan (4ADAM12).

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/Redhotmani.jpg

8

looks good mike let me know if I can help you out again with anything

9

:wow

nice car! do you plan on taking it to the track, or do you do some other sort of racing w/ it?

10

Thanks John. I forgot to mention 95% of the parts on my car were supplied by you. I have some plans for this winter, and will give ya a shout when I am ready to place an order.

Thanks! Unfortunately it hasn’t seen a track yet. I tried to make it down to LVD last year with Justin, but I never made it. This year I’m on a crazy schedule at work that leaves me like 1 Wednesday night a month free. Hopefully I can make it down soon to see how it does. Long term I want to do some SCCA or other track type events, but that probably won’t happen till we move and the suspension mods are done.

11

well good luck whatever you do… i’d like to see it run at valley!! let us know which wednesday you think you’ll head down.

12

Thank you. I’ll definitely let ya know when I plan to head down.

13

The new O2 housing came in yesterday.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/New%20Evo%20Pics/DSCN0928.jpg
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14

Ordered a BLOX Racing Front Engine Roll Stopper from Speed Element for $80 shipped. The install time was approx. 20 mins, and that was only because I took the whole undertray off. My initial impression from a short test drive was that there is a definite change in the engine sound at idle and a little bit while driving. It’s not a bad change, but just different, kind of a little deeper tone. There is more compartment vibration mostly felt at the steering wheel during idle. It’s not really bothersome (yet), but I certainly feel it. Most importantly was the smoothness felt while shifting.

The main reason I picked this up was the claims and reviews it was getting regarding how much better it was while shifting, and it didn’t disappoint. The only thing I really hated about my Evo since day one was how raw and notchy the shifting felt. Anyone that has driven an Evo knows exactly what I am talking about. Earlier in the year I switched to stiffer Buschur Racing shifter bushings (under hood) and that helped some, but this has made the biggest difference. Both during normal driving and under hard acceleration it shifts much smoother than before. It is definitely worth the trade off for a little bit of compartment vibration (my only negative at this point).

Speed Element claims: - Traction is greatly improved due to the significant reduction of front-to-back movements while the engine is under on/off throttle conditions; furthermore, it improves shifter feel and on/off throttle response.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/New%20Evo%20Pics/DSCN0929.jpg
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http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c249/mdwilcox/New%20Evo%20Pics/DSCN0930.jpg
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15

Exhaust header fried eggs… mmmm sounds good.

Well Adam (Boxersix) installed the EPM O2 housing today, and all I can say is, this is how the Evo should have came stock! The sound is best described as a primal scream. Like a a 600lb Belgium Tiger roar seconds before unleashing total carnage. My initial reaction was something like 15 secs of silence, while smiling ear to ear. O2 housings w/ divorced wastegate dumps to atmosphere FTW!!!

Thanks again Adam for the custom work to the dump tube, relentlessly trying to straighten out the craptastic Forge WGA, and helping with the mini meth flood in my trunk.

I think tomorrow I am gonna ride around going WOT scaring the women and children! :mwahaha

16

Hey, not a problem Mike. Always a good time working on that car. Definitely get that Forge actuator out of their when you get a chance(remove the fan like I mentioned). It’s just stressed and relaxing too much causing a relief in preload tension on the flapper valve.

Oh and having the pump empty 1 gallon 66% meth mix into the spare tire well is always interesting, especially knocking out the drain plug and rolling out from under the car in a dash to avoid getting soaked. Good times!

I’m looking to probably have some kind of meet up here mid fall. Evo’s, BMW’s, and Porsches, oh and the occasional Suby or two. Joe Berlino came and picked up his MR tonight(and had a shit eating grin ear to ear after the initial drive I might say :wink: ) and he is most certainly going to make the trip to come out. BBQ food, beer, and a fire…what else can you ask for I must say!!! I’ll get the details to you soon.

-Adam

17

Party in the woods! Woohoo! Tell Joe I’m stealing my car back :nod

18

I got the hookup for kegs if need be… FU NY and your $50 keg deposit :mwahaha

mike, this thread has kicked my ass into gear again, thanks! time to order more stuff!

19

:wow :ohnoes

It’s like… you want to touch it 'cause it’s glowing, but you know it’s just a terrible idea.
Also, I obviously have the mentality of a three year old.

Want to order some stuff for me while you’re at it? :nod

20

if you will frequently purchase kegs and have no problem driving to waterford (next to cohoes) then I’d introduce you to the guys that hook me up.

picked up a keg last night and will be picking up another on monday, they like me there :slight_smile: