After 2 years locked away in storage… The EvolutionM Project Evo is out and ready to play once again. Stay tuned for the article…

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• Video: EvolutionM Project Evo @ VIR (October 2006)

Contributing: Matt Freeman

The Beatrush under-panel was in our Install bin for way too long, and now that we finally have it on our project Evo, we regret having not put it on earlier. The car was suffering from front-end lift at the last VIR driving school event. The stock under-panel has been off for some time now because we grew tired of removing it every time we get the evo strapped to the dyno.

A while back, we ran the car at Summit Point Raceway with and without the stock piece in place to make sure that there wasn’t any noticeable aerodynamic difference. The mistake we made was running the test when the car was completely stock. Now that the project car has a lot more power, a significantly stiffer suspension, and wider stickier tires, it became increasingly obvious that we made the wrong choice in ditching the under-panel and we’ve regretted it since, until now.

Instead of refitting the stock piece, Kami Speed had a solution for us: Beatrush’s under-panel. The under-panel is lightweight, features more aerodynamic efficiency, and promotes more down-force than the stock unit. Installation was the only tricky part because of the multiple screws, bolts, aero pieces, and instructions only in Japanese. However, everything slowly came together with a bit of trial and error. The best feature of the under-panel is that once it’s on, it’s not only easy to take it off, but there is also a removable hatch that offers easy access to the front tow hook for dyno pulls.

Once the panel was all bolted up, it was time to perform a road test. The highway was the only public area we could perform an immediate test of this modification at higher speeds. We couldn’t legally get going fast enough to show the true potential of this product. At 65mph, the road noise did seem slightly reduced, and lane changes felt a bit more precise.

As soon as we got the car on the track, the Beatrush under-panel really showed its race function and design. At higher speeds the car’s nose felt planted and the lift was eliminated. The new modification instilled the confidence to take the project car hurdling down the straights at a higher rate of speed. This as well as the decreased lift and consequently increased cornering ability ultimately shaved down our lap times.

To be fair, we had to ask ourselves if the under-panel really provided all these changes we were experiencing on track. To test the effectiveness of the panel, we decided to do one session with the panel on and one without. During the first session we were able to pull a best lap time of 1:29 (Summit Point Main Track). For the next run, we put the panel back on and ran the car. Best lap time out of the second session was 1.26. (Keep in mind that during these sessions, that there are other cars out on the track (traffic), which can obviously affect lap times.) Three seconds is a very substantial improvement and considering other factors we could safely say that the panel decreased lap times by one or maybe two seconds. The biggest source of improvement was the increase in straight-line speed, which was 15 mph faster than without the panel.

The Beatrush under-panel is well worth your money if you are having issues with front end lift. It also looks better then stock and allows for much easier dyno setup, so if you want form, function, and time savings then this is a great mod to get.

Gallery:

Special Thanks:

See similar:

Other Posts That May Interest You:

• Beatrush Explosion
• Two Part Install AEM Serial Gauge & DC Sports Turbo Manifold
• Project Evo: Tanabe Sustec & TEAS Review
• 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS
• GSC S1 Cam Review

Contributing: Matt Freeman

Welcome to round two of our Lancer review. This time we’re playing with the new Mitsubishi Lancer GTS. The test car came fully loaded and was ours for a whole week. Be sure that we took all opportunities to push every button, kick the tires, and make sure that the GTS met and exceeded expectations.

First Impressions

The striking blue color of the GTS is reason enough to love this car, but if the review stopped there it wouldn’t be very convincing. The sporty rear wing, beefier front end, larger alloy wheels, and sportier suspension all play a crucial role in giving the GTS its appeal. The styling is aggressive but surely toned down from its bully sibling, the upcoming Lancer Evolution.

An important point to note is that most cars in this price segment come from the factory with a few notable exterior styling flaws. Whether it’s ugly amber lights or a spoiler that’s simply out of place, enthusiasts in this market often change these small details soon after purchase. As far as we’re concerned the Lancer GTS doesn’t fall into that category, and this step can be easily omitted.

The interior of the GTS gets even better. The clean styling of the aluminum accented dash is a phenomenal improvement over the previous lancer models. Our car was equipped with a navigation system, which is integrated with the impressive Rockford Fosgate sound system. Also included with the Nav package is a 30 gigabyte hard-drive that facilitates the storage of around 1200 songs. If you’re a technology junky and don’t think that’s enough, add an Aux input for an iPod or other mp3 player, a SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and Bluetooth compatibility to complete the lineup of cutting edge features.

Mitsubishi’s dedication to contemporary technology matches its commitment to safety. Standard Anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, a fully redesigned and reinforced chassis, a pedestrian crumple zone, and seven airbags help the driver to keep the car in control and offer modern protection in the case of an accident.

For peace of mind the GTS comes with Mitsubishi’s 5 year/60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. All this and more makes the car a bargain that can be had for somewhere in the low $20,000 range.

Driving Impressions

After driving the ES our GTS test-car felt more disconnected from the road. This is simple to explain. Unfortunately, the GTS was equipped with a CVT transmission. Most customers will find that the CVT doesn’t belong in this car. Still, those in the market for an automatic with a manual shift mode should look no farther as the CVT more than adequately fills that role. However, if you are looking for a better driving experience and prefer three pedals to two, then do yourself a favor and opt for the 5-speed manual. That being said, the CVT was very smooth and quite comfortable around town or on the throughway. The CVT’s Manual mode is fun to play with especially when using the paddle shifters, but can make driving feel more like a video game than most people would appreciate.

When busy running errands, the car preformed without a hitch. There’s plenty of room to store most items, we found no annoying day to day quirks, and the gas mileage is awesome (33 miles per gallon average). Especially in traffic you’ll never find yourself saying, “I can’t find any good music.” The aforementioned AM/FM Radio, CD player, Aux/iPod input and SIRIUS subscription offer a truly staggering array of acoustic options.

Getting five adults in the modestly sized Lancer isn’t a gymnastics routine and all passengers reported being quite comfortable. Power was readily available from the 2.0 liter, 152 hp MIVEC engine. Highway driving was smooth as mentioned before in our ES review, and the car was composed at all speeds, feeling more Autobahn ready than other similarly priced Japanese cars. Handling characteristics were clean and precise. While the ES model had noticeable body roll, the GTS’s sportier suspension and tire setup helped make it much more stable and controlled. Still, it was not so firm as to be considered harsh over rougher portions of road.

Conclusion

There isn’t much more to do or say then give the usual praise given for a car that exceeds our expectations. The price is fair and the GTS is by far the best version in the current model line up. Choose a manual or CVT wisely, and enjoy great standard features while picking from phenomenal options. Overall the Lancer GTS was fun car to drive for a week and if this is any hint of what to expect from the Evolution X, then Evo fanatics get on that waiting list!

Gallery:

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Other Posts That May Interest You:

• Test Drive: 2008 Lancer ES
• Beatrush Under-Panel
• GSC S1 Cam Review
• Two Part Install AEM Serial Gauge & DC Sports Turbo Manifold
• Project Evo: Tanabe Sustec & TEAS Review

One phrase can best describe the feeling of driving our Evo with these new cams, “holy mid range power!!” After the first pull, that look of shock was running down my face. I couldn’t believe that a set of cams made that much of a difference. But before we get into this review any further, I do feel a brief history about our older setup (before the S1 cams) will give everyone an understanding of what I’m comparing the S1 cams to.

Old Setup
Our Project Evo was running a set of HKS 272 intake and 272 exhaust cams with a set of Vishnu Cam Gears. This setup was matched with a Stock Valve Train, 10.5 hotside stock turbo, ported O2 housing, DC Sports Turbo Manifold, Vishnu Turbo Back Exhaust, XS Engineering Hard Pipe Intercooler Kit, Injen Intake w/ MAF, manual boost controller, and stock ECU. The car was tuned for 22psi (peak) on 93 octane and an additional map for 24-25psi on 100 octane. With this setup it felt like I needed to push the car towards the upper rpm band to get the most power out of it. It was a really nice setup and perfectly fine for driving at weekend track events. Driving the car on the street did get a little annoying because it needed to be pushed towards the upper rpm level to get it to move.

New Setup
The following is our new setup: GSC S1 cams, Stock Cam Gears, Stock Valve Train, 10.5 hotside Stock Turbo, Ported O2 Housing, DC Sports Manifold, AMS Turbo Back Exhaust, AMS Front Mount Intercooler, AMS Intake w/ MAF, AMS Hard Pipe Intercooler Kit, AquaMist Water Injection Kit, manual boost controller, and stock ECU. AMS tuned the car and was able to provide us with two maps. The first map was for 21psi on 93 octane and the second map was for the water injection kit (27psi with 93 octane and Water Injection).

Now that we have a basis for what was on the car before and what is on the car now, the review can continue….

To be fair, the comparison was done WITHOUT WATER INJECTION. Since it wasn’t on the car before, there’s really no need to use it as a basis for this review. The decision was made to go with the 93 octane map with 21 pounds of boost and compare that to our older setup (93 octane with 22 pounds of boost). We put the car through a series of tests:

• Drove the car around the streets (city driving mostly)
• Put the car on the highway (all highway driving)
• Ran the car through a weekend at the track

It was absolutely necessary to make sure the car was able to perform in each of these areas. $30,000 is a lot to spend on a car that sits in the garage only, so if this new setup was the right compromise for street and track use then we wanted to know for sure.

About The Cams
First let’s get down to the specs:

**It’s important to note that both manufactures don’t require you to upgrade your valve trains in order to run either sets of cams.

As you can see looking at the initial specs HKS has a more aggressive Intake cam lift compared to GSC; however, the S1 cams have a more aggressive Exhaust lift. Also with the shorter cam duration, we now can see where the S1 is coming up with all this mid range power.

Dyno Graph

Driving Impressions
Street
The street test was important for this review. We wanted to see what the differences were between the two setups when it came to idle conditions, cruising, etc. Right off the bat there is noticeable difference between both setups when the car is sitting at idle. The 272 HKS package had a more lopey idle versus the more subdued S1 package. To tell you the truth I do miss that “muscle car” feeling with the previous package but once I sat behind the wheel the sorrow was soon forgotten. Something as simple as driving the car around the city really showed the cams were different. Boost seemed to come on sooner and a little stronger then before. With the HKS setup I would start seeing some boost (around 4psi or so) right before I switched through to the next gear; however, with the S1’s boost came on earlier and held longer before the shift (closer to 8psi).

Highway impressions also showed signs of improvement. This was more apparent when entering the freeway in 3rd gear. As soon as there was a clearing on the exit, BOOM, full boost! To say the very least it freaked me out. Didn’t expect boost to come on that quick! Cruising on the highway felt the same as it did before. Only when overtaking another car did the rush of power come back. After that, it was like an addiction. I needed that rush again, time for the track.

Track
Finally track weekend, time to really see what this new setup can do. The track used for this test was Summit Point Raceway (main track). My lap times before on this track were nothing special. Usually I would come in around 1.29 as the best for the weekend (full interior and ac, etc,). This time I wasn’t expecting that much improvement considering the weather was a little colder then the last time. Boy was I wrong. Getting some practice sessions done early in the morning, I really had some trouble fine tuning the boost to stay at or under 22psi on the 93 octane map (manual boost controller). Not wanting to risk an overboost situation I decided to just turn down the boost some more. With a little trial and error the boost stayed down to 19psi (consistently) with a slight overboost at 20 – 21psi. As the weather got warmer the boost stayed at 20psi peak. Once the car was finally setup, it was time to have some fun.

After the first two warm laps, I finally started to get on the gas. Turn 1 was approaching; I turned in, got on the gas, and….. “holy midrange power!!” (sorry had to say it again.). This thing was using its claws to pull itself out of every turn. I was in disbelief. Normally I would be in a lower gear going through some of the turns at Summit, put with all the mid range power, I decided to leave it in a higher gear. Turns were approached at 3700 rpm (roughly) and boost would come before the apex which allowed me to step on the gas more. The end result was a faster overall speed coming out of each turn. The other benefit was the amount times I didn’t have to shift, which shaved more time. In the end my best lap time came in at 1.26. Definitely much better then the last time. Call it better driving, but I would like to think that the new setup allowed me to reduce the amount of things that cost me more time before. The other thing to remember is the car was running less boost then it did before. This new package just seemed like it perfectly matched our setup and allowed me to get more useable power out of it.

Conclusion
In the quest for more horsepower, the one thing to remember is bigger numbers on paper, don’t necessarily equal the most horsepower or the fastest car. The one thing we learned with this review is if you match parts with the setup you currently have, a balance of power and drivability will occur. The S1’s for us was a perfect piece to our setup because it seemed to match with the stock turbo and all the other mods we had on the car. It ultimately gave us more useable horsepower/torque and more ammo to make that Z06 owner at the track feel less adequate.

Video:

Special Thanks:

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Take Beatrush’s Floor Performance Bar, Front Performance Bar, Front Member Support Bars, Driveshaft bushings, install all of these items on a Evo, and what do you get? The answer is simple: a more nimble Evo looking to instantly respond to your every command. I know, saying that car will respond to your every command sounds a little over the top, but it’s the best way I could describe the feeling of driving this car with all these items installed. Don’t get me wrong, the Evo is a great car to being with, but sometimes the little things can enhance the car’s ability to perform better then before.

After our last track event at VIR, the topic of chassis stiffening came up with our paddock buddies. Wondering if small enhancements could make a difference to the handling characteristics of the car, we decided to contemplate what little items were needed to accomplish our goal for a better time.

It was now time to do some research to find the best chassis modifications that would fit my needs and save my wallet from losing weight. With a little help from Kami Speed, the decision to go with Beatrush’s floor performance bar, front performance bar, and front member support bars was the most logical. With so many Beatrush items I was ordering, throwing in a set of driveshaft bushings to complete the Beatrush experience was a no brainer.

First Impressions:
A picture is worth a 1000 words so instead of describing the quality of each part, I’ll just show you:

Floor Performance Bar:

Front Performance Bar:

Front Member Support Bars:

Conclusion
Driving the car on the street, I did notice a difference in the chassis. Going over bumps and dips in the road brought out a different reaction that wasn’t experienced before. The car felt a tad bit more solid and stable then it did previously. Obviously the car wasn’t pushed to its limit on the street, but you could still get a feel for what was going on. The results were not a dramatic improvement and shouldn’t be expected, especially on the street. The track will be the only place to figure out if the new parts are improving the car’s performance. With that said, all of these parts should help improve the overall feel for the car and also improve the look of your car (if you’re into that kind of thing). Anyone attending autox’s, HPDE’s, or Drag events should consider a combination or all of the parts I went with to see if your times improve. Stay tuned for a follow up article after a weekend beating at the track.

Special Thanks:

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• Test Drive: 2008 Lancer ES

You can’t always judge a book by its cover
Does the newly redesigned 08 Lancer really live up to the hype? Well for under $20k, you get a lot of car for a small price tag. At first glance, you get thrown back a little with the new design. Of course with anything new, there’s a certain amount of time needed to get used to everything. In this case though, the new design equals a much better car. With a more aggressive styling and loaded with features normally carried by luxury cars, the new 08 Lancer is a sure bet when it comes to compact sedans.

A side by side comparison of the old car with the new shows the heavy improvements Mitsubishi effectively carried out with the 08 model. So much so, that the all new Lancer seems to have effectively moved itself into a new higher class and as a result, the pricing has also increased with it.

First starting out with the interior, you can definitely see that Mitsubishi threw every little nifty gadget they could come up with at this car. Stereo controls on the steering wheel, cell phone integration via Bluetooth technology, satellite radio hookup, RDS technology for the radio, command center of information (outside temperature, mpg, range, tire pressure monitor etc.) located in the gauge cluster and the list goes on. The seats also show improvements with improved fabric and more adjustability for seat position. Leg room front and rear is surprisingly good even for full grown adults. Taking a glance at the dash, you will notice the radio is well integrated maintaining a smooth appearance, which may be a bad thing for anyone looking go aftermarket. Although for a stock stereo, sound quality isn’t bad at all. The stock stereo includes a 140watt 6 speakers system with a 6 disc in dash CD/MP3 player. An upgraded 650 watt Rockfort Fostgate stereo with integrated subwoofer is also available. The center console offers sufficient amount of storage between the front pocket and arm rest cubby. The under arm rest storage bin measures 7 ½ inch wide and 4 ½ inch deep while the front pocket under the climate control measures about 7” across and plenty deep. If you decide on using the entire center console for gauges, control boxes, or anything else aftermarket, you won’t have to worry about losing cup holders. Mitsubishi actually put cup holders in the side storage pockets on the door and two more for the rear seat for a grand total of 6! I guess they thought people get very thirsty and need multiple drinks to quench it. Going back towards the rear of the car, the trunk/boot offers more space to hold a sub along with a few pieces of luggage. For that extra long luggage, the rear seat features a 60/40 split fold down seat back. The most notable feature of the interior is the improved fit and finish, proving that the 08 Lancer belongs in a higher class level.

Safety has been dramatically improved with 7 airbags and the first Mitsubishi auto with a knee airbag. Combine this with ABS and EBD (electronic brake distribution) and Mitsubishi’s next-generation Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE) unibody design (disperses energy loads during side and rear crashes and controls distortion, enhancing occupant protection and also helping to protect the fuel system during a rear impact), the newer model will definitely appeal to the more safety minded consumer. This new chassis also has an added benefit of being stiffer than the previous model Evolution with 56 percent more torsional rigidity. While this does come at the cost of about an extra 200lbs, compared to the last Lancer, it translates into a more stable ride with better handling characteristics.

The first thing that pops out looking at the 2008 Lancer is the more aggressive shark like nose for a front end. It definitely takes some to get used to especially coming from a more rounded front end we saw on the previous model, however most will agree that this is an improvement Compared to the previous model, the new Lancer is shorter with an increased wheelbase of 1.4” and track width of 2.3”.

Wanting to do something different when it came to car review, we decided to put the car on a lift to really expose all the technical bits the car had to offer. Right away, we noticed the new rear sway bar was added to help stabilize body roll, previously only offered on the Evolution, OZ, and Ralliart models. The rest of the suspension was fairly typical of the previous model with the exception of the unusually long front sway bar link. One thing that really puzzled us was the continued use of rear drum brakes. With all the improvements made to this car, it would have been nice to see 4 wheel disc brakes (Disc brakes do however come standard on the GTS model). The 16” aluminum wheels on the ES model are lighter and larger compared to what was available before further adding to the long list of improvements.

Popping the hood, you will find the heart of the new Lancer and Evolution, the 4B11 power plant. This is a 2.0L MIVEC all aluminum 4 cylinder with the now more common forward facing intake manifold. The new MIVEC system now includes variable intake and exhaust cam timing for increased torque. While the engine is rated at 152bhp, we were able to measure 142hp/143tq at the wheels on a Dynomite dynometer showing that this number may be slightly underrated. After removing the plastic covers, you can see the new individual coil packs that should also transfer to the Evolution model. Our investigating also showed a considerable amount of room toward the rear of the engine bay should anyone get the idea to slap on a turbo.

Driving Impressions:

Stability sums up the overall feel for the 08 Lancer. The new chassis, suspension design, and longer wheelbase/increased track give the car a more European feel. Corning ability was very flat and progressive. It felt very well balanced and did not fidget. The overall ride dynamic seems more characteristic of a sports sedan rather than an economy commuter. A couple of gripes that came up were with the drive-by-wire throttle and the slightly numb steering. Both contributed to removing the feel for driving this car. Although it wasn’t a major issue and it’s something you can get used with time. Driving around town, the car performed very well. Trying to over take another car will require revving the motor past 3500 where the 4B11 quickly comes into its own. Some will find this lack of low end grunt annoying but to us, the free revving high end pull made it quite entertaining. 0-60 testing showed a respectable 7.65 best time with medium wheel spin, proving that the 152hp/3100lb combination may be stronger then advertised. Our ¼ mile estimate fall in the high 14 second range (we were unable to officially test this). At highway speeds, nothing seemed to “fall apart” compared to some cars in its class. Numerous times we found ourselves in the far left lane wondering why traffic was moving so slow only to look down at the speedo and noticing the mph needle pointing at a much higher speed then the limit allowed.

Despite the rear drum brakes, we found the brake feel and strength to be exceptional with little to no fade and good modulation stopping from 60mph. The gear box felt smooth and precise with a medium throw. This was matched with a feather light clutch that was easy to engage in traffic but seemed to lack clamping force on hard launches.

With gas prices climbing, this car was refreshing to drive around without having to worry about filling up every other day. Averaging at 30mpg under normal conditions and 24-26mpg under “spirited” driving conditions, the Lancer would help ease the loss of green from your wallet.

With the introduction of the new Lancer and Outlander models, Mitsubishi has apparently turned a new leaf. If this is a sign for how they will be evolving for the future, then hold onto your seats folks. As the basis for the other Lancer models (including the EvoX), the 2008 Lancer ES not only showed that it can perform better then the older models, but the overall quality, performance, and features of this car has gone up to a higher class then its predecessor. If I were Subaru, it may be time to go back to the drawing board.

Dyno Graph:

Gallery:

See similar:

Other Posts That May Interest You:

• 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS
• Beatrush Under-Panel
• GSC S1 Cam Review
• Two Part Install AEM Serial Gauge & DC Sports Turbo Manifold
• Project Evo: Tanabe Sustec & TEAS Review

*** This review will be great for anyone running an AEM EMS and a stock turbo in their EVO.

In this edition of our Project Evo part install review, we look at two products:

AEM Serial Gauge
DC Sport Turbo Manifold

We’ve got two items to add to your list so brush the dust off that credit card and get ready to burn it up again!

What Are The Benefits?
This is an important question. There have been countless times where consumers are trapped into thinking a certain part will give them the magic result they’ve been looking for. Later to find out (after that hard earned dollar was spent) that the product failed to produce that magic result. So for this part review, let’s focus on the facts and see if both of these products will serve their purposes and not disappoint us later. Since this is a review for two separate parts, we’ll highlight the benefits of each part separately:

AEM Serial Gauge – In our opinion this product has been a missing piece to the EMS puzzle. If you’re like most of the self-taught EMS tuners out there, taking your laptop out to tune is part of the job requirements. Running data logs and making changes based on the data collected is common practice. This set up was great when you’re out specifically tuning. Now what happens when the tuning sessions are over? All that’s left is basic maintenance and monitoring. At this point the hard part is over and it’s time to enjoy the car. This is where the laptop can get in the way, especially if you start taking passengers with you. In comes the AEM Serial Gauge to the rescue.

The AEM Serial Gauge can be your eyes without having to run the laptop. Imagine having a gauge that reads your knock readings? How about monitoring your IAT readings? It can be done with this gauge. There are a few things that we really liked about this gauge that should be pointed out:

1. The ability to daisy chain more gauges to read different parameters (you can read up to 19 different parameters simultaneously)
2. Easy installation
3. User programmable
4. We can read parameters that other gauges can’t read.

Rather then list every specific detail about the product. You can find the details here: click here

DC Sports Turbo Manifold – Our first impression with the manifold wasn’t the best. We were a little skeptical about its ability to produce any significant gains (over stock) to make it a worthwhile mod. On the other hand, the build quality on the manifold is pretty nice and who can resist not seeing a manifold like this under the hood of their Evo. The stock manifold isn’t the prettiest, but it works very well (especially when ported.). So what are the benefits of running this manifold over stock? We were looking to get better throttle response, as well as, better mid to high range power. This should benefit anyone who attends HPDE’s, Autox’s, Drag strip events or any other motorsport event. The throttle response and the higher mid to high range power should help improve overall times.

More info can be found here: click here

Installation
Manifold: The manifold install was pretty straight forward. Make sure you have a long padded (using rags) crowbar, a new manifold gasket, and a new turbo gasket. The following are the steps needed to install the manifold (remember to disconnect the battery cables from the battery. It’s not necessary but it doesn’t hurt to be safe):

1. Remove stock heat shield from stock manifold.
2. Remove the 4 (12mm) nuts and 2 (14mm) nuts connecting the manifold to the block
3. The next step is to remove the 2 bolts and 2 nuts connecting the manifold to the turbo.
4. This step is pretty tricky and you must be careful when doing this step. A crowbar padded with towels will be needed. You may need a friend to help you out. Slide the padded crowbar in between the block and the turbo in order to wedge it. Be careful that there aren’t any hard lines in your way. Also don’t use a lot of muscle when pulling back.
5. Have one person pull back on the crowbar in order to pull the manifold off the block.
6. Once the manifold has cleared the block studs, lift the manifold up off of the turbo. Now release the pressure on the turbo, returning it back to its original location.
7. Next you should remove both the manifold gasket and turbo gasket with new replacements.
8. With the same crowbar, pull the turbo back again and position the base of the new manifold onto the turbo.
9. Line up the manifold in order for it to slip onto the block studs and slowly release the turbo back to its original location.
10. At this point the manifold should be aligned and ready to bolt on. Make sure to put the nuts on areas of the manifold that have close clearances before you completely bolt everything on. You need some room to move the manifold around slightly in order to get everything on.
11. Last step is to bolt everything in. Make sure everything is tight to insure there aren’t any leaks.

Remember, you will get the best results if you have the car retuned for this mod. Contact your original tuner for more information.

Serial Gauge: This gauge will probably be the easiest gauge you will ever install. The steps are very simple and should be easy to follow (the gauge comes with a set of instructions as well):

1. Remove battery cables off of the battery. * This step must be done before anything else.
2. Find a location for the gauge. We used a gauge pod that fits on the steering wheel column.
3. Make sure to locate the 8 pin single row located behind the gauge.
4. Next connect the 8 pin cable to the back of the gauge.
5. The next step requires a switched 12v source to tap into and an area for a ground. We used the same power source that our turbo timer was using.
6. Tap the red wire to the 12v source and ground the other wire.
7. Next plug the flying lead to the harness connected to the gauge.
8. Run the wire behind the dash in order to hide it from sight.
9. Connect the DB9 portion on the flying lead to the serial output on the EMS.
10. Make sure all connections are secure. Then disconnect the DB9 connection from the EMS.
11. Connect battery cables back onto the battery
12. Turn the key to the “On” position and make sure the gauge turns on.
13. Open AEM Pro and connect to the EMS. Wait for the EMS to finish downloading.
14. Click on “VIEW” and select the telemetry wizard from the wizards drop down menu. In the telemetry wizard, left click on “AEM Serial Datastream Gauge: and click OK.
15. Close AEM Pro, connect the serial gauge to the EMS, and cycle power to the EMS. The EMS is now configured to output data to the gauge.

Overall Impressions

Street: AEM Serial Gauge: Driving around with this gauge is not dramatically different than driving around with a normal gauge. As a test run we decided to setup the gauge to read knock. The gauge’s max limit was set low to test out the warning function as well. Overall everything works pretty nicely and depending on where you position the gauge, the led’s and digital read out are easy to read compared to a traditional gauge. If there’s a problem, it will definitely catch your eye. (** Special item to note, in the pictures you will notice that we installed the gauge on the steering column).

Street: DC Sports Turbo Manifold: We couldn’t really tell if there were any significant changes until we opened up the throttle. As we laid down the throttle you could feel the slight power difference as you start climbing through the rpms. The turbo seemed to spool up faster and throttle response also seemed to improve. Not wanting to drive recklessly on the street we decided to back off and take it to the track. Driving normally you can’t really tell a difference between the stock manifold and this one. The one thing we did notice was the audible differences between the two manifolds; the DC sports manifold was noticeably louder.

Track (road circuit): AEM Serial Gauge: During the Evo Tuner Shoot Out we were able to get a few laps in to see if the gauge was easy to read while on track. We ran the same test as we did on the street and used the gauge to read knock. We also set the max limits lower to make sure the warning led’s would catch our eye. Each lap we went through, no matter how intense the driving situations were, the gauge was easy to see. In some cases we didn’t need to see the actual numbers, just the red warning lights. Overall it’s a good setup that can be used in track and street conditions. (** Special item to note, in the pictures you will notice that we installed the gauge on the steering column).

Track (road circuit): DC Sport Turbo Manifold: This is where the product showed it’s true potential. We effectively got what we wanted, more mid to high range power, faster throttle response, and an extra benefit: FASTER SPOOL UP. The engine note sounded wonderful with the new manifold. The car felt very alive and ready to take any corner with everything it had. At some corners, we were caught off guard with the power coming in a little too hard. Overall the project car turned into a different animal on the track. It felt like the horsepower was there all along, but it needed a way to come out. Unfortunately we couldn’t provide time improvements because we ran the car with the stock manifold at a different track. We will be taking the car to the original testing ground in order to get actual time improvements. Based on our calculations; however, the car should be able to pick up another second with the current setup.

Conclusion
With any part review, we try to provide you with as much info as we can. In our opinion both parts worked very well for our application. Both parts performed very well on the track and street. One thing we do need to emphasize is you should have the care retuned after the manifold is installed. You will not feel a noticeable difference if you don’t retune.

As a consumer you should use this review as a starting point to figure out if these products are right for your application. If you are looking for the same results we were, then look no further.

Special Thanks:

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As many of you already know, when you start on a path of modification sometimes it’s difficult to figure out when to stop modifying your car. You initially set up a goal in order to give yourself a sense of accomplishment. The funny thing is when you reach the top of the mountain; you end up saying to yourself “Can I do more?” Everyone knows the downward spiral from here. You immediately start thinking about the possibilities, which start to brainwash you. You convince yourself that your car is boring and you need a change. At this point this is where you end up in a “fork in the road” type of situation. Should I start a new project or shouldn’t I?

You immediately start to rationalize and think back to the pain and struggle you went through to get the car to its initial goal. Thinking to yourself, “That downtime wasn’t too bad”. Well now you know how we felt when we got a chance to try out Tanabe’s new set of Sustec Pro Seven suspension and the TEAS unit to go along with it. We wanted change and this setup could help us with that change.

Before we received the suspension I started to research the set up through the site and any other resource I could find. The list of features the suspension had to offer was very attractive. I immediately looked for the spring rates to see what I was going to be dealing with: 12kg in the front and 10kg in the rear. Pretty high rates but Tanabe claimed that this set up could be used for various driving environments (street and competition), which is very appealing. I wanted to find out for myself.

Installation
After a week of waiting, the UPS man came with the goods. After tearing the box, I could see four nicely packaged coilovers. I had to get these on the car! I immediately got the car on the lift and started the install.

Installation was very simple for the suspension and was completed in less then 2 hours (I love air tools!). The TEAS installation was also an easy install and took us about an hour or so to install. We did spend a little extra time making sure that everything was torque’d down correctly so we wouldn’t run into issues later. After the final inspection, the car came off the lift and was sent out for the initial test drive.

Product Build
We usually don’t talk too much about the build quality on some of the parts we review, so I figured I would take the opportunity to do so with the Teas and Sustec pro. The overall construction of the Sustec pro is pretty nice. The welds look strong and overall appearance looks very good. The hardware (camber plates, height adjustments, etc) were very well constructed as well.

With the Teas, the overall build is very basic and simple (small and light), which is what I prefer when it comes to electronic control boxes. The unit is small enough to fit it most places of the car, so mounting solutions shouldn’t be too difficult.

Initial Driving Impressions (Street Only and the car was not dialed in)
This initial drive wasn’t to test out the handling characteristics of the car, but more so to play with the TEAS. I initially set the damper setting to 1 (front and rear). Driving around with this setting was interesting. The setting was very soft and many of you who like a firm setup will not like this setting. I had to turn the dial up. The next damper setting I went to was 5 (front and rear). Finally we are getting somewhere! The ride was firmer then the previous setting. This setting was a good compromise for the street, firm but not so much that your head gets knocked around.

Finally I decided to see how far we could take this. I tried 10 (front and rear) and 16(front and rear). Wow what a difference. Definitely something I wouldn’t leave set especially for the street. My body was bouncing around like a rock in a can. I have to admit though it was pretty fun to drive the car in the stiff setting because it made the car feel very responsive and minimized body roll.

After an hour or so of parading around town, I decided to get the car dialed in to see how the setup truly feels.

Part 2 – Driving Impression (Street Only with the car dialed in)
Now that the car was dialed in, it was time to find out the car’s road handling characteristics and to really use the TEAS to its full potential (speed sensitive dampener controlling). The impressive thing about the TEAS active mode is you can also preprogram the unit to specifically set the dampener settings on the suspension based on a specific speed (as slow as 5mph).

TEAS Impression
The only other car I’ve ever been in to have some type of automatic dampener control has been the MB E55 AMG, but without the speed sensor option. I felt that this feature would be great on an Evo especially for owners who don’t want the full “Race” setup all the time and would prefer a way to adjust stiffness settings whenever they feel like.

The best place to test the TEAS was on the highway and some of the back twisty roads that most of you are familiar with. The first test was the highway. I set the TEAS to active mode and got on the on-ramp of the highway. The TEAS immediately started to tighten things up during my trip on the on-ramp. Once I merged onto the highway, I gave it a little gas and it continued to tighten things up. Very cool! The next test was driving the car on some twisty back roads.

As I did in the previous highway test, I set the TEAS in active mode and headed out on the back road. The TEAS did its job of stiffening the suspension to accommodate the driving, but there was a big difference between this test and the highway. Highway speeds are always consistent, whereas, other forms of driving where not. Tuning the TEAS was necessary in order to get the right dampener setting for this type driving.

After playing around for about an hour, I finally programmed a setup I liked. The car was crisp and in control.

In Conclusion
Overall I have to say that Tanabe’s Sustec Pro Seven and TEAS is a fairly good package all together. It can be overwhelming at first because of the many different features you can play around with, but once you figure it out it can be a blast to drive around in. As I said before, the one thing I liked about this set up is its ability to accommodate a wide range of driving environments. You also have an option to fine tune your settings and save them as preprogrammed options. Great for the daily commuter and weekend track monkey. All you need is a little patience to get the setup tuned right for your needs and some gas money. Stay tuned for part 2 when we take the car to the track.

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(Check out my video clips for this article here: CLICK TO WATCH VIDEOS)
I know, not your typical part review, but I wanted to try something new. It’s always nice to see something different and out of the normal routine. This is the first part of what will be many more articles to come about my personal path to obtain my license in order to enter into NASA Time Attack series. The car of choice is the project evo, obviously. With all the part reviews we do with this car, it has everything needed to be a good track car and a serious competitor. By running this car through each HPDE weekend also opens the door to follow up articles on how some of the modifications on the car hold up after a solid HPDE season.

So now let’s start from the beginning. Why am I doing this? This was a dream of mine since I was 8 years old. With the near death experience I went through that ultimately took Mark’s life, I decided that now would be the best time to pursue some dreams of mine. I have the car, so now all I need is the experience behind the wheel. With any project, I always like to plan out what my path will be and try to stick to it the best I can. This project isn’t going to be easy and will be challenging at times, but in the end I think it will be worth it.

What’s the first step? Well there are many choices to make before you get into this. The first and most critical decision is to decide which driving school program to go with. I wanted to go with a driving school that carried a big reputation for having one of the best instructor staff and was able to hold a fair amount of track events in a season. The other nice thing is to have these events at tracks that are close by and easy to get to. I’m sure you’re thinking “why not stick with NASA?”. NASA has a good driving program, however, they are a regional sanction and have events at tracks that may be too far to attend. I wanted to stick with one school as much as I could in order to get consistent instruction (or close to it). Once I get to a more advanced level, I will then go through the NASA ranks to obtain my license. So in the end, the program I decided to go was the one at Car Guys. They’ve been around since the late 80’s and carry the experience that will help improve my ability as a driver. The company owner, Aryan, is a phenomenal driver (One ride along with him in his Z3 and you’ll understand why I use the word “phenomenal”) and with his knowledge/experience, he has developed a very successful HPDE program. I’m not new to HPDE events. I’ve attended a few HPDE sessions before with Nasa and other racing organizations. The only difference now is, I have a goal and this was the program to go with.

The next decision is to really figure out the costs associated with all of this and to see if it’s worth pursuing. Many of you attend HPDE events and know that the costs vary. Between the amount of money for gas, alignments, tires, brakes, fluid changes, HPDE entry fee, etc, it starts to add up. If you are not taking the same path as I am then the costs will probably be much less. You really wouldn’t need R compound tires, race brakes, high temp fluids, etc. You can still go out and enjoy the weekend and do things with your car that you wouldn’t be able to do on the street, without the big bill at the end. Anyways to bring us back to the original point. The total average I was looking at was about $1,200 per weekend. That includes the HPDE entry fee, fluid changes, incidentals, replacement (brakes, tires, etc.), hotel stay at some tracks, and food. Pretty big bill for a weekend! It may look like an overestimate but it’s better to do that then to underestimate. The decision wasn’t easy, but in the end I decided to go for it.

With a plan set in place, I decided to sign up for the 2 day event and get ready for VIR.

First Day
I got in at around 9pm the night before after a grueling 6 hour drive to the track (traffic was horrible). That night I decided to hit the bar and calm down the nerves before the event the following day. Being this was my first time to VIR, I made the mistake of talking with other experienced VIR attendees about what to expect on the track. Usually at this time at night with a couple drinks down, some people can get overly dramatic with their stories to say the least. I was told, “watch out for turn 10. if you lift you’re done for!” or “make sure you’re careful through turn 8 and 9 because someone had a bad accident there last time”, pretty overwhelming stuff the first night.

The weather early in the morning wasn’t pleasant. With a layer of frost on the car, I was hoping that my run group wasn’t going to be the first ones out. Luckily I wasn’t going out till mid morning, which gave enough time for the track to heat up. The advanced run group went out first to help the heat build up as well, which was nice.

With any HPDE event the first thing to do is to get the car tech’d inspected. Basically a check to make sure your car is mechanically able to run on the track. (I should mention that I did receive a tech form in the mail a few days after I registered for the event, in order to get the car checked out by a mechanic before hand. ) The next thing you do is to get ready for the morning class/meeting. The classroom sessions help first timers and even seasoned attendees on how everything is suppose to go. Flag definitions, passing zones, lines, etc are all discussed in the classroom. After my classroom session, I got to sit back a little and just wait for my run group to be called. CarGuys were very well organized when it came to the schedule. Nothing really overlapped and I got a ton of track time that day.The instructor assigned to me was extremely helpful the first day. A pro driver with a very detailed oriented mindset, he gave me a 4 page packet with a survey and rules to follow. At first I was pretty annoyed that I had to read a 4 page packet and fill out a bunch of questions so early in the morning, but after the first session I realized why it was important. It really helped set the tone for the instruction and we were basically on the same page the entire time. What also really helped was that he took me for a ride along earlier to learn the line of the track. Sort of like an orientation before we started our sessions.

The first session out was sort of an “installation session”, basically getting comfortable with track, looking for the flag stations, etc. The next few sessions got better and better. I was faster each session out and was improving pretty quickly. After I was able to pass a couple of C6’s (Z06’s by the way), I knew I was doing something right. Before I knew it the day was already over and I was exhausted. The horror stories from the night before exited my head and all I kept thinking about was the next day. I got a taste and I wanted more!

Second Day
Now one thing that’s really important not to do on the last day, is to get overly cocky about your driving ability. Remember this is the last day and if you drove the car to the track you should really want to be able drive it back home. The classroom session on the second day specifically includes this topic in their discussions. Aryan has done this for years and knows the feeling you get after a good day. That’s why he specifically brings the entire group back to reality by showing a video of an instructor driving a Ford GT, who made a mistake by driving it a little too hard, and ended up in the wall (even instructors can make mistakes). Sending himself and passenger to the hospital and causing $50,000 + worth of damages to the car, something that no one wants to do. It seemed a bit morbid, but it got the point across.

On this day I decided to start off slow in the morning and progressively turn the dial up in the later sessions. With the lessons I learned the day before; I made sure to apply them today and tried my best to make sure I was consistent. After the first session in the morning I was feeling pretty good and my instructor was basically speechless during the sessions. He was surprised at my improvement and basically pointed only a few minor items to fix. At my last session, I was basically passing most of the cars in the group. My instructor recommended me to move up to the next run group for the next event (Nov. 11th & 12th @ Shenandoah).

Project Evo
Let’s face it; doing something like this isn’t really good for the life of the car. But what’s the point of having this much potential and having most of its life wasted on the street. With each session that went by the car would perform without any issues. I would constantly check tire pressures and fluid levels at the end of every session. The car never showed any signs of weakness. The Nitto NT-01’s still have enough rubber for another weekend, which is pretty good considering it already went through a full weekend before. Plus I drove the car 500 miles round trip to the track and back. The brakes (GiroDisk Rotors with Ferodo DS2500 Pads) held strong each day with no signs of fade. This car was born on the track.

Conclusion
This was honestly one of the best HPDE experiences I’ve had in a long time. The Car Guys group really did a good job of keeping things organized. Their instructors were top notch and provided a ton of input to help improve your driving. I felt very satisfied with my level of improvement and really can’t wait for the next event. This was the first step towards my goal and it couldn’t have gone any better. A special thanks to Mhyar (aka Az3ar) for being a great friend and helping out when I needed it. Also it was great to meet other evo owner’s and I hope to see more f you in the next coming events.

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See similar:

Other Posts That May Interest You:

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