Evo owner discovering new curiousity

[hungryhippos]

Hey guys, so I own a 2010 Mitsu Evo X GSR, just built it this last year. Its a project car for autocross & tracking. You can find my build details below.

I just drove a RX-7 FD a couple days ago and found it to be a wonderful drive. It really peaked my interest as it handles completely differently than my evo, its a heavy car (3400+lbs) and has AWD although with the way it handles you'd never know it was that fat. I don't think I'm going to buy one any time soon (unless an awesome deal comes along) but I've joined mostly to read and learn. I just want to see what you can do to them.

2010 Evo X GSR

Suspension
JRZ RS 2way | StopTech Big Brake Kit | CM FX400 - CM Flywheel | Magnus CMC | Custom Driveshaft
Whiteline FSB/RSB - Link Assemblies - Control Arms - Bushings - RCA | Cusco Strut Bars

Power
ETS Intake - UICP - 3.5" FMIC - LICP - Exhaust Manifold - DP - TP - V2 Quiet | AMS Motor Mounts
Manley I Rods & 2618 Pistons | Cosworth Cams & Springs | ID1000 | Grimspeed EBS - Walbro 255

Other stuff
Custom Surge Tank | Mishimoto Oil Cooler - Radiator - Fan

I have a MHI 18K waiting to be installed as soon as I have time. With the stock turbo I'm sitting at about 360awhp and 350awhp and with the MHI I'd like to hit 450/400.

edit: just installed the new turbo, sitting at 420/380 whp/wtq, still pulling and tuning only at 21 psi atm. (8/20/13)

[Whizbang]

welcome to the site! We have quite a bit of information here as well as some unique projects!

[hungryhippos]

Thanks! I'm entertaining the idea of buying one just to play with and learn. My father-in-law runs a japanese auto shop with one of his old buddies. My father-in-law specializes in drivetrains and his friend is more about the powertrain. They were both engineers of sorts on the honda racing corp (motorcycles) when they started back in the 80's then switched to cars in the 90's and now they run a shop specializing obviously in honda's although they do most every thing japanese (they don't advertise as a performance shop, they mostly just do repairs/maintenence although they do special jobs for long time customers on proper hondas (NSX/S2000 only none of that civic/integra shit) It's a 4+2 bay garage. The +2 being in the back for special jobs and that is where my evo lives next to their nsx and s2k. I am lucky in that they let me use it for free although I help them out with customer cars (usually easy shit like oil changes, brake pad changes or cleaning/organizing bays).

This year they were gracious/curious enough to help me build my 4B11T with new rods, pistons, bearings etc. We balanced and honed for perfect fit and feel and the car is running great.

Right now, I'm only entertaining the idea of buying one to play with. I could throw down probably $15k to buy and maintain one for this year. But I have no clue what that would fetch me yet I'm still reading, trying to find the weak points of FD's are and what I should watch out for if I do end up pulling the trigger. I am not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I don't want to have to do a build the second I buy it.

If there are really good reads on this forum, I wouldn't mind some links.

[Fendamonky]

Hey man, welcome aboard

I gotta be honest, your title sounds like an invite for some innocent m2m action lol

That being said, $15k should get you a pretty clean, mostly stock, FD. I paid $14k for mine back in 2006. As for learning, it sounds like you're in good hands, mechanically, for general car stuff. As I'm sure you know, rotaries are def unique and they go together a bit differently than their piston counterparts.

Check through the build section for some pics of how they go together (I've got pics of the internals in mine for sure).

Cheers,

Levi

[RedR1]

15K will get you into a pretty clean FD. the mint ones are going for around 18-20k, but those are prime examples of the breed. Then you have your modded ones that sell for that much, but i'm the type of person that tries to avoid previously modded cars.

There are many ups and downs to owning an FD. the main thing is them being particular to mods. You hear stories of unreliable rotaries, etc, but there are reasons behind those, 98% of them owner related. Either the owner didn't maintain them properly. There are certain steps one must take when modding them. Mainly, making sure the tune matches the parts added. there is no room for error when it comes to tuning a rotary, especially when the power is turned up.

ask any questions you may have, research other things that you may be curious about. we're all here to help

welcome to the forum

[Fendamonky]

^ very true, and I def agree that it's best to start with a clean slate if at all possible. The ONLY time I'd want to buy a previously modified car is if the build was well documented and of undeniable quality. There is just too much potential for somebody to poorly plan modifications and actually end up hurting the car...

[hungryhippos]

Yeah so I've been reading. I think the only way I'd buy a previously modded car is if I knew the person personally. Modding always has its price and with any project, ya gotta pay to play and thats just how it goes with any hobby. There are kids that want to play, but don't do it right and wonder why shit breaks. I'm just trying to figure out how much it costs to get a clean FD with little to no mods. My evo was about 35k off the lot and I easily have another 20k in mods and maintenence. I learned from my evo 8 to log everything if I want an easy sale. So this time I have a excel spread sheet of every oil change with miles and receipt of the oil and filter along with other fluid changes, belt changes, bolt ons and the build itself of course.

For anyone that hasn't been around evo 10's they have their fair share of problems. Plastic pulleys? WTF Plastic CMC. The ACD (Active center diff) pump hates cold weather so that $#!T dies every couple years. That is a $2k replacement from the stealership. Shitty paint job. Internals although forged are limited to 400wtq, some people are starting to figure out 500whp on internals which isn't a problem, just surprising. the MR's with the SST double clutch tranny's work fantastic but tend to have overheating problems on the track and they can't hold much power without upgrades past 350whp/wtq

tons more random lil shit haha. Anyways, I don't think I'm going to spring for one quite yet. I don't know, maybe if I see a decent deal around seattle for less than $20 with a clean history and good records. I'll see soon enough. haha thanks for the tips everyone!

[RedR1]

Originally Posted by hungryhippos

Yeah so I've been reading. I think the only way I'd buy a previously modded car is if I knew the person personally. Modding always has its price and with any project, ya gotta pay to play and thats just how it goes with any hobby. There are kids that want to play, but don't do it right and wonder why breaks. I'm just trying to figure out how much it costs to get a clean FD with little to no mods.

Prime examples like one you are wanting will fetch $20k easy. those are low mileage at about 20k, but you gotta remember it's a 20 year old car at this point. 20-24 will get you the primo ones though. One thing to be weary of, is that oil lubricates the seals in the motor and that only happens when the car is running, so a car that has been sitting for 20 years has the same potential of a car that has 110k on the odometer. Dry seals will be bitter/crack and that will require a rebuild. Usually cars with 60-80k miles on them will already come with a rebuilt engine, you just have to find out who rebuilt it. Just like any car market, there are some shady engine shops out there.

Originally Posted by HungryHippos

For anyone that hasn't been around evo 10's they have their fair share of problems. Plastic pulleys? WTF Plastic CMC. The ACD (Active center diff) pump hates cold weather so that $#!T dies every couple years. That is a $2k replacement from the stealership. paint job. Internals although forged are limited to 400wtq, some people are starting to figure out 500whp on internals which isn't a problem, just surprising. the MR's with the SST double clutch tranny's work fantastic but tend to have overheating problems on the track and they can't hold much power without upgrades past 350whp/wtq

The Evo's are some sharp cars. A buddy of mine has an Evo 9 MR and it's super comfy. It's his daily and has enough umph to get out of its own way, be fun, and still be docile. It's all stock except for an air freshner bc he farts like a cow

Originally Posted by Hippo

Anyways, I don't think I'm going to spring for one quite yet. I don't know, maybe if I see a decent deal around seattle for less than $20 with a clean history and good records. I'll see soon enough. haha thanks for the tips everyone!

There was a STEAL that sold in Seattle a month ago. Red FD with 40k on the chassis, carfax came back clean. It was missing motor, turbo's, tranny (long block) and seller was selling for $4800. completely mint interior, all it needed was motor and (in my opinion) paint. you can have a Japanese long block for $2000, and basic rebuild done for $2000-ish if you uninstall the block and take it to a shop. Get back from the shop, bolt long block into the motor and you were into a MINT FD for roughly $9000 after all is said and done.

worst case scenario is it needs new turbos. you can find used turbo's all day long, rebuild the pair if the turbo manifold isn't too cracked, or upgrade to new 99 spec twin turbo's for $2000. that won't require new injectors, or anything to increase the price substantially. So with that said, an FD with new motor, turbos, and the lot for $11500 roughly.

If i wasn't in FL, i'd have picked up that car. Could always use another FD in my life

side note, FD stands for Financial Disaster

[speedjunkie]

Originally Posted by RedR1

Could always use another FD in my life

side note, FD stands for Financial Disaster

Both quoted for truth.

[hungryhippos]

good to know. I'm guessing "roller" means no engine/tranny? or they rolled the car?

Didn't know a long block for you guys was that cheap (relatively speaking). stock long blocks start at 3.5k and something built start at 5k and go up from there. Short blocks can be found as low as 2k, evo heads are pretty strong and breathe well. new cams, springs, valves, lifters etc. Bottom end is the real problem when trying to get big power, but that tends to be the case with any car.

The child in me wants RWD pretty bad. I've had a evo 8, 3000GT (SL so FWD boring) and currently a 10. I think I'd feel more at ease if I bought a bought a chassis then picked up a new/rebuilt engine and tranny, I'll have to do a bit of research now on prices. I dont know if my father in law and his buddy know much about rotaries. Time for more research hahaha

Originally Posted by RedR1

Prime examples like one you are wanting will fetch $20k easy. those are low mileage at about 20k, but you gotta remember it's a 20 year old car at this point. 20-24 will get you the primo ones though. One thing to be weary of, is that oil lubricates the seals in the motor and that only happens when the car is running, so a car that has been sitting for 20 years has the same potential of a car that has 110k on the odometer. Dry seals will be bitter/crack and that will require a rebuild. Usually cars with 60-80k miles on them will already come with a rebuilt engine, you just have to find out who rebuilt it. Just like any car market, there are some shady engine shops out there.

Yeah, garage horror stories are bad. you guys should try to find the GT-R down in texas, some guy got boned huge down there.

Originally Posted by RedR1

The Evo's are some sharp cars. A buddy of mine has an Evo 9 MR and it's super comfy. It's his daily and has enough umph to get out of its own way, be fun, and still be docile. It's all stock except for an air freshner bc he farts like a cow

Yeah, MR's make for great DD and the tranny works great too. you can get like an extra 50-60 free whp with a professional tune, electronic boost controller, upper intercooler pipe, and turbo back exhaust no problem. 100whp is in sight. For some reason mitsu really held back on this car. Gotta love the JDM gentlemans agreement.

Originally Posted by RedR1

There was a STEAL that sold in Seattle a month ago. Red FD with 40k on the chassis, carfax came back clean. It was missing motor, turbo's, tranny (long block) and seller was selling for $4800. completely mint interior, all it needed was motor and (in my opinion) paint. you can have a Japanese long block for $2000, and basic rebuild done for $2000-ish if you uninstall the block and take it to a shop. Get back from the shop, bolt long block into the motor and you were into a MINT FD for roughly $9000 after all is said and done.

worst case scenario is it needs new turbos. you can find used turbo's all day long, rebuild the pair if the turbo manifold isn't too cracked, or upgrade to new 99 spec twin turbo's for $2000. that won't require new injectors, or anything to increase the price substantially. So with that said, an FD with new motor, turbos, and the lot for $11500 roughly.

That is awfully tempting. Not gunna lie.

[Kman Art]

Always been into Hondas and actually hated RX7s due to trips to Moroso Raceway for drag events. Latest car (96 civic) was going to be an auto cross car n somehow ended up becoming a 734whp drag car.

It wasn't until I moved home and my interest in auto cross kicked back in and had a friend selling his 93 FD. Car was almost completely bone stock, but needed serious maintenance due to having around 90,000 miles.

My biggest issue is that I'm not only very new to rotaries, but have nobody in my neck of the woods to assist me aside from one of my mechanics that has rebuilt 12As before. This site has tons of info and companies with answers waiting for you. I'm also on another site that I source info from as you cannot have too much info.

Oh yeah, the car currently has est.300hp and weighs 2,600lbs even. This is with 18x9 cheap wheels wrapped in Toyo R888 275/35/18, everything blocked off, FMIC, Koyo rad, full interior and ac, 3" exhaust with cat deleted, PowerFC, Pettit coilovers, and a few other suspension mods.

Lol my daily driver, when I'm not adding parts to it, is a 2006 Ram diesel dually 6spd. I enjoy dabbling in all kinds of performance hehehe.

Bottom line, I regret not buying it sooner! These cars are loads of fun!!!

[GySgtFrank]

Originally Posted by Kman Art

Bottom line, I regret not buying it sooner! These cars are loads of fun!!!

They are an addiction. Nothing else drives quite like a rotary.

[scarsofcarma]

I'm glad to see an EVO owner considering an RX7 and not the other way around. No offense to EVO's but they not the same sort of car as an RX7. They're both fast, they both have plenty of engineering and technological wizardry in their design, but the RX7 is a purer drivers car.

I find RX7's more rewarding to drive because there's a greater percentage of drivers skill included in the cars performance envelope. An EVO almost treats the driver like a handicap or a passenger and not an equal partner. That's just my opinion though.

Originally Posted by GySgtFrank

They are an addiction. Nothing else drives quite like a rotary.

*Nods* my opinion as well.

[hungryhippos]

Originally Posted by scarsofcarma

I find RX7's more rewarding to drive because there's a greater percentage of drivers skill included in the cars performance envelope. An EVO almost treats the driver like a handicap or a passenger and not an equal partner. That's just my opinion though.

Ah yes and no, while it does have a ton of computer wizardry, you still have to be a good driver to get the best out of it like with any car. I do however think evos make bad drivers much better than they really are.

[scarsofcarma]

Originally Posted by hungryhippos

Ah yes and no, while it does have a ton of computer wizardry, you still have to be a good driver to get the best out of it like with any car. I do however think evos make bad drivers much better than they really are.

Yeah not saying its all car. EVO's are very competitive in the highest levels of Time Attack racing these days (as FD's still are) but when they compete, they still need world class drivers behind the wheel to win.