Lancer Evolution VIII
Asked by Chamal Feb 26, 2009 at 02:54 PM about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Question type: Car Customization
I'm in the process of picking a new set of cams for my car. It had GSC 272's intake and exhuast. Any Evo owners out there? Or anybody who has any knowledge please chime in! I'm leaning towards Kelford 272's....
14 Answers
Id go with the Kelford TX272 thats what id put they are the top of the line and most trusted. What was the prices you were looking at? I'm guess that you know all about AMS Performance right?
yea I know about AMS, but damn they are really expensive lately. Their big name costs a lot not like the old days before they were well known... It seems like the Kelford 272's are a decent choice. Pricing seems to be around 630ish....
If you click on my wheel picture it should bring up a nice list and set of pics :-)
new rims are nice...try low-profile tires with 15"-16" rims with no suspension drop...great handling with stock preferences...longer tire lives with less camber up front fro 4wheel drivetrains...great cornering ability...
Kelford TX272...just right for an evo...but i dont really know certain specs for an evo...but i really dont know much about a mitsubishi...
oooh man, you need to go question whoever suggested that setup! They have given you a whole pile of bad/dangerous information there. Smaller wheels with low profile tires will decrease the overall diameter of your tire/wheel combo and thus reduce your rotating circumference. 1) your speedometer will read far too high 2) your tire will be turning far faster than the the factory size, effectively reducing your vehicles top speed and dangerously approaching the possibility of rotating a tire beyond its speed index. This could lead to high speed tire failure and loss of vehicle control. 3) reducing the overall wheel diameter while keeping the suspension height and settings the same will destroy the vehicles stock alignment calibration, roll center calibration, as well as having an impact on caster which will in turn affect your steering. 4) the car will have large wheel gaps where the small wheels no longer fill the wheel arches (not a functional issue but that would look terrible) These 2 are specific to the evo: 4) the big Brembo brakes that come stock on an Evo barely fit under a 17" wheel with mm's to spare! There is no way a 16" or smaller wheel will even fit at all. 5) for an aggressive AWD car like an Evo, you want a little bit of negative camber up front, the Evo responds well it, especially in very tight/curvy technical tracks or roads. But the price you pay is uneven tire wear and less stability at speed in a straight line. Frequent tire rotation is a must if a lot of straight line freeway type driving is done. I can see why people would do what you suggest. It is a very cheap way of lowering the CG of the car, and reducing unsprung weight, both of which are good for handling, but there are too many negatives that go along with this cheap and dirty method of cutting corners. The safe and correct way to improve handling is to go to larger (lighter forged if possible rims) with lower profile tires keeping the tirw/wheel diameter as close to stock as possible. (The sweet spot for most cars is around 16"/17"/18"/19", much bigger and the wheels become too heavy) The next step is proper suspension work. This can be as simple as lowering springs and stock shocks, or for the maximum potential full multi-way adjustable coilover suspension ($$$).
then why did your bother replying?
on the suspension note, i saw that your looking to get new coil overs, your 2 inch drop up front is nice but im thinking the car would be happier with a bigger drop in back, once you get the new parts. over an inch of ride height difference can add more wear and tear on those fronts especially with the extra camber. i don't know much about the evos power plant, so im not going to comment there. but i do know AWD cars like to be balanced front and rear as best they can be. btw what Coil overs where you thinking about?
Ah yes, the suspension setup that is on the car right now is absolute filth. It is really more of a "stance" setup not a handling setup. If anything it is already TOO low. The front suspension geometry of the evo is such that going too low throws the roll center of the car off and after a certain drop going further actually increases body roll. To compound this the current springs are too soft and even the rear tires rub the fenders on hard cornering already. They are ok for street and stance, crap for track. As far as alignment settings, these awd rally cars really respond well to negative camber in the front. On the track its not uncommon to go as aggressive as -3 or -4 degrees in teh front. Rear's I like to keep around -1 or so nothing too crazy. 0 toe all around. I would actually probably the ride height a tiny bit when i go to coilovers maybe a 1/4 inch in front... but I'd have to play around with settings and work some roll center calculations and see... As far as coilovers I am currently leaning towards Ohlins Flags. They are bit pricey at ~$5500 a set but they are really good pieces and my team has an Ohlins sponsorship. I have also had lots of experience driving with cars with Ohlins everything from Evos to a supercharged Lotus Elise. They seem to really know what they are doing when it comes to dampening. Even with pretty high spring rates, 10k/12k, they ride decently well due to the great dampening and can be used on the street. I'll probably make the move over the fall or next spring so i can play around and have it setup for next years season. :-)
O this wasn't a Lotus Elise SC, it was a Lotus Elise...with a supercharger that we attached :-) Quite a bit more fun than the production Elise SC ;-) hehehehe
visit our club's sight www.mymitsuph.com ask around :) one of our members Bestfrind Norman has an evo like yours he may help