wang4u

iTrader: (3)

Oh yea quick update: PCV pieces came in. Since Sean welded a AN fitting on the back of the valve cover, will need to butch up some of the AN line to make it work. Im still wondering if disconnecting the catch can or leaving the drivers side and dipstick vent attached. I wonder if that will pose more issues down the road, as the crankcase would be vented to atmosphere, along with the drivers side valve cover barb. Guess we will see.

EvoHuy

Ok got it I'll keep that in mind about the spark plugs. I only drive my evo once or twice a week so 7000 would take me more than a year to get to, but I'll change it maybe twice a year or so. thanks for your help.

sT eVo

Hopefully oneday ill be fortunate enough to own one...not a fan of 2drs...4dr is more legit...lol...and I could build one but then that'll probably be my last resort...

wang4u

iTrader: (3)

Herro fellas

Not a whole lot has happened in terms of the Evo. In other news, finally bought a near ideal house. It has an attached one car and detached two car garages. Plenty of space when the motor is ready to come out. I have had quite limited time to work on her or anything else in general. I hope to get a game plan goin this year and start on the motor build. Recently my company has branched operations in Chicago, and I have been enlisted to run said new branch. Fortunately it will mean much much more pay and unfortunately much more time away from the Evo.

My next few things are general auto tools.. compressor, welder, misc. A lift might not work in this particular garage sadly, but I have other ideas (ie. Wood ramp). Though thats still in the works as im lookin at various 4 point lifts.

Hope to chit chat with some of u soon.

Ciao - Rich

wang4u

iTrader: (3)

Hey guys

So I decided on a different tuner. Tom was really startin to **** me off. Between the lack of communication and numerous unanswered questions, I was fed up. Also each rom I kept getting did not fix the previous issue nor did anything really improve. Threads I read on Evom prove I had more tuning issues than mechanical as many had exact or very similar issues.

I dropped the car off at Pure Drive Performance today in hopes Christian can shed some light on the issues I keep having. Thus far he seems to know what he is talking about, and thinks he can alleviate the issues. I have a bit of comfort knowing hes less than an hour away, and is responsive to every question I have had thus far. World of improvement already, in terms of customer service. I cant wait to finally get to drive her hard. Assuming all goes well, I should get her back on Sunday.

As far as Im concerned, I will NEVER do remote tuning again. What a pain in the ***...

Nebraskafandb

Christian is awesome, your car is in good hands

9!'clipseDOHC

iTrader: (7)

For those that have done the conversion, are the Mirage hard brake lines and/or proportioning valve interchangeable? I know the rubber lines going into the Brembos are different.

Also the hard fuel lines and filler tube? Will the Mirage ones work with the Evo tank and fuel system?

3bar_dc2

iTrader: (11)

Brake hard lines and hard fuel lines are the same. The lines going to the calipers are different and the fuel filler tube is different

9!'clipseDOHC

iTrader: (7)

Thank you so much! I thought so.

wang4u

iTrader: (3)

He's still around Evom! How you doin man? Shes comin along finally. Glad you were able to help 91'clipse. I figured they are the nearly the same (reg Lancer vs Evo).

So major update. We ran into tons of issues. Fortunately they are solved or being solved.

The first major issue was: bad headgasket. Christian drove it the day after I dropped it off. All seemed well, except 4th and 5th gear. Sounds like it was still a bov issue. A day later while doing some logs, he hears a pop. And coolant is leaking out the the #4 cylinder side, as well as other places around the head. This was after turning down Tom's original tune, as his timing numbers were much more aggressive. I have Christian take the head off and inspect it. Looks like the head lifted under boost. And felt like the headstuds were loose (around #4 cyl). I show up a couple days later, its clear the headstuds stretched around #4 and 2 around #3. So we put in a new OEM headgasket and ARP studs. 3 or 4 of the OEM studs stretched about 1-1.5mm over spec.

After reassembly, we notice it still doesnt hold a great deal of pressure in the coolant path. We start it up after the headgasket, and notice a leak on the pass side (near #1). Doesnt look like the head, so gasket must be good. Can only mean..

The second major issue: bad waterpump. Christian takes off the water to notice the gasket is near non-existent. Fearing it could be the waterpump cog seal instead of just the gasket, I opted to replace it, along with a new a timing belt kit. All the belts did look good though. But in my gut, and knowing how much power it will output, might as well be safe than sorry. We proceed with installing the whole timing kit. Come to find out, the 8/9 waterpump is totally different than the 4/5/6. Different mounting, different gasket. Damn it, another wasted part. Getting a 4/5/6 wouldnt be impossible, it would have been pricey and would have taken a great deal of time. So Christian opted to cut out a custom gasket and clean up the 5 waterpump, as it looked in good condition. Once everything gets bolted back on, no leaks! WOOHOO, finally we are getting somewhere. Pressure test, pass. No leaking coolant, headgasket looks to be doing well.

I noticed some days she wouldnt start very easy. Other days started just fine. Cold or hot, it didnt matter. A day after the waterpump fix, she doesnt start very well. Christian was already aware of this as I mentioned it a few times, and why it doing it. We both thought it was E85 and weather. But then we finally see the intermittent problem.

The third major issue: bad injector. So it seems #4 wasnt working very well. Christian checked it with a stethoscope and found it was not ticking when the engine idled very rough. Whats odd is it only did it sometimes. And after 5-10 mins of idling, it would smooth out. I suggested lets clean them and swap it with another cylinder to see if it is truly a bad injector. On a whim, Christian tests the resistor pack with his out of his 8. Bam, it idles lovely and #4 injector seems fine. NOW WE ARE REALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE!

So thus far, the car idles great, no major hurdles we can see. I went up to Christians to do a little vacuum hose rerouting on the Tial, so I hope 4th and 5th can pull like normal. Now its time to power tune! I hope to get her back just in time for a local car show. By then Im sure we will have power numbers up and finally be able to have fun with her!

Christian is amazing! He has worked relentlessly over 2 weeks, figuring out the bullsh*t Kenny left me with. I can now see why he wanted to sell her; no patience, no knowledge, maybe no money to make it happen. Without a doubt, I would HIGHLY suggest Christian over any other tuner. He has kept me in the loop since day 1. When things happened, solutions to problems, and what we need for the next step. I have not had any greater customer service from an automotive shop/tuner ever. At very least, he answers his phone when I call, and emails me back promptly. At the end of this experience, not only have I found a new tuner, Ive made a new friend.

My fingers are crossed nothing else comes up. Im soo excited Im gonna get to drive her finally. Not just cruise, but BLAST and see what she can really do. Woohoo!

Less than a week away. Ill keep you guys informed!

Have a good one!

3bar_dc2

iTrader: (11)

I'm glad to hear you're making progress and it's getting somewhere. That's exciting news and I couldn't ask for the car to be in better hands. Makes me feel bad selling it to Kenny to begin with. Honestly, he should've used the spare evo 8 block I gave him and used the evo 7 head I included as well, although the 7 uses a different water pump than the 8 I believe. Instead he opted to use the older 5 engine. It makes me wonder if he did the 1x1 method on the head studs and reusing the ones from my blown engine. My rod went through on number 4 and that engine detonated HARD!!! I would not have reused those studs and I have a bad feeling he did.

Judging by the fact that all of your gasket have now been nonexistent (turbo, water pump, etc) it looks like everything he touched needs to be triple checked. Are the injectors still the precision 1200cc I sold him with the car? If so, that could very well explain why I detonated on number 4 cylinder. It happened so quickly, I wasn't sure what happened. Had I kept the car, I would've traced it down before it had the chance to happen again. Christian seems to be the perfect guy to get that car tuned.

I actually sold the fd last month and bought another mirage 3 weeks back and planned on doing this conversion all over again. However, the lead I had on a front clip and floor panel for a great price didn't work out. Sold the mirage after a week of ownership and had another deal fall into my lap. I picked up a rb26dett from a r33 gtr locally and bought a s14 shell from Louisiana. The shell should be here in a week or so and I'll get started on that. I'm still subscribed to this thread and will check back often. Otherwise I'm back to the Nissan forums.

wang4u

iTrader: (3)

Yea it is what it is. You needed loot, he had it. Cars are like women to me. I wouldnt just give her away to any schmo. Oh well at least progress is happening! I dont get why he didnt use your block. He could have easily sold the 5 for much much more abroad. I highly doubt he did anything to the head. The studs that came out were definitely OEM. Makes me wonder if the injector resistor failed on you, causing lean #4. And why it happened to me. We could only think of that once the head was off. It made perfect sense. Lean, hot cylinder, pop. Glad it was caught immediately. 30 sec more could have been a blown block as well. Whew, may have dodged a bullet on that.

We indeed checked everything. As soon as she comes home, I plan to toss in ARP rod bolts too. The surface of the head and block looked awesome. Barely needed any scrubbing. And was very straight using a machinist edge. We swapped #4 with #3 injector after cleaning them. Its all running awesome now. The 1200s are still in there. They do flow fine so it will do for now. In the future, Im going 2150s with no resistor. Seems like the safest bet.

Geez that FD was short lived lol. Sucks another 5/6 project couldnt happen. I havent seen any front clips for sale. I have a buddy thats interested in trying. Regardless a Silvia is getting closer to what you wanted (GTR). I one day want to build a S15. Or an AE86. Last month I seen a killer deal on a 97 Lotus V8 TT. Almost pulled the trigger. The tan on red is not my color though. If it was black on red omg it would have been in my garage that night lol. Hopefully the Silvia looks up for ya. What was the deal with the FD? Didnt u guys just put the motor in?

wang4u

iTrader: (3)

So got her back today. She runs great! Short a few little issues which I think I have a good on idea what the cause is.

First, there is still the 4th and 5th gear fluttering issue. Ive been able to narrow it down to around 4k-5k rpm. Seems like there is an issue from going from Open loop to Closed. I believe its the spring inside the Tial bov. Many have said if its too stiff, it will cause issues with how the bov reacts under boost. It would seem like to me the stiffer one would be necessary but the lighter 7psi spring was recommended. I already ordered a Black spring (7psi) and going to swap it tomorrow afternoon. I hope this is the issue. Otherwise Im ready to just buy a new Tial if there is an issue with this one. I dont believe its the intercooler as once above 5k, it pulls real hard with no boost loss.

Second, around 4k rpm in any gear, partial throttle, there is flutter. Again think it is cause of the Tial. When it flutters you can hear the Tial open and shut very rapidly and afr's is all over the place. We think it could be the Tial opening too soon (causing rich scenario) and then closing (stoich).

Otherwise, 1st thru 3rd pull like a train! Outside of 5k rpm in 4th or 5th pull real hard as well. Because the flutter issue is present, Christian turned down the boost in 4th and 5th in case of any issue. Sadly we ran out of fuel. Seems like the PTE rates their injectors a little higher than what they truly flow. There are a couple guys in Colorado with 1250s pulling into the low 500s well under 90% IDC. For me, the numbers are for sheer data. I dont really care what the numbers say. That wont determine how fast it really is. If I stay in boost in every gear, she runs like a champ! The VD below is with the IDC around 90% (roughly 81-83% since Evoscan isnt dead on, using -10% correction) @ 24 psi. Full boost is coming in real quick for a stock engine 2.0. I was truly expecting 4400-4500 rpm range, esp with our altitude. We were seeing it every time between 4000-4100. People hate on the Black for its lag. There is nearly no noticeable lag. Boost comes in so strong in 1st gear, Id almost rather not boost hard in 1st lol. I specifically requested we dont push the injectors too hard. 85% is what I would consider safe and we are well below that. Though throw this out there, when we were near 110% IDC she was making well over 500whp.

Red line is most relevant, lower boost and higher timing. The blue line was slightly more boost and less timing.



I want to attend a few track days this year. So brakes and tires are in the near future. Also a Tial if the spring doesnt fix the issue.

Christian did a great job! Fixed the idle issues. Cold start issues. General driveability; cruising and coasting. If you are looking for a great tuner, that will take his time in sorting your issue, actually answer your questions, truly cares about you and your car, give Christian a call. Hes a great guy and eager to help out the Evo community.

Till next time fellas

Hoojan

iTrader: (5)

Wow, this car is amazing!

wang4u

iTrader: (3)

Hey gang..

The flutter is still present. We were also having a intermittent idle issue which we know is the injector resistor pack, so I have a used one coming. Who knows maybe it fixes the flutter too lol I doubt it though. My thoughts still say bov is bad. Or rather not just the bov but the line coming from the intake manifold. Our theory is the manifold is not "moving" the air fast enough through the log and pressurizing the bov nipple fast enough, therefore the flutter. In the future I already plan to go with a Evo 8 intake manifold as the current 7 manifold doesnt have provisions for the MAP sensor.

One other thought was to change the bov line from the front middle nipple to the PCV nipple. Currently the PCV nipple is driving the MAP sensor solely. Maybe it responds better that way. Either way, to keep with the Black theme in the engine bay, I will end up ordering a new Tial in black.

Im going to setup for track here soon. I need new tires, machine the front rotors, new rear rotors, pads all around, brake fluid, and an alignment. Even though the flutter is present I dont think it will hinder the car one bit when raced as above 4.5k flutter is not there. So that will prob happen next month or July. I want great weather before really attempting anything serious. Ill prob also switch maps to 91 and limit power to around 375whp. 450+ right now is a handful on the street lol but man great fun! Could be just the tires are near the end of their life.

Been to a few car shows this past few weeks. She does turn heads lol



(pics taken from Beats Photography's FB)

(pic from CUSCC car show FB)

Ive lowered her a little more since these pics. Tire is about a pinky away from the fenders. Im wondering if 265s will fit... hmm. There is plenty of pics from both shows I went to. Look up Beats Photography on FB and Simply Fresh Colorado on FB. Some sweet cars that showed up.

Till next time