I have had my Evo IX since July, but haven't been able to afford to do anything to it yet. However, I'm almost ready to start to make a few basic mods, and I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions. The first thing I wanna do is put in 3" catback exhaust, but I don't have a clue where to start looking. After reading a few of the forums, it seems like the Greddy Ti exhaust kit is amazing, but I don't think I can afford the near 1k price tag. I was hoping to find something closer to the $500 range. I'm more interested in performance gains than looks or sound, but those things aren't unimportant to me. Also, I would like to put some gauges in, specifically boost, oil pressure, and pyro. I would like to use an A-pillar gauge cluster, but am hoping to find a full pillar replacement rather than one that goes over the top of the stock pillar. The problem is that the A-pillar contains the tweeter for my sound system, and I don't want to block that. Does anybody know where I can get an A-pillar replacement gauge cluster that is specifically built for this car and has a hole for the tweeter?

I'm also looking at flashing the ECU through Works, since they match the factory warrenty. My ultimate goal is to maximize performance without sacrificing driveability, as this is my daily driver. I eventually wanna build this car so that it compares with the HQ-400 model, or even stronger if I can. Appearance mods will follow after that as well Any suggestions would be appreciated! I'm new to these forums so I apologize if this stuff has already been posted. Thanks!

 

i think you can get an entire megan tbe for about 5 to 600 ... keep looking

as far as flashing, i think dynoflash has the cheapest flash, dont quote me on that, but im pretty sure.

as far as gauges, if money is an issue, dont waste your time with gauges you dont need quite yet.... just get the boost gauge and a pod for it and go from there... other gauges are nice to have, but performance is the key. you dont even really n eed a flash for a catback.... get the turbo back, boost gauge and call it a day... save more money

 

Dont forget oil pressure gauge (this is vital on a turbo car) Stewart Warner has nice gauges for a decent price $50-70 range. 42nd draft Designs makes a great 3 52mm gauge panel that goes where the stock radio is and you buy a radio relocation kit (genuine Mitsu PN) and move it lower on the center console.

Cheap exhaust with performance. Buschur is a good bet. I have a JIC 505 Stainless and love the sound and I believe it was around $600.

Ecuflash is a free program. $80 for the tactrix cable. If you have access to a laptop you can flash it yourself. All the instructions are in the ecuflash forum. Just be sure to research before you do anything. Understanding your car is key.

 

just stay away for the e-bay junk. it you are going with works on the flash then use their exhaust.

 

I'm gonna be modding this one piece at a time, so I'm not afraid to spend a bit more on things like gauge pods to do it right the first time. I've seen the radio gauge kit and wasn't impressed I'm gonna go full turbo-back eventually but I figured I'd start with cat-back and add the down pipe later. I've been told a high-flow cat isn't worth the money, but what do you guys think? I'm still learning a great deal about all this (a year ago I didn't even know the difference between a turbo and a supercharger lol ). The main reason I was thinking about flashing the ECU through works was because then I don't have to worry about warrenty issues. Also, after they've flashed it once every subsequent flash is free (so I've been told). The flash I believe does more than just compensate for the exhaust...the Works flash adds a couple PSI of boost, leans the mixture out a bit, and I think it raises the rev limit slightly. In fact I was thinking about doing that first, then having it re-flashed after getting the exhaust installed. Anyway, thanks for the prompt replies guys! I'll check out that Buscher exhaust, but right now I need to go to bed lol. 5:30 am here!

 

Really? The guy at Works told me not to

 

The only thing I hated about a tripple gauge on the A-pillar was reduced visibility. If you auto-x or track day the car....left handers will be a pain in the ... to see around the gauges. I had it and got rid of it for that reason.

Most flashed accomplish what you stated about the Works. As far as warranty...the dealer is never going to know unless they do a check sum of the codes and even then the works flash will show up. Doing it yourself, at least you could flash back to stock before you took it to the dealer (why you would even want them to touch your car is beyond me but not everyone is a mechanic...this I understand) A manual boost controller (MBC) gives you direct control of your boost. A good wideband O2 sensor allows you to moniter your afr's to tell if the flash you did (or anyone else's for that matter) is worth a damn. It is also another gauge that I feel is high on the list of must haves.

 

you know how much works flashes are?? Just come down to Torque freaks in portland and get your car tuned there. As far as exhausts i loved my AMS.

 

Doesn't manually upping the boost require some kind of fuel management system to prevent going too lean? Probably a dumb questing Is there a web site for Torque Freaks? I'd like to check that out. Horsepower Connection here in Olympia is the only place I currently know of with a dyno, but it's only a two-wheel dyno. I think I've heard of a place in Seattle with an all-wheel dyno, but I don't know the name.

Another option I was thinking of besides pillar pods was a steering column cluster, but from what I've seen that only allows for two gauges. I suppose I could go with boost and oil there and try to come up with another place to put O2 and Pyro. Bottom line with the gauges is I don't want it to look cheap.

 

http://www.torquefreaks.com/

I guess we all were new to the evo world at 1 point

 

Not trying to talk you out of A-pillar gauge pods by any means, but if you don't like the gauge pods that fit into the radio slot, Gruppe-S sells an entire replacement center console panel that you might want to look it.

 

That center panel is nice! Thanks for the link. I think I've found my solution. I'll still have to get the radio relocation kit to go with it, but this is a much better option imo. I really like the fact that it looks like a stock part, not a cheap add-on.

 

I was thinking of using autometer gauges, as I have a bunch of friends that highly recommend them. Again, I'm just going on heresay, so opinions by somebody with personal experience would be great. Think I'm gonna go with that 60mm center console replacement. The web site warned that some gauges might not fit. Anybody know if autometer gauges have any issues with this cluster?