tmar253

Hey guys, I bought a 2003 Evo 8 which is awesome, I wanted to take this time to introduce myself to the Evom community. I have been into the import scene for a while now and this is my first Mitsubishi. I started off with Hondas at 16 with basic swaps & by age 21 started my first turbo build. When I started the build I had never driven a turbo car but always wanted to, starting I had initial goal of running 10’s. I chose a 94 Integra GSR for the chassis which already had a 10 point roll cage that was awesome. Speedfactory Racing did the entire build GSR engine, fully built sleeved block, built head, turbo etc. Precison 67/68 hpq with divided garret 1.15 ar exhaust housing was the turbo we chose. The build took about a year to and was complete May 2010 just in time for Woodburn IFO, was anxious to get to the track to run a number. Build was complete still had not driven a turbo car, I was anxious get to the track and this being my first time driving anything turbo I was also a little nervous. I was able to complete all six licensing passes that day. My final license pass I was able to run a 9.93 at 143 mph. I had accomplished my goal and was very pleased with the outcome of not only the build but running a 9 sec pass. Fast forward, Now.

I was car shopping and initially went to the dealer to get a 2007 Sti, I never even really considered an Evo but just so happens that had both at this particular dealer I went to.
Sweet! I was able to test drive both and you know the rest. Evo Wins!

I was very happy with my purchase; the car has a few basic mods and drove like a dream initially. I drove the car approximately 60 miles and the 2nd day owning the car. I was going to the store and hopped on the freeway, car starting sputtering and jolting as if it were running out of gas, gas gauge is at half tank. Now on the side of the freeway at 9 pm on a Sat with my 4 y/o daughter, luckily I had the paperwork from the purchase which had the warranty and roadside assistance phone number. Tow truck drops the Evo off at the house, do to the dealer being closed. Called first thing Sunday morning they state they will pick it up on Monday Morning. They don’t come until 6pm Monday evening, finally gets there and they say give them a few days to figure it out. They call Thursday, state I can pick the car up Friday and car is ready to go but it will need to be tuned. Do to the fact I bought the car used from the dealer with no real info from the previous owner, it had a few mods and wasn’t sure if it had been tuned I was planning on getting it tuned anyway. Come to find out the only issue with the car is that it ran out of gas because the gas gauge was reading incorrectly. I think no big deal, right! Wrong I go to pick the car up that Friday notice right away the SES light is flashing, it had not done this at all during my first two days of ownership and had been running great. I explain to the guy at the service department that the SES light is flashing, he comes up with up with a BS excuse and sends his lousy techs out to check the codes. They state there are no codes and car is good to go, I do some searching on the forum and states that the SES flashing is put on by a tuner to indicate there is knock count or misfire. I go to drive the car and it would not rev past 3k and fall flat, I take it back immediately and let them know what is going on. They give me a rental car; tell me they are going to have it sent to another shop to have it checked out as they do not work on these types of cars. Long story short, car was at this “other shop” for a little over a month, the SES is still on although it does not flash. Car is only reaching 10 psi and seems considerably slower from when I originally purchased the car.

I have done some research and what I’ve gathered/assume
-The car was probably tuned, they reflashed the ecu back to stock the first time I went to pick the car up when it would only rev to 3k rpm. The car was running SD and when the car was reflashed it did not run or won’t run do to the SD? They denied reflashing.
-Car runs now a lot better then the first time I went to go pick the car up (but still not what it was when I initially bought the car. This is do to them removing basically anything that was aftermarket. The car had a MBC, and turbo timer those are now gone, I don’t know if that is affecting the boost issue?
- I would like to get the car back to where it was when I purchased and then mod from there, if you all can give me your opinions on what I should do from here it would be greatly appreciated.
-My goal once I get it running properly is to start building the car, my overall goal would be to run 9’s with full interior basically street car.

Thank you for your time sorry for the long post but I wanted to get introduce myself and also get you guys input.

Czarcasm

iTrader: (18)

If you owned a 9 sec honda in the past why didnt you troubleshoot the issue yourself?

If there are no codes than do a boost leak test. What mods does the car have?

impact blue

iTrader: (1)

Send the car to a shop that knows what they are doing stop taking it to the dealer or a shop that doesn't doeal with evos.

MisfitEvo9

iTrader: (1)

Call English Racing, chances are they tuned the car since it's SD.

tmar253

I purchased the car 2 days prior any issue that arose i would think would be the responsibility of the dealer. I need to run the codes myself, the ses light is still on although it is not flashing. It was my understanding that when the ses light is flashing that is a safety mechanism added by the tuner to indicate knock or a misfire? I do not rely on this car as my daily means of transportation and I have not been driving it because of the ses light is still on which is why I think their are codes. I purchased the warranty on the car when I had this issue I thought it was something that would be covered under warranty. What puzzles me is the fact that the gas light did not come on, even though the needle was not reading correctly & indicated a half tank the gas light should have come on. Other than the obvious intake, exhaust, Bov I,m unaware what other mods have been done engine. I do believe the car had other mods to the engine/turbo & were taken off when the previous owner got rid of the car. I live in tacoma and the closes specialty shop that works on Evo's is English Racing. First things first I need to check the codes, I will report back once I check the codes hopefully something will show up.
It's definitely down on power and want to get it back to where it was. What psi do these run stock? The boost gauge only indicates 10 psi. I know before I took it was hitting at least 20-25 psi.

tmar253

I will do that tomorrow

tmar253

You sir are correct, the only shop that works on evo's I know of around my area is about 2.5 hrs away. I just have to find the time to go down there, do to my busy schedule.