Evolution Dynamics...the good, the bad, and the ugly, oh and long
Aug 3, 2009, 07:41 AM
#1
Evolution Dynamics...the good, the bad, and the ugly, oh and long
First things first, if you want the quick and dirty, Kevin, Richard, and Denver have quite an operation and they are all awesome guys. The shop is awesome, their work is through and awesome, I had an amazing 21 hour experience much to my wife's disapproval. Take your car there, it's worth both cents 
Now, if you want the long story -
I've had this box of parts in my garage for a while now waiting to get installed. I had talked to Kevin a while back, a few months actually, regarding a 60k service which steadily grew as I noticed some problems with the Evo. My calls to him got more frequent regarding the install of everything, all of which he happily said he could do. The time finally came to make the trip from Austin to Dallas. With my trunk full of parts, the wife, and the kiddos we took off Friday after work. After a short night of anticipation I left the wife and kiddos in the hotel and off to the shop I went. Kevin was on his way to meet me. I got to the shop at 9:00 AM or so with the trunk full of -
MAPerformance's Howard super large and in charge rods
Wiseco HD pistons
ACL rod bearings
New stock headgasket
Full Ferrera dual spring head work
Kelford 272's
Evo EPM o2 dump
3 port boost control for tune
60K service parts
My thought process is that I would rather have a motor I know I can trust before I throw a 35R on there and blow it up.
Keep in mind I've never met Kevin, Richard, or Denver before this trip. Kevin arrived shortly after I did and introduced himself. He started talking to me like we were friends immediately, not like those first akward silences with some mechanics. Richard walked up shortly after with his helpers in tow and also introduced himself, he was also very friendly. As Richard got to work ripping apart an Evo X pulling the motor, Kevin stood over my car and went over the list of parts I had brought to make sure I had everything and to determine what else I would need. Luckily I had everything but a few miscellaneous gaskets and an oil change, oops. Kevin went to work removing the engine harness as any good engineer would. I was amazed at how organized he was keeping everything, usually putting bolts back where they came from, not losing a single clip off a sensor (at least not the ones that still had them before), and explaining every single step of the way, along with keeping good conversation with me. He happily explained every single thing he was doing and why. After about an hour and a half or so (this with distractions) it was time to pull off the head with inake manifold with exhaust manifold attached. I was amazed at just how fast he ripped through this. He started looking over the stock bottom end and decided it was time to drop the oil pan now. He disappeared under the car for about 20 minutes, coming out every now and then to put some parts in a baggie, then the oil pan came off. One by one he removed the stock pistons and popped them out with the rods being very careful not to ding up the cylinder walls. He gave the walls a good hone and then he sat down with my new bottom end work and started checking the ring gaps and measuring them and again, explained why he was doing it all. By this time he had more than a few fellow evo'ers stopping by to say hi, ask what he was working on, and basically just hang out to shoot the ****.
After measuring all the end gaps and checking to make sure the clearances were good on the bearings a few other customers had mentioned calling a taxi or walking to the mall (4 miles away) but Kevin stopped and told them he could take them which was awesome. When is the last time your mechanic offered to take you anywhere except to the bank? I was getting hungry too so no need for a taxi, we were off to dropp the guys at the mall and grab a bite to eat in Kevin's car. Well I'm happy to say that Kevin's car is by far the fastest car I've ever ridden in. I texted my wife and told her I wanted a new turbo, her response was laughter, and asking if I was jealous...hell yes I am! He had a car full of people, with a slipping clutch, and was making the world look like it stood still. From a dead stop he launched it and we were immediately sideways, it was amazingly fast. Don't get me started on his brakes...anyway, after a very quick stroll to Chic-Fil-A we went back to work.
Denver showed up at the shop to work on another customer's clutch right after we got back, apparently he had spent the previous night at the shop til 4:30 so he was recovering still. I got back to work with Kevin measuring bearing clearances again to finish that up, explaining how plastiguage works (I missed that when I rebuilt my DSM motor but luckily it didn't have any issues, oops). I was very happy with how thorough he was with is explanation of everything. He explained the markings on the pistons which I had never seen and even showed me his super secret method to get the retaining clips into their proper places. Well after a few texts from the wife it was apparent I didn't explain to her properly the details of what all was being done and wanted me to come keep them company for dinner so reluctantly I had to leave. I offered to take a taxi but Richard offered me a ride (I was staying about 4 miles away) and off we went in his Evo X. He dropped me off, gave me a handshake and off I went.
After a few hours with the family I was back at the shop now at 8:00 PM. Kevin had finished the bottom end and showed me an issue with the pistons. Apparently the under part actually contacts the oil squirters so they had to be adjusted a bit, just part of his thoroughness with everything. By the time I got back Kevin almost had the head work on the new head (used but cleaned up at a machine shop and checked out). I swapped my clutch line while he was doing that using his tools which he said I could use no problem. In the mean time Kevin finished swapping the hardware to the new head and Denver was finishing with the clutch and the customer has taken off. It was 10:00PM now and Kevin had the head put back together so Denver ported my exhaust manifold while Kevin put back on the oil pan. Denver finished up explaining to me why they port the areas that they do. It was now time to put the head back on so together it was back on. Kevin went to work on all the belts while Denver on the headstuds. Kevin finished up the 60k service parts and after checking the timing 10 times decided it was time to tackle the EPM o2 dump. It was about 12:00AM now and I was exhausted. I kept getting a random text from my wife such as "??" and "SERIOUSLY, STILL THERE??" to which I responded...yes. To her credit she didn't know what all was to be done, she knew the 60k service was a few hours but I had spent approximately 13 hours at the shop by this time. We had a good laugh regarding Kevin and Denver being the bad influence friends that always keep me out late but later the wife would understand what all was done. Denver took the 3 port and did the most professional job I have ever seen on such a small item. He soldered the lines, shrinkwrapped the, even reinforced the resistor with a piece of stiff wire so it was safe. The whole thing looks top notch. After that it was time to do the o2 dump. The EPM o2 dump is a *****, HUGE *** MONSTEROUS sized ***** to install. Thursday night I spent about an hour wrapping it the proper way, baking it, then silicone painting it, then rebaking it. Kevin and Denver commented at how beautiful it was until they realized that I had wrapped too much too close to the stud holes so Kevin quickly went to work with a razor hacking it up, it made me sad and he apologized but said its memory would live on in his head. It wouldn't fit from the bottom so they tried moving the condensor, it still wouldn't fit so they removed the radiator, it STILL wouldn't fit so they pulled the hotside, tugged on the cartridge, adjusted the whole damn car and FINALLY it fit. Holy crap, it was now 3:00 AM or so I think almost and we were all annoyed. Denver started putting everything back together with Kevin by this time and it was going on 4:30 when they sat looking at the motor going over the list. Heater hoses - check, oil - check, coolant - check, etc etc for about 10 minutes going back over everything. When all was said and done, 4:45 AM, it was time to start her up. She started right up and it was time to take her out for a tune. Denver was taking off as he was falling asleep and didn't much care to see another tune take place. Denver and Kevin did agree to quote this work as a 2 day job now however. After Denver left Kevin hooked up his laptop and off we went. He started explaining to me what he was going to do and why and had me do a few pulls as he redid the tune. My meth kit started acting up and leaking so we had to do a tune without the meth but I'm going back up for round 2 shortly and having an HS-5 installed with a new tune but for now the tune is solid and the car runs good. I was running 29 lbs before with 1200 cc's of meth kicking on at 8 lbs but I want a more professional install with failsafes so for now I'm at 21 lbs on pump. It was 6:00 AM so I told him to just put it at 21 for now and I'd come back. We got back to the office and it was time to say good bye and try to an hour of sleep before the kiddos woke up so I had to take off. I will be back though! This shop has earned my business and nothing but rave reviews, it was a great experience!
The good - car runs great, very smooth, Kevin, Richard, Denver, great attention to detail
The bad - only 21 lbs, stupid leaking meth kit
The ugly - less than 1 hour of sleep before having to be up with the kiddos, headache Sunday, work today
Now, if you want the long story -
I've had this box of parts in my garage for a while now waiting to get installed. I had talked to Kevin a while back, a few months actually, regarding a 60k service which steadily grew as I noticed some problems with the Evo. My calls to him got more frequent regarding the install of everything, all of which he happily said he could do. The time finally came to make the trip from Austin to Dallas. With my trunk full of parts, the wife, and the kiddos we took off Friday after work. After a short night of anticipation I left the wife and kiddos in the hotel and off to the shop I went. Kevin was on his way to meet me. I got to the shop at 9:00 AM or so with the trunk full of -
MAPerformance's Howard super large and in charge rods
Wiseco HD pistons
ACL rod bearings
New stock headgasket
Full Ferrera dual spring head work
Kelford 272's
Evo EPM o2 dump
3 port boost control for tune
60K service parts
My thought process is that I would rather have a motor I know I can trust before I throw a 35R on there and blow it up.
Keep in mind I've never met Kevin, Richard, or Denver before this trip. Kevin arrived shortly after I did and introduced himself. He started talking to me like we were friends immediately, not like those first akward silences with some mechanics. Richard walked up shortly after with his helpers in tow and also introduced himself, he was also very friendly. As Richard got to work ripping apart an Evo X pulling the motor, Kevin stood over my car and went over the list of parts I had brought to make sure I had everything and to determine what else I would need. Luckily I had everything but a few miscellaneous gaskets and an oil change, oops. Kevin went to work removing the engine harness as any good engineer would. I was amazed at how organized he was keeping everything, usually putting bolts back where they came from, not losing a single clip off a sensor (at least not the ones that still had them before), and explaining every single step of the way, along with keeping good conversation with me. He happily explained every single thing he was doing and why. After about an hour and a half or so (this with distractions) it was time to pull off the head with inake manifold with exhaust manifold attached. I was amazed at just how fast he ripped through this. He started looking over the stock bottom end and decided it was time to drop the oil pan now. He disappeared under the car for about 20 minutes, coming out every now and then to put some parts in a baggie, then the oil pan came off. One by one he removed the stock pistons and popped them out with the rods being very careful not to ding up the cylinder walls. He gave the walls a good hone and then he sat down with my new bottom end work and started checking the ring gaps and measuring them and again, explained why he was doing it all. By this time he had more than a few fellow evo'ers stopping by to say hi, ask what he was working on, and basically just hang out to shoot the ****.
After measuring all the end gaps and checking to make sure the clearances were good on the bearings a few other customers had mentioned calling a taxi or walking to the mall (4 miles away) but Kevin stopped and told them he could take them which was awesome. When is the last time your mechanic offered to take you anywhere except to the bank? I was getting hungry too so no need for a taxi, we were off to dropp the guys at the mall and grab a bite to eat in Kevin's car. Well I'm happy to say that Kevin's car is by far the fastest car I've ever ridden in. I texted my wife and told her I wanted a new turbo, her response was laughter, and asking if I was jealous...hell yes I am! He had a car full of people, with a slipping clutch, and was making the world look like it stood still. From a dead stop he launched it and we were immediately sideways, it was amazingly fast. Don't get me started on his brakes...anyway, after a very quick stroll to Chic-Fil-A we went back to work.
Denver showed up at the shop to work on another customer's clutch right after we got back, apparently he had spent the previous night at the shop til 4:30 so he was recovering still. I got back to work with Kevin measuring bearing clearances again to finish that up, explaining how plastiguage works (I missed that when I rebuilt my DSM motor but luckily it didn't have any issues, oops). I was very happy with how thorough he was with is explanation of everything. He explained the markings on the pistons which I had never seen and even showed me his super secret method to get the retaining clips into their proper places. Well after a few texts from the wife it was apparent I didn't explain to her properly the details of what all was being done and wanted me to come keep them company for dinner so reluctantly I had to leave. I offered to take a taxi but Richard offered me a ride (I was staying about 4 miles away) and off we went in his Evo X. He dropped me off, gave me a handshake and off I went.
After a few hours with the family I was back at the shop now at 8:00 PM. Kevin had finished the bottom end and showed me an issue with the pistons. Apparently the under part actually contacts the oil squirters so they had to be adjusted a bit, just part of his thoroughness with everything. By the time I got back Kevin almost had the head work on the new head (used but cleaned up at a machine shop and checked out). I swapped my clutch line while he was doing that using his tools which he said I could use no problem. In the mean time Kevin finished swapping the hardware to the new head and Denver was finishing with the clutch and the customer has taken off. It was 10:00PM now and Kevin had the head put back together so Denver ported my exhaust manifold while Kevin put back on the oil pan. Denver finished up explaining to me why they port the areas that they do. It was now time to put the head back on so together it was back on. Kevin went to work on all the belts while Denver on the headstuds. Kevin finished up the 60k service parts and after checking the timing 10 times decided it was time to tackle the EPM o2 dump. It was about 12:00AM now and I was exhausted. I kept getting a random text from my wife such as "??" and "SERIOUSLY, STILL THERE??" to which I responded...yes. To her credit she didn't know what all was to be done, she knew the 60k service was a few hours but I had spent approximately 13 hours at the shop by this time. We had a good laugh regarding Kevin and Denver being the bad influence friends that always keep me out late but later the wife would understand what all was done. Denver took the 3 port and did the most professional job I have ever seen on such a small item. He soldered the lines, shrinkwrapped the, even reinforced the resistor with a piece of stiff wire so it was safe. The whole thing looks top notch. After that it was time to do the o2 dump. The EPM o2 dump is a *****, HUGE *** MONSTEROUS sized ***** to install. Thursday night I spent about an hour wrapping it the proper way, baking it, then silicone painting it, then rebaking it. Kevin and Denver commented at how beautiful it was until they realized that I had wrapped too much too close to the stud holes so Kevin quickly went to work with a razor hacking it up, it made me sad and he apologized but said its memory would live on in his head. It wouldn't fit from the bottom so they tried moving the condensor, it still wouldn't fit so they removed the radiator, it STILL wouldn't fit so they pulled the hotside, tugged on the cartridge, adjusted the whole damn car and FINALLY it fit. Holy crap, it was now 3:00 AM or so I think almost and we were all annoyed. Denver started putting everything back together with Kevin by this time and it was going on 4:30 when they sat looking at the motor going over the list. Heater hoses - check, oil - check, coolant - check, etc etc for about 10 minutes going back over everything. When all was said and done, 4:45 AM, it was time to start her up. She started right up and it was time to take her out for a tune. Denver was taking off as he was falling asleep and didn't much care to see another tune take place. Denver and Kevin did agree to quote this work as a 2 day job now however. After Denver left Kevin hooked up his laptop and off we went. He started explaining to me what he was going to do and why and had me do a few pulls as he redid the tune. My meth kit started acting up and leaking so we had to do a tune without the meth but I'm going back up for round 2 shortly and having an HS-5 installed with a new tune but for now the tune is solid and the car runs good. I was running 29 lbs before with 1200 cc's of meth kicking on at 8 lbs but I want a more professional install with failsafes so for now I'm at 21 lbs on pump. It was 6:00 AM so I told him to just put it at 21 for now and I'd come back. We got back to the office and it was time to say good bye and try to an hour of sleep before the kiddos woke up so I had to take off. I will be back though! This shop has earned my business and nothing but rave reviews, it was a great experience!
The good - car runs great, very smooth, Kevin, Richard, Denver, great attention to detail
The bad - only 21 lbs, stupid leaking meth kit
The ugly - less than 1 hour of sleep before having to be up with the kiddos, headache Sunday, work today
Last edited by 05blue8; Aug 3, 2009 at 12:15 PM.
Aug 3, 2009, 06:55 PM
#5
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Thanks for the novel hahahaha! 
Glad it worked out, sorry you have to come back for another tune... but those meth kits can be a PITA now and then! I say trash the meth kit and lets switch you over to e85 and w/ map switching :-)
I slept through my soccer game I had on sunday, oh well, I could barely move after 2 full days and nights of evos.
We try not to do the 4am nights very often, but we are soo busy and try to get everyone done in a timely manner while all 3 of us maintain 8 to 5 jobs
Did you get in trouble with the "boss" or did she forgive you?
Glad it worked out, sorry you have to come back for another tune... but those meth kits can be a PITA now and then! I say trash the meth kit and lets switch you over to e85 and w/ map switching :-)
I slept through my soccer game I had on sunday, oh well, I could barely move after 2 full days and nights of evos.
We try not to do the 4am nights very often, but we are soo busy and try to get everyone done in a timely manner while all 3 of us maintain 8 to 5 jobs
Did you get in trouble with the "boss" or did she forgive you?
Last edited by denver; Aug 4, 2009 at 06:00 AM.
Aug 3, 2009, 07:23 PM
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and thanks matt for bringing your car to us! i appoligise for it taking so long. ifit had just been me and denver working on your car only you would have been out of there way faster, but the clutch job was short notice. and i'll email you about the meth kit when i have a moment tomorrow
Aug 3, 2009, 08:43 PM
#7
danny you knock sensor was sopposed to be here today. i didn't get a call from them yet telling me it arrived but i'm assuming it did. you can stop by tomorrow night (tuesday night) and we can give it a try. i'm also going to try a different ecu in your car to rule that out as well.
and thanks matt for bringing your car to us! i appoligise for it taking so long. ifit had just been me and denver working on your car only you would have been out of there way faster, but the clutch job was short notice. and i'll email you about the meth kit when i have a moment tomorrow
and thanks matt for bringing your car to us! i appoligise for it taking so long. ifit had just been me and denver working on your car only you would have been out of there way faster, but the clutch job was short notice. and i'll email you about the meth kit when i have a moment tomorrow
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Aug 4, 2009, 06:43 AM
#9
Ha, forgive me? It was you guys that she needed to forgive, and yep, she did.
The problem with e-85 is the availability of it here in Austin. There is...1 station in town that sells it, about 25-30 miles from my house
You may be seeing more of me...I might be heading back up there this weekend so get some sleep now while you still can! Hehehehehe
The problem with e-85 is the availability of it here in Austin. There is...1 station in town that sells it, about 25-30 miles from my house
You may be seeing more of me...I might be heading back up there this weekend so get some sleep now while you still can! Hehehehehe
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