5 STUD CONVERSION - HOW TO - WITH LOTS OF PICS

[evo-gsr]

There are so many threads on this topic all with a lack of definite info and no pics...so i thought i would post up how I went about it with heaps of pics, so anyone looking to do this can use this guide and be successful.
This is how I achieved the 5 stud conversion on my Evo 1, so GSR owners will be the same, but Evo 2 / 3 owners need to be aware that the front sway bar setup is different so will require drop links.

FRONTS :

I acquired a set of EVO 4 front knuckles and control arms, the knuckles have the Brembo bolt spacing which was half my reason for this conversion. Now...due to not wanting to stuff around changing sway bars etc etc I kept my Evo 1 lower control arms and removed the Evo 4 knuckle from the Evo 4 lower control arm. However...to fit the Evo 4 knuckles to the Evo 1 lower control arm the lower ball joint must be changed from the Evo 1 ball joint to the later model ball joint as it is slightly different.

You can see in the pictures below the difference in the 2 arms..Note the Evo 1 lower control arms (black ones) have the tab for the sway bar link while the Evo 4 lower control arms (silver arms) do not.... you can also see the difference in the lower ball joint setup between the E1 & E4 arms

So I purchased Evo 4-9 ball joints and pressed then welded those into the Evo 1 lower control arms

So once the ball joints were in place in the Evo 1 lower control arms, the Evo 4 knuckles bolt straight on.... and look like this

With the unpainted Brembos dummy fitted

The Brembos will require a 320mm disc to complete the setup...which I am awaiting delivery of and will post pics once they arrive.

 

[evo-gsr]

One other thing to note...I replaced the tie rod ends while I was at it...But they need to be inverted so that they come in from the top rather than from the bottom now that I am using the Evo 4 knuckles

I also replaced the sway bar bushes with some Whiteline items which look a lot better than the tired old rubbers that were in there

I then paint stripped the Brembos right back to bare metal..

 

[evo-gsr]

I used KBS products to prime and paint the brakes.

 

[evo-gsr]

 

[evo-gsr]

The finished product with new heatproof stickers.

 

[evo-gsr]

320mm dimpled and slotted discs

I will be using these ↑ QFM HPX pads in the Brembos which are apparently excellent pads and virtually dust free!

 

[evo-gsr]

REARS---

The rears are a little bit more stuffing around.

I got some Evo 7 rears which were complete...hubs..handbrake shoes..knuckles etc..but as I was not converting the rear to Brembos I only needed the hubs. The Evo 7 rears are the item in the middle of the pic

So the hubs basically unbolt from the rear of the brake setup leaving you with this

The only issue is with the Evo 7 rears they have the ABS pickup on the driveshaft...so if you are keeping the ABS you need to address that.
I originally planned to use the original Evo 1 ABS rings and set about filling the 4 holes in preparation to re-drill the 5 holes that the studs recess into

They ended up looking like this

 

[evo-gsr]

Re drilling the 5 holes for the head of the studs, in the Evo 1 ABS rings, became a bit of a mission so that was aborted and I later found out that the fto rear hubs had the same ABS setup and they have the ABS ring which I needed. I found a set of hubs and ABS rings for $50 which I snapped up.

The only problem with the Evo 7 hubs is that because they dont normally run the ABS ring pictured above is that they have no holes for the retaining bolts like the Evo 1 hub pictured below.

So I had to drill and tap new holes in the Evo 7 hubs to be able to bolt the ABS ring to the back of the hub

 

[evo-gsr]

So once the ABS ring problem is sorted...you will need to do the following.

Press the old 4 stud hub and bearing out of the rear trailing arm so that the trailing arm is bare ( see pics below)

Press the Evo 7 hub, out of the back of the bearing carrier and remove the bearing shell from the Evo 7 hub.

You then need to purchase a replacement bearing ( I used KOYO ) to suit Evo 1,2 or 3/ GSR which is then pressed into the Evo rear trailing arm

Once the bearing is pressed into the trailing arm you then press the Evo 7 hub ( which has the FTO ABS ring attatched to the back) into the bearing in the trailing arm.

 

[evo-gsr]

Once all thats done you can bolt the rear trailing arm back onto the car which should look like this

 

[evo-gsr]

Im using the Evo 5, Oz Racing F1, 17x 7+ 38, Enkies on my Evo which I had painted at work in the R35 GTR colour called Titanium.
Im running 215 / 40 / 17 tyres.

 

[evo-gsr]

To save stuffing around redrilling the rear discs...I discovered that the FTO rear discs are exactly the same in all dimensions as the original Evo 1 rear discs with the obvious exception that they have 5 holes instead of 4.

I am awaiting arrival of these too.

 

[evo-gsr]

Fto slotted and dimpled discs and with the Evo 5 wheel bolted on.

 

[evo-gsr]

Reserved

 

[EVO-00X]

Great idea Jamo!!
This is gonna be good.

 

[EVOCPE]

Awesome. What do u need to do with the rears if you dont have abs?

 

[khubner1]

i'm assuming nothing since the abs ring would be surplus to requirements.

so the brembo rear brake assembly just bolt onto the early evo trailing arm? and it's just the bearing carrier assembly thats different. early evo being apart of trailing arm and evo 7 being separte?

 

[evo-gsr]

Mikey...if you dont have ABS then you just ignore that part and use the late model hubs as they are.

Kyle..No the rear Brembos do not "just bolt onto the early evo trailing arms" Racefab sell adaptors if you want to run Brembos on the back but then you need to sort out a handbrake setup as the late models have a brake shoe setup in the middle of the disc..you can see it in one of the pics I have posted. Thats why I kept the early model rear brake setup.
And yes the bearing setup on the rear is different between the early and late model which is also in the pics I have posted.

 

[khubner1]

yeah i was hoping there was a way to run the internal drum handbrake on the earlier cars. by replaceing the backing plate/diskbrak adapter on the earlier cars the manual shows they are removable

 

[evo-gsr]

From memory ( a mate has done this on his early Evo) you need to use different rear trailing arms. Possibly FTO? Im not sure on that but..someone else might correct me or confirm
If you look at the pics I've posted of the Evo 7 rear setup and the bare trailing arm you can see that it doesnt look like its a possibility to adapt the handbrake setup to the early arms without some sort of magic.