Most cost/effective CD9A Evo 1 Upgrades? (pics inside)

[deviantek]

Hey all,

I recently acquired one of the few Evo 1 GSR's in the states, and I'm having a hell of a time with info and finding after market parts for upgrading (as well as tuners). If anyone could provide worthy upgrade options/parts based on the specs of my car (provided below) I would very much appreciate it! Thanks!

(p.s. the car is currently in the shop being painted as there was alot of trouble spots & rust so it will soon no longer be red. I'll post new pics as soon as I get the car

In my search for an Impreza GC Coupe body to build a swap, or an already built swap, I came upon a craigslist sale of a 1992 Mitsubishi Evolution 1 GSR. At first glance I wasn't too impressed by the body/style and my subaru favoritism was peeling me away from looking too far in to it. After looking at some lemon/junk Swaps I decided to check out the evo for the hell of it since it was located in the area of a car I was already looking at.

End result: Absolutely fell in love with it. It's a mean machine, and the JDM RHD just added to it's mystique and 'must-have-ness.'

compression results were:
150
152
155
160

Specs (pics below):

This is one of the few real imported Mitsubishi Evolution 1 GSR in
United States. It was imported from Japan few years ago. It was
originally set up for Rally, but is using a street set up
currently. Below is a list of parts and modifications that have been professionally done by one of the Japan's tuner shops (ALEX). This car is amazing and is perfect for what it has. It is very fast and quick for being light weight and decently tuned.

Lancer Evolution GSR CD-9A (October, 1992)
Engine
* Rebuild by ALEX 3,000Km (1,875mile) ago
- Mitsubishi piston rings, thrust bearings, main bearings,
front & rear main seal
- Mitsubishi Evo new turbo
- Power Enterprise 1.5mm metal head gasket
- Power Enterprise timing belt and balance belt
- Rally Art engine mounts
* NGK racing spark plugs
* NGK racing spark cables
Transmission
* Rebuild by ALEX 4,000Km (2,500mile) ago
- Mitsubishi ALL new bearings, synchro-mesh rings
Suspension
* Replace stabilizer and lower arms from CD9A (Evo 1) to
CE9A (Evo 2, 3)
* KYB Rally / Gravel springs
- Front: 4.2kg/mm
- Rear: 3.5kg/mm
* KYB Gravel shock
- Front: Rally Special
- Rear: Rally Special
* Rally Art suspension upper mount bushings
* Rally Art front tower bar
* Rally Art rear tower bar
* Cusco Type 2 lower arm bar
* Jspeed (Car Station Marche) fender brace
Differential Gear
* LSD with ALEX custom setting
- Front: Cusco LSD RS 1 way 4,000Km (2,500mile) ago
- Rear: Cusco LSD MZ 1 way 3,500Km (2,188mile) ago
* Evo RS front LSD conversion parts
* Evo RS rear LSD conversion parts
Exhaust system & Air cleaner
* Fujitsubo RM-01A Exhaust system
* Fujitsubo racing down pipe
* After market stiff muffler bushings
* M's air cleaner
Clutch
* Cusco Hyper clutch cover
* Cusco Hyper light weight metal clutch disc
* OS Giken light weight fly wheel
* Knight Sports stainless steel mesh clutch hose
* Mitsubishi new clutch master cylinder
* ALEX stiff clutch pedal bracket
Brake
* Brake pad
- Front: Delphi Lockheed ZR (for racing track)
- Rear: Delphi Lockheed MT (for Rally and Auto-X)
* Brake calipers Rebuild by ALEX 3,000Km (1,875mile)
ago
* ALEX brake piston position helper springs (inside of the
front brake calipers)
* APP stainless steel mesh brake hoses
* Cusco brake master cylinder stopper
* Mitsubishi new hubs and knuckles
For Rally
* SAFTY21 (Cusco) 14 points CDS roll cage with
SAFTY21 roll cage sleeve (order made)
* SAFTY21 (Cusco) A and B pillar reinforcement plates
* Carrosser (Cusco) front skip plate
* Carrosser (Cusco) gas tank guard
* Carrosser (Cusco) differential gear box guard
* Carrosser (Cusco) Rally mud flaps
Interior
* Driver side
- SPARCO Corsa 2000 model black seat
- LaStrada Rally Super Low position seat rail
- Sabelt racing seat belt (3 inch / including shoulder pads)
- Carrosser (Cusco) Rally foot rest
- ALEX custom eye ball mounts for 4 points seat belts
* Passenger side
- SPARCO Evo2 2004 model black seat
- LaStrada Rally Super Low position seat rail
- Sabelt racing seat belt (2 inch / including shoulder pads)
- Carrosser (Cusco) Rally foot rest
- ALEX custom eye ball mounts for 4 points seat belts
* OMP Velocita 35cm black suede leather steering wheel
* Rally Art manual shifter bushing
* RAZO WRC style shift knob
* Rigid Alpha break and clutch pedals' covers
* AC, CD, speakers, radio units and floor cover are
removed
* Blitz turbo timer
* Inter Trust interior rear wide view mirror
Others
* Mine's race tune ECU
* YOKOHAMA ADVAN A035 (195/65 R15) tires
* Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 3 stock OZ white wheel
* Power Enterprise MAG Power 2 oil filter
* Mitsubishi Evo 1 rain guard
* Mitsubishi fuel filter 500Km (313mile) ago
* Mitsubishi cam shaft position sensor 600Km (375mile)
ago
* Red Line engine, transmission and LSD oil

Installed Cusco Zero-2E coilovers. It has an electronic
adjustable controller that can be mounted on the dash and adjusted on
the fly. Also installed is a set of 5Zigen FN01R-C 17x8 wheels with
Falken Azenis RT615 225/45R17 tires.

Below is a collage of pics I took. They're all amateur quality and I was in a rush

[/quote]

 

[tentacles]

Find LHD headlights and retune the ECU for North American pump gas?

 

[GSRSOL]

that is a MEAN looking E1 you have there. Loving the 5zigen FN01R-C rims....

what colour have you repainted it? and what offset are the rims to enable you to run 8" wide?

as for your question, what parts are you specifically chasing, and what do you intend to use the car for?

 

[DIESTI]

Find LHD headlights and retune the ECU for North American pump gas?

wots the go with LHD headlights how they any diffrent??

 

[VR-4Squid]

Find LHD headlights and retune the ECU for North American pump gas?

wots the go with LHD headlights how they any diffrent??

I believe they favour the right hand side on dipped beam, rather than the left.


I'd say all it really needs (after the ecu retune mentioned above) is to be driven :twisted:

 

[deviantek]

Find LHD headlights and retune the ECU for North American pump gas?

What's special about left hand drive headlights?

Also, it was tuned by the japanese shop "ALEX" which is apparently quite famous of their in japan. The previous owner said our 92 octane ran perfect on what the ECU was currently tuned for.

On that same note, how can a U.S. tuner tune such a car? For that matter it may be hard locating such a tuner.

 

[DIESTI]

Find LHD headlights and retune the ECU for North American pump gas?

wots the go with LHD headlights how they any diffrent??

I believe they favour the right hand side on dipped beam, rather than the left.


I'd say all it really needs (after the ecu retune mentioned above) is to be driven :twisted:

does that mean in nz your car lights favor where the sheep are. hehehe

 

[deviantek]

that is a MEAN looking E1 you have there. Loving the 5zigen FN01R-C rims....

what colour have you repainted it? and what offset are the rims to enable you to run 8" wide?

as for your question, what parts are you specifically chasing, and what do you intend to use the car for?

Thanks. Part I'm looking for would be best suited for Rally. Gravel/mud/tarmac. This car was originally tuned for rally. I don't have any tuners familiar with the ECU on the evo 1-3's so I'd like to pickup parts that won't necessarily be tune dependent.

It's being repainted in a truck bedliner. greyish/black. It's hard to describe, but the best I can do is offer you a picture of a subaru with the same paint:

(no, my car won't have ugly flame decals)

 

[deviantek]

and what offset are the rims to enable you to run 8" wide?

To tell you the truth I don't know what offset it's running right now. I took the car to the paint shop 2 days after purchasing it, and it's been in there since getting primed & repainted inside & out. I didn't even realize the wheels were 8" until you mentioned it.. lol.

 

[tentacles]

What's special about left hand drive headlights?

As mentioned above, they are aimed/cutoff to the right instead of to the left. If you keep driving with your JDM headlights you're shining your lights in the face of everyone coming towards you and is illegal in all civilized countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_directionality#Headlamps_and_other_lighting_equipment


You need to swap in headlights from a USDM Mitsubishi Mirage sedan.

The previous owner said our 92 octane ran perfect on what the ECU was currently tuned for.

If you have a JDM Mines ECU like you said, it's most likely tuned for 100+ RON Japanese fuel. Pretty much all the ones that show up in OZ (I gather, I'm not Australian so...) or Canada are. The STOCK Evo 1 ECU is tuned for ~98 RON ( 94 AKI) IIRC. Sure it will run on 91 AKI too, but not very well. Maybe it's been re-tuned, or maybe it hasn't. Do you really want to risk it?

 

[deviantek]

What's special about left hand drive headlights?

As mentioned above, they are aimed/cutoff to the right instead of to the left. If you keep driving with your JDM headlights you're shining your lights in the face of everyone coming towards you and is illegal in all civilized countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_directionality#Headlamps_and_other_lighting_equipment


You need to swap in headlights from a USDM Mitsubishi Mirage sedan.

The previous owner said our 92 octane ran perfect on what the ECU was currently tuned for.

If you have a JDM Mines ECU like you said, it's most likely tuned for 100+ RON Japanese fuel. Pretty much all the ones that show up in OZ or Canada are. The STOCK Evo 1 ECU is tuned for ~98 RON ( 94 AKI) IIRC. Sure it will run on 91 AKI too, but not very well. Maybe it's been re-tuned, or maybe it hasn't. Do you really want to risk it?

Thank you for the info. Would it be safe to presume that a skilled tuner of evo 8-10's may be able to work with the CD9A/CE9A's? If not, what additional equipment and/or ECU swaps are best in order to tune it.

Thanks -

 

[tentacles]

Someone else can probably answer that better than I can, I just use the stock ECU and 94 Octane gas on mine and hope for the best. The ECU is fairly similar to the Galant VR4 AFAIK, wouldn't hurt to ask around at some DSM shops if you have any close by.

Also, according to the paint code list (stickied on top of this forum), Evo 1s didn't come in red, not GSRs anyway, so yours probably has a few coats of paint on it already.

 

[VR-4Squid]

Also, according to the paint code list (stickied on top of this forum), Evo 1s didn't come in red, not GSRs anyway, so yours probably has a few coats of paint on it already.

That's odd, I've got scans of the original Lancer GSR evolution sales brochure and the car on the front is red!

 

[tentacles]

Ha! Maybe the sticky is wrong? Good thing I put that qualifier in there.

You can always run it through CAPS to get the original colour.

Punched a few random Chassis codes into CAPS and managed to get a R91 - Carlton Red, so there you go.

 

[tUfRiCe]

You cant tune the mines ecu iits a plug in replacement i have it in my car (evo1) it is similar to stock just no boost cut an rev limiter also a lil more air/fuel....
should be okay unless u push ure timing an shit too far... probably should look at aftermarket management..
low cost good mods....

brian crower 264...or 272 cam shafts with cam gears....
u can get kick ass cheap 20g turbos over there too
heck a forged rebuild eagle rods an pistons is hell cheap in the states u can buold a monster for like 7grand

 

[YellowEvo1]

My ecu has a HKS tune and it is runs with no problems on 92 octane pump gas

 

[Dean]

My ecu has a HKS tune and it is runs with no problems on 92 octane pump gas

Thats what you think, have u tried running it on 98?
You will notice the difference.
Plus your minimising the life of your engine

 

[Liberoz]

My ecu has a HKS tune and it is runs with no problems on 92 octane pump gas

And have you ever ran a wide band in the exhaust to know its running fine with the 92 ????

 

[DOUGMO]

And have you ever ran a wide band in the exhaust to know its running fine with the 92 ????

i believe that the octane ratings between here and the us dont match up