Below are the fuel economy numbers for June 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As always, we were missing a few cars that were out of town or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.
Car
Best
Worst
Average
2009 Audi A4 Avant
26.8
17.5
21.9
2009 Audi S5
22.3
11.3
18.0
2008 BMW 135i
27.7
13.9
19.8
2009 BMW 750i
21.8
12.4
17.9
2002 BMW M3
23.5
12.3
17.5
2009 BMW M3
20.5
12.7
16.1
2009 Ford Flex Limited
26.7
13.7
19.2
2008 Ford Focus SES
40.6
16.6
26.7
2007 Honda Civic GX
47.3
12.7
31.6
2009 Honda Fit Sport
39.0
24.9
31.0
2009 Hyundai Genesis
24.4
14.3
20.4
2009 Infiniti FX50
21.8
10.7
16.9
2009 Mazda 6
29.3
19.4
23.5
2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR
22.6
11.0
17.0
2009 Nissan 370Z
24.4
13.7
17.9
2009 Nissan GT-R
21.8
11.5
16.4
2008 Smart Fortwo Passion
43.4
23.5
33.6
2009 Suzuki SX4
28.3
18.6
22.5
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
43.0
28.0
34.6
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
Umm, so yeah, it seems that the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR's fun plug that Mr. Niebuhr, photo editor, uninstalled from the exhaust is now missing. He said that he placed it in the GSR's cupholder so that if anyone wanted to reinstall it they could. Well, naturally I wanted to reinstall it but other editors really think that Niebuhr should do the honors. In any case, the plug isn't in the car; at least not in the cupholders or glovebox. Don't know where it is.
This wouldn't be so much of an issue if the car didn't start fights wherever it went.
I'm a fervent recycler. I can't stand throwing things out or allowing them to lay fallow in disuse. Therefore, I couldn't stand by as the Evo's wing sat in a corner amongst our testing props gathering dust.
I needed to find an alternate use for the wing ...
Say what you will about aerodynamics, tackiness and visibility, what really bugs me about the EVO's wing removal is the lack of a proper external cupholder. I'm certainly not going to put my sweating iced coffee on painted metal, but a big hunk of plastic is fair game in my book. Sure, we could put the wing back on, but then we're back to not being able to back up. Solution? Buy a 2009 Nissan GT-R-- stylish and functional.
(Demonstrated below by professional testing team. No paint was harmed in the production of this blog.)
Before you press play, make sure to turn up the volume on the YouTube box first.
I'll tell you what I think of photographer Kurt's removal of the "fun plug" from our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR: It sucks. I hadn't read the post where he said he removed it because he likes loud cars. So I took it home last night because I like its modded discreetness, and now that it doesn't have a wing it's even stealthier. But then while I was stuck in rush-hour traffic, I couldn't help but think, "Am I crazy or did the GSR get louder?" And then every time I had to start from a stop, surrounded by other annoyed commuters, the GSR revved loudly like it was gunning for a drag race. The other drivers looked at me as if to say "WTF?"
Later, J to the K, the editor responsible for this Project Evo, told me what that mischievous Kurt did. Greaaat. And once again I felt like I was driving a cop magnet. They all looked at the car like it was trouble. But I think that my being behind its wheel is what saved me from getting pulled over.
I hate the sort of attention this loud car attracts: angry neighbors, suspicious cops and F&F wanna-bes who think I'm trying to start something with them. I just want to drive a fun, fast car and have people underestimate it at the stoplights. Heh.
BTW, there's a stationary rev limiter built in from the factory, and that's what you hear in the video.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 22,743 miles
A modified, blue 2008 Mitsubishi Evolution GSR pulls up to a newly turned red light. The driver begins fiddling with the radio.
A second modified car approaches on the left of the Mitsubishi. The car slows for the same red light. The car is low, fitted with dark colored wheels, similar in style to the Mitsubishi's. The car is adorned with a few stickers, but is otherwise clean, and aside from tinted windows and a single, prominent exhaust pipe, looks unremarkable. The windows are down and both the passenger and driver turn their attention towards the blue Mitsubishi.
Now that I got that out of the way, let's rewind about 3 months.
When I photographed the AMS Twin Tip exhaust before our Engineering Editor and general EVO guru J. Kavanagh had it installed on our GSR, I noticed the option of removing a disc that would allow the exhaust to exit without passing through the muffler. Kavanagh shook his head and mumbled something about getting pulled over or headaches or yeah, whatever.
Fast forward back to this weekend.
Saturday, I found myself with 10 minutes to kill and the GSR in my garage. Follow the jump to see how easy is it to remove the Fun Plug on our GSR.
Thanks to stpawyfrmdonut for this week's favorite caption.
I also want to give a shout out to altimadude00 for many great entries.
Here are the others that gave us a jolt:
The only CAFE Standards an Evo will ever meet! (ergsum) Gotta have your morning boost. (altimadude00) Whole latte love for the GSR! (ergsum) CAN I HAZ SPOILER BACK? (dougtheeng) Evo creams coffee in addiction dept. (altimadude00) We only serve naturally aspirated here. (altimadude00) Tokyo Drip (stpawyfrmdonut) MoJoe Powered. (sideswiper) Brewed in 60 Seconds (ergsum) Good to the last drift (cat_bus) I can always use a mid-day boost (sanjojoe) The Fast And The Frothy (evorx)
Enough about the rear spoiler, I want to talk about how our tuned up Evo GSR drives.
You know when you start modifying a car and you improve it and improve it and improve it and then you unintentionally cross some invisible line and suddenly the car is not as good as it was one mod ago? It might be faster, but now it has driveability issues, or the engine has lost bottom end in exchange for peak horsepower or it rides too roughly to justify the slight g gain on the skidpad. Suddenly it's compromised too far in one direction.
Well, our Evo hasn't crossed that line yet. Right now it's in that sweetspot. Jay Kav has made it better than it was in every way. I might even go so far as to call it perfect. I love driving this car right now. It's fast. It sounds good. It has bottom end torque. It steers well. And its ride is fantastic.
What is wrong with you poeple? I thought I'd be a hero for dewinging our Evo, but the bulk of you like it better with that silly thing attached to its rump.
I can't believe it. Hell, even Mitu has sold an Evo in the USA without a big, dumb salami slicer glued to the trunk. Here are a couple of shots of the lightweight Evo VIII RS. It was the baddest Evo you could buy back in 2004 and it is wingless, as is our long-term BMW M3 sedan I might add. And the Mercedes E63. You don't see Audi making any RS4s with buildings bolted to the trunk, do you?
Drove our modified 2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR home last night. When I did the car's rear spoiler was attached to the its decklid, doing nothing useful except blocking my rear vision and ricing up the little sedan.
As you can see, when I drove our modified 2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR to work this morning that rear wing was no longer annoying the crap out of me.
Just in case you haven't noticed, we lowered our EVO GSR with AST 4200 coilovers by Vorshlag. I offer this photo of the car's striking new stance to illustrate that it is, in fact, much lower than stock (and because I love those Volk Wheels). Often times, this comes with unavoidable compromise.
How does our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR remind me of a motorcycle?
-- Its exhaust note can set off car alarms. -- It idles like one. Although it seems more pronounced now since that video was taken. -- It corners like it's on rails. -- It can squirt around traffic, minus the lane-splitting. -- Its upshifts rumble like a bike's. -- It stalls if you don't warm it up in the morning and you have to give it some gas while turning the key.* (FYI, I called J to the K about it this morning and he said that maybe "the blah blah blah" needs to be replaced. I couldn't hear him over the idling car. In any case, he'll address it.)
* I know this isn't motorcycle-specific and cars do this, too, but since I have motorcycle on the brain, that's what it reminds me of.
If you've been keeping tabs on Project Evo X, our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR, you know that we've added power and tire. And although the stock suspension hasn't exactly withered as a result, we wanted to add control and adjustability to better exploit the additional width of our Bridgestone RE-11 tires and Volk Racing RE30 wheels.
Being nose-heavy and tall with a MacPherson strut front suspension, the Evo can really take advantage of a lot more static negative camber up front. So camber plates are a given.
We also wanted to lower the car's center of gravity somewhat and rein in the front camber loss due to body roll. This means ride height adjustment and higher spring rates plus--and this is the critical bit--damper valving that can deal with everything we throw at it.
Doing all of these things will improve transient response and grip. As for ride quality, we're willing to deal with a somewhat busier ride in the Evo but the degradation must be minimal. Our target, the GT-R, defines the bounds of what we're willing to tolerate in Project Evo X. A long-travel suspension will help here.
When it comes to handling, there's no question that our problem statement of a streetable GT-R killer is a tall order.
Around 3 am I left my friend's house in Huntington Beach to travel the 48 miles north to my house in Santa Monica. I thought about spending the night, but there were people crashed out on the floor everywhere and I was wide awake.
There wasn't a soul in site as I pulled onto the freeway from a dead stop.
First gear: Gunning it, seeing how it feels. Once that turbo kicks in the GSR transforms from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde.
Second: Slammed that gear back quick and hammered the gas. I can feel my weight sink in the seat.
Third: Quick flick of my thumb up and this thing is getting loud.
Fourth: Curl my fingers and mash that gas once again. Wow, without looking at the speedo I can tell I'm going fast!
As I clear the entrance ramp and enter the freeway I looked down a the speedo to see the needle well into tripple digits. This thing went from a dead stop to light speed in a matter of seconds. I'm stunned.
Would I buy one? It's a question I ask myself whenever I slide behind the wheel of a car. Would I drop my hard earned money on one of these? Would I want to own it? Drive it for years? Look at it in my driveway? Tell people it's mine?
It's also the question you the reader ask me the most. So I've decided to go through all the cars we now have in our fleet and decide whether or not I would buy one. I also included a few recently departed vehicles. Seems appropriate since they just left us.
I discovered that to drive our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR is to gain entrance into a brotherhood. Since there aren't many Evos on the road, when one Evo driver encounters another it's a pleasant surprise. I hadn't noticed just how rare it is to see other Evos until I was driving down a street in Beverly Hills the other day and another one suddenly appeared before me as it rounded the corner and headed in the opposite direction. I found myself exclaiming, "Heyyy!" in recognition while the other driver gave me a head nod and a hand up as he passed by. That was so cool! He thinks I'm one of the gang. Of course I instantly gave it away that I'm actually not by smiling broadly, waving enthusiastically...and being a girl.
I was better at pretending to be a Mini owner. Back when I drove our long-term 2002 Mini Cooper, when the redone Mini first came out and there weren't many on the road, I'd run into another Mini and wave "Hiiiiii!" and got the same greeting in return. It even said in the Mini's owner's manual that you should greet other Mini drivers like that.
But I'm getting that since there aren't many Evos on the road, those who have them are happy to acknowledge other owners. I like to attribute it to how motorcyclists, riding American traditional bikes or cruisers, pass each other on the road with the low two-finger wave.
Made me wonder what other brotherhoods are there and how the members greet one another. I heard that VW Beetles acknowledge each other by flashing their headlights. Porsche owners apparently have a special Porsche salute. Corvette drivers employ a subtle wave.
BTW, regarding the above photo of our Evo GSR, it has been lowered by about an inch so now it requires a handwash rather than a run through the car wash.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 21,347 miles
Is that stealthy or what? The AEM intake on Project Evo X, our long-term 2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR could be a factory part.
Installation is a breeze. The instructions are so clear that an ape could install it. Everything fits the way it's supposed to, too. No grinding or persuading at all. That can't be said for most aftermarket modifications.
This intake differs in layout from the AMS intake which was on the car previously. Click the jump to see how.
We've had an AEM intake waiting patiently on the shelf as we installed other mods in Project Evo X, our long-term 2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR. The car had an AMS cold-air intake when we took delivery of it, and though it has helped produce some stout power numbers, its constant hissing is like pheromone spray for cops.
The AEM intake includes an airbox that should muffle the sound, plus all the bits above. It's a deceptively simple-looking kit, as looking closer there are a lot of clever touches.
For example, there are ribs molded into the plastic elbow to strengthen it against the low pressure that can be generated in this area. The MAF pipe is completely isolated from the chassis via rubber isolation mounts. Its "Dryflow" filter never needs oiling which is nice because oiled filters can play havoc with mass flow sensors.
And the filter itself lives in said sealed plastic airbox that not only prevents the intake of hot underhood air but also, at a glance, appears stock to the undiscriminating eye. If, you know, those eyes miss the AEM logo stamped into its lid. MSRP is $330.21.
Back in December I was lamenting Inside Line's plans to quiet down our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR until I had to live with it for a weekend. Jump to now when the buzzy exhaust has been muted and the car is as easy to live with as my beloved Evo MR. OK, THAT I was fine with. But now the swoosh is gone, too? I LOVED that sound. It evoked the sensation of flying a jet plane.
But then an editor pointed out that now it's possible to tap into the GSR's power without drawing too much attention. Sweet!
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 21,020 miles
Sorry to be so superficial, but I am. After driving our ridiculously fast Evo GSR last night, the one thing that stuck in my head was the look of the new wheels. I mean look at that sucker, you're not going to get anything like that from the factory. The dual finishes, the deep lip, it's gorgeous and looks great on the GSR.
When I was done admiring the Evo's shiny parts, I did actually get in and drive the car to sample all the new mods. This thing was freakishly fast before, now it's almost scary. 12-second street cars tend to feel that way.
It goes by many names, but its operation is often misunderstood. I'm referring to the blowoff valve (aka BOV, bypass valve, anti-surge valve, recirc valve) found in all modern turbocharged gasoline engines.
To illustrate what the BOV does and what affects its operation, I'll use variations of the above photo of our longterm 2008 Evo GSR project car's engine bay. Keep in mind I wasn't an art major. Or a photographer.
Hit the jump for ramblings on turbocharging esoterica, bad freeware illustrations and what all of this has to do with Project Evo.
Not wanting to delve too deeply into bathroom humor (I don't want to sully my squeaky clean reputation) I'll keep this brief and free of gory detail.
The Evo GSR sharted on my washing machine.
Note the standard sized washing machine and the non-standard sized shart left by a cold and cranky GSR. I'd put the distance from the tailpipe to the washer at around three feet. And no, I'm not going to clean it off.
It's been a while since I was behind the wheel of the GSR. I knew my drive to San Francisco was going to be special the second I started the engine. The idle was rough and staccato like a confused tweaker not knowing what to do. I could tell something was different about this project car and I wanted to find out what.
The engine came to life once I got on the throttle to blast up the I-5, a three hundred mile stretch of not much. The massive amounts of power allowed me to thunder past groups of slow cars and trucks with ease. So much ease that I didn't notice I was reaching speeds well in excess of the legal limit without much difficulty.
The pressure relief valve for the turbo, seeming placed under my left foot, constantly hissed and farted as I flew up the interstate. Going around town and other short trips this noise was acceptable, but in a prolonged driving situation I got a little tired of the cobra under my foot.
Right when I got over the Grapevine down into the Central Valley, the rain was coming down in buckets. I transitioned over to I-5 on-ramp and woman in a Z4 blew past my right side. She lost control directly in front of me and smashed into guardrail. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. As she spun out of control, her car flung debris and eventually came to rest on the guardrail on the opposite side. Thankfully for the sharp handling and AWD traction of our GSR, I was able to dodge BMW chunks and the horrific whirling dervish without much difficulty.
My heart was in my throat as I looked into my mirror to see she was ok and people were pulling over to assist her. Hiss and fart all you want little buddy. I'll take the noise for the massive capability any day.
I get this question almost daily from somebody, and my answer usually blows their mind. I say, "Well, everyday this guy Mike walks up to me with a clipboard that contains a list of 15 to 30 cars ranging from a Smart to a GT-R and he says, 'Scott, what do you want to drive home tonight.'"
Every time I drive our long-term 2008 Evo MR or 2008 Evo GSR, a warning light flashes up on the instrument panel at least once. There's a ding and then a light flashes up and then promptly disappears a half-second after I glance down.
The light comes and goes so quickly that I never have a chance to really get a solid look at it, never mind snap its photo. I can say that the circumstances that precede the warning inevitably involve some combination of a fast turn and hard acceleration.
This morning, my cat-like reflexes paid off and I got a good hard look at the warning light and later consulted the owner's manual (cheated photo from manual above).
So "CHECK" what? Well, you'll notice the symbol resembles a drum brake. On a car with four wheel disc brakes, but whatever. According the manual, there's either a fault in the brake system or the fluid is low. Also, a "brake" light apparently comes on elsewhere in the cluster.
Basically, hard driving sloshes the brake fluid in the reservoir away from the fluid level sensor. The sensor interprets this as low fluid and sends up the warning. Once the fluid settles back in place a second or so later, the now-happy sensor retracts the warning.
Our Evos' brake pads are somewhat worn, so the fluid level is a bit lower than normal (but still above the minimum) in both cars, which exacerbates the situation. And in the case of the GSR, which accelerates like a scalded hummingbird, the fluid is subjected to even more g-load-induced sloshing than it would experience otherwise.
Low-ish fluid + overly sensitive sensor = elusive warning for a nonexistent problem. Mystery solved.
With a few hundred miles on our new Bridgestone RE-11 tires on an equally new quartet of lightweight Volk Racing RE30 wheels, it was time to bring Project Evo X, our longterm 2008 Evo GSR, back to the testing grounds.
We tested handling and braking only since those areas are what the new rolling stock will most affect. Acceleration testing was scratched. No sense subjecting the overworked stock clutch to further launching abuse for no good reason.
Here's what happened:
Braking (60-0), feet: 108
Slalom, mph: 69.9
Skid Pad, g: 0.93
Braking notes: Nothing new here. System requires a little heat before performance is optimal. No fade at pedal. Distance stable at 108-109 feet.
Slalom notes: Lots of grip but needs sharper response. It's a bit of a slog to get this car between the cones without overwhelming the obviously too-soft suspension. Needs more control.
Skid Pad notes: Counter-clockwise, the GSR can achieve a nice tail-out attitude all the way around. Not so easy to get this going clockwise, however. Still, chassis is sensitive to throttle inputs, which is nice.
Compare the above results to Project Evo's performance in October on stock wheels and tires: 113 feet, 70.3 mph slalom and 0.93 g on the skid pad.
The RE11's sidewalls subjectively don't feel quite as stiff as the stock Yokohama A13s and this is perhaps another contributor to the slightly slower slalom speed. More camber and roll stiffness will be required to extract the latent potential of the new wheel and tire combination. Indeed, the shoulders of the front tires were visually punished after testing, and we're clearly not best utilizing the entire contact patch of these wider RE11s.
Last week, I faced the choice of flying to Sonoma for our Follow-Up Test of the 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 -- or driving. Knowing how the friendly-skies routine has become a major pain, especially if I'm toting a big, blue box full of GPS test gear that inevitably leads to the, "Sir, is this your bag?" routine, I chose to drive. Six hours of quality time with the Evo GSR and a V1, or 6 hours of predetermined inconvenience and being stuck in a stuffy metal tube with a couple hundred people was an easy choice.
Besides, the 955-mile round trip would give me an opportunity to sample J-to-the-K's new exhaust system, record some long-distance fuel economy figures, and evaluate the car's new wheel/tire package. I came away with much more, however.
Here are updated fuel economy figures for the month of March. We've listed the best, worst and average fuel economy numbers over the life of the vehicle. Keep in mind that some of these tanks may be based on a partial fill-up.
This is missing a few that were not available at the time I was compiling this list.
Car
Best
Worst
Average
2009 Audi A4 Avant
26.0
17.5
21.6
2002 BMW M3
23.5
12.3
17.6
2009 Dodge Challenger R/T
20.4
12.9
17.3
2008 Ford Focus
40.6
17.1
26.4
2007 Honda Civic GX
47.3
21.4
31.6
2009 Honda Fit Sport
39.0
28.0
32.1
2009 Hyundai Genesis
24.8
15.5
21.1
2009 Infiniti FX50
20.9
10.8
17.4
2009 Mazda 6
29.1
19.5
23.3
2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR
22.6
11.0
17.1
2008 Mitsubishi Evo X MR
24.7
15.0
16.8
2009 Nissan 370Z Touring
21.6
14.0
18.4
2008 Smart Fortwo
43.4
25.7
33.8
2009 Suzuki SX4
25.0
18.6
22.1
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
43.0
28.7
35.6
2005 Volkswagen Jetta on Biodiesel
43.9
35.5
39.3
After the jump you can see the list sorted by average MPG.
Project Evo X, our 2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR, has seen its horsepower steadily increased, but that doesn't mean we've been ignoring the rest of the car. On the contrary, we've had other goodies simmering for some time now.
Chasing our GT-R around the Streets of Willow roadcourse is going to require some serious grip to go with its grunt. Sticky as the Evo's stock 245/40/18 Yokohama rubber is, the GT-R brakes harder and turns faster.
To take the first step in addressing this, we gave Project Evo new shoes.
I took a turn in Project Evo, our long-term 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR, over the weekend. Modifications are still in progress, so I can't draw any lasting conclusions about how it performs, other than to say this car is explosive when the boost comes together and quieter (and tidier in appearance) with the dual-exit exhaust.
Now here's a more superficial comment on our Evo GSR. I looked back at it after parking for my weekly trip to the farmers market. To my eyes, it looked just as handsome and refined as the BMW 328i coupe with sport-package wheels (which were covered in brake dust) parked behind it.
Obviously, any similarities end when you actually drive the cars. Our Evolution X GSR is not unrefined in how it rides, but it's a much stiffer setup than BMW could ever tolerate in a production car. Project Evo (and even our Evo X MR) has far less noise isolation, too, and I seriously doubt the 328i owner would ever want to take a ride in it.
So the point here? For all the performance and rawness packed into the Evolution X (and enhanced further in Project Evo), the car slides more neatly into public society than the Evo IX. In appearance, it's no more threatening than a sport-package 3 Series car. Only its owner (and a select few) would know the real truth.
What's the penalty of silence? I'm not talking about your Miranda rights when Officer O'Malley strides over to your passenger window after you've powerslided up the wrong sidewalk.
More to the point, does a quieter exhaust necessarily result in less power? It's a question of particular relevance to Project Evo X, our longterm 2008 Lancer Evolution GSR, as part of its mission is to retain a modicum of street-friendliness.
I told you that we would be doing a dyno comparison of the AMS twin-tip exhaust to the single-exit one. What I didn't mention is that we'd be measuring interior sound levels too.
Join me on the other side of the jump to see what we learned.
While Bryan was trying to figure out how to make power on Project Evo X, I was taking photos. There's a lot to see here at Dynamic Autosports, the tuning and workshop subsidiary of Gruppe-S.
Over the years, Dynamic Autosports has dabbled in pretty much every vehicle model in various forms, from street to track to drifting. And judging by the treasure trove of cars in the shop, the company is apparently loath to let any of their project cars fall into anyone else's hands.
Hit the jump to see what I saw within eyeshot of the dyno. How many cars do you see in these photos?
Little. Yellow. Different. Better. GST's boost pill will cure what ails us. Or will it?
During our baseline dyno pulls of Project Evo X, Bryan Medway, Evo tuner at GST Motorsports, immediately noticed that the air-fuel ratio was leaner than either of us liked. The strange part is that although no changes had been made, it was about a half-point leaner than it was at its previous tuning session. Either our car had changed (unlikely but possible) or this AFR sensor was reading higher than the other one.
Nevertheless, I didn't want to take any chances, so I had Bryan richen it up to about 11.5:1 AFR. Better to be safe than to run over your own crankshaft, I say.
It would prove a highly influential decision. Once Bryan added the fuel, the entire torque curve dropped about 15 lb-ft. And for nearly an hour and a half, he toiled away trying literally every possible tuning avenue to recoup the lost output. Fortunately, ECUflash allows him to upload a new flash to the ECU in a matter of seconds, allowing him to quickly evaluate a number of changes. It was all for naught, as the car was proving insensitive to Bryan's attempts to tune around the now-richer AFR.
In preparation of the installation of GST's boost pill assembly and the AMS twin-tip exhaust, Bryan from GST and I ran a few baseline dyno pulls on Dynamic Autosport's Mustang dyno.
You might be asking yourself why we bothered to do this since we hadn't changed anything yet compared to the last time we visited a dyno. The reason is because different types of dynos produce different results, and we wanted to make sure we were comparing turnips to turnips.
Since we were going to the dyno anyway for our AMS exhaust comparo on Project Evo X, I figured I'd maximize our time spent there. I'm all about multi-tasking, especially when it comes to horsepower.
And GST Motorsports has just the thing to keep me busy--an upgraded boost pill assembly, which reduces the boost solenoid's duty cycle for a given boost. In layman's terms, it gives us more headroom to up the boost.
Bryan Medway, Evo tuner at GST Motorsports in Hayward, CA, joined me at the dyno with laptop and boost pill in hand. He's fairly exclusive to tuning Evos, but this specialization has made him among the most sought-after Evo tuners on the west coast. That, and he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.
Bryan will be doing all the work of installing his boost pill and massaging the Evo's tune with the latest release of OpenPort ECUflash, a open-source flashing software for Evos; the development of which Bryan has been instrumental.
Dynamic Autosports in Lake Forest, CA offered up the use of their Mustang dyno for the tuning process. Unlike RRE's DynaPack hub dyno, the Mustang uses traditional rollers that don't require the wheels to be unbolted.
Based on our previous experience with these two types of dynos, we knew better than to expect the numbers to be comparable. Boy were we right. I'll post up the baseline dyno plot shortly. Don't go too far.
Editors here (well, some of us, anyway) have been pining for a bit more stealthiness in Project Evo X, our longterm 2008 Lancer Evo GSR. What good is all this power if we have to check our mirrors every time we lay into the throttle? (rhetorical question. It's worth it.)
The AMS single-exit exhaust that has been on Project Evo X since we took delivery of it is a fine piece, just not our style. Fortunately, AMS also offers for the Evo X a more stock-looking twin-tip exhaust (pictured) which also has a larger-volume muffler than the single-exit tailpipe. In theory anyway, the twin-tip should be quieter.
The twin-tip exhaust is intended to bolt in place of the single-exit muffler we currently have, so we don't have to change the whole exhaust. However, both the twin-tip you see above and the exhaust on the car started life as prototype pieces that AMS made at different times. So in our case, fitment of these one-off bits isn't assured, though AMS' production offerings are said to be plug-and-play modular pieces.
I know what you're thinking, and you're right--the more convoluted and baffled twin-tip setup may add backpressure which would compromise our power output. Hence the five silencer discs that can be swapped out just upstream of the passenger-side tailpipe tip to dial in the amount of flow / sound level you can tolerate. Pretty clever.
Rest assured we'll be doing before and after dyno comparisons to determine the penalty of stealthiness.
During our Long-Term 2008 Evo GSR's cam swap a couple weeks ago, we took the opportunity to have the oil changed since the sump had to be drained anyway and the 15k mile service indicator had come on.
I spied some Mobil1 5W-30 on the dealer's shelf while I was there to pick up a fresh oil filter. When asked how much per quart, the guy at the counter replied, "Oh, you don't want to buy it here. It costs too much. It's $10.25 a quart. We don't really get much of a price break when we buy it."
How about that--an honest dealer. Long Beach Mitsubishi, if you're wondering.
At the Autozone two blocks away I paid a total of $45.40 for six quarts of the stuff. The dealer charged $6.73 for the filter. Not bad at all.
Due to the serious mic limitations of my Canon point-and-shoot, you'll need to crank the volume on your speakers to hear the engine.
I kind of like the lumpiness. And it definitely helps move the GSR's celebrity factor closer to our Nissan GT-R -- even if we can't score that in our long-term car smackdown. While I was trying to shoot the video in a strip-mall parking garage, a couple of twentysomethings conspicuously moved their conversation right next to the noisy and distinctive GSR.
On the freeway, our Evo GSR feels even stronger than before, but not to the point that it's too hot to handle. I did notice, though, that I needed to put in some steering correction at full throttle, as weight transferred to the rear of the vehicle. So clearly there's an extra wallop of torque that wasn't there before.
It turns out that increasing the brawn of our Long-Term 2008 Evo GSR project car made it faster.
In its earlier state of tune consisting of AMS intake and plumbing, intercooler, exhaust and reflash, Project Evo X was a very quick car. To refresh your memory, here's the lowdown on its previous performance:
Adding performance parts is only half the battle. Tuning is key to unlocking the potential of those parts, and once Road Race Engineering installed the Cosworth MX1 cams, our Long-Term 2008 Evo GSR hit the dyno again.
The dyno for all of these runs is Road Race Engineering's Dynapack, which places a drive unit at each of the car's hubs.
All of the dyno data here is uncorrected for ambient conditions. Click the thumbnails for a larger view.
To recap, here's the baseline dyno chart of Project Evo X. It's what stock cams, AMS intercooler, intake, exhaust and reflash looks like.
In our case, it's 316 hp and 320 lb-ft.
Overlayed with a stock Evo X, our Long-Term 2008 Evo GSR enjoyed an additional 68 hp and 66 lb-ft of torque in this baseline state of tune.
See the lumpiness in the stock Evo's (red) result? Overfueling is a fairly common strategy used on stock turbocharged cars to keep the catalyst cool so that it can last 100k miles. Ironic, eh? Evo Xs run so rich at full load that the ignition system can barely punch through the mixture.
Once the Cosworth MX1 cams were in, we went back to the dyno. Click the jump for the results.
When I picked up the Cosworth MX1 cams for our Long-Term 2008 Evo GSR, the gang there went into detail on the process they use when coming up with new performance cams for an engine. And I have to say, it's extensive.
First, Cosworth buys said engine, disassembles it and starts measuring the valvetrain. They check spring pressures on the seat, valvetrain clearances, masses of the individual compents, you name it. Then they take all of that data and start crunching numbers.
For "drop-in" cams like these MX1s, they're trying to determine how the stock valvetrain behaves and how much additional lift and duration it can safely tolerate. This involves calculating everything from spring stress to valve acceleration to oil film thicknesses.
The goal at this point is to ensure that any new cam they come up with doesn't open the valves too quickly--causing valve float and/or damage--and that the stock springs don't snap under the more extreme loading they're being subjected to. It's a process that is equal parts engineering, experience and sweat.
And they haven't even ground a cam yet. Click the jump to read the rest of the process.
The 4B11T engine in our Long-Term 2008 Evo GSR boasts chain-driven cams in lieu of the belt-driven affairs of the earlier generation of Evos (VIII and IX). This opens a whole new can of worms when it comes to cam replacement.
Swapping cams pretty much necessitates a vehicle lift unless you're some kind of vehicular masochist. The front engine mount, timing covers and oil pan must be removed, and the whole job consumes about 50% more time than the earlier cars due to all the scraping and cleaning of the gasket goo that covers everything.
Road Race Engineering charges $500 for a cam install on the Evo X. You might be able to DIY, but I wouldn't want to.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 15,851 miles.
I think we picked the right place to have our Long-Term 2008 Evo GSR worked on. The Cosworth cam install is happening just off-camera to the left here in Road Race Engineering's garage, and there are still more Mitsubishis to the right .
For the uninitiated, cams increase power by improving an engine's volumetric efficiency. Simply put, they allow more air in by increasing how far the valves open (lift), and for how long (duration).
Cosworth has expressly designed the MX1 cams as "drop-in" cams for the 2008 Evo. This means that they offer a meaningful increase in lift and duration but not so extreme that the whole valvetrain has to be upgraded. Provided the stock rev limiter (I think the stock fuel cut is 7,600 rpm) is retained, the MX1 cams can live happily with the stock valve springs and retainers.
Still, compared to stock, the Cosworth MX1 cams have decently higher lift and a chunk more duration. See below:
Peak Lift (mm) Duration at 0.050" Lift (degrees)
Stock Intake 10.2 206
Cosworth MX1 Intake 10.8 222
Stock Exhaust 9.4 204
Cosworth MX1 Exhaust 10.4 219
That's just the tip of the camshaft iceberg. Cosworth engineers Eric Hsu and Tyler Hara gave me a peek behind the Cosworth cam development curtain that I'll share in a subsequent post. Fair warning: it's engine-tech-heavy.
To find out just how much power Project Evo, our Long-Term 2008 Evo GSR, currently generates, we went to someone who knows these cars.
Road Race Engineering has been working on Evos since before they were sold in the USA. And they've been building, racing, tuning, modifying and repairing 4G63s since 1994. You could say they know a thing or two hundred about how to make Mitsubishis go fast.
In Road Race Engineering's huge 6,000 square foot facility in Santa Fe Springs, CA, they got to work. Project Evo's wheels came off and the four Dynapack hub dynos were carefully bolted on.
Then we fired the engine, warmed it up to operating temperature by "driving" at light load and did a few pulls.
In our quest to topple the GT-R with our 2008 Lancer Evolution GSR, one thing is obvious. It's going to require power.
To have any chance of being as fast as the big Nissan, Project Evo will need--at minimum--to outmatch the GT-R's weight-to-power ratio.
Each horsepower in the 480-hp Nissan has to contend with 8.13 pounds. A stock 2008 Evo, however, burdens each of its 291 horsepower with 12.1 pounds.
There are myriad considerations to address, but as a rough starting point Project Evo will thus need to develop around 430 horsepower to be considered in the same league at the GT-R.
We know that in its current state of tune, Project Evo traps the quarter mile at 107.2 mph to the GT-R's 118. In terms of Project Evo's hard numbers, that's about it.
Time to hit the chassis dyno. How much power do you reckon our mildly-modified Project Evo currently generates to the wheels? If you're super anal, include the type of dyno with your guess. Fire away.
Inside Line's Project 2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR is awakening.
Once we took delivery of the AEM intake, a conversation ensued among our editorial staff. The questions ranged from the philosophical to the poignant: Now that we've taken a small first step in hand-picking aftermarket modifications, just how far should we take this project? What is possible? Do these pants make me look fat?
Those with a keen eye will note immediately that the 2008 BMW 135i pictured here is not our long term 135. The car pictured is my friend, Jon's, car and represents everything good about the 135 that ours isn't. It's black. It's got a black interior with aluminum trim. It's got an iPod hookup. And most importantly it has the awesome and aggressively bolstered manual seats.
It's also $39,000.
Last weekend we saw temperatures in the mid-eighties here in SoCal and, as we're both East-Coast transplants, we did what every car guy on that side of the world wishes they could: We hit the canyons around Malibu. Windows down.
It's not like I don't appreciate 370 hp. But the best thing about this turbocharged engine is the fact that it whistles like a tea kettle.
The setup that AMS Performance has developed for the Evo GSR's TD05H-152G6-12T Mitsubishi turbocharger has a smooth-bore intake duct the size of a sewer pipe. It's unencumbered by all the cleverly shaped devices that car manufacturers use to reduce intake noise, so every time you breathe the throttle, the compressor bypass valve blows off and you can hear the rush of air through the ventilation ducts in the GSR's dash.
As Engineering Editor Jay Kavanagh explains to me, the compressor bypass valve (it's not the wastegate, which is the relief valve for the exhaust turbine) minimizes the damaging effects of compressor surge when the throttle is closed abruptly.
Actually this Mitsubishi 4B11 T/C doesn't exactly whistle, at least not like the 1978 Saab 99 Turbo, the car that popularized turbochargers in performance cars in those dark days just after the first fuel crisis. Instead the GSR just breathes heavy. But like the Saab, the Mitsubishi's tea kettle thing gives it a distinctive personality.
Sure, this engine's 370 hp makes the Evo feel like it's going to jump out of its skin. But it's the sound that gives the horsepower an extra dimension of excitement.
This Evo reminds us all that it's not the volume of engine noise that counts, it's the quality
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Inside Line @ 15,550 miles
There's a lot complexity in all the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X's differentials, but the seating position in our long-term Evo GSR is all simplicity. Mind you, there's a lot of money in those cloth Recaros. But as in Evo VIII and IX, adjustments are scant: fore/aft, recline and steering wheel tilt.
Sitting low feels right in a car with such high performance capabilities, but in the age of raised, pedestrian-protection hoods and side-impact-friendly beltlines, this can be a challenge. If I were even an inch or two shorter, I'd have trouble seeing out of this car.
Happily, I am not. In fact, I find our Evolution GSR extremely comfortable, and not just because its huge lateral bolsters and grippy cloth keep me from sliding around during hard cornering.
I actually enjoy sitting in the car even when I'm just cutting through freeway traffic. The steering wheel fits nicely in my hands. The cushioning in the center of the seat is comfortably firm. And those big side bolsters keep me in the proper ergonomic position, so I'm not slumping -- plus, the ones on the backrest are comfy enough to lean my shoulder on when traffic lulls.
We've been writing a lot about how our 2008 Evo GSR sounds due to its aftermarket AMS exhaust and cold-air intake. Well, kind readers, I shot a bit of video yesterday for audio support. It follows after the jump.
We all know that the death of the real manual transmission is near. I mean, Porsche now quotes the acceleration numbers from its new PDK tranny instead of the manual, and Ferrari is so proud of its clutchless system that it doesn't even offer a stick on the 430 Scuderia.
And then you have the new Evo. Its new double clutch automatic is one of the best.around, almost perfect in its ability to choose the right gear and deliver it in a hurry. A leap forward?
Well, yeah, as automatics go maybe. But the fact is, the GSR reminded me once again why a true manual is always more fun. It's hardly the best shifter I've ever tried, but ripping through the gears with that turbo spinning and blow off valve whistling was way more fun than dealing with that SST contraption in our MR. It's not even close, give me the real manual every time.
As with all of our long term cars, both of our long term 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Xs, an MR and a modded GSR, were track tested. Follow the jump for the full results of both tests.
Though California's rainy weather over the weekend pales in comparison to much of the rest of the nation's miserable conditions, it was a good reminder for me on how our Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution's all-wheel drive often goes unappreciated in So Cal. Unless the road is wet or you're powering out of a tight corner, AWD is basically just along for the ride.
Yesterday, though, it was great. Around town, I could dip heavily into the Evo GSR's estimated 370 horsepower without a worry of spinning tires or neutered acceleration. The GSR's Yokohama Advan A13 tires are pretty worn, though, so I was more careful around standing water.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 13,912 miles
So I'm ripping the GSR around the streets of Santa Monica last night when I notice something odd about the dashboard. In just the right light, there are some words of wisdom printed right there on the dash.
"You have to drive" it says.
Not sure why it's there, probably left over from this car's days as a Mitsubishi project car. Whatever the reason, the words do ring true. With this car, you better be paying attention when the boost hits 'cause this Evo explodes with power. Just ask the guy in the 911 4S that I smoked down the 20th street on ramp.
I LOVE driving our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo GSR. I had the chance to drive it on the Streets of Willow during our annual driving school and got to see what it could do...well, at least as far as my driving skills could take it. So I was really happy when I scored it for the weekend.
On Friday when I was given the keys, Vehicle Testing Assistant Mike Magrath lamented how Inside Line intends to quiet down the Evo with mods. Boooo! I didn't want that either. That is, until I drove it around for the weekend.
I love the woosh of the intake and the drone of the engine but after awhile I would have loved to just listen to my tunes or hear what my passenger was saying. I had to turn the volume up to 29 to hear music above the engine (which reverberates especially loudly when you lift off the throttle and coast in gear) and at that level you're rocking out. So most of the time I drove around with the radio off and saved conversations with passengers til after we were out of the car.
This Evo is a lot of fun but I can't imagine having it as a daily driver. More for weekend warriors. Hey, it sets off car alarms like Harleys do.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 13,543 miles
Something funny happened on the way to my house last night:
I got into the GSR, the notoriously loud car, and started it up. Standing on the sidewalk just in front of where I was parked was a couple embraced, just about to kiss. The GSR sputtered to life and it must have had a rich mix because it revved up high and loud.
It scared the crap out of the woman!
She quickly jerked back from the dude and had a wide eyed fight or flight look on her face. I'm sorry lady, but that was so funny to me I laughed out loud. Not as loud as the GSR, however.
They gave both gave the mad dog stink eye as I pulled away giggling.
Here's a post on the GSR which was delayed one week because of technical difficulties. Ignore the mileage.
The distance-to-empty warning is one of the most useful and tempting technologies in any modern vehicle. That is, until it isn't. Here's what the EVO GSR's DTE display looks like when one keeps driving after the display hits 30 miles to go. Notice there's still one bar of fuel remaining on the digital gauge.
Fire up its very vocal engine, and our Lancer Evo GSR v-v-vibrates l-l-like c-c-crazy. Kind of like a go-kart. Or a ride-on lawn mower.
The big surprise is that in everyday driving, this trait isn't as annoying as you'd think. It never translates into quite as much fun as the guy in the massage chair shown above seems to be having. Still, at various points, it did feel as if a few very energetic magic hands were doing their thing. M-mmm, n-no m-more k-kinks.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 13,266 miles
I've been trying to figure out exactly why I (really) like our modified 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR. Its quickness and its point-and-shoot handling certainly are part of it. And, even it's not cool to do so, I like that the car is loud.
Is the exhaust maybe a little too loud to be practical? Yeah, and I've paid my dues in the form of dirty looks from neighbors and strip-mall patrons.
But the rest of the existing engine modifications on our long-termer are right on. Much as Chris wrote earlier, they help the Evolution X feel a little more like the Evo IX. They don't restore the high-rpm rush of the old iron-block engine, but the GSR still feels like it might explode as the turbocharger ramps up to full boost. And whether you're on or off throttle, various interior panels are buzzing and vibrating as the car attempts to shake itself apart.
This is a good thing. This car is hard-core and demands that you accept it as such. That means there's compromise: It will never be as tight and rattle-free as a BMW 3 Series or Lexus IS. I don't care what anyone says, though: The ride may be noisy in our Evo GSR, but the ride quality is just fine.
A few weeks ago I used this blog to dump on the instrument panel of the new Mitsubishi Evo. I called the car's dials lame during an obvious spell of extreme creativity and made the point that the Evo's lack of a real temp gauge or oil pressure gauge was a joke.
Now me and my nearly senseless point are back and I'm going to use the gauges of our long-term 2008 Subaru STI and long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R the further illustrate the impotence of the Evo's IP. Sure, neither pack a well placed oil pressure gauge (the GT-R's can be called up on its nav screen) as they should, but notice how the Subie and the Nissan prioritize the tachometer, placing it dead center ahead of the driver, while the Evo's cluster does not. Please also take note that the STI and the GT-R have permanent water temperature gauges as any high performance car should.
Which of the three sets of gauges do you like best? A, B, or C? I vote C. The GT-R's cluster offers the most info and the most style of the three.
It was one of those weekends where I didn't have a chance to get our long-term 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR on some back roads. Yet, even though the better part of our 200 miles were spent on the freeway, I still enjoyed my time with the Evo GSR.
Perhaps you've heard this car is quick? Well, considering how much power this car is putting down, the five-speed manual transmission's clutch takeup is quite user-friendly. It isn't an especially heavy clutch and it doesn't engage abruptly right at the floor.
The upshot is that the Evo GSR was very low-maintenance when we got stuck in heavy Friday afternoon traffic on the way back from the drag races in Pomona (parking lot pictured above). Of course, it helps that the engine has a really strong low end (at least it does in our modified car) -- even if you're at an absolute crawl, the GSR can hold 2nd gear.
Ride quality, too, falls within the acceptable range for me, and though our particular car is kind of loud, it still seems quieter than the last Evo IX I drove. The Recaros have ample back/butt cushioning and, for me, they aren't too laterally confining. Really, the only thing that bugged me all weekend was the trip computer.
Say what you will about its fart-can exhaust note, its tail-gater-obscuring wing, and burping blow-off valve, I for one love this car just the way it is. It reminds me of the very first RHD Evo 6.5 I drove many years ago. "They really sell this car in Europe and Japan? I want one so badly, but I'm not sure I could trust myself with all this grip and power."
Years have passed and as accomplished and refined as the current batch of Evos has become, they've undoubtedly lost the raw, sometimes scary, I can't believe they're allowed to sell this to the public nature that made them so desirable initially.
With these mods, this GSR is more Evo than our Evo MR. Don't change a thing!
Chris Walton, Chief Road Test Editor @ 12,557 miles
Wow -- this thing is loud. Crazy loud. Perfect for Hot Import Nights. Not perfect for me. I like the look of the rear diffuser (though I doubt it's functional) and I suppose that the AMS can looks "Sick" to the kids with its large diameter and the way it's angled off to the passenger side. The exhaust note didn't make me dizzy or anything, but it may give you a headache if you drove the GSR on a long trip -- if you're over 25. Click below the jump to listen for yourself.
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 12,365 mi
I have a gripe about our long-term 2008 Mitsubishi Evo. Both of them. Our black Evo MR and our blue Evo GSR both have lame gauges. No, make that incomplete instrumentation.
You guys have been basting us for having two Evos and it's hard to argue that point when you realize there isn't a oil pressure gauge or a decent water temperature gauge between them. The digital temp gauge in these Mitsus is a joke.
BMW started this stupid minimal gauge trend a few years ago, and now our turbocharged Evos have landed on the same design bandwagon. No thanks.
Incredibly Cadillac has gone in the other direction. And I applaud the company for it. Our long-term Cadillac CTS has more complete instrumentation than almost any car around, including our long-term Evos. Hell, the Caddy even has a real oil pressure gauge with a needle that actually moves.
Imagine how many calls Caddy dealers have gotten from CTS owners thinking they need a new engine because their oil gauge reads nearly zero every time they stop the car. Caddy knew that would happen and they included the dial anyway. Mitsubishi should too.
Our new Evo GSR is one rude character. Not since the dearly departed Ferrari 308 have we had a ride that routinely elicits warning chirps from car alarms as it roars past -- score one for the GSR's raucous aftermarket exhaust system, replete with softball-sized tip.
And then there's the downright demonic hissing that emanates from the cold-air intake whenever you get on the throttle. Professor Teabag was dumbfounded when I picked him up Friday night. "What is that godawful noise?" he snorted. "Is something broken down there?"
Spending the weekend in our stock-suspended GSR also reminded me of something that's uncouth about every Evo. I'm referring to the ride quality. It's really not very good. Ordinarily I wouldn't make a big deal out of this -- it's a econobox-based performance car, after all -- but a lot of people seem to think that the Evo has some sort of sophisticated, BMW-like ride/handling balance going on.
It doesn't. Frankly, I think even the Eibach/Bilstein-suspended Evo MR feels like a glorified econocar over broken pavement. The GSR with its base suspension? Forget it.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 12,003 miles
I found myself in the coastal canyons yesterday with our 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR, and we went for a good, long drive. I realized I've never spent any quality time with even a stock GSR, so my expectations for in-gear acceleration are now calibrated according to our approximately 370-hp long-termer. Sooo, I don't think we have we have to worry about not getting the FQ-360 and assorted derivatives.
Our plan was to acquire a stripper GSR with a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 with a five-speed manual transmission and then modify it to our little heart's content.
But our Octane Blue Pearl pistol showed up with about $2,495 worth of aftermarket stuff that pumped our power up to about 370 hp. But we have lots more we want to do to this car.
