You don't need to be a rocket scientist to work out that this '98 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 5 GSR is an out-and-out speed machine. Given that the stockie Evo has 206kW (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) at the flywheel and can reel off effortless 13-second quarters, it's easy to predict that this heavily tuned example with a measured 246kW at the wheels on a Dyno Dynamics is, well, crazy fast. Throw an extra couple hundred kilowatts over the standard Ralliart fare and you can only assume it can thrash its way down the quarter mile blacktop in a scant 11 seconds - 10s maybe?
Not that this car - or even the stock Evo Lancer for that matter - is a pure straight-arrow flyer. Uh uh - it's w-a-y too technically advanced for that...
One Melbournian - 'Victor X' - purchased this white '98-build rally special barely months after it'd rolled off the production line. Of course, this was during the days when Mitsubishi Australia was still ummming and ahhhing about their limited run of Evo Makinnen specials, so Victor was forced to buy from the 'grey' import market. This wasn't too scary for him though, coz he was buying through a friend who knew this to be a low kilometre and completely as-new vehicle. And that's how it remains.
Having moved up from driving a Subaru Impreza WRX, Victor was mightily impressed by the Evo - even in standard form. "They're a great car for something off the showroom floor" he says, "and they do pretty well everything better than the WRX." It soon proved to be the perfect machine to get some serious club racing in as well. Still, the mechanicals didn't stay in their factory configuration for too long; first came a UniChip signal interceptor and a brand name high-flow exhaust. These changes alone made the Evo feel much more alive and gave noticeably improved power but, unfortunately, one of the factory forged pistons got torched big-time. "And that's when I decided to go the whole hog," confesses Victor...
First of all, the damaged 4G63B bottom-end was disassembled and rebuilt using some quality aftermarket gear, such as high strength H-beam conrods and HPC'd forged SPS (Special Piston Services) pistons giving a relatively low 7.5:1 static compression ratio. The block itself was fully machined and carefully prep'd.
Once the bottom-end was put together the whole show progressed onto Melbourne's JPC workshop - local turbocharging experts. Here, the DOHC 16-valve cylinder head (described by Paul of JPC as "just beautiful - as good as anything else") received a port job and was stuffed with oversize valves, high tension HKS springs and a pair of Crow 'mild street' cams. Vernier HKS cam gears were also installed just after our photo shoot.
And then came the bolt-on hardware that contributes so much of the car's 246kW ATW effort...
JPC fabricated a custom heavy gauge tubular exhaust manifold onto which they mounted a current series Garrett roller-bearing turbo rated at 450hp. A PSR 45mm external wastegate spins the turbo fast enough to produce a maximum 21 psi boost (just enough to get by running everyday 98-octane pump fuel), which is channelled through a custom JPC bar-and-plate front-mount air-to-air intercooler and, a little later downstream, an AVO blow-off valve. A large pod filter is fitted pre-compressor and it's protected from underbonnet heat thanks to a custom shield.
The previous arrangement - where a UniChip had augmented the factory ECU - was then ditched and in their place went an Autronic Group N-spec 'plug-and-play' replacement board (which lives inside the standard ECU case). This has been mapped to fire a set of four Bosch 363 injectors, which team with a 2.5 Bar Bosch regulator and a tough fuel system. In the boot you'll find the original main fuel pump feeding a surge tank, with fuel pushed to the engine via a monster capacity Bosch Motorsport pump.
Incredibly - despite handling over double the factory output - the original 5-speed Evo gearbox is still providing reliable service. Tell the owner of a hot Rexie that and they'll nearly boil over... While the engine was apart, the standard clutch was replaced by a button clutch and heavy-duty pressure plate. "It's not easy to put up with everyday, though," admits Victor - and after experiencing a short drive, we concur!
The rest of the Evo 5 driveline remains complete stock GSR spec - rear AYC (anti yaw control) and all. Rounding out the chassis to accommodate the full-house engine has seen the fitment of Cusco coil-overs front and rear - these are adjustable for bump and rebound. Oh, and adjustable front strut top hats have also been bolted in.
The standard Evo 5 is pretty well endowed when it comes to brakes - they're certainly a big step up over the previous Evo 4 model. The stockie Brembo 4-pot calipers can be seen poking through the standard rims, working with Pagid Blue race pads. "These don't fade like the standard pads used to," recalls Victor, but - heck - we found out they're screechy suckers!
Much to the disappointment of the fibreglass fashion brigade, there's little room to add any extra wings, spoilers or vents to the standard Evo 5 body. You'd never, ever rip off that mega-tough front bar to whack on a 'cyborg style' thing - there are unwritten laws against that sort of thing! The best idea is to let the factory effort give the car maximum presence - and at the same time downforce and low drag.
A similar story extends to the interior - why tamper with what's already a great factory arrangement? The original Recaro seats are comfortable yet plenty supportive for street use, and there's the usual Evo GSR stuff like climate control and power windows. All Victor's added are an aftermarket CD-tuner, a 300 km/h speedo and an Autometer boost gauge - a wise move considering he's walking the fine line using everyday pump fuel to run this mechanical marvel.
Packing the hardware to produce 246kW at the wheels, it comes as no surprise Victor's pretty happy to leave the car pretty much as-is. This thing is a buzz to drive every time - without fail. The only thing on the immediate 'to do' list is fitting bigger injectors, since the 363 Boschies are maxing out at high load. With a bigger set of squirters fitted, the Autronic computer and adjustable cam gears will then be fine-tuned for the best possible results. Maybe even a touch more boost might follow...
As it stands though, Victor rightly tells it's "a pretty toey machine". Boost comes on from 3500 rpm and there's absolutely massive shove-you-back torque all the way to the 8000 rpm limiter. "In comparison to what it is now," he says, "the standard 206kW car felt tame".
Well, almost!
Contact:
JPC (Johnson's Performance Centre)
+61 3 9469 2566
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