Last night was my first experience in our long-term 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR since the swap to Cosworth MX1 cams and the dyno tuning at Road Race Engineering. You've already read about how it dropped a half-second off its quarter-mile at our test track. Now I've made a short video of its, er, um, extra character at idle.
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.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 16,750 miles
_Ty_ says:
03:18 PM, 02/ 3/09
Wow, that looks like +/- 200 RPM of variation. I bet Evo stirs your coffee for you now. ;)
texases says:
03:20 PM, 02/ 3/09
I may have missed it, are all these upgrades OK with CARB?
huyracing says:
03:29 PM, 02/ 3/09
LOL, yeah its OK with CARB until they find out about it. Luckily, a new car doesn't have smog for 6 years... as long as you don't get pulled over by cops and sent to the smog referee.
mazdaspeed_jon says:
04:00 PM, 02/ 3/09
I heard the Smog Referee was shut down due to budget cuts.
firstwagon says:
04:14 PM, 02/ 3/09
I was wondering if it would get a lumpy idle.
In the old days when it was popular to swap in a hot cam on pretty much every V8, a lumpy idle was the trademark of a hot engine.
I almost expected todays computer controls to cancel it out.
redliner says:
05:47 PM, 02/ 3/09
SWEEEEEEEET!
I like it.
greenpony says:
06:30 PM, 02/ 3/09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAkoZotuNEo
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2398555096899910862&hl=en
Sorry but a lopey 4-cyl doesn't compare with a V8. Heh, the Stang almost stalls; it's funny.
jkavanagh says:
10:33 PM, 02/ 3/09
The idle lumpiness is the idle control system chasing its own tail. It can be tuned out. And it will be. Shortly.
stingray454 says:
11:45 AM, 02/ 4/09
Somehow a lumpy cam idle on a little 4-cylinder doesn't sound right or good.
It's not even close to sounding as mean and cool as a big block 454 V-8 with a long duration cam and headers at idle.
mrak says:
11:59 AM, 02/17/09
I wonder that's the sign of some problem: such as Throttle body doesn't close perfectly, or Engine head has some spooky spot that is not tight enoughly closed after your cam change.
If you have a vacuum gauge then you can find it out what is wrong with it.