So after having a 'few' Type R's over the years I felt it was time to scratch that itch most petrol heads have for 4WD boost. 
I'd wanted an Evo for a number of years but I could never justify the insurance due to having a poor post code and points on my licence. I had my renewal with Sky when I had the Accord back in December and they agreed a price on an Evo 9 which they honored and it was too good to ignore so I went and bought one.
Day of pick up (Des took me down):
It spends a lot of time at Shell!
It's a standard car except a HKS mushroom filter and some basic ICE including amp, door speakers and double DIN head unit. The car went on the rollers on the OcUK rolling road day and made 355bhp from memory. Not too shabby considering it's an FQ 320 which is meant to be 326bhp from the factory. I've had Advan AD08s fitted and they are a superb tyre. Anyone with a sporty car should buy some, easily the best tyre I've used on a car.
Certainly a major improvement over the T1-S's that were on the car when I bought it.
Here's some photo's stolen from a few people at the RR meet (hope you don't mind!):
I knew the car needed a service not long after I bought it due to the miles I'm doing so I had a look around at where to take it. I would normally go to TGM but I couldn't get booked in any time soon so I chose to take it to Indigo GT in South Wales. It went in for a full service including cam belt. I also wanted them to look over the car and let me know if anything needed doing including checking whether a fuel pump and/or a boost solenoid/controller had been fitted. I'd initially thought it was boosting at 27 psi which would indicate it had been mapped so I wanted it all checking. There was no paperwork to suggest so hence I wanted to be on the safe side.
There were a few Evo's around including an Evo 5 race car that is taking part in the MLR sprint series. It was having a new ECU fitted and would be mapped later on that day to over 600bhp. :twisted:
The cam belt took a fair few hours to change so I just chilled out in the rest area chatting to Ant (the owner) about which mods to do to the car etc. He says that the IX is very easy to get to 400bhp+ with a simple decat, downpipe change and remap. Quite tempting.
The chap working on my car (forget his name!) noticed when pulling in that the steering was juddering ever so slightly, turns out the power steering pulley has some play so I'm looking at finding a replacement. It's a common thing on the Evo VII, VIII and IX. Motor factors wanted £700 plus! :shock: Luckily they can be had on the MLR for around £60 or so, just wanting to find one that has been refurb'd so I'm waiting out for now.
There seems to be confusion over how often the AYC fluid is meant to be changed, some say every service, others say every second. Indigo recommend every second unless you're doing loads of track days. Although mine was changed at the end of last year some 4000 miles ago I wanted it changing anyway to see what sort of condition the fluid came out. It seemed very clear so perhaps a waste of money but I guess I've got peace of mind now.
When I bought the car it also came with a spare set of wheels and loads and loads of oils. I forgot to take the oil to the service so they put in what they use on every Evo. The oil has a redish tint to it and looks quite odd compared to the normal light brown colour. Indigo GT recommend it highly for Evo's.
Considering the car pulled 355bhp on the dyno this weekend, and I had seen 27 psi on the boost gauge I suspected it had been remapped. It is recommended to use a Walbro fuel pump as the standard one can struggle. Seeing no paperwork about any aftermarket one being fitted I had it checked and it was standard still. A new Walbro one was installed as the assembly was out of the car it made sense to have it done.
Ant then had a look at the map and it is standard. Took the car out for a run and monitored boost and it is at normal levels. I've been checking since then and it doesn't go much above 24psi. Ant says that some out of the factory make more power than the 326bhp what it's meant to.
Either way I'll be getting a few bits over the coming months and I'll get it remapped.
I'd wanted an Evo for a number of years but I could never justify the insurance due to having a poor post code and points on my licence. I had my renewal with Sky when I had the Accord back in December and they agreed a price on an Evo 9 which they honored and it was too good to ignore so I went and bought one.Day of pick up (Des took me down):
It spends a lot of time at Shell!
It's a standard car except a HKS mushroom filter and some basic ICE including amp, door speakers and double DIN head unit. The car went on the rollers on the OcUK rolling road day and made 355bhp from memory. Not too shabby considering it's an FQ 320 which is meant to be 326bhp from the factory. I've had Advan AD08s fitted and they are a superb tyre. Anyone with a sporty car should buy some, easily the best tyre I've used on a car.
Certainly a major improvement over the T1-S's that were on the car when I bought it.
Here's some photo's stolen from a few people at the RR meet (hope you don't mind!):
I knew the car needed a service not long after I bought it due to the miles I'm doing so I had a look around at where to take it. I would normally go to TGM but I couldn't get booked in any time soon so I chose to take it to Indigo GT in South Wales. It went in for a full service including cam belt. I also wanted them to look over the car and let me know if anything needed doing including checking whether a fuel pump and/or a boost solenoid/controller had been fitted. I'd initially thought it was boosting at 27 psi which would indicate it had been mapped so I wanted it all checking. There was no paperwork to suggest so hence I wanted to be on the safe side.
There were a few Evo's around including an Evo 5 race car that is taking part in the MLR sprint series. It was having a new ECU fitted and would be mapped later on that day to over 600bhp. :twisted:
The cam belt took a fair few hours to change so I just chilled out in the rest area chatting to Ant (the owner) about which mods to do to the car etc. He says that the IX is very easy to get to 400bhp+ with a simple decat, downpipe change and remap. Quite tempting.
The chap working on my car (forget his name!) noticed when pulling in that the steering was juddering ever so slightly, turns out the power steering pulley has some play so I'm looking at finding a replacement. It's a common thing on the Evo VII, VIII and IX. Motor factors wanted £700 plus! :shock: Luckily they can be had on the MLR for around £60 or so, just wanting to find one that has been refurb'd so I'm waiting out for now.
There seems to be confusion over how often the AYC fluid is meant to be changed, some say every service, others say every second. Indigo recommend every second unless you're doing loads of track days. Although mine was changed at the end of last year some 4000 miles ago I wanted it changing anyway to see what sort of condition the fluid came out. It seemed very clear so perhaps a waste of money but I guess I've got peace of mind now.
When I bought the car it also came with a spare set of wheels and loads and loads of oils. I forgot to take the oil to the service so they put in what they use on every Evo. The oil has a redish tint to it and looks quite odd compared to the normal light brown colour. Indigo GT recommend it highly for Evo's.
Considering the car pulled 355bhp on the dyno this weekend, and I had seen 27 psi on the boost gauge I suspected it had been remapped. It is recommended to use a Walbro fuel pump as the standard one can struggle. Seeing no paperwork about any aftermarket one being fitted I had it checked and it was standard still. A new Walbro one was installed as the assembly was out of the car it made sense to have it done.
Ant then had a look at the map and it is standard. Took the car out for a run and monitored boost and it is at normal levels. I've been checking since then and it doesn't go much above 24psi. Ant says that some out of the factory make more power than the 326bhp what it's meant to.
Either way I'll be getting a few bits over the coming months and I'll get it remapped.
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