Project: Ralliart Sportback (07.08.10)

[Blaze]

Starts this Thursday!

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_sportback.jpg



Poject Outline

...

[Blaze]

Performance: The Sportback will receive a variety of power upgrades from Tomei Powered USA and Tomei Powered Japan. The target WHP for the car will be a conservative 300.

Suspension: Suspension, braking and tuning are being handled exclusively by Robert Fuller of ///RobiSpec. Starting very early on Thanksgiving morning, we'll be tearing out OEM components and replacing them with an elixir of well designed upgrades. We'll also be pulling the fenders to accommodate a special set of Rays headed this way from Japan.

Aero: TBA

Interior: TBD

[Blaze]

Initial Impressions

I’ve owned many a car in my day ranging from BMWs to Hondas to something you couldn’t get a homeless guy to sleep in. Recently I acquired a 2010 Lancer Ralliart Sportback to evaluate, modify and market.

Mitsubishi is looking to gain a stronger foothold in Europe where wagon/hatch vehicles like the WRX, VW or Mazda wagons are already very popular. Enter the 2010 Ralliart Sportback there, and now stateside as well. The one I wound up with was an Octane Blue Pearl, with the Recaro and Tech packages.

A quick walk around and you notice it’s not your typical lancer. Exterior styling is greatly improved with the standard euro styling front fascia and a duel exhaust in the rear. It has stylish lines from the vented bonnet to aero side skirts to the sleek spoiler over the hatch. Over all, it was more then I expected. But a wagon….

I thought it might be a challenge to get into the whole “idea� behind the Sportback. For me, a wagon was for soccer moms or traveling vacuum cleaner salesmen. That stigma quickly flew out the rear hatch after climbing in. Once seated, I found a very familiar interior to that of my other Mitsu with regards to the controls, updated display, paddle shifters and snug Recaro seats.

Once on the road, the car has pep! It pulls just like my old Audi, but with with greater responsiveness and a greater sense of “substance,� leaving me quite happy to ignore the suggested speed signs on corners. You really feel like you got a lot more then what you paid for with the Ralliart.

So, I settled into the car on the way home, but it wasn’t until a few days later when I realized the diabolic nature of “wagon lifestyle.� You have room, and lots of it. The car comes with a huge trunk. (I mean, “duh, it’s a wagon, right?�) But then I quickly realized just how useful “space� can be. But then the space kept going. It went up…to the ceiling! No more wrapping twin around a trunk lid for me…. And the seats folded down….FLAT. The seats in my M3 won’t do that which makes it very hard to transport anything larger then a suitcase. I have room to take my whole family to the mountains, bags, people and skis (well the skis will wind up on a roof rack) but you get the idea.

Suddenly I found myself putting all sorts of stuff in the car, just to see if it would fit. Cooler? Check. Oddly shaped holiday packages from the post office? No problem. Extra set of wheel and tires? There’s room! Seriously….this is awesome! And suddenly I realized I have a car with performance, styling and usefulness for everyday life to boot.

So let the mod’ing begin. :D

[Blaze]

Comments/Impressions (cont.)

[Blaze]

If you build anything, it's best to start from the ground up. The highest building starts with a strong foundation. And the same goes for cars and suspension. You can make Godzilla power all day, but if you can't keep it on the pavement, what good is it?

Enter Robert Fuller of Robi-Spec:

Robert is heavily involved in my other Mitsubishi projects and was the logical choice for the Sportback as well. He's had his for nearly a year now and has a wrap sheet of all the ins/outs, tips/tricks that you need to make these cars stick.

I called Robi up on Monday the 23 with a tight schedule. He, not being a stranger to time constraints) scheduled me for Thursday. Yeah...Thanksgiving! So while everyone else is grubbing on turkey, we were shivering in the Hysperia based shop getting the pre-lims out of the way for the new suspension.

Currently, we're running a set of BBS 18x8.5 +28 BBS wheels off an Evolution X, MR. We'll be swapping these out for a nice set of RAYS wheels later, but for the mean time, they are a great upgrade over stock. Unfortunately, they rub...a lot....at stock height. Thus we needed to cut, roll and pull the fenders slightly to insure we wouldn't be feathering the sides of our tires on the track.

I do not recommend you try this at home, however, here are the steps we took:

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_2%7E4.jpg

1. The first thing you we did was cut away all the insulation at the base from the base of the fenders. We took a sharp blade and pretty much just scrapped it off. If you use a grinder, the insulation melts and makes a huge mess.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_3%7E3.jpg

2. After this was done, we ground the rest of the fender to make a clean surface which we sealed with black primer after the fenders were rolled. This also prevents the paint from cracking unpredictably.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_6%7E1.jpg

3. The fenders were then notched and we (he) began to slowly and carefully work the fender away from where it would have impacted the wheels/tires.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_5%7E1.jpg

4. A quick touch of with black primer and the car is good to go!

[Blaze]

Friday rolled around and it was time to get get a set of lowering springs onto the car. Robi commissioned Progress Technology to create a spring with a rate best suited for the Ralliart. These, plus a few other tricks can push the potential parallel to the capabilities of most coil over set ups.

Robert was not available Friday, so it was off to SS Racing in Alta Loma. With a 12-pack of blue moon in one hand, new springs in the other and pizza in the other (not sure where the third arm came from) we set to work.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_pizza.jpg

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_springs.jpg

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_1%7E4.jpg

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_3%7E4.jpg

Over all, it was a lot of hard work cussing and a short knife fight with a spider named chuck who tried to bumb a smoke (big spider).

Once the spings were in and the ride height settled, everything looked great. The ride is very comfortable compared to stock and after a trip back to Robi-Spec the following day, the turn in and holding power is dramatically improved. The last part of "stage 1" will be the addition of a rear sway bar from white-line. Early next year, we'll move to a more aggressive stage 2 (stay tuned).

[Blaze]

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_Picture%20024%7E0.jpg

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_Picture%20025.jpg

[Blaze]

Coming Soon:Â*

Some new goodies are on their way or have arrived:

Black CE28Ns (18x8.5) Black
http://img193.exs.cx/img193/3491/cedbup9jn.jpg

AEM Intake
http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1694.JPG

This is going to require the battery augmentation to reduce it's size and location.
http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1697.JPG

Using my evo's intake to estimate space, I should have enough room just to the left of the intake if I relocate the mini fuse/relay box.
http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1698.JPG
http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1699.JPG

Also I'll be playing with an Evo X intercooler next week and doing some test fitments with a BBY front clip to let in a little more air.

Evo X Intercooler
http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1696.JPG

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v332/blacktrack/OB%20X%20GSR/FrontStraight.jpg

[Blaze]

We left the Ralliart with HB Speed to test the new firmware for COBB. Initially there was an issue where Jon could not load the new maps. A day later, COBB sent out a revision and Jon was off and running. Over the next week, HB established stage 1 and 2 base maps for the car.

The graph below represents a the factory tune compared to stage 2. The car was stock with the exception a test pipe (for off road use only). So the gains are about 45 peak WHP and 57 TQ. Not bad for 91 octane and a "stock car" and pretty amazing for just base maps.


http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/graph.php.jpg


EDIT: This tune was done without a boost pill.

Also, these are the maps that will be available to the public either through COBB, or you can have one tailored to your needs by HB Speed.

[Blaze]

And then there was three.
(309 foot pounds of torque)

HB Speed added a boost pill last night and broke the 300TQ barrier.
The car is still "stock" with the only mods being a test pipe, pill and his tuning.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/graph.pill.jpg

[Blaze]

Pulled the RA FMIC today and replaced it with the OEM one from my MR.

HUGE difference in size....

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1843.JPG

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1848.JPG

Special Thanks to Road Race Engineering for the oddly colored red coupler.Â* O0
I'll bring the black one back, since it didn't fit.Â* AND the SD card.....

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1854.JPG

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1852.JPG

Happily ever after.Â* No one's the wiser that it's been modded.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_IMG_1856.JPG

[Blaze]

Added a set of VOLK CE28Ns to the car last weekend.
These are wrapped in Yokohama Advan Neovas.

http://www.doubledgarage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/18.jpg

http://www.doubledgarage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/171.jpg

[Blaze]

So I've been trying out some new things on the RA over the past few weeks leading into MOD.

Got the front bumper and fenders on. Fitment seems pretty good. The fenders are going to be painted to match the car, but we'll leave a bit of exposed carbon around the vents as a nod back.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_SDC16037.JPG

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_SDC16038.JPG

[Blaze]

The vents are hideous (I know). These are going to be sprayed a flat or low gloss black.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_SDC16039.JPG

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_SDC16040.JPG

Wheel gap powns me. Bigger wheels or spacers will have to be added asap.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_SDC16041.JPG

[Blaze]

Some pix of the carnage from the body shop. The rear panels are now being fitted, but and molded and matched to the 1/4 panel, rear bumper and side skirt. They'll be cutting and remolding the flair so that the door works too (I hope).

Hopefully this will all be finished and shot by Saturday and I'll have the car back after the holiday weekend. The total expansion is between 45 and 50mm.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_SDC16282.JPG

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_SDC16281.JPG

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_SDC16280.JPG

[Blaze]

I miss my side markers.Â* CURSE YOU SEIBON!!!!

I had the paint shop leave a kiss of CF exposed around the vent.Â* This makes it look just a hair larger and well rounded.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_36405_411991699451_720529451_4233185_403023 1_n.jpg

Offset is everything, so Imma need to find me about 50mm more wheel before MOD.
:confused:

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/35227_411991749451_720529451_4233186_2445128_n.jpg

The rear bumper is pulled up and mated to the flare.
It's nearly seamless. I'll probably go back and make corrections if I mass produce these.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_34847_411992119451_720529451_4233204_477350 6_n.jpg

Side View. Still need to address the front fenders/running boards.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_35375_411991904451_720529451_4233198_486864 4_n.jpg

[Blaze]

Changed out the wheels yesterday to start filling the 50+mm gap. I'm going to have to get something more agressive (perhaps dished).

But for now, these are a set of wheels I found in my garage. They're 18x9+35 with a 10mm spacer.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_34462_412444049451_720529451_4241933_695558 1_n.jpg

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_35329_412443869451_720529451_4241922_211143 8_n.jpg

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10569/normal_36699_412443304451_720529451_4241890_757308 3_n.jpg

[Blaze]

Voltex lip installed on the X front end.

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk252/BlazeGT4/Ralliart/0ed4b1e8.jpg
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk252/BlazeGT4/Ralliart/8c8ef58a.jpg
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk252/BlazeGT4/Ralliart/c7c4b2fb.jpg