evolutionm.net - View Single Post - 2002-2006 Lancer Super FAQ

ambystom01 · Aug 1, 2007, 07:42 PM

-----Nitrous-----

It isn’t NOS, it’s nitrous (or more specifically dinitrogen monoxide). On lancers this is generally regarded as a no-no, people have blown motors on as little as a 50 shot. This is on a stock motor though. With upgraded rods and pistons you could probably use it but whether it’s worth spending several thousands just to have a red button is up to you.

At the moment that is all the NA mods I can think of. Something to keep in mind is that the lancer is not a Honda, it won’t rev to 9000 RPM and make 200 hp NA, at best you’ll make 150 realistically.

For all the mods that apply, the gains will be greater on a motor with forced induction (great segway eh?).

-----Forced Induction-----

-----Basics of forced induction-----

-----Turbocharger-----

A turbocharger is an exhaust driven air compressor. What this means it is uses the exhaust gases to drive an air compressor, compressing the air. Since they use exhaust gases to do their work, turbos are extremely hot. By compressing the air, you can get more oxygen into the engine which means more power (in some cases a lot more power). The problem with this though is as you compress the air, you increase the temperature. As mentioned earlier, detonation is a big problem for motors. One cause of detonation is simply temperature, if the air is hot enough, it’ll ignite without a spark. Due to this, people have come up with creative ways to cool the intake charge. One method that most people are pretty familiar with is using an intercooler. An intercooler is a radiator for the intake, its sole purpose is to reduce the temperature so as to reduce the chances of detonation. Air travels from the intake, to the turbocharger, then through the intercooler and finally into the engine.

Alternatively you can inject methanol or water into the motor. I won’t bother going farther than this since I haven’t heard of anyone using this on the 4G94 and it’s definitely overkill for most situations.
Other important aspects of a turbocharged vehicle are the wastegate and the blow-off valve. A wastegate is a valve that keeps the turbo spinning at the desired rate to achieve the desired boost pressure. If left to their own devices, turbochargers would simply spin faster and faster as the revs went up. This would be catastrophic to a motor as the boost pressure would just keep going up and up and eventually the motor would fail. In order to prevent this, the wastegate releases or diverts exhaust gases away from the turbo so it’ll only spin to a preset speed. The purpose of the blow-off valve (or BOV to the kids) is to release the pressurized air when necessary. This means when the throttle plate is closed. Obviously the air has no where to go so it would simply backup potentially damaging the turbo. This is referred to as compressor surge. There are two types of blow-off valves, recirculating valves (also called diverter valves) and atmospheric valves. Recirculating valves redirect the air back into the intake stream further upstream. Atmospheric valves release the pressurized air into the atmosphere. This can lead to major problems because of the MAF. Essentially the car does not get the amount of air it is suspecting, throwing off the AF ratio.

-----Boost threshold and turbo lag-----

Despite the relatively simple nature of these concepts, a lot of people get them confused. Boost threshold refers to the RPM at which a turbo spools and boost is experienced while turbo lag refers to the time difference between hitting the gas pedal and actually noticing acceleration. To measure turbo lag, you obviously need to be past boost threshold, if you slam the gas at 1000 RPM, you are not experiencing lag.

-----Turbo trim and A/R-----

Turbo trim is essentially a measure of how large the turbo. A higher trim value generally means more lag but more power potential while a lower trim means less lag but a lower power potential. This is not absolute however.
For more info, see this FAQ.
A/R (or Area/Radius Ratio) works more or less the same.

-----Supercharger-----

A supercharger is a belt driven air compressor. Rather than use exhaust gases to do its job, it is actually attached to the engine. An advantage to this is the supercharger will only spin as fast as the motor allows it to reducing if not eliminating the chances of overboost. Response is also better than with turbochargers. A problem however is that this puts strain on the motor reducing overall power compared to a turbocharger (which essentially uses waste to work). This isn’t a big deal for most people and with most applications but if you use too big of a supercharger you can actually end up with a car that won’t run at all. The superchargers you see in race cars require hundreds of horsepower just to get moving.

More information is available from Howstuffworks here.

-----Premade Lancer kits-----

The premier source for a full turbo kit is RRM. If you want a turbo kit, go with them. RPW does offer one but they are also in Australia and are not complete. For some this might not be a big deal but for most of us it means the difference between boosting in a few weeks versus a few months. For the 2002-2003 lancer, RRM used a up-pipe, down-pipe system. They also used a fuel management unit to increase the fuel pressure thus allowing the motor to have the necessary fuel. For the 2004-2006 lancer, they made a turbo manifold. They also began using a 5th injector because of the returnless fuel system. This injector is controlled by their piggyback ECU. You have three options as far as the turbo goes, a T-25, T-28 and a 16G. Which one is right for you depends on your budget and what you want out of the car. The T-25 is the smallest turbo and thus the cheapest. It also has the fastest spool time but it will max out quicker. The T-28 and 16G are about equal in terms of spool time and potential.

For a supercharger you’re only option is RIPP. They no longer make a kit for the lancer but you might be able to find one floating around on here or on ebay.

With forced induction, the motor really comes alive. 200 hp is easy and 300 hp has and can be done. If you want the most out of your motor, this is the only option. Something to keep in mind, slapping a turbo kit on an econobox will not make it a performance car. Manufacturers spend millions developing their performance cars for a reason, they simply feel different from other cars. If you have these grand aspirations of turning your lancer into a STi/Evo equivalent, you need to get off the drugs.

Whether it's a heavily modified NA or a forced induction system, you may need to modify the stock fuel system to compensate. This can mean a new fuel pump (Walbro), new injectors, extra injectors, a new fuel management system or a fuel pressure regulator among other possibilities. I won't go into details as if you've gotten to this point, you should be able to do the research yourself or ask a more knowledgeable shop what to do.

-----Custom Kits-----

Yes it is possible to make your own kit. If you need to ask, you are not ready in my opinion. Here is a list of what you’ll need though.

Turbo
Turbo manifold
Fuel system upgrade (injectors, pump, FMU, etc.)
Wastegate
BOV
Intercooler
Intercooler and intake piping
Oil (and water) lines and fittings
Hoses, clamps and other bits and pieces

A general tip for those considering forced induction, a little goes a long way. The lancer motor is not designed to be turboed and has a relatively high compression which means you see decent gains for a given amount of boost pressure. It also means the motor cannot handle high amounts of boost without some serious modifications, namely new pistons, new rods, decompression gasket, etc. As a general rule, 10 PSI is about the max you should be shooting for without any modifications. This is with a 16G or a T-28 intercooled turbo. Some people say the motor can handle 12 PSI but whether it’s worth the risk is up to you. Above this point the pistons and the rods become a problem and should be replaced. Here is a good thread discussing the maximum pressure that can be run with a 16G setup.

-----Fuel Injectors-----

Fuel injectors are what deliver the fuel to your engine (unless of course you have the elusive carbureted lancer). They are attached to the intake manifold and sit between the plenum and the engine itself. They are fed by the fuel rail. Unless you are making significant power, you do not need to worry about replacing these. I assure you, an intake and exhaust do not increase the engine power enough to require new injectors. Generally speaking, only a turboed motor needs new injectors and even then only if it's running a decent amount of boost.
If you upgrade the injectors, you will need a tune. This isn't a recommendation, it is a requirement. You car was designed to use the stock injectors thus if you don't tune it, it will use way more fuel than necessary which could make it run horribly or simply not run at all. You need to change the fuel trim in order to take into account the larger capacity of the injectors. Most piggyback systems will allow you (or your tuner) to do this.
The stock injectors are 240 cc. Here is a list (thanks Drucea) of other injectors that work in the lancer,

87.5 RX7 high impedence=460cc
93+ Non turbo supra=315cc
00+ celica gts=310cc
90-96 300zx TT=370cc
97+ Honda Prelude VTEC=280cc
02-03 Impreza=440cc

-----Motor Swap-----

Remember when I said a lancer isn’t a Honda? Nowhere is this more apparent than when the topic of engine swapping comes up. Currently only two swaps have been done, one went to a 4G63 out of an evo (here) and the other went to a 4G64 out of an eclipse (here). The 4G63 swap was not easy and cost a small fortune, the 4G64 swap is easier. Whether it is worth it is up to you. There are other swaps out there. RPW seems to be the company to consult if you’re interested in doing a motor swap. If you want information on an AWD swap, you’re out of luck. Currently no one has done an AWD swap with a lancer although it has been done in the mirage world.

-----Electronic engine modifications-----

This category encompasses things like grounding kits, spark plugs, voltage stabilizers, etc. These are not mods to do if you want to make noticeable power. You will not gain power changing your plugs unless something is wrong with the engine or the plugs you are replacing are old and not functioning correctly. Grounding kits are a waste of time as with voltage stabilizers. Do not get tricked by all the advertisements, they are the snake oil of the automotive world.

-----Tuning-----

I’ll start off by saying do not try to tune your car unless you know exactly what you are doing or don’t mind having to buy a new motor to learn. If you are unsure, leave it to the professionals. Despite what some people seem to think, professional tuners are not just people with more experience, they are often people who have actual training or certification to work with a variety of systems and are capable of getting the most out of an engine. Tuning is both a science and an art form and the difference between a good tuner and a great tuner is a lot like the difference between a good driver and a great driver in that it’s found in the details and often not learnable.
With that disclaimer out of the way, you’ll need a few things before you tune. First off, you need something to actually tune with. You have a lot of options as far as this goes and which is right for you depends on your budget and what you actually need to do. Just a few examples are the Apexi S-AFC, the RRM piggyback, the Greddy Emanage, the Haltech Interceptor and the AEM EMS. I’ve tried to order the units in order of complexity. The Apexi is by far the simplest and can only change the AF ratio. For the average person this is fine. The RRM piggyback is very similar but it can also be made to adjust timing if you buy the upgrade. A great thing about the RRM piggyback is it comes preloaded with a decent map to start with or to use flat out. This means if you don’t want to tune but want the advantages of a modified fuel map, you can just hookup the RRM piggyback and go. None of the other units have this convenience. The Greddy Emanage allows you to change the AF ratio and timing. The newer versions have lots of neat features that could be useful or just unnecessary complications but the choice is up to you. I’m not very familiar with the Haltech Interceptor but from what I’ve gathered it’s very similar to the Emanage. The AEM EMS is the by far the best unit on the list but it’s also the most complicated and the most expensive (by a large margin). Unlike all the other ECUs discussed, it is not a piggyback computer but a full standalone engine management unit meaning it replaces the stock ECU altogether. It has the greatest flexibility and is the unit you need if you want to get every ounce of power of the car. For the average person though it is beyond overkill (basically using a nuclear missile to kill some ants) and not even worth considering. Most if not all of the mentioned ECUs can also datalog allowing you to compare data under different conditions.
Tuning is pointless if you can’t see what you’re doing so you also need a wideband AF gauge/monitor at minimum (these are also called wideband O2 sensors). These are not the gauges you see in most civics (which are narrowband O2 gauges for those who want to know), they don’t simply have some nice colors that sweep constantly but rather display a specific number, namely the AF ratio of your motor at that exact moment. Remember when I talked about AF ratio? Well this is where it applies. Once you know what the AF ratio is, you can optimize it with the tuning device you have. There are quite a few options as far as an AF gauge is concerned. AEM makes a basic but straightforward unit for those who only need to know what the AF ratio is and want to display it in a gauge format. Zeitronix has a very good unit that can be expanded to display exhaust gas temperature (EGT) and boost as well for those who are turboed. It can also datalog for those people that need that function. Innovate produces a similar wideband with a lot of extra features. Which is the one to go for is up to you.
Some other things you may need for tuning are a laptop (for datalogging and changing the tune), other gauges (depending on your application) and a dyno.
The basic idea behind tuning is to figure out what the base tune is and change it accordingly. This means running the car on a dyno or on a sparsely used road, datalogging the information, viewing the information, and fiddling with the ECU to achieve a more desired number. This can be very time consuming depending on your goal. It’s important to go in small steps to ensure you don’t cause damage to the motor. As an example, if you do a pull and find that the base AF ratio is 10:1 (very rich), you would reduce the amount of fuel slightly and do another pull. I won’t go further than this since you can write a book on tuning alone (hell this section is pretty big and it barely scratches the surface).

-----Suspension-----

When it comes to the suspension, you can pretty much change or add everything you want or need. Something to consider is as with everything, you get what you pay for. You’re not going to have race car handling with 200$ springs. If you want the most out of the car, you have to be willing to spend big bucks. Slamming the car to the ground isn’t a good idea, what is most important in handling is getting the suspension to work together. This means springs that don’t overload the struts and struts that don’t hold the car stiff in situations where some softness would be beneficial. This is why manufacturers spend hours upon hours and millions of dollars testing their cars at places like the Nurburgring.

-----Some useful terms when it comes to the suspension-----

-----Oversteer-----

This basically means the car pushes towards the center of the turn, it’s what you see when a rear-wheel drive car like a viper takes a corner and stamps the gas. It’s a good thing for racing since the car effectively makes the corner for you but very few manufacturers make a car do it from the factory because it’s also the most dangerous handling characteristic, if you don’t know it’s coming or go too far the car can simply spin out. Upgrading the rear sway bar is a simple way to make a lancer oversteer more than it does from the factory.

-----Understeer-----

This is what you feel on a stock car. The car pushes towards the outside of the corner. While it’s annoying, it’s safer since if you take a corner too fast, you’ll just go wide.

-----Dampening-----

How stiff the struts are or rather how much they will cushion a bump.

First up let’s address the springs and struts. You have two options here, just springs (and struts) or full-blown coilovers.

An excellent article on suspension is available here
. It describes things like camber, toe, caster and other more complex subjects.

If you want to know everything about automotive suspension, the Car Bible is the place to go.

-----Springs-----

In my opinion, these are purely cosmetic. They lower the car thus lowering the center of gravity and all aftermarket springs are stiffer than their OEM counterparts. In theory this should lead to a more performance oriented ride however, remember when I said all the suspension need to work together? Well the stiffer springs and the lower ride put more stress on the stock struts which leads to a bumpier and less performance oriented ride. Eventually the stock struts will blow at which point you’ll be worse off than you were with a stock car. Now I’m sure you’re thinking “well that’s lame, why didn’t Mitsubishi make stronger struts?” Well the simple answer is because the lancer is an economy car, it’s meant to get you from point A to point B as cheaply as possible. Some reputable manufacturers of springs are Tein, Progress, H & R and Eibach. Note that the ES and OZ/Ralliart use different springs.

Everyone has seen a spring, didn’t you have a slinky as a kid?

Aug 1, 2007, 07:42 PM	#2
ambystom01 Evolved Member Personal Sales Rating: (7) 2007 Subaru Impreza Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Canuckistan Posts: 12,651 Drives: Robut bear cavalry to the bearpocalypse	-----Nitrous----- It isn’t NOS, it’s nitrous (or more specifically dinitrogen monoxide). On lancers this is generally regarded as a no-no, people have blown motors on as little as a 50 shot. This is on a stock motor though. With upgraded rods and pistons you could probably use it but whether it’s worth spending several thousands just to have a red button is up to you. At the moment that is all the NA mods I can think of. Something to keep in mind is that the lancer is not a Honda, it won’t rev to 9000 RPM and make 200 hp NA, at best you’ll make 150 realistically. For all the mods that apply, the gains will be greater on a motor with forced induction (great segway eh?). -----Forced Induction----- -----Basics of forced induction----- -----Turbocharger----- A turbocharger is an exhaust driven air compressor. What this means it is uses the exhaust gases to drive an air compressor, compressing the air. Since they use exhaust gases to do their work, turbos are extremely hot. By compressing the air, you can get more oxygen into the engine which means more power (in some cases a lot more power). The problem with this though is as you compress the air, you increase the temperature. As mentioned earlier, detonation is a big problem for motors. One cause of detonation is simply temperature, if the air is hot enough, it’ll ignite without a spark. Due to this, people have come up with creative ways to cool the intake charge. One method that most people are pretty familiar with is using an intercooler. An intercooler is a radiator for the intake, its sole purpose is to reduce the temperature so as to reduce the chances of detonation. Air travels from the intake, to the turbocharger, then through the intercooler and finally into the engine. Alternatively you can inject methanol or water into the motor. I won’t bother going farther than this since I haven’t heard of anyone using this on the 4G94 and it’s definitely overkill for most situations. Other important aspects of a turbocharged vehicle are the wastegate and the blow-off valve. A wastegate is a valve that keeps the turbo spinning at the desired rate to achieve the desired boost pressure. If left to their own devices, turbochargers would simply spin faster and faster as the revs went up. This would be catastrophic to a motor as the boost pressure would just keep going up and up and eventually the motor would fail. In order to prevent this, the wastegate releases or diverts exhaust gases away from the turbo so it’ll only spin to a preset speed. The purpose of the blow-off valve (or BOV to the kids) is to release the pressurized air when necessary. This means when the throttle plate is closed. Obviously the air has no where to go so it would simply backup potentially damaging the turbo. This is referred to as compressor surge. There are two types of blow-off valves, recirculating valves (also called diverter valves) and atmospheric valves. Recirculating valves redirect the air back into the intake stream further upstream. Atmospheric valves release the pressurized air into the atmosphere. This can lead to major problems because of the MAF. Essentially the car does not get the amount of air it is suspecting, throwing off the AF ratio. -----Boost threshold and turbo lag----- Despite the relatively simple nature of these concepts, a lot of people get them confused. Boost threshold refers to the RPM at which a turbo spools and boost is experienced while turbo lag refers to the time difference between hitting the gas pedal and actually noticing acceleration. To measure turbo lag, you obviously need to be past boost threshold, if you slam the gas at 1000 RPM, you are not experiencing lag. -----Turbo trim and A/R----- Turbo trim is essentially a measure of how large the turbo. A higher trim value generally means more lag but more power potential while a lower trim means less lag but a lower power potential. This is not absolute however. For more info, see this FAQ. A/R (or Area/Radius Ratio) works more or less the same. -----Supercharger----- A supercharger is a belt driven air compressor. Rather than use exhaust gases to do its job, it is actually attached to the engine. An advantage to this is the supercharger will only spin as fast as the motor allows it to reducing if not eliminating the chances of overboost. Response is also better than with turbochargers. A problem however is that this puts strain on the motor reducing overall power compared to a turbocharger (which essentially uses waste to work). This isn’t a big deal for most people and with most applications but if you use too big of a supercharger you can actually end up with a car that won’t run at all. The superchargers you see in race cars require hundreds of horsepower just to get moving. More information is available from Howstuffworks here. -----Premade Lancer kits----- The premier source for a full turbo kit is RRM. If you want a turbo kit, go with them. RPW does offer one but they are also in Australia and are not complete. For some this might not be a big deal but for most of us it means the difference between boosting in a few weeks versus a few months. For the 2002-2003 lancer, RRM used a up-pipe, down-pipe system. They also used a fuel management unit to increase the fuel pressure thus allowing the motor to have the necessary fuel. For the 2004-2006 lancer, they made a turbo manifold. They also began using a 5th injector because of the returnless fuel system. This injector is controlled by their piggyback ECU. You have three options as far as the turbo goes, a T-25, T-28 and a 16G. Which one is right for you depends on your budget and what you want out of the car. The T-25 is the smallest turbo and thus the cheapest. It also has the fastest spool time but it will max out quicker. The T-28 and 16G are about equal in terms of spool time and potential. For a supercharger you’re only option is RIPP. They no longer make a kit for the lancer but you might be able to find one floating around on here or on ebay. With forced induction, the motor really comes alive. 200 hp is easy and 300 hp has and can be done. If you want the most out of your motor, this is the only option. Something to keep in mind, slapping a turbo kit on an econobox will not make it a performance car. Manufacturers spend millions developing their performance cars for a reason, they simply feel different from other cars. If you have these grand aspirations of turning your lancer into a STi/Evo equivalent, you need to get off the drugs. Whether it's a heavily modified NA or a forced induction system, you may need to modify the stock fuel system to compensate. This can mean a new fuel pump (Walbro), new injectors, extra injectors, a new fuel management system or a fuel pressure regulator among other possibilities. I won't go into details as if you've gotten to this point, you should be able to do the research yourself or ask a more knowledgeable shop what to do. -----Custom Kits----- Yes it is possible to make your own kit. If you need to ask, you are not ready in my opinion. Here is a list of what you’ll need though. Turbo Turbo manifold Fuel system upgrade (injectors, pump, FMU, etc.) Wastegate BOV Intercooler Intercooler and intake piping Oil (and water) lines and fittings Hoses, clamps and other bits and pieces A general tip for those considering forced induction, a little goes a long way. The lancer motor is not designed to be turboed and has a relatively high compression which means you see decent gains for a given amount of boost pressure. It also means the motor cannot handle high amounts of boost without some serious modifications, namely new pistons, new rods, decompression gasket, etc. As a general rule, 10 PSI is about the max you should be shooting for without any modifications. This is with a 16G or a T-28 intercooled turbo. Some people say the motor can handle 12 PSI but whether it’s worth the risk is up to you. Above this point the pistons and the rods become a problem and should be replaced. Here is a good thread discussing the maximum pressure that can be run with a 16G setup. -----Fuel Injectors----- Fuel injectors are what deliver the fuel to your engine (unless of course you have the elusive carbureted lancer). They are attached to the intake manifold and sit between the plenum and the engine itself. They are fed by the fuel rail. Unless you are making significant power, you do not need to worry about replacing these. I assure you, an intake and exhaust do not increase the engine power enough to require new injectors. Generally speaking, only a turboed motor needs new injectors and even then only if it's running a decent amount of boost. If you upgrade the injectors, you will need a tune. This isn't a recommendation, it is a requirement. You car was designed to use the stock injectors thus if you don't tune it, it will use way more fuel than necessary which could make it run horribly or simply not run at all. You need to change the fuel trim in order to take into account the larger capacity of the injectors. Most piggyback systems will allow you (or your tuner) to do this. The stock injectors are 240 cc. Here is a list (thanks Drucea) of other injectors that work in the lancer, 87.5 RX7 high impedence=460cc 93+ Non turbo supra=315cc 00+ celica gts=310cc 90-96 300zx TT=370cc 97+ Honda Prelude VTEC=280cc 02-03 Impreza=440cc -----Motor Swap----- Remember when I said a lancer isn’t a Honda? Nowhere is this more apparent than when the topic of engine swapping comes up. Currently only two swaps have been done, one went to a 4G63 out of an evo (here) and the other went to a 4G64 out of an eclipse (here). The 4G63 swap was not easy and cost a small fortune, the 4G64 swap is easier. Whether it is worth it is up to you. There are other swaps out there. RPW seems to be the company to consult if you’re interested in doing a motor swap. If you want information on an AWD swap, you’re out of luck. Currently no one has done an AWD swap with a lancer although it has been done in the mirage world. -----Electronic engine modifications----- This category encompasses things like grounding kits, spark plugs, voltage stabilizers, etc. These are not mods to do if you want to make noticeable power. You will not gain power changing your plugs unless something is wrong with the engine or the plugs you are replacing are old and not functioning correctly. Grounding kits are a waste of time as with voltage stabilizers. Do not get tricked by all the advertisements, they are the snake oil of the automotive world. -----Tuning----- I’ll start off by saying do not try to tune your car unless you know exactly what you are doing or don’t mind having to buy a new motor to learn. If you are unsure, leave it to the professionals. Despite what some people seem to think, professional tuners are not just people with more experience, they are often people who have actual training or certification to work with a variety of systems and are capable of getting the most out of an engine. Tuning is both a science and an art form and the difference between a good tuner and a great tuner is a lot like the difference between a good driver and a great driver in that it’s found in the details and often not learnable. With that disclaimer out of the way, you’ll need a few things before you tune. First off, you need something to actually tune with. You have a lot of options as far as this goes and which is right for you depends on your budget and what you actually need to do. Just a few examples are the Apexi S-AFC, the RRM piggyback, the Greddy Emanage, the Haltech Interceptor and the AEM EMS. I’ve tried to order the units in order of complexity. The Apexi is by far the simplest and can only change the AF ratio. For the average person this is fine. The RRM piggyback is very similar but it can also be made to adjust timing if you buy the upgrade. A great thing about the RRM piggyback is it comes preloaded with a decent map to start with or to use flat out. This means if you don’t want to tune but want the advantages of a modified fuel map, you can just hookup the RRM piggyback and go. None of the other units have this convenience. The Greddy Emanage allows you to change the AF ratio and timing. The newer versions have lots of neat features that could be useful or just unnecessary complications but the choice is up to you. I’m not very familiar with the Haltech Interceptor but from what I’ve gathered it’s very similar to the Emanage. The AEM EMS is the by far the best unit on the list but it’s also the most complicated and the most expensive (by a large margin). Unlike all the other ECUs discussed, it is not a piggyback computer but a full standalone engine management unit meaning it replaces the stock ECU altogether. It has the greatest flexibility and is the unit you need if you want to get every ounce of power of the car. For the average person though it is beyond overkill (basically using a nuclear missile to kill some ants) and not even worth considering. Most if not all of the mentioned ECUs can also datalog allowing you to compare data under different conditions. Tuning is pointless if you can’t see what you’re doing so you also need a wideband AF gauge/monitor at minimum (these are also called wideband O2 sensors). These are not the gauges you see in most civics (which are narrowband O2 gauges for those who want to know), they don’t simply have some nice colors that sweep constantly but rather display a specific number, namely the AF ratio of your motor at that exact moment. Remember when I talked about AF ratio? Well this is where it applies. Once you know what the AF ratio is, you can optimize it with the tuning device you have. There are quite a few options as far as an AF gauge is concerned. AEM makes a basic but straightforward unit for those who only need to know what the AF ratio is and want to display it in a gauge format. Zeitronix has a very good unit that can be expanded to display exhaust gas temperature (EGT) and boost as well for those who are turboed. It can also datalog for those people that need that function. Innovate produces a similar wideband with a lot of extra features. Which is the one to go for is up to you. Some other things you may need for tuning are a laptop (for datalogging and changing the tune), other gauges (depending on your application) and a dyno. The basic idea behind tuning is to figure out what the base tune is and change it accordingly. This means running the car on a dyno or on a sparsely used road, datalogging the information, viewing the information, and fiddling with the ECU to achieve a more desired number. This can be very time consuming depending on your goal. It’s important to go in small steps to ensure you don’t cause damage to the motor. As an example, if you do a pull and find that the base AF ratio is 10:1 (very rich), you would reduce the amount of fuel slightly and do another pull. I won’t go further than this since you can write a book on tuning alone (hell this section is pretty big and it barely scratches the surface). -----Suspension----- When it comes to the suspension, you can pretty much change or add everything you want or need. Something to consider is as with everything, you get what you pay for. You’re not going to have race car handling with 200$ springs. If you want the most out of the car, you have to be willing to spend big bucks. Slamming the car to the ground isn’t a good idea, what is most important in handling is getting the suspension to work together. This means springs that don’t overload the struts and struts that don’t hold the car stiff in situations where some softness would be beneficial. This is why manufacturers spend hours upon hours and millions of dollars testing their cars at places like the Nurburgring. -----Some useful terms when it comes to the suspension----- -----Oversteer----- This basically means the car pushes towards the center of the turn, it’s what you see when a rear-wheel drive car like a viper takes a corner and stamps the gas. It’s a good thing for racing since the car effectively makes the corner for you but very few manufacturers make a car do it from the factory because it’s also the most dangerous handling characteristic, if you don’t know it’s coming or go too far the car can simply spin out. Upgrading the rear sway bar is a simple way to make a lancer oversteer more than it does from the factory. -----Understeer----- This is what you feel on a stock car. The car pushes towards the outside of the corner. While it’s annoying, it’s safer since if you take a corner too fast, you’ll just go wide. -----Dampening----- How stiff the struts are or rather how much they will cushion a bump. First up let’s address the springs and struts. You have two options here, just springs (and struts) or full-blown coilovers. An excellent article on suspension is available here . It describes things like camber, toe, caster and other more complex subjects. If you want to know everything about automotive suspension, the Car Bible is the place to go. -----Springs----- In my opinion, these are purely cosmetic. They lower the car thus lowering the center of gravity and all aftermarket springs are stiffer than their OEM counterparts. In theory this should lead to a more performance oriented ride however, remember when I said all the suspension need to work together? Well the stiffer springs and the lower ride put more stress on the stock struts which leads to a bumpier and less performance oriented ride. Eventually the stock struts will blow at which point you’ll be worse off than you were with a stock car. Now I’m sure you’re thinking “well that’s lame, why didn’t Mitsubishi make stronger struts?” Well the simple answer is because the lancer is an economy car, it’s meant to get you from point A to point B as cheaply as possible. Some reputable manufacturers of springs are Tein, Progress, H & R and Eibach. Note that the ES and OZ/Ralliart use different springs. Everyone has seen a spring, didn’t you have a slinky as a kid? __________________ This FAQ is a great starting point for new lancer owners If you want my help, PM me, I won't post in technical forums lest I make waves. Last edited by ambystom01; Sep 10, 2008 at 01:44 PM.
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