Evo 8/9 FMIC & IC Piping

Since we are restricted to the stock turbo in SP and still want to make as much power as possible upgrading the FMIC (front mount intercooler) made sense. When we really push the stock turbo with higher boost its efficiency is reduced and starts blowing hotter air. This will make the engine more prone to knock, pulling timing and reducing power, no bueno.

Now this upgrade isn't without negatives. The FMIC is all the way out front, basically one of the worst places to add weight. They also have increased volume over stock, potentially creating lag and hurting spool as it takes longer to fill that volume. I'd like to keep spool as low as possible to pull the car out of lower speed corners, this is something the 8 motor is not good at.

With all of this in mind I started looking at FMIC's on the market to find one that was:
1) lighter than the rest
2) about 3.5" width
3) not a huge volume/size increase over stock
4) Fits in the OEM location without cutting/modifying anything.

Weights
OEM = 9.5 lbs
AMS = 20.0 lbs
Buschur = 23.5 lbs
CBRD = 30.0 lbs
ETS = ?? (Never got an answer on weight)
JM Fab = ??

As you can see the minimum increase in weight is the AMS FMIC at a 10.5 lb gain. Ok, thats not too bad. It can be offset by losing the IC sprayer tank (-5.0 lbs & my car is an '03) and swapping to a slim rad fan (-6.5 lbs).

Widths
OEM = <3.5"
AMS =" 3.5"
Buschur =" 3.5"
CBRD =" 3.8"
ETS =" 3.5"
JM fab =" 3.8"

Nothing crazy here in terms of width.

On to volume. I started looking at this but when you think about it comparing overall core volume just makes no sense. The only real volume that matters is the internal pressurized volume. Since most of the IC's listed above use different cores there is no apples to apples comparison, even if they are all bar & plate style. Another thing to look at is how much frontal area there is, as I am willing to bet more area is better in terms of cooling. Not going to break out the heat transfer book for this one though.

In terms of fitment these are all on the list because they are advertised as needing no modifications or slight mods (bending/trimming) to fit. Bumper beam removal is an absolute no-no so alot of the 4" cores were out the window there.

All that said I really like the cast end tanks and engineering that went into the AMS piece. It looks to be the best compromise for my intended usage (autox). Buschur & ETS would be next on the list when you take weight & price into consideration. Let's check out some pics of the AMS FMIC vs OEM.


Sweeeet!


AMS vs OEM


Apparently thicker is better.


OEM fin & tube core


AMS Bar & Plate core


Test Fit


Touching the A/C fan wiring. Probably space out the IC with a couple washers.


Plenty of clearance to the bumper beam.


:)
Me: Check it out Richie (my brother-in-law), looks pretty sweet.
Richie: That's your first front mount huh?
Me: Yeah.
Richie: It looks the same.
Me: No way dude, it looks sweet.

He was right. Fugger. :P

Ok, on to the IC piping. My requirements here were that it needs to fit whatever FMIC was chosen and be aluminum. Also wanted the UICP to be a "short route" type to minimize the volume and bends. This volume reduction also helps offset the gain in the FMIC. Not too many choices out there, so AMS was a pretty easy decision here(outside of the price).

Their piping looks well designed with support tabs welded on to both the LICP and UICP. Once it arrived the quality was evident. Great polish, nice welds, very pleased here. Also managed to lose 1.5lbs from the UICP!

Weights
OEM LICP = 2.5 lbs
AMS LICP = 2.5 lbs
OEM UICP = 5.5 lbs
AMS UICP = 4.0 lbs (-1.5 lbs bonus!)

Here's a bunch of comparison pics between the OEM and AMS stuff.


OEM LICP vs AMS LICP


AMS


OEM UICP vs AMS UICP. Huge difference here.


AMS

Wanted to thank MAPerformance for the hookup on these parts. Great guys to deal with. Thanks Chris & Adam! www.maperformance.com

J

Evo 8.5 - Donor Parts

As it always seems I start projects figuring that I'll need this cute little list of parts. In the end the list always grows. This one is no different, although the basic swap is fairly simple.

Here is the list of parts (as I presently know it) needed to swap a 2006 Evo IX motor into a 2003 Evo VIII.

- Evo IX longblock

- Evo IX ECU

- Evo IX complete engine wiring harness

- 2nd Relay on firewall (next to ABS module)

- Evo IX 5spd trans harness

- Evo IX rear (secondary) O2 sensor

- Evo IX Lower Radiator Hose or Cut Evo VIII Hose

You'll also need engine oil, trans fluid, TC fluid, coolant, etc.

Here's a few notes on some of these parts:

Evo IX longblock, my donor is throttle body to turbo outlet, I did this for two reasons. 1st was to make it easier, 2nd was to comply with SCCA SP UD/BD rules (although I only needed the longblock and turbo, not the manifolds)

Evo IX ECU is obviously programmed and wired for the addition of MIVEC. It also has 3 plugs in comparison to the evo VIII ecu that has 4 plugs.

Evo IX engine wiring harness, this is necessary because of the addition of the MIVEC wiring and the aforementioned 3 plug vs 4 plug. The addition of MIVEC adds an extra plug for the intake cam CAS, OCV solenoid & extra firewall relay. There are also 6 more plugs for the ACD wiring, but thats of no consequence here as the VIII has all mechanical diffs. One other note, the donor for this build was in a front end collision. As such the ACD plugs were destroyed and there may be other damage in one portion of the harness. I'll be cutting back the loom and inspecting those parts of the harness to try and avoid any issues.

2nd relay on the firewall, pretty sure this is for the MIVEC, but not really sure. Edit: Adam has confirmed this is for the MIVEC.

EVO IX 5spd trans harness, this is a small harness for the reverse switch and speedo sensor. Mitsu saw fit to change the plug where it connects to the main engine harness. This one was a surprise for me. Luckily I found a used one for $40, dealer pricing is $90+. Edit: You can also cut the plug off your 8 harness and rewire. Personally I prefer the reliability of the OEM harness, so I try and keep it stock where possible.

EVO IX rear O2 sensor, this one was also a surprise. If I can't find a used harness I'll probably use a weatherpack connector. If the sensor ever needs to be replaced I won't be paying for an OEM one anyway. Edit: Like the trans harness this can be re-wired, but it would be nicer to have the OEM harness plugs.

Thats all I've got for now. If anything else comes up it'll get added to this post.

J

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Evo 8.5 - Intro

Earlier this year I started doing a little research about the evo IX swap into the evo VIII. I know they make a good bit more power (not to mention more area under the curve on a dyno plot) then the VIII when setup for SP. I also thought about getting out of the evo and maybe building an STR S2k as a change of pace. When it came down to it there was talk about getting rid of our 3rd car, so having a 4 dr "family" sedan made more sense. Plus the evo is the funnest car I have ever owned, that was the whole reason I bought one.

So the VIII motor was about due for the timing belt service and I would have had to fork out $$ for that and the IX swap wasn't too outrageous, so I pulled trigger. This was May.

Then we put the house on the market. Had it under contract pretty quick and thats when the fun began. We now have a great new home, kids are in school and we are settling in. That's my cue to start in on the winter project.

Gonna back date a little here to October. Hadn't washed the car in over a year. Powerwashed after the Stafford Rallyx, but not really washed. Well it cleaned up real nice, better than I thought.

Prepped the OR for surgery. Not the biggest or cleanest, but totally adequate.

Patient is on the operating table!

So the car was finally in the garage. It had been sitting out for months, dead battery (Thanks Grant!) and hadn't really been driven since the Stafford RallyX anyway since the tranny makes funny noises (Grrr grumble grumble). Was pretty excited about this moment though as the real work would soon begin.

More coming soon. Gonna have some detailed stuff too for the evo guys.

J