2001 Mitsubishi Evo VII – Silver Lining ( Part 2 )

For most people this would be the last straw, but not for Brad who, instead of giving up, went about making his car better than ever. The new 2300cc motor, this time built by E&H Motors (Brad’s shop of choice if the work can’t be done in the driveway at home), is an absolute monster featuring the best internals available. The headwork, which was performed by Brad’s old man, took endless hours and would have cost near on $10,000 if you were to pay retail at a shop. It’s all been worth it though, as the new set-up is lively, and exhibits very little lag despite the decent-sized Garrett GT3582R turbo sitting on a Sinco manifold. The car has also been through multiple clutches and a couple of gearboxes on its journey through the process of trial and error, as well as a little bad luck, but this Mitsi is now at a stage where it’s about as serious as an Evo street car can get.

Considering the Evo VII has run an 11.2-second quarter-mile on its old 350kW tune, and it’s now sitting on 410kW on pump gas, you’d be safe to assume this is one seriously fast car. “The 2.3-litre [capacity] and head-porting eliminates a lot of the lag,” Brad says. “It’s on full boost – 32psi – by around 4000 rpm, and it will spin all four semi slicks in second in the dry. I’ve torque-steered across three lanes in the past, so when it comes on boost it comes on hard and can be a bit of a handful, but at the same time it’s predictable and stable, unlike a high-power rear-wheel drive.”

In the end though, it’s been a hard road littered with shady turbo purchases, improperly fitted clutches, and a broken parts bin filled to the brim: Brad has experienced knocks that would cause some people to give up, but he’s turned them into a great thing. “It’s all been a good learning curve. I have learned the hard way about doing things once and doing them right, spending that extra money in the beginning to buy the genuine reputable parts or seeking professional help from the best in the business. I try to constantly evolve my car, thinking about the next two or three mods down the track, and have a general direction I’m going in before doing any modifications at all. This way you aren’t buying parts to then replace them when the next modification is added because they don’t work together. It may cost more initially, but it always ends up saving you money in the long run.”

Brad is one of those enthusiasts who has no real end goal with his car – he’s the sort of guy who will continue to keep modifying it until there is nothing left to do and then, probably, he’ll start all over again. But what about his plans in the near future, at least? “I’ve given myself one more 4&Rotary Nationals to try get ‘Best Mitsubishi’,” he tells us. “I’m going to go to either a half- or full-cage and possibly a larger fuel system in preparation for a switch to E85 for the track – it’ll be the same power, but with lower boost – then possibly a full panel and paint or dry sump. I don’t really have an end goal, it’s just a good hobby that I’m passionate about and which keeps me happy and out of trouble. In the end, modified cars are never complete anyway.” Well said, Brad, well said.