The Grand Proposition - Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionFive cars chasing four figures
writer: James Tate
photographer: Devin Lefevere





One great aspect of the Evo is that, while its dynamic abilities extend well into the supercar realm, it's easily useable as a daily driver. There's plenty of room for friends and cargo, plus it's reliable. If that weren't enough, an advanced all-wheel drive system ensures a year-round capability its fair-weather competition could only dream of. And the Evo responds so well to modification that many people wonder where the principle of diminishing returns actually sets in. There's always someone who believes you can't have too much of a good thing. And that someone will almost always find the threshold the rest of us were curious about. This time, we found five someones, who each tried to coax more than 1000bhp from the venerable 4G63 engine.
There was a time when this kind of output was considered miraculous from a Supra Turbo--and that car had two more cylinders, 50 percent more displacement, an extra turbo and half as many driveshafts to break. Regardless of make, though, it's been our experience that any time a car spins dyno rollers to the tune of 1000bhp, it's best driven a couple times a month--with a support team to rival a Paris-Dakar rally effort.
Typically with cars of this caliber, finding the appropriate maniacs who actually build them is pretty easy. With the ever-increasing importance of Internet forum bragging rights, a quick sift through a few popular sites quickly reveals five cars making such bold claims.




In Nevada, a madman by the name of Dan Bajalis came through with an Evo resembling Shamu with a paratrooper's pack strapped to its dorsal fin. From Florida is Eddie Pagan, a man whose passion for pizza drove him to create a rolling yellow billboard with an impeller wheel peering through the grille. Also out of Florida, Anthony Perrea's Evo has a sticker on the back window that says it all: World's Highest HP Evolution VIII. Connecticut's John Malinkowsky runs the only widebody of the bunch. And from Chicago, it's the notorious AMS (Automotorsports) drag car.
While we're almost sure the AMS car would be capable of nailing the magical grand on the rollers; the fate of the other four remains to be seen. The number of people who can make a Mitsubishi four-banger churn out the kind of power we'd expect from a twin-turbo Viper are limited. And that number gets even smaller when you filter out the ones who can pull it off without grenading something.
Miami
It's winter time, and those of us spoiled by Southern California weather aren't willing to travel north to do the testing. With two of the cars already in Florida, we decided to secure a Dynojet in Tampa. After everyone had tickets booked and drive routes plotted, the shop with which we had scheduled dyno time came clean and admitted to not having a Dynojet, or for that matter, a dyno at all.




Hustling beyond hustling, our man in Tampa, Charles Juckett, pulls through and finds a Dynojet in Miami--four hours away. Since Martin Musial from AMS and I were already booked into Tampa, the inconvenience meant that Juckett would have to stuff us in his pick-up and cart us all the way down south.
If it weren't for the guys at Fynetune Performance pulling through at the last minute, we'd be short one cover story and one editor. Because everyone had to truck or drive their cars down to Tampa, then to Miami in the wee hours of the night. John Malinowsky's drive was easily the farthest, taking just over 24 hours from Connecticut. The fact that his widebody Evo was driven to the shoot-out could prove the ultimate testament to its durability.
The Rules
Because this competition isn't designed to test long-term durability, repeatability of numbers is not considered a major factor. You can bet when you see dyno numbers posted on your favorite forum, they aren't an average of the three best runs. Each competitor is allowed plenty of cool-down time--as much as 15 minutes between runs. The goal? 1000 crank horsepower, which in an Evo, is an optimistic 800 wheel-hp on a Dynojet.




First to hit the rollers is the heavily stickered yellow Evo of Eddie Pagan, a man who hasn't slept in two days and appears in a coffee-and-Red Bull-induced haze. With the help of Central Florida Turbo, Eddie spent the previous night building the engine. The brand-spanking new mill drives from completion straight onto the dyno's rollers. There hasn't even been time to re-torque the shiny new head studs.









Out of the goodness of the competitors' hearts (and our own), Pagan is allowed 30 minutes of testing and tuning on the dyno, prior to running. Half an hour quickly becomes two and we're running out of time to have all three cars tested. With the natives becoming restless, Pagan's car has to run, ready or not.
Unsurprisingly, the yellow Evo goes bang during its first hard dyno pull, drenching the dyno in coolant. The culprit was the last thing anyone would have thought to check: an unfastened fuel rail. In Pagan's sleep-deprived haste, he'd forgotten to tighten the rail down and the injectors have popped out. As a result, the mixture goes lean and the head gasket goes bye-bye.
To Eddie, a salute is due. His is the only Evo in attendance with a unique solution to eclipsing the grand and his commitment to the challenge can't go unnoticed. This guy needs an energy drink sponsor. Anyone?




Anthony Panaligan's `World's Highest HP Evolution VIII' comes next, casually idling onto the rollers and cracking off a run so hard that all four wheels spin in place. More crucially, the rear is squatting so violently under the power that the tires become gouged in the fender-wells. The solution comes in the form of two-by-four wood boards, stacked between the dyno floor and the chassis, ahead of the rear wheels. In hindsight, this probably wasn't the safest decision, but it was getting late and we needed numbers.
The cobbled-together solution ends up being what was needed for a clean run. Time after time, the black-and-silver Veilside whale rips the rollers to more than 800hp, with a record of 936 wheel-hp. AMS's Martin Musial, with a typically casual air, notes that Anthony's car could have boosted 52psi, but because he's already beaten the 1000hp mark, elects to keep the boost at a "more reasonable" 45psi. Pulling back into the parking lot, we notice some wetness around a freeze plug on the outside of the block, indicating that we might have been seconds from disaster. But hey, it's off the dyno now.
Later in the day, John Malinowsky's beautiful gold widebody car pulls into the lot with a puttering exhaust manifold. A close inspection reveals that the welds have failed, likely a result of his 24-hour drive--heat and bumps stressing the tubular masterpiece over time. In a fine display of camaraderie, everyone dives in to help.




The Fynetune guys call in a mobile TIG welder, while Juckett and Musial begin blasting the bumper cover off the broken widebody. Pagan is heartbroken from his head gasket failure, but quickly finds redemption in being a good sport. With about five people wrenching on the one car they know better than the back of their own hands, the gold Evo doesn't escape the dyno. Within minutes, the manifold is off and Musial promptly gets welding. In an hour, the gold Evolution is ready for action and spins the rollers to the tune of 928 wheel-hp.
Chicago
Two more Evolutions claim to eclipse the grand, and we caught up with them at AMS in Chicago. Setting foot outside O'Hare International in the dead of winter is like being hosed down and then thrown into a meat freezer full of industrial-strength fans. It's 16 below zero and I'm utterly shocked to learn they make heaters that cope with this.
Before I can irritate myself enough to be in my usual complaining state, I hear the A-Team soundtrack blaring through the passenger pick-up lane. I was told to look for an A-Team van, but I must say, I didn't expect the actual A-Team van to be picking me up. Turns out AMS vice president Arne Toman has a peculiar diesel van fetish--his personal ride goes down the quarter-mile in 13 seconds and is strapped with a queen-sized bed and a turbocharger larger than a human head. Back to the A-Team van, though: embarrassment promptly overshadows the cold. After 30 minutes spent as Murdoch, I'm inside the dyno room at AMS.




AMS is unlike any shop I've seen, in that it actually has dozens of employees and they actually all seem to be doing something. Maybe it's a well-orchestrated illusion while the magazine guys are in town, but the busy shop seems to tick like a Swiss watch. This won't exactly be the first time their silver drag car has bumped over the dyno rollers, either. With an utterly massive GT42R turbo peering through a cut-out in the front bumper and jagged teeth painted on the fenders like a World War II war bird, nobody questions the veteran's intentions.
Knowing the goal is `just' to crack 1000bhp, Musial decides the car doesn't even need a tune. With that, the garage echoes with a sudden explosion of noise. I'm wearing push-in ear plugs and I have over-the-head shooting earmuffs on, too. But I can still feel my brain rattling inside my skull when the drag car erupts and the rollers start spinning at ludicrous speed. On the first run, the car hits 962 wheel-hp. Done.
With the mechanical precision you'd expect from an OE manufacturer, Musial's guys back the dragster off the rollers and line Dan Bajalis' white-and-black Shamu-esque Evolution up for testing. Although it's typically used as a street car, it's not out of the ordinary to see Dan's Evo the way we're seeing it now: shod with Mickey Thompson ET Drag slicks on 15-inch Buddy Club wheels and a Diest parachute towering off the rear bumper. Yeah. Street car.




Like the AMS drag car, Bajalis' killer whale needs no tuning to spin the rollers to 945 wheel-hp and 625lb-ft. of torque. The total lack of drama, explosions, or accidents is almost disappointing. Almost.
What's shocking is that four of the five cars actually pull off this seemingly impossible feat. Even one with a cracked exhaust manifold and another with a freeze plug just itching to pop out of the engine block with the force of a shotgun blast.
We owe a huge thank you to the staff at Falcon Trust Air in Miami (www.falcontrustair.com). Without their competence and helpfulness, much of the photography would not have been possible. As Ferris Bueller said: "If you have the means..."


Company Car
Giving new meaning to the 30 minutes-or-less promise

By Dan Frio
Photography By Devin LeFevere




If things don't work out for Edward Pagan at his family's pizza business, he'll probably have a bright future in marketing. Or as a political spin doctor. Either way, using his 2003 Evo VIII as a means to promote the shop is a brilliant allocation of resources. We can only imagine how he convinced a skeptical Mrs Pagan.
"My family and I own a local pizzeria, so I had the crazy idea to build a daily delivery sport compact car that will help us bring business into the shop," Pagan explains. "The car brought so much attention that people come to the restaurant to take pictures and say hello, and they become new customers."




This is a guy who has also owned a Buick Grand National and Chevy Impala SS, and grown accustomed to mild violence when mashing an accelerator. He says he did much of the engine work himself, helped by Rolo at Central Florida Turbo in Orlando, Buddy at Florida Performance Machine for engine assembly, and most recently Titan Motorsports, the Supra tuning legends.
"Nero [Deliwala, Titan Motorsports owner] told me, `I need a champion Evo.' So this is their Evo shop car now," says Pagan.
It was Titan tech Geo Castillo who first explained to Pagan the importance of matching cams to head flow, directing him to a custom-spec Cosworth valvetrain. His 4G63 also gets Ross pistons, Crower rods and a .20 overbore. A Precision GT-4067R turbo kit, mated with a Gato Performance intercooler kit and a 50-shot of Nytrex nitrous, help Pagan net 744 wheel-hp and 565lb-ft on the dyno.




It also helped his friend, driver Oscar Robles, nail a claimed 9.2 seconds at 153mph at the drag strip recently. His goal is to equal or better that run this year on the record at an NHRA or NOPI event. Did he really say he uses this to move pies around town? "It's still a daily driven street car. I even have to deliver pizzas when I have a driver call in or not come to work."
How cool would it be to ride along with Pagan as he brings hunger relief to Orlando's gamers and stoners with nearly 800 horsepower transmitted through the Tilton twin-disc clutch, Ralliart diff, Gator Performance axles, and 245/45R18 BFG Drag Radials? The mozzarella is most likely still melting by the time Pagan pulls up for the delivery.




Helping plant the Evo in corners are A'PEXi N1 coilovers, which anchor an otherwise stock suspension. An AMS/Wilwood brake package also helps keep the car on the road, no matter how determined Pagan seems to make it take flight. He sees 900hp as a reasonable goal, especially given his connection with Titan.
"We'll probably change compression, and definitely change the gearing to something from ShepTrans," says Pagan. He's also awaiting a new 4202 turbo from Force Performance and TiAl that reportedly flows up to 110 pounds per minute--well up from the 80 pounds the Precision unit currently flows.How does the Evo compare to his muscle car past? Pagan describes its handling as "unbelievable." Even among a crew of friends who drive domestic muscle, the Evo is respected. "It's a four-cylinder muscle car. All you need is a downpipe, test pipe, [ECU] flash, boost controller and wastegate, and you've got a 12-second car right there


Father, Faster, Stronger
What would Freud say about this?

By Jackie Liu
Photography by Devin LeFevere




Anthony Perrea's dad went through a midlife crisis. Luckily for us, he decided to buck the trend of buying a Corvette and opted for a 1994 JZA8 twin-turbo Supra with a 3.4-liter stroker kit that puts out over 1000hp. Would you let your dad one-up you like that? Anthony didn't, and he proved it with this 936 wheel-hp Evo VIII. "No, Dad, I won't need to borrow your car."
The first thing you notice about Perrea's vehicle is the rice-a-roni VeilSide wing and sideskirts, Gialla front bumper with APR front diffuser and custom black-and-silver two-tone paint finish. Good thing that's not all his Evo has. Although Anthony is no slouch when it comes to modifying his own cars, he knew a project like this would require the specialized talent of noted Evo tuning virtuosi, AMS.




Eric Gaudi and his team spent 10 weeks assembling the engine, using a combination of their own parts and other ultra-high-performance aftermarket additions. They beefed up the engine with Oliver forged steel connecting rods and Ross racing forged pistons that relocate the ring pack lower--to withstand the extreme heat and pressure. This 4G63 has an upgraded valvetrain with Supertech Performance 1mm oversized valves; the intake valves are high-temperature alloy and the exhaust valves are Inconel. Titanium springs and retainers allow for a super high-revving motor without floating valves. The brains behind the valvetrain are the JUN 272 camshafts and HKS cam gears. With plans to exceed 1000hp, AMS also made the wise decision to O-ring the block, which provides additional sealing around each cylinder and is highly advised when building a 4G63 that exceeds 500hp using a stock head gasket.
The GT42R turbo applies 52psi of boost, regulated by twin TiAl 38mm wastegates. To accommodate the fuel system, the car uses eight massive 1600cc/min injectors and an AMS fuel rail. The VSR intake manifold uses a twin-rail design, with primary injectors able to fire at partial throttle and the introduction of a secondary set of injectors at boost.




The intercooler (22x12.4x4 inches) lowers temperatures and the intake side uses one of the two TiAl blow-off valves. Fumes are expelled through a custom four-inch exhaust system. A small radiator and lightweight battery are used for weight reduction, and an AEM EMS keeps engine parameters tuned perfectly.
That much power requires a special clutch and upgrades to the rear and front axles; AMS swapped in an Exedy Triple Plate clutch and Driveshaft Shop Stage V axle upgrades. The transmission/transfer case is also upgraded.




Inside are Sparco Roadster seats, an AIM MXL Strada electronic dash, AEM UEGO air/fuel ratio gauge and serial port gauges, and a Pioneer touch-screen head unit.
The car rides on front and rear TEIN Flex coilovers with EDFC. Stock-size Baer Racing brakes with drilled and slotted rotors and Stoptech pads provide maximum stopping power. Sticky BF Goodrich G-Force Drag Radials are paired to Volk GT7 wheels with custom-painted black centers.


Prince Midas
Engine, chassis, interior and all that glitters

By James Tate
Photography by Devin LeFevere




John Malinowsky had to ask himself a question: how to re-create street bike-type thrills in something more reliable and less dangerous? It's not likely you had a successful road racing stint--on a sport bike--and had to quit after realizing that laying a bike down at speed is neither pleasurable nor cost-effective. It's also unlikely that you have the ability to pick up a box-stock Evolution VIII from your local Mitsubishi dealer, sell everything you don't need down to the seats and drop it off with AMS. Then tell them to give you the works, because money simply isn't an object.




Having ticked off essentially every option in the AMS catalog, Malinowsky had found the way to satisfy his need for speed, while retaining relatively good daily driveability. Allegedly.
This gold Evo is able to carry anyone with a 26-inch waist (or smaller) in relative luxury, thanks to the Bride seats. And it actually has a fairly compliant ride, with the help of the cockpit-adjustable TEIN Flex system with EDFC. Sure, the 295/40R18 rubber on all four wheels doesn't make for a particularly quiet ride, but hey, compared to the wind noise of an R6 at speed, it ain't so bad.




Pulling off a 928hp dyno run after a 24-hour drive with a manifold that had been welded together just 10 minutes before is pretty impressive. The truth of the matter is that it wasn't until John found himself pulling away from a tollbooth later that night that a piston suddenly punched a grapefruit-sized hole through the block. When he called, he reported that the car felt "down on power."









Of all of the custom parts that can fail in a 1000hp Evo, the culprit ended up being a throttle position sensor. Upon failing, it sent a signal of back to the ECU, causing it to run lean. Which is an undesirable condition when accelerating from a tollbooth at 45psi on race gas.







What a Drag
A lot can happen in a quarter of a mile

By Jackie Liu
Photography by James Tate




As any car enthusiast will tell you, building race cars can be an addiction and no one Joneses more than the boys at Automotorsports (AMS) in Chicago. They were one of the first shops in the Midwest to buy an Evo VIII and right away began R&D on forced induction, quickly making news in the tuner community as countless Evos began setting performance records with their turbo kits. The car continued to serve as a test mule for their product line and, by 2005, it served triple duty as a drag car, road race car and street car. That winter, they stuck with their decision to keep it as a drag car and made 4G63 history.
The chassis has been reworked to reduce weight and the car has a carbon fiber roof. The engine was built to be responsive, quick-revving and able to boost right away. The 2.1-liter short block has been treated to a 2.5mm overbore, uses a stock crankshaft, Groden aluminum rods and Ross Racing 2.5mm overbored pistons with a compression ratio of 7.8:1. Because the engine produces so much power, AMS also O-ringed the deck of the block and used AMS/TMS high-strength head studs for additional sealing around the cylinders. The 4G63 valve events are regulated by JUN 272-degree camshafts attached to AEM cam gears, which sit on a CNC ported Cosworth cylinder head. Cosworth 1mm overbored valves, double valve springs, titanium retainers and keepers are ideal for a high-revving engine.




A GT42R turbo is attached to a custom stainless steel exhaust manifold, and the 48psi of boost is controlled by a TiAl 44mm wastegate. The AMS fuel system uses a Weldon fuel pump and Fuel Lab fuel pressure regulator, and eight PTE 1000cc/min injectors. The VSR intake manifold uses a twin-rail design that allows for the primary injectors to fire at partial throttle and a second set to fire off under boost. The massive aluminum race intercooler is flanged for a TiAl blow-off valve. A small radiator and lightweight battery reduce weight, while the engine relies on an AEM EMS to keep everything operating smoothly.




AMS also swapped out the stock clutch and driveshaft for an Exedy triple plate carbon clutch and CTG carbon fiber driveshaft, and upgraded the axles to DriveShaftShop Stage V rear axles and front axle bar. A Quaife torque-biasing front differential provides power to both drive wheels and creates a nearly perfect 50/50 power split in all conditions, which is twice the power of an ordinary open differential.








The interior includes an AMS custom built roll cage, Status seats, Diest fire suppression system, Stroud window net, an AEM UEGO air/fuel ratio gauge and serial port gauges, and an in-dash tachometer, oil/water/boost gauges and a shift light--all by Auto Meter. Wilwood Drag Race front and rear brakes provide maximum stopping power. Fifteen-inch Buddy Club Racing QF wheels are fitted to Mickey Thompson ET Drag tires.
The result? A claimed quarter-mile time of 8.97 seconds and a claimed top speed of 165mph.





Slot Racer
Trying to spend less time on the Vegas Speedway

By Dan Frio
Photography by James Tate




Daniel Bajalis is no stranger to fast metal. He's owned an Audi S4, three LT1-powered Camaros and two Subarus (a WRX and a 2.5RS). In his current stable is a 2006 Evo IX, a Ford F-350 for pulling the toys, and this 2003 Evo VIII.
Bajalis's job as branch operations manager of a nationwide home loan lender no doubt allows him the cushion to invest what he approximates is about $50,000 into the build-up of his Evo VIII (note to self: brush up on mortgage industry).
He didn't necessarily intend to swing this deep into the car, but as his small investments began to pay major thrill dividends, he was hooked.
"Originally, I bought the car to replace my Subaru WRX," says Bajalis. "I was going to keep it stock and just enjoy it."




That phase lasted 500 miles. After an exhaust and ECU flash, Bajalis hit the Las Vegas Motor Speedway drag strip and recorded a 12.3-second run at 108mph. Cams, a front-mount intercooler and boost controller followed, leading to an 11.7-second run at 115mph, still on the stock turbo.
Determined to break into the 10s, Bajalis connected with AMS Performance in Arlington Heights, Illinois. AMS has been making the pages of SCC ever since 2005, when they entered a similar 2003 Evo VIII into our Ultimate Street Car Challenge.
"I talked to AMS and learned they were planning on doing a GT35R kit," Bajalis recalls. "I was already sold and wanted to be the first to have one. It didn't take long to hit 10s in full street trim and get into the low 10s on all-season tires."
Bajalis later breached the nine-second mark on a GT37, then resigned himself to a descent into project insanity.
Determined to keep the car's stock simplicity inside and out, Bajalis spent carefully. Aside from an AMS roll cage, Sparco harnesses and a couple of AEM gauges, the interior retains its showroom look. Copy that outside, with just the slight addition of an AMS carbon fiber roof and some custom vinyl graphics.




The underpinnings and ground communication are top-shelf: JIC coilovers and Hoosier Quick Time Pro rubber, wrapped around 16-inch Rota Slipstream wheels--a stylish, if curious, choice.
But underhood, Bajalis turned his 4G63 over to the AMS brain trust, who sent it back with a Cosworth head jammed with JUN cams, Ross pistons, Groden rods, a new 2.1-liter displacement, and a GT42R turbo.
Dual AMS fuel rails host eight 1000cc/min injectors, all run by AEM EMS engine management on an AMS Performance tune. Power transfers through an Exedy triple carbon-plate clutch, CTG carbon fiber driveshaft and Driveshaft Shop Stage V rear axles.
Bajalis is confident that this combo can allow him to achieve his goal of lower single-digit quarter-mile times.
"I'm pretty happy with the power. For now. My goal was 10s, then nines. Now it's eights, and who knows? Maybe sevens next year."

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