Evo 9 FQ-320 with a few twists
Discussion
So been asked to do a bit of a writeup on my Evo 9 by a few people and the car has turned into a bit of a project so here we go!
Was fortunate enough to win the car from Dream Car Giveaways on 01/12/23 and collected it on 03/12/23 which was as soon as I could, super chuffed as you'd probably imagine. It's actually the second Evo 9 I've won from them, the first one I enjoyed for about 9 months and then man maths kicked in when I realised I could sell it and my Ferrari 360 to go towards a McLaren 650S. Regretted letting the Evo go ever since so feels a little fateful to win another albeit with many tickets
Full spec is;
56,000 Miles, with pretty much a bare metal restoration by RG Motorsport - genuinely crazy how clean the car is.
5 Speed Gearbox as they're stronger than the 6 Speed.
Fully Rebuilt Engine - 2.0 Long Rod, 1400hd Wiesco 85.5 Pistons, 156mm Oliver I-Beams, Manley Springs & Retainers, GSC S2 Cams, ARP Main Studs & Head Studs, ACL Bearings, Tubular Manifold, S205b Turbo, ETS 3" Intercooler, 3" Intake Pipe / K&N, 3" Russ Fellows Exhaust System
Link G4 Ecu - 552hp on High boost / 480hp Low Boost
Water Methanol injection fitted (AEM controller / gauge / tank)
Lots of Xtreme Carbon external bits fitted
Handling; Cusco Power Brace, Superpro 24mm Rear ARB, Meister R ZetaPro Coilovers
Work ZR10 Alloys
At home alongside the 650S
So enjoyed it on the odd good day in December and generally having a great time with it. Took it down to my parents for Christmas and had a great run out along the south coast
Fast forward to mid Jan and the S205B turbo decided it no longer wanted to be part of the world, broken down in a woods from 2pm-8pm was not the nicest experience Used a 50p coin to get the intake off and the turbo had an absolute huge amount of play in it and had obviously rubbed the turbine against the housing.
Got recovered and was a horrendous experience, had to wait for the roadside guy to agree it wasn't repairable at the side of the road (not his fault he tried to skip the visit after speaking to me but its all gps linked and he had to inspect) also told the AA about 10 times I had my dog with me and they said it would be fine to have her in the recovery truck then they sent someone who refused to take me because of the dog and he eventually agreed on the basis my dog would have to stay on her own in the car on the back of the trailer.
Anyway old turbo off to Turbo Technics for inspection, diagnosed as overspeed. It's on the limit of what the turbo can handle really and was 9 years old having been on the car for about 5-7 years or so. As it was completely goosed with nothing reusable on it I ordered a replacement S205B (like for like) turbo from Turbo Technics, that arrived just before I went on holiday. Went on my holiday, got back and lost my job (great timing ) which gave me time at least to fit the new turbo with all new hardware etc.
Had a great shakedown run out all good, about 50 miles in total (with stops to check on everything etc) then took it on a run out to the Cotswolds, again great fun
However on the run back home the car had a huge hesitation when I was overtaking someone and found no boost. Limped it the final couple of miles home and sure enough turbo was goosed once more. Got it straight off and drove it back up to Turbo Technics, complete with the Circlip that was hanging out of the oil drain :/ This time the failure was diagnosed as oil starvation, no warranty cover or anything like that sadly so they sent me an quote for yet another brand new turbo at more or less full price after alot of effort to try and get some goodwill contribution from them.
Engine seemed fine but obviously will need to give it another complete look over. Oil level was at the minimum (having filled it to max) and the missing oil was sat in the catch can presumably having been pushed there by boost pressure when the turbo let go.
I don't think I can do the same again given the failure so soon after replacement so I've ordered a Precision Turbo PT5858 Ball Bearing kit from Ross Sport and now playing the waiting game for that to be delivered. That should actually be a decent power boost but more importantly gets me away from the fragile S205B turbos.
So that's where we're up to currently, amazing car let down by a seemingly very fragile turbo which is admittedly running at the limit of its capabilities. Hopefully put that right, get the mapping adjusted to suit and move forward with it
Sat ready for the arrival of the PT5858 turbo kit
Was fortunate enough to win the car from Dream Car Giveaways on 01/12/23 and collected it on 03/12/23 which was as soon as I could, super chuffed as you'd probably imagine. It's actually the second Evo 9 I've won from them, the first one I enjoyed for about 9 months and then man maths kicked in when I realised I could sell it and my Ferrari 360 to go towards a McLaren 650S. Regretted letting the Evo go ever since so feels a little fateful to win another albeit with many tickets
Full spec is;
56,000 Miles, with pretty much a bare metal restoration by RG Motorsport - genuinely crazy how clean the car is.
5 Speed Gearbox as they're stronger than the 6 Speed.
Fully Rebuilt Engine - 2.0 Long Rod, 1400hd Wiesco 85.5 Pistons, 156mm Oliver I-Beams, Manley Springs & Retainers, GSC S2 Cams, ARP Main Studs & Head Studs, ACL Bearings, Tubular Manifold, S205b Turbo, ETS 3" Intercooler, 3" Intake Pipe / K&N, 3" Russ Fellows Exhaust System
Link G4 Ecu - 552hp on High boost / 480hp Low Boost
Water Methanol injection fitted (AEM controller / gauge / tank)
Lots of Xtreme Carbon external bits fitted
Handling; Cusco Power Brace, Superpro 24mm Rear ARB, Meister R ZetaPro Coilovers
Work ZR10 Alloys
At home alongside the 650S
So enjoyed it on the odd good day in December and generally having a great time with it. Took it down to my parents for Christmas and had a great run out along the south coast
Fast forward to mid Jan and the S205B turbo decided it no longer wanted to be part of the world, broken down in a woods from 2pm-8pm was not the nicest experience
Used a 50p coin to get the intake off and the turbo had an absolute huge amount of play in it and had obviously rubbed the turbine against the housing. Got recovered and was a horrendous experience, had to wait for the roadside guy to agree it wasn't repairable at the side of the road (not his fault he tried to skip the visit after speaking to me but its all gps linked and he had to inspect) also told the AA about 10 times I had my dog with me and they said it would be fine to have her in the recovery truck then they sent someone who refused to take me because of the dog and he eventually agreed on the basis my dog would have to stay on her own in the car on the back of the trailer.
Anyway old turbo off to Turbo Technics for inspection, diagnosed as overspeed. It's on the limit of what the turbo can handle really and was 9 years old having been on the car for about 5-7 years or so. As it was completely goosed with nothing reusable on it I ordered a replacement S205B (like for like) turbo from Turbo Technics, that arrived just before I went on holiday. Went on my holiday, got back and lost my job (great timing
) which gave me time at least to fit the new turbo with all new hardware etc.Had a great shakedown run out all good, about 50 miles in total (with stops to check on everything etc) then took it on a run out to the Cotswolds, again great fun
However on the run back home the car had a huge hesitation when I was overtaking someone and found no boost. Limped it the final couple of miles home and sure enough turbo was goosed once more. Got it straight off and drove it back up to Turbo Technics, complete with the Circlip that was hanging out of the oil drain :/ This time the failure was diagnosed as oil starvation, no warranty cover or anything like that sadly so they sent me an quote for yet another brand new turbo at more or less full price after alot of effort to try and get some goodwill contribution from them.
Engine seemed fine but obviously will need to give it another complete look over. Oil level was at the minimum (having filled it to max) and the missing oil was sat in the catch can presumably having been pushed there by boost pressure when the turbo let go.
I don't think I can do the same again given the failure so soon after replacement so I've ordered a Precision Turbo PT5858 Ball Bearing kit from Ross Sport and now playing the waiting game for that to be delivered. That should actually be a decent power boost but more importantly gets me away from the fragile S205B turbos.
So that's where we're up to currently, amazing car let down by a seemingly very fragile turbo which is admittedly running at the limit of its capabilities. Hopefully put that right, get the mapping adjusted to suit and move forward with it
Sat ready for the arrival of the PT5858 turbo kit
Beethree said:
Love these. Although I can’t tell whether you are lucky or unlucky!
Both in moderation? To be fair though, it's a highly tuned 18 year old (An Evo 9 being so old just feels crazy!) car. I almost upgraded the turbo the first time around and in hindsight obviously wish I had done but no point crying over spilt milk
DCG guys are decent people and you can see the prep that went into it at Odd Autos etc beforehand. These things happen much like they can happen had I bought it rather than winning it etc. For balance also, the Evo 9 GT I won from them before was flawless for the 9 months I had it.
That looks fantastic!
Sorry to hear about the turbo issues, hope you can achieve a longer lasting setup. I had the (stock) turbos wear out on my RX-7, but were refurbed for c. £800 so not a huge issue.
The Evo 9 is the culmination of this fantastic line of cars, something really special.
samoht said:
That looks fantastic!
Sorry to hear about the turbo issues, hope you can achieve a longer lasting setup. I had the (stock) turbos wear out on my RX-7, but were refurbed for c. £800 so not a huge issue.
The Evo 9 is the culmination of this fantastic line of cars, something really special.
Recognise the username to be fair - used to have an RX-7, probably one of the best cars I owned Sorry to hear about the turbo issues, hope you can achieve a longer lasting setup. I had the (stock) turbos wear out on my RX-7, but were refurbed for c. £800 so not a huge issue.
The Evo 9 is the culmination of this fantastic line of cars, something really special.
Although I see you also have a Mclaren so could be from those circles also Evo 9 is a very bizarre car, it retains the 90s Jap car feel but in a much more modern package, I absolutely adore it and all being well it will probably still be here long after my 650S has moved onto pastures new.
Zarco said:
How do you win two cars? Do you buy half the tickets each time or what?
Nice line up in any case.
Played DCG since the beginning (along with others) and spent more than I should on many occasions combined with some / alot of luck - apparently using it all up in the process Nice line up in any case.
horsemeatscandal said:
You lucky unlucky b
d.
Photos of a bright blue Evo ib a quaint Cotswolds village is such a cool juxtaposition. I bet the locals weren't happy when that thing rumbled through.
Absolutely a real clash of worlds to some extent d. Photos of a bright blue Evo ib a quaint Cotswolds village is such a cool juxtaposition. I bet the locals weren't happy when that thing rumbled through.
Edited by horsemeatscandal on Saturday 30th March 11:19
Though to be fair Broadway is quite used to loud cars rolling through I think, had some kids come running up and asking if they could do videos of it parked up for their tiktok along with their parents apologising for their keenness (Of course no need - I suspect the majority of us were those kids once!)
d_a_n1979 said:
That's lovely! Looking forward to seeing how this build goes
Thanks Hoping to keep up the momentum, will be a few weeks on the new turbo then shouldn't take long to fit and sort out booking it in for mapping. Just need to decide if to limp there off boost or if to try and find a way to have it trailered down.popeyewhite said:
Had a look at Garrett?
Was my starting point but by all accounts the Precision Turbo route seems to the be tried and tested for the Evos and the go-to in recent times. Keen to stick to the done thing after the issues with the last turbos.Gone for the ball bearing PT5858 which should be good for somewhere in the region of 620-650bhp I believe but still good response. Apparently could have gone bigger and got higher numbers but I wanted to keep the drivability - whilst I enjoy oldschool turbo lag I didn't want something that's useless outside of a drag strip or similar.
cento16v said:
Looks good Alex, a bit quicker than the Cinq was I guess!
Hope you're keeping well.
Thanks, yeah the toys have got a little more serious since the Cinq days although still miss that thing!Hope you're keeping well.
The PT5858 Kit is on its way to me now think its due to be delivered Monday, once it gets here will have to get an extra lambda boss welded onto the V Band downpipe (think its going to the ECU as well as the gauge in my glovebox) and can crack on fitting it all to the car, cannot wait
Been speaking to RG Motorsport who built the engine (and did the underside restoration etc) about mapping the new turbo, I like the idea that the guys who built the engine originally are still mapping it & giving it a once over before I drive it hard again.
Sold my M135i daily so down to just the Evo and the 650S now, 650S is in with McLaren and they've been pretty terrible in terms of keeping me updated. It was meant to be back with me on Wednesday but think they only just looked at it yesterday (shan't start my rant about that, save that for a McLaren thread if I start one lol) Must go out and buy a daily the next week or so tbf!
Edited by GhostWKD on Friday 12th April 20:27
Plenty of good luck followed by bad. Ain’t that life though.
Evo’s can be a right pain, especially when modified as most of them are. I’ve had mine 9 years and it’s been a love hate relationship thats for sure. The last couple of years more the hate bit, to the point where I’m not even sure I’ll put it on the road this year. I go from selling it to keeping it almost daily, which does the Mrs head in Hopefully you’ll get it sorted and start have fun again, mind you I’m sure the McLaren makes up for it.
Evo’s can be a right pain, especially when modified as most of them are. I’ve had mine 9 years and it’s been a love hate relationship thats for sure. The last couple of years more the hate bit, to the point where I’m not even sure I’ll put it on the road this year. I go from selling it to keeping it almost daily, which does the Mrs head in
Hopefully you’ll get it sorted and start have fun again, mind you I’m sure the McLaren makes up for it. Its Just Adz said:
Nice one, I wanted to see a thread on this.
I really wanted this car too, pretty glad I didn't win it now as no way I could afford a couple of replacement turbos!
Cheers I really wanted this car too, pretty glad I didn't win it now as no way I could afford a couple of replacement turbos!
Yeah it's not been ideal I'll be honest but what can you do, play the hand you're dealt and keep your head up.... Hopefully will be on a good path once I get the new turbo fitted and everything sorted.wolfie28 said:
Plenty of good luck followed by bad. Ain’t that life though.
Evo’s can be a right pain, especially when modified as most of them are. I’ve had mine 9 years and it’s been a love hate relationship thats for sure. The last couple of years more the hate bit, to the point where I’m not even sure I’ll put it on the road this year. I go from selling it to keeping it almost daily, which does the Mrs head in Hopefully you’ll get it sorted and start have fun again, mind you I’m sure the McLaren makes up for it.
So true! Evo’s can be a right pain, especially when modified as most of them are. I’ve had mine 9 years and it’s been a love hate relationship thats for sure. The last couple of years more the hate bit, to the point where I’m not even sure I’ll put it on the road this year. I go from selling it to keeping it almost daily, which does the Mrs head in
Hopefully you’ll get it sorted and start have fun again, mind you I’m sure the McLaren makes up for it. Got to take the highs with the lows and just get on with it Haha that's just tuned jap cars for you I think - much the same with my old R32 GTRs etc albeit back when they were £5k cars and not what they are now. But yeah other than a recent McLaren servicing debacle the 650S has obviously been a pretty decent gap filler to the Evo
Recieved the turbo for the Evo yesterday and feel like I have been wrestling with V Band clamps ever since
Manifold is a work of art from JMF
And got the turbo all clocked correctly etc and bolted together
Annoyingly I then decided to redo all the VBand clamps to put the threaded sections more hidden etc. I then snapped the final clamp as I went around tightening them all.... so now on hold again while sort a replacement V Band Clamp
In the meantime the downpipe needs a lambda port welding on for the wideband so will crack on with working out where that needs to be and get it off to a local fabricator
Edited by GhostWKD on Tuesday 16th April 16:24
Got a local place to help weld in an extra lambda port, great guys and amazing work. Fortunate to be in the motorsport corridor of the UK so some very skilled people about.
Replacement v band clamp came and I tidied up where all of the fastners were sat to hopefully be more presentable when all is done (I may regret this if any need tightening!)
And started getting it fitted. Messed up cutting the oil return hose and turbo to IC pipework so have had to reorder both of those and just waiting for them to come. You may also spot a very pinched hose looping the water feed/return (new turbo is only oil cooled) am also waiting on a 180 degree hose joiner to come to replace that Need to find some black vac hose also but for now the yellow will do
Replacement v band clamp came and I tidied up where all of the fastners were sat to hopefully be more presentable when all is done (I may regret this if any need tightening!)
And started getting it fitted. Messed up cutting the oil return hose and turbo to IC pipework so have had to reorder both of those and just waiting for them to come. You may also spot a very pinched hose looping the water feed/return (new turbo is only oil cooled) am also waiting on a 180 degree hose joiner to come to replace that
Need to find some black vac hose also but for now the yellow will do C5_Steve said:
I dunno which I'm more impressed by, the beauty of this car or the fact you won TWO 
QQ, did you change the wheels after picking it up? They look bronze in the DCG pics but black in yours, or is it just a trick of the light?
Stunning build and the best colour for these.
Yeah it's pretty crazy even I admit QQ, did you change the wheels after picking it up? They look bronze in the DCG pics but black in yours, or is it just a trick of the light?
Stunning build and the best colour for these.
The first Evo 9 & my old Ferrari 360 Spider;
Those both got sold to fund the McLaren 650S Spider;
Nah wheels are the same as when I got them, just a product of poor lighting I think. Although the recovery guy scratched/chipped a couple of the wheels so I'll have them refurbished at some point I think. Only minor but annoys me so they'll get sorted.
Edited by GhostWKD on Friday 26th April 22:53
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