One of the great things about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is that it can be anything you want it to. Drive it to work every day of the week, flog the shit out of it at the track on the weekend, and best of all, make virtually no compromises doing either. There are simply few cars as capable as the Evo, at any price.
But for Johnny "Rocket" Almaguer, his stock 2003 Evo VIII just wasn't cutting it-and for more reason than one. With a nickname like "Rocket" and a reputation for driving at stupid speeds and leaving nothing stock, it's really not all that surprising that he wanted more power. But more power was only one of the many things he had planned for the 4-door Mitsubishi.
Almaguer, a self-described attention whore, says there's a lot more to showing off than having the biggest and baddest engine. We agree. Its seems that people who modify their cars often bring two very different visions on tuning to the table. Some concentrate primarily on performance upgrades, like massive turbos and nitrous, while others focus on mainly on appearance, like carbon-fiber panels and body kits. Almaguer needed both to satisfy his emotional needs.
"I wanted the full meal deal," he says, adding that "all show is no good without all go." No fool, Almaguer started off with an ideal platform to get both the power and looks he needed. Two years and $58,000 dollars later, he has a ride that turns heads everywhere he goes, and makes the power to back it up.
He had his doubters along the way, though. Even his friends in the Texas-based Voodoo Racing car club (even his wife) told him he was destroying a $33,000 car when he stripped the interior of the Evo right after he bought it. But like Kevin Costner in "Field of Dreams," he had a vision: Build it and they will come. Maybe not to play baseball, but maybe at least to come wag their tongues in envy.
While Almaguer says he wasn't impressed with the power of the stock 4G63, he says he was impressed with the potential of the Evo VIII's chassis and powertrain. We couldn't agree more, with a proven chassis and an engine with huge aftermarket support, it's an awesome platform for a world-class build up. To address what he saw as a lack of adequate power, Almaguer took matters literally into his own hands, installing a Brainstorm GT40 turbo kit in his own garage. The kit includes a Brainstorm exhaust manifold and downpipe, and is complimented with a Buschur Racing intercooler, aluminum chargepipes, and 3-inch catback exhaust. A Tial blow-off-valve was thrown into the mix on the cold side of the whole shebang to keep compressor surge at bay.
Laying the foundation for ball-busting power usually means upgrading the engine management and fuel delivery, then increasing airflow. With a naturally-aspirated setup, getting more air through the engine is an often-difficult proposition. Not the case for turbo cars. With the extra air already taken care of by the GT40, the engine management for the internally-stock 4G63 was taken out of the control of the stock ECU and handed off to an AEM EMS. The stock ignition system was deemed adequate and still serves gallantly and effectively, firing the spark plugs when told to by the EMS. Denso 720cc/min injectors also receive their orders from the same master, while an Innovate wideband O2 sensor reports back, relaying the ever-important AFR data.