Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the Mitsubishi Evo 10 will allow you to make the right decision when buying a new Mitsubishi.
One of the first things, depending on where you are in the world that may come as a surprise to you but perhaps if you’re in the UK it may not be as big a surprise as others is the modification packages available through Mitsubishi UK, mainly the Evo 10 FQ models, as in FQ320. That is, did you know that all of the Evo 10 models in the UK, as sold as a factory-official car through Mitsubishi UK, actually has a modified converted, factory ECU using EcuTeK tuning software?
That package of upgrades is on all the Evo 10s sold by Mitsubishi UK. On top of that, Mitsubishi UK then offer the Evo 10 FQ model, and the FQ model standing for a very quick car, has been available for quite some time now starting with the Evo 7 and then there’s the Evo 8 and, of course, the Evo 9 and now the Evo 10.
The FQ320 Evo 10 comes with a package of generally HKS modified components including exhaust, hard pipe inlet kit, and some other body kit styling enhancements and things like that and the tuned ECU to bring it all together to make it into a nice reliable package that comes with a full factory warranty guarantee through the Mitsubishi dealer network and of course, Mitsubishi UK.
Another good bit of information is some of this tuning and mapping data is available through the EcuTeK ECU tuning network throughout the through EcuTeK partners. The tuning software that is used by Mitsubishi UK is obviously the tuning software that is used by EcuTeK around the world.
Through your local EcuTeK tuner, you can get the factory ECU in your Mitsubishi Evo 10 converted into a fully adjustable ECU and then increase the performance however what will obviously vary is the level of warranty that you’ll get support from your local dealer.
Be very careful when you start modifying, if you choose to modify your Mitsubishi Evo 10. Because it’s a brand-new car, it uses the new Flash Can technology ECU. Gone are the days where you can do some simple modification and upgrades with hard parts and expect a noticeable improvement in performance because, really, you can’t achieve that anymore particularly with these newer models.
The Evo 10 ECU is smart enough to realize that there’s been a modification done and what it will then start doing is detuning the performance that you were looking for as a result of say, for example, a modified exhaust and ultimately you can end up with less power than what you start with, obviously, with factory-standard parts. The advantage of converting the factory ECU to an adjustable one allows that all to be brought together as a complete package, tuned and designed to work in harmony with each other.
The Evo 10 has a dramatically different engine now from the previous models. It has an all-alloy block. It runs a higher-peak boost level, in fact, a staggeringly higher-peak boost level which, again, makes it even more important to choose your modifications carefully. Obviously, the orientation of the inlet and the exhaust manifolds on the Evo 10 is different to the Evo 9, having the inlet manifold at the front now with the exhaust manifold at the rear. Effectively, between the firewall and the engine is now where the turbo sits, which is the completely different orientation to the previous Evo 9 model. That’s going to require a whole complete new jigging up of, obviously, exhaust systems and components to suit that model.
There’s not a lot of carry over with the Evo 9 but, then again, we expected there’s a pretty good reason why Mitsubishi had done that. From impressions, it’s obviously to get the car a bit better balanced in its weight distribution because the exhaust manifold weighs more than the inlet manifold. By moving it backwards, it transfers a little bit more of that weight towards the rear of the car and in theory then obviously makes it handle better.
I’m not going to comment on the body styling or geometry setups or seating position because a lot of that these days is more so a personal choice but hopefully this information will help you if you are looking to buy a new Mitsubishi Evo.
