Joined
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4 Posts
Hey gang, lurker and prior Evo 8 owner here back in the game with an Evo 5 (@yellow5standingby IG)
Day 1 (circa 2018):
![Car Automotive side marker light Vehicle Automotive parking light Wheel]()
But first, a bit of background. I’m from the US and bought my Blue By You 2004 Evo 8 back in 2007. It was nearly stock and I was enjoying it as such with a few tasteful cosmetic mods like JDM MR headlights, JDM VII taillights, MR BBS wheels, a carbon fiber front lip and Tanabe lowering springs.
![Car Wheel Tire Land vehicle Vehicle]()
It looked perfect to me and I didn’t plan on doing anything else. It was “done.” That is, until I dipped my toes into autoX and then got sucked into track days. I ended up turning the car into a compromise-mobile; a street legal HPDE track day car. I was still living in an apartment in my 20s so a truck and trailer wasn’t in the cards. I was just glad I had a garage to work on it but the car became more track-focused and miserable on the streets. Combined with a cold New England climate, I could realistically only use it for half the year, which meant a half dozen events per year. So, after going about as far as I reasonably could with an 8/10ths car I had to drive home from events, which didn’t always happen, and using it less and less each year, I eventually sold it.
![Wheel Tire Car Vehicle Automotive tire]()
In the meantime, I met my (now) wife who was in the US for school at the time and when she was done, I moved back to Costa Rica with her. Being freed from the 25 year import law of the US, I could now get my hands on some forbidden fruit! But there’s a catch; Costa Rica banned RHD around 2012 with no grandfathers or exceptions. It will fail inspection. So the bad news is almost all JDM cars here have been converted to LHD at varying levels of quality.
Nevertheless, I stubbornly pressed on and found a yellow V. It was originally white but the allure of the yellow was strong and being my second Evo, I at least had experience working on them and a lot of forum knowledge and online resources. So I pulled the trigger with the plan of fixing it up to my liking, possibly as a life-long project car. No rush.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
The first issue is that it obviously does not have a proper LHD Evo steering rack. It’s probably from a Colt or something and I measure about 3.5 turns lock to lock. It simply feels like garbage. The suspension is mismatched front (springs/struts) to rear (Tein coilovers) and feels like a box of rocks. The clutch pedal bites instantaneously with just some pressure being relieved, almost zero travel and the adjustment on the master cylinder is non-existent, having been blob-welded together for who knows what reason. The dash and panels up front are poorly put together with huge gaps around the center console and footwells with lots of exposed wiring and trim. Gauges are installed in broken vents and scattered around with DIY faux carbon panels and trim. The whole car is a case of “good enough”. But, generally speaking, anything that has been done can be undone. I’ve got the time and just enough experience to trick myself into thinking I know what I’m doing, so let’s get started.
![Vehicle registration plate Vehicle Tire Grille Car]()
After replacing all of the fluids, taking it on a few drives, going through what’s what on the car and feeling it out, it was time to formulate a game plan. Big picture, the idea is a stock exterior (still yellow) with ~325-350hp and really good handling. Basically, nearly exactly the same as my HPDE 8 but without gutting the interior.
Exterior: The car is in good shape on the exterior. There is some visual panel misalignment on the front right fender from a prior accident but all in all, it’s pretty good for a nearly 25yr old car. Starting from front to rear, the first order of business was removing those splitters and getting some clear headlights and amber corners in. I still need to remove the fog HIDs and LED headlights as they’re unnecessary complications to me. 90s halogen life!
![Vehicle registration plate Tire Vehicle Grille Automotive lighting]()
I have no idea why people drill their cars’ body panels to add these stupid quick release bumper latches, especially when there are still literally dozens of bolts and fasteners to undo to actually remove the front bumper. Seriously, what a PITA this bumper is to remove. Regardless, those trinkets and the damage they did had to go, so to the body shop it went.
![Wheel Tire Car Land vehicle Vehicle]()
![Wheel Automotive parking light Tire Automotive side marker light Vehicle]()
The big “M” on the intercooler bugged me but thankfully that was resolved by simply flipping it 180*. I removed the Ralliart sticker from the front bumper and moved on to the hood. Because the car used to have an external dump exhaust up through the hood vent, both the vent underneath and hood mesh on top were hacked up. The top mesh piece was put back together with metal slats covered in faux carbon, so both the mesh on top and the vent underneath needed to be replaced. I hit them with some flat black and good to go. I also removed the DIY foil insulation from under the hood.
![Wood Gas Font Electric blue Rectangle]()
![Light Wood Automotive exterior Gas Tints and shades]()
![Grille Automotive lighting Hood Motor vehicle Automotive design]()
Day 1 (circa 2018):
But first, a bit of background. I’m from the US and bought my Blue By You 2004 Evo 8 back in 2007. It was nearly stock and I was enjoying it as such with a few tasteful cosmetic mods like JDM MR headlights, JDM VII taillights, MR BBS wheels, a carbon fiber front lip and Tanabe lowering springs.
It looked perfect to me and I didn’t plan on doing anything else. It was “done.” That is, until I dipped my toes into autoX and then got sucked into track days. I ended up turning the car into a compromise-mobile; a street legal HPDE track day car. I was still living in an apartment in my 20s so a truck and trailer wasn’t in the cards. I was just glad I had a garage to work on it but the car became more track-focused and miserable on the streets. Combined with a cold New England climate, I could realistically only use it for half the year, which meant a half dozen events per year. So, after going about as far as I reasonably could with an 8/10ths car I had to drive home from events, which didn’t always happen, and using it less and less each year, I eventually sold it.
In the meantime, I met my (now) wife who was in the US for school at the time and when she was done, I moved back to Costa Rica with her. Being freed from the 25 year import law of the US, I could now get my hands on some forbidden fruit! But there’s a catch; Costa Rica banned RHD around 2012 with no grandfathers or exceptions. It will fail inspection. So the bad news is almost all JDM cars here have been converted to LHD at varying levels of quality.
Nevertheless, I stubbornly pressed on and found a yellow V. It was originally white but the allure of the yellow was strong and being my second Evo, I at least had experience working on them and a lot of forum knowledge and online resources. So I pulled the trigger with the plan of fixing it up to my liking, possibly as a life-long project car. No rush.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
The first issue is that it obviously does not have a proper LHD Evo steering rack. It’s probably from a Colt or something and I measure about 3.5 turns lock to lock. It simply feels like garbage. The suspension is mismatched front (springs/struts) to rear (Tein coilovers) and feels like a box of rocks. The clutch pedal bites instantaneously with just some pressure being relieved, almost zero travel and the adjustment on the master cylinder is non-existent, having been blob-welded together for who knows what reason. The dash and panels up front are poorly put together with huge gaps around the center console and footwells with lots of exposed wiring and trim. Gauges are installed in broken vents and scattered around with DIY faux carbon panels and trim. The whole car is a case of “good enough”. But, generally speaking, anything that has been done can be undone. I’ve got the time and just enough experience to trick myself into thinking I know what I’m doing, so let’s get started.
After replacing all of the fluids, taking it on a few drives, going through what’s what on the car and feeling it out, it was time to formulate a game plan. Big picture, the idea is a stock exterior (still yellow) with ~325-350hp and really good handling. Basically, nearly exactly the same as my HPDE 8 but without gutting the interior.
Exterior: The car is in good shape on the exterior. There is some visual panel misalignment on the front right fender from a prior accident but all in all, it’s pretty good for a nearly 25yr old car. Starting from front to rear, the first order of business was removing those splitters and getting some clear headlights and amber corners in. I still need to remove the fog HIDs and LED headlights as they’re unnecessary complications to me. 90s halogen life!
I have no idea why people drill their cars’ body panels to add these stupid quick release bumper latches, especially when there are still literally dozens of bolts and fasteners to undo to actually remove the front bumper. Seriously, what a PITA this bumper is to remove. Regardless, those trinkets and the damage they did had to go, so to the body shop it went.
The big “M” on the intercooler bugged me but thankfully that was resolved by simply flipping it 180*. I removed the Ralliart sticker from the front bumper and moved on to the hood. Because the car used to have an external dump exhaust up through the hood vent, both the vent underneath and hood mesh on top were hacked up. The top mesh piece was put back together with metal slats covered in faux carbon, so both the mesh on top and the vent underneath needed to be replaced. I hit them with some flat black and good to go. I also removed the DIY foil insulation from under the hood.
