Pimping my Evo X SST
This article was contributed by customer, Aiden.
When news and pictures of the new Evolution X was out, I was immediately sold. Specifications of the new 4B11, technical info of the twin clutch SST and the sheer looks and presence of the car was enough to make me sell off the Evo 9 and put a deposit down for the Evo X. As much as I was sad to see my beloved Evo 9 go to the hands of another man, the very next day, I had already placed a deposit for a brand new 2009 Evo X SST.
As with most parallel importers, I too encountered the usual shipment delays and awaited for 4 months before the car was sitting at my door. However, after staring and drooling at it for a while, I hopped in and took it for a spin around the block. All grievances were put to rest. I was thrilled by its sheer torque and power. The car is absolutely amazing! Its everything I thought it would be.
Now, like all typical petrol heads, many ideas came into mind. I wanted to increase the power of the car, however my first priority was to improve the handling and stopping prowess of the car. Weighing in at just under 1500kgs, the Evo X is anything but a lightweight contender. Yes, the factory brembos are acceptable, however I wanted more stopping power, a lot more. Also, the car sits far too high , and I needed to dump this bad boy to its knees.
I made a call to Joel and met up with him. We decided to go for something out of the ordinary, 1 of Wilwood’s most massive callipers in their range, the TC6. These callipers were meant for larger and heavier vehicles like the Humvee’s and Ford F150 trucks, therefore the Evo X would be peanuts in weight compared to these vehicles. Paired with a set of Dynapro 4 pots to the rears, we were pretty confident that the Evo X would be able to stop when commanded to. Only downside to the story at this point, lead time for the brakes to arrive was 3 weeks…. bugger.
Whilst awaiting for the brakes to arrive, something else had to be done (to cure my itch). In the handling department, a set of JIC Magic RS Coilovers were sourced from Uber Garage and installed. With the car lower and less roll in the corners, I was now more confident than ever with the car. Not to mention, the car now looks heaps meaner. I wanted to give the car a RWD type look, thus a set of Works rims were sourced.
I decided to use a set of 18×9.5” XT7’s for the fronts and a set of deep dished 18×10 XD9’s on the rears. All I can say, I couldn’t have been more satisfied…
The weeks flew by and one fine day I received a call from Joel saying that my brakes have arrived! Immediately, I flew down to his office to pick up 2 big Wilwood boxes. Upon inspection, all I could say was that the calipers were one of the biggest I have ever seen!!! In one word… WOW! Immediately we went down to Uber Garage to strip off the stock brembos and test fit the new Wilwoods. We needed to custom make brackets for the calipers as there were none off the shelves. We used a “template” bracket, took some measurements and off to the CNC shop we went to get the brackets made up.
It took us 3 attempts (meaning stripping the brakes, and running to and fro from the CNC Shop) to get the front and rear brackets right so that the callipers would sit in the right position of the rotors. IT SURE WAS A LOT OF WORK MAN!! Kudos to all the mechanics who made this possible.
Alas, the brakes were finally on the car! Paired with a set of Goodridge Braided Brake Lines, and armed with Motul RBF 600 brake fluid in its veins, I was ready to take it out for a spin.
The results? Well, the car definitely brakes better than the stock brembos. WAY WAY BETTER… It feels as though my car’s got a parachute at the rear when I lightly depress my brake pedal, the clamping load on the rotors is simply extraordinary, and the car looks meaner and more aggressive with the massive brakes….
The verdict? Although it was a long and painful wait, and the amount of time and effort spent pulling the brakes in and out and all that running around, I would say that it was all well worth the effort!!!!
The Evo is still undergoing surgery every now and then when I have the time. (And the money!!) Stay tuned to this blog for all further updates!!!