Tuning the superb Mitsubishi Evo 4G63T engine.

"Evolving the Evo 4G63T "

History, Power & Specs of the Engine

The EVO is without a doubt one of the most rewarding and easy to drive performance cars around as many TorqueCars members will tell you!

Mitsubishi have managed to get excellent power levels from the 2.0 inline 4 engine. Each progressive generation of EVO brings new innovation and refinements.

4 doors makes the EVO a practical proposition for the family, where dad can buy a car that he really wants to drive!

Many tuning specialists and evo performance part suppliers are springing up all over the world. A notable mention has to go to specialists tuning houses which regularly turn out cars running power levels up to 700 bhp (and more).

Best 4G63T mods

The optimum modifications on an engine are in our opinion the ones that give the best value for money.

We won't be swayed by popular 4G63T modifications, they need to be cost effective.

Altering your 4G63T camshaft will make a dramatic difference to the engine torque. Choosing a higher performance camshaft profile raises the torque accordingly.

Fast road camshafts normally increase the performance across the rpm range, you could sacrifice a little low down torque but the high end rpm power will be better.

Motorsport camshafts, increase the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

On a road car must carefully try to match your torque band to your preferences.

I'd be shocked if you have thought a Motorsport and race cam is a pleasure to live with when driving in heavy traffic. The low end idle will be very lumpy and irregular, so something you would notice on a track when you drive in the upper third of the rpm band, but on roads this is a serious issue and we've heard from lots of drivers lamenting their decision to add an extreme competition cam profile to their engine.

Each engine responds better to more aggressive cam durations so view each engine as unique.

The ECU mapping and fuelling also will say much on the torque gains you'll achieve.

A longer valve duration can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

Please watch our video which covers the 5 principles of tuning your car. Be sure to keep up with our latest YouTube content and subscribe.

Best Engine Mods for your car

1. Engine Tunes - engine tuning/remapping provides the most advantage in terms of cost savings,  aftermarket ECUs, and piggyback ECUs are all alternatives.
2. Fast road cams are one of the most significant mechanical changes, but they must be installed by someone who knows what they're doing and they are not always easy to source but you might find a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft.
3. Intake and Exhaust - Note that on their own these mods will NOT ADD POWER in most cases, but they can help enhance power after other mods by removing the restriction.
4. Upgrades to turbochargers and superchargers - forced induction is the most efficient approach to increase air supply, allowing you to burn more fuel and make more power. It is one of the most costly upgrades but provides the best gains.
5. Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Remaps/piggy back ECU, drilled & smoothed airbox, Fast road camshaft, Intake manifolds, Panel air filters, Sports exhaust header/manifold.

Typical stage 2 mods often include: high flow fuel injectors, induction kit, Fast road cam, Ported and polished head, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Twin charging conversions, Competition cam, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Engine balancing & blueprinting.

A remap helps to establish the full potential of all the upgrades you've fitted to your 4G63T.

(In some cases, as the factory ECU is locked flashing is not an option, so an aftermarket ECU is the route to take, and many of these will outperform factory ECU's but make sure it has knock protection and that you get it setup properly.)

It will usually give you around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and 15% on NA (naturally aspirated) engines, but you mileage will vary depending on the upgrades you've done and the condition of your engine.

Forcing air and fuel into the 4G63T engine is the whole point to any engine upgrade project.

Intake manifolds take the air from the air cleaner and allow it to be drawn into the engine cylinders.

Shape and rate of flow of the Intake manifolds can make a noticeable improvement to fuel atomisation on the 4G63T.

Many mass produced engine intake manifolds are in dire need of a performance upgrade, although some manufacturers provide decently flowing intake manifolds.

Larger 4G63T valves, getting 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also lift bhp, the fantastic side effect is it will afford you a greater bhp increase on other mods.

Turbo upgrades

NA (naturally aspirated) engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your 4G63T

The more air to get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes massive power gains.

When your car is turbocharged, parts are simpler to install and you will discover turbo charged engines will have many forged and stronger components.

There are reliable limits for every engine, with some being extremely strong and some only just able to handle stock power

We recommend you find these limitations and install better pistons and crank to handle the power.

We've seen people spending a a stack of money on turbo upgrades on the 4G63T only to suffer the indignity of watching the engine block catastrophically fail soon after it's finished.

Later models have more gadgets and give the driver more of a choice on the effect of the traction control systems.

Japanese car makers have an unwritten gentleman's agreement to limit the power output of their cars to a mere 275 bhp. This makes the EVO a desirable car for the car tuning enthusiast.

Big upgraded turbo chargers tend to suffer a bottom end lag, and little turbo chargers spool up much more quickly but do not have the high rpm torque gains.

We are pleased that the world of turbos is always improving and we now see variable vane turbos, permitting the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end power.

Twin scroll turbos divert the exhaust gases into 2 channels and flow these at differently designed vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there is a limitation in the air flow sensor AFM/MAF on these engines when a lot more air is being pulled into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor sapped performance at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large power gains, although more challenging to get working. We have a twincharger power adding guide if you want to read more.

The 4 wheel drive system is one of the best around and maintains almost unbelievable levels of grip in all conditions during spirited driving.

The later models have so much spare capacity it is relatively simple to increase the power levels. Ralliart continue to show what can be done to this superb car and we see UK models topping 400 bhp. Combine this power with levels of grip and excellent chassis and you have a winning track day and daily runaround.

The first mods an EVO owner will typically want to do is a sports exhaust system, induction kit and boost controller. More money can be spent uprating the turbo and a wide range of OEM and big turbo conversions are available.

For power levels over 400 bhp you should start to strengthen the internal components of the engine if you want to retain its reliability.

Fuelling

When you improve the torque you will need to increase to the fuelling.

More torque needs more fuel. It makes sense to over specify your flow rate on the injectors.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% to the flow rate when buying an injector, which takes into account injector deterioration and allows you some spare capacity should the engine need more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

All the following flywheel power targets will assume an injector duty cycle of 80% and a base of 58 psi of fuel pressure at idle.

4 Cylinder turbocharged engines

• 58 PSI 340cc/min 200hp
• 58 PSI 511cc/min 300hp
• 58 PSI 682cc/min 400hp
• 58 PSI 1022cc/min 600hp

Exhaust

You only need to boost your exhaust if your exhaust is creating a restriction.

On most factory exhausts you'll see the exhaust flow rate is still good even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Do not go with the widest exhaust you can buy you'll slow the exhaust rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Typically exhaust restrictions are in the filters installed, so adding a faster flowing sports alternative is the answer. This keeps the car road legal and will flow much better due to it's higher internal surface area and design, so has the added benefit of keeping your car road legal. The alternative decat should be considered an off road only mod, as removing a catalyst is illegal in most territories and regions for road registered cars..

Weak spots Issues & problem areas on the

The engines are generally reliable and solid units, as long as you follow the manufacturers service schedules, and use a good quality oil to ensure longevity. Few problems should happen as long as they are regularly serviced and maintained.

Carbon build up in the head, particularly around the valves which will sap power or create flat spots, this is a larger issue on direct injection engines but should be looked out for on all engines. We have tips on removing carbon build up.

Some of our members have had issues with flat spots or glitches after applying mods and upgrades or tuning, this is not usually related to this engines design, so instead see our article on diagnosing flat spots and problems after tuning which should help you get the bottom of this issue.

Regular oil changes are vital on the , especially when tuned and will help extend the life and reliability of the engine.

If you would like to know more, or just get some friendly advice on Tuning your engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below.

We love to hear what our visitors have got up to and which upgrades work best for you on your car. Which helps us keep our guides and tips up to date helping others with their modified car projects. Your feedback and comments are used to keep this page up to date, and help improve the accuracy of these articles which are kept updated and constantly revised.

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For in depth tuning advice please look through our tuning articles and join our chat forum where you can swap tips and get pointers from other EVO owners.

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This article was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder, and I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Mitsubishi. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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