Mitsubishi GTO Tuning mods

"GTO - Giant Tuning Opportunity"

Certainly one of the most powerful cars that Mitsubishi have ever produced. They offered a Twin turbo and NASP version although the NASP version did not leave Japan in numbers.

The UK version of the GTO was badged the 3000GT the chassis number is the best way to determine which model you have.

The car has been described as Japans answer to the Ferrari and with those vents near the rear wheels, pop up headlights and long bonnet it is not difficult to see why.

The car is not all show and no go either with a 3 Litre twin turbo things start to get interesting very quickly making the GTO a popular tuning project.

GTO Modifications. Most owners uprate the breathing of their car with a good quality induction kit and sports exhaust. The standard car came with twin exit exhaust but many owners opt for a large bore single exhaust.

Boosting the turbo output is easily done with an electronic boost controller but you should avoid going over 8psi of boost unless you have uprated the internals of the engine.

Changing the ECU mapping is one of the most impressive cost to power performance mods you can do to the GTO. Generally the Mitsubishi ECU is replaced with an aftermarket one which is fully programmable and covers everything from Boost to fuelling.

When tuning the GTO you must not overlook the importance of uprating the fuelling. A larger fuel pump and bigger injectors are essential for high power mods. An uuprated intercooler will also make a big difference to even the standard cars performance. (Biggest is not always best so read our intercooler article for more information on this.

When pushing large amounts of power through the GTO engine and transmission you will often notice that clutch life/effectiveness is reduced. Uprating the clutch to a power clutch will avoid the transmission losses associated with a slipping clutch.

As with most sports car suspension mods you should ideally avoid dropping the car more than 35mm unless you are prepared for a major suspension geometry overhaul.

A special thanks goes to the guys at Sumiyaka, especially Mark for their help and excellent input in this article.

To discuss GTO and 3000GT modifications in more detail with our resident enthusiasts please join us in our friendly forum. Please also browse our tuning articles for more detail and information on the effectiveness of each GTO modification.