The following is an extract from Ralliart Japan's High Performance Catalogue by Mr. I. Kimata.

General Manager of the

WRC Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart Team.

HIGH PERFORMANCE TUNING

SET UP GUIDE

For those of you who may be planning to do some high performance tuning on your car, it helps to find as
much "how to" reference material as you can. In this article, as a car tuning professional and expert on
Mitsubishi rally cars, Iwao Kimata, General Manager of the Marlboro Mitsubishi Ralliart WRC Team,
explains basic car tuning philosophy and ways to upgrade car performance, using the Mitsubishi Lancer
Evolution as a model.

Step 1
Know the basic performance of your car

Today's cars are very well manufactured vehicles. In particular, the Lancer Evolution has developed into
an extremely well balanced 4WD sports car.
As the first step of high performance tuning, I recommend that you get the feel of driving the car. You
should become thoroughly familiar with every behaviour of the car in its normal condition, and at the
same time, drive the car as much as possible to break in all the drivetrain components.
Before advancing to the next step, it is necessary for you to be convinced of your skill in driving the car.
If you are not skilled in driving the car and do not understand the basic characteristics of your vehicle,
you will not be able to clearly decide the targets and ultimate goal of fine tuning your vehicle.
For such a high performance car as the Lancer Evolution in particular, it is indispensable to carefully
break in the car in order to minimize frictional resistance of all moving parts. If we compare a car that
has been fully broken in with one that has not, for example, by driving both vehicles side by side on a
straight road at 100 km/h and then disengage the clutch at the same time to let the cars coast to a stop, we
can see the difference in performance between the two cars. The former i.e. the car whose parts have
lower fractional resistance, can coast for a longer distance that the latter.

Step 2
Minimize friction (resistance).

For the Lancer Evolution to be competitive for WRC racing, it must deliver 100% performance.
Consequently our workshop in the U.K. spends much of its time on "break-in" of differential gears and
various arm joints using a lapping machine. Most of you do not have to go that far, but after mastering
the driving of your car and successfully eliminating the initial mechanical friction by careful break-in of
your vehicle, you may move on to the next step of reducing resistance from air intake and exhaust
systems.
In Ralliart's development of engine parts for the Evolution VI, they focused their efforts towards
reduction of air induction resistance so that the driver experiences the inherent performance ability of the
car. The same idea has been applied to the WRC competition version of the Evolution VI.
This translates into a reduction of air intake resistance existing in the air filter, air suction pipe, etc. and a
smooth induction of air into the inter-cooler and turbine. Also, an attempt has been made to reduce the
resistance in the exhaust system to minimize energy loss. Such approaches can result in a faster rise of
boost pressure and a change in shift-up points.

Step 3
Make the tyres work for you.

Tyres act as an interface between the car and the road surface. Even the most advanced high performance
car cannot demonstrate its inherent ability unless its tyres work properly. Any of today's high
performance tyres can demonstrate excellent ability if they are properly utilised. The key to controlling
tyre performance lies in the suspension system. Here I'd like to describe the suspension height control
system for the Lancer Evolution VI. The height control system, along with raising or lowering the
vehicle body, can precisely adjust the load distribution between the front and the rear, and left and right
sides of the car. In order to enhance cornering stability, especially on tarmac, the ride height of the car
should be reduced to lower the roll centre. It is also important to precisely adjust the load on each wheel
when the vehicle is stationary to balance preload of the tyres for the following purposes: To incorporate
large diameter stabilizers to reduce the roll of the car, to optimize the shock absorber and spring
characteristics to get the best and most supple adhesion of the wheels with the road surface, and to adjust
the wheel alignment as correctly as possible. The height control system of the Lancer Evolution VI
functions well for such precise load distribution adjustments.
When you reach the step of optimizing your car's suspension system, I definitely recommend you to take
your car to a suitably equipped repair shop in order to get the load distribution and wheel alignment
precisely adjusted, since the job requires expensive equipment and involves an exacting procedure. After
adjustments of load distribution and wheel alignment are successfully made, you can consider this step
completed.

Wheel alignment specifications

Ride height at the standard vehicle height; Front; 385mm Rear; 350mm
FRONT REAR
Camber -1°00' + 30' or -1°00'
-2°00' + 30'
Caster -3°50' + 30'
Toe-in 0 + 3 mm 3 + 2 mm

Step 4
Balance performance enhancements with compromise.

If you fine-tune your car accordingly to the first three steps, it will give your car more than sufficient
performance on the road. But as your driving skills continue to improve, you may find yourself
hungering for more. Perhaps you would like to try serious sport driving on circuits or in gymkhana
events. If that is the case, you would first need to change the brake pads of your car to those of higher
fade resistance. You would also want to get a twin-plate clutch which has a higher clutch disc pressure so
that your car can perform rocket-like starts and can avoid degradation of torque transmission performance
when driving at the maximum speed range. Also, if you change the rubber bushings of the steering and
suspension systems to those of harder rubber, you can improve the effectiveness of these systems.
Performing such high level tuning operations, however, may narrow the allowances of your car. You
may notice a more rigid vehicle response, more road noise, and a higher sensitivity in steering response to
changes in the road surface. In addition, you will need to be more careful when engaging the clutch and
you may have to endure brake squealing. You can never completely avoid these side effects when you
tune your car to its ultimate performance level.
The Lancer Evolution VI has excellent basic performance and at the same time has a wide versatility for
high performance tuning. In other words, it fulfils whatever you desire for seasoning the car's
performance. But don't forget that it is you who decides the direction your car will take in terms of
performance.
With these tips I've provided, I encourage owners of the Lancer Evolution to enjoy their car to the fullest.