Likewise, Fargas enjoys the Creative Performance turbo header and Hydra ECU. "I also like the radio, which was installed to replace the heavy OEM sound system with a better system that did not take as much space and weight," he says. "The Ny-Trex nitrous system is another uncommon part, it uses a different kind of setup for the solenoids with fewer parts and is easier to install."
Tuning has been an ongoing passion with separate mapping for 93-octane pump gas and VP C16 racing fuel. After our photo shoot the Mitsubishi had an appointment at Sporty Dyno to tune the new cams. An all-night session netted some impressive all-turbo numbers; 478 whp on pedestrian 93-octane gasoline and 634 whp on race-ready 117-octane C16. The engine realized peak gains ranging from 10 to 27 whp, but the real impact of the tuning was lower in the powerband. "The car feels really, really strong ... like it's on nitrous," Fargas says. "On the 93-octane map the difference is huge. We cleaned up the midrange on the dyno, then ran it down the street using the auto compensation feature to check out the tune. I met up with a friend who had an 11.8-second car. I hung to his bumper like I was on a tow strap, pulled to the side and left him. By morning we had a lot better car than we had first driven onto the dyno."
Footwork consists of Tein Flex coilovers augmented with a Cusco rear anti-sway bar and Cusco front crossbar. Cusco's famous strut tower bars are on call under the hood and in the trunk, further tying together the chassis' flex points. The all-important contact patch is provided by 265-series Bridgestone S203 rubber wrapped around 18x9 Volk Racing TE37s.
The cockpit beacons with a host of well-tailored mods. Sparco is well represented with a pair of its Fighter bucket seats and one of its distinctive steering wheels. Gauge work consists of GReddy boost and EGT meters with memory function. The rest of the cabin is set off with an aftermarket Mitsubishi shift knob, brake lever and gauge cluster as well as painted trim pieces.
This EVO ain't no sleeper. The body flexes a full C-West body kit, which includes side skirts, rear bumper and a hard-hitting front bumper with a huge intercooler inlet in the middle that Fargas filled to the hilt with a Precision Turbo FMIC. Fargas is also running trick APR GT3 side mirrors, an APR GTR500 rear wing, Perrin short antenna and a VIS carbon-fiber trunk lid. The look is decidedly aggressive and with 634 ready to pounce, it's no empty promise.
Fargas, looking into his crystal ball, says, "I want to run nine seconds or low 10s, I really do not care about the extreme power but 700whp all-boost should be an achievable goal. I want to change the look a bit. I want the car to have the urban look, wingless, 17x9.5 Buddy Clubs, Buddy Club Racing dampers, a more streetable Buddy Club Stage III exhaust, Ralliart Aero Mirrors and a bigger compressor." Fargas has a GT40 waiting in the wings but with the island's race and show season upon him he plans to enjoy the car and work this combo for a while. He says he still has to work on tuning the nitrous system.
Looking into our crystal ball we see the allure of the GT40 far too much for Fargas to resist and, with that magic touch in full effect, we predict a performance update of this car appearing in a future issue.