Catching Up With Project Evo

Wanting to get a taste of the local grassroots scene in London recently, we made the short trip from the central city out to Brands Hatch Motorsport Park for the final Kleers Summer Wednesday meet of the season. We had heard that the casual evening park ups, which are held on the first Wednesday of every month, had been attracting cars in their thousands over the British summer so it was the perfect opportunity for a night out meeting the local enthusiasts.

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Our attendance was in truth two fold; we were keen to see some local culture, but we also wanted to catch up with Speedhunters alumni Suzy Wallace to check out the latest addition to her much-loved Project Evo daily-driven track warrior. After some fairly creative maneuvers – always fun with an angry twin-plate clutch –  we managed to free up a little space amongst the nearly 2000 cars that had showed up in order to grab some quick shots.

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Since the last build instalment, Suzy has spent her time doing nothing but driving and enjoying her 360hp Mitsubishi Evolution VI GSR at as many track days as possible – which is well-deserved after all the bad luck she’s had with mechanical failures and rust repairs in the past.

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This has included two full track days at Nürburgring, plus sprint events at local UK circuits – Donnington, Snetterton, Castle Combe and Blyton Park. The sprints are similar to time attack, except that you’re timed from a standing start, meaning that Suzy has had plenty of excuses to perfect her 6,000rpm side-step launches.

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With all that track time, Suzy needed a dedicated set of strong, extremely lightweight wheels that she could wrap in some sticky rubber, and our partners at RAYS in Japan came to the party.

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They have supplied these – lets be honest – very sexy forged monoblock Volk Racing ZE40s finished in Matte Blue Gunmetal. While blue isn’t a colour you would normally think to use on a wheel like this, the finish is very subtle, and looks absolutely perfect when combined with the Pyrenees Black body of the Evo.

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The wheels measure 18 inches high and 8.5 inches across, with a +30 offset – the exact same specs as Suzy’s other Volk Racing TE37 road wheels –  meaning she doesn’t need to change the car’s set up every time she changes rims.

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Suzy runs Yokohama ADVAN A048 semi slicks, which she says are perfect for the ‘Ring, as they take a little longer to heat up, but last longer before going off once the temperature is in them.

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With the racing season nearly over, Suzy plans to tidy the front end up over winter (it turns out track days every weekend and regular high speed blasts through the countryside will take their toll on a car’s paintwork), then fit a new exhaust system and steering wheel. They’re all basic things, but with a car as well balanced and absurdly fun to drive as the Evo VI, sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to go.

Peter Kelly
Instagram: pedey_kenmeri_creative
pedey@speedhunters.com

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1

My advice for the front end: Get it painted and afterwards wrapped in clear foil.

I did so and now the Autobahn lost their dread for ever, ever, ever. :)

2
Speedhunters_Bryn

NielsKreischer Can recommend a decent product? It's something I've thought about before.

3

Speedhunters_Bryn I don't remember the brand exactly, but I guess it was an 3M product.
Regardless of the brand, the foil itself has to be especially made for the protection purpose. This means that it needs to be a lot thicker than normal car wrapping foil which makes it very stiff, so processing it is slightly more difficult.
But man it pays off... o_O
My S13 got new paint in 2012. After one season the front bumper looked like it has been shot at (the aftermarket FRP-surface is too hard to bounce smaller stones without damage, such as an ABS bodypart is capable of).
So I had it repaint again in 2013 and after the paint was dry, the bumper has been wrapped by an local wrapping shop who cursed me afterwards because of the many curves, holes and angles of my aftermarker bumper. :D


But since that day, no scratches, scars or dings anymore. Yay. ^^
And the cherry on top: It's nearly invisible. <3
Or can you spot it?
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.932963996713694.1073741877.161579903852111&type=1

4
Gianluca FairladyZ

Speedhunters_Bryn NielsKreischer  Foliatec has some good solutions!

5

Volk/Rays Matte Blue Gunmetal has to be one of my favorite finishes that any wheel manufacturer offers. Nice and subtle, but still different enough to stand out a little bit. Good Choice.

6

Speedhunters_Bryn NielsKreischer The sticky clear wrap is called Venture-Shield in the UK (and possibly Europe)

7

Drilled rotors in the front, but not the rear- can anyone explain? I'd assume it would be to aid the front rotors in shedding heat, but there's a lot of conflicting information (see also- misinformation) about rotors on the interweb.

8

Big Pooky Evo's carry over 60% of their weight on the front, shedding heat in the rears isn't really a priority when the fronts do a majority of the work. It could also be that only the fronts have been upgraded so far

9

NielsKreischer Speedhunters_Bryn I spot an RB. Also, nice car.

10

what tyre width? 255? looks so much fun

11

FunctionFirst Big Pooky someone burns through front rotors faster then rears and fronts were on sale? A million reasons since this isn't a dedicated track car and does see street use.

12
Speedhunters_Bryn

Uncle Bob Speedhunters_Bryn NielsKreischer Thanks all! Much appreciated.

13

Getting the sense that SH needs to plug RAYS quite often. I could be wrong though.

14

Speedhunters_Bryn NielsKreischer 3M Paint Protection Film would be a great option, can be pricey but worth it in the long run!

16

So great to see a little evo action! The car looks sick Suze!

17

FunctionFirst NielsKreischer Speedhunters_Bryn Thanks. :) But it's only a CA18 and not a RB, if you meant the engine. ^^

18

johnbezt RAYS is one of our official Speedhunters suppliers, so quite a few of our Project Cars have been lucky enough to get a set of Volk Racing kicks!

http://www.speedhunters.com/category/specialfeatures/project-cars/

19

johnbezt they make a good product, pretty pricey, and it's highly popular in various forms of motorsport. You would see them on this site even if they weren't a sponsor.

20

2xthefun FunctionFirst Big Pooky Sticky tyres too, I'd go through front brakes like crazy on track days (bike) but no change on the rear. Harder braking = more weight transfer and a normal road balance can see the back feel more squiggly in cars and bikes (my experience only)

21

matthewyaa Speedhunters_Bryn NielsKreischer Even a clear vinyl wrap goes a long way, doesn't have to be the expensive stuff and the thinner one comes off more easily for shows etc too

22

daily driver or track racer?

23

I've missed these posts! I'm a fan of the wheels, but here in Canada they are $1K each... I'm a fan, but there are MANY other things I can do to my Evo X with the extra $2K left over after buying the Gram Lights instead.

24

Suzy's evo is the reason why I fell in love with the VI more than any other generation.

25

NielsKreischer Funnily enough, that's EXACTLY what I have planned. :)

26

Big Pooky The rears simply don't do as much braking. As FunctionFirst said, the majority of the weight is at the front end (plus you're obviously transferring weight forward when you brake), plus the front calipers are bigger than the rears anyway and I run more aggressive pads up front. When I warped the last set of 'upgraded' front discs, I bought the best set money could buy.

27

AbdHadieHR Just 235s on semi-slicks as the shoulder is much squarer. I run 255s on my road wheels though.

28

@Der Dude Bit of both - it used to be my only car so has done its fair share of runs to the supermarket. But this year it's also done three sprint events, two trackdays and a Nurburgring trip. :)

29

LukeEVOVIII #joyofevo Thanks! :)

30

Good job you shot this when you did Pedey - I've since lost the gutter strip (at 120mph) and my rear wheel arch (under full compression at Craner Curves at Donington Park). It's a cheap form of weight reduction I guess... :D

31

@zz That's so cool to know! It'll always be my fave model. <3

32
MuhammadFitriRumaini

wish to have this car..but in malaysia..it still cost you around USD19k.with salary around USD400/month..hmm..i dont have that much money..as im still student..out there u are lucky this car cost you cheaper compared to your salary..

33
TomislavZivkovic

probably one of my favorite EVO,s. nice set up and a nice finnish of

34

I love project Evo! One of my favorite projects around here. Nice set of wheels! But I'm not sure about color combo. I do lot he blue, but not on a black car... Bronze or gold would be my choice. MHO.
The car could use some love and get a detailing done. Paint job is a little tired.

35

I don't know why , i really love 2 door sports car specially miata ^ ^ but when I see the evo of suzy wallace I want one...

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