We Bought A James May Spec Evo VIII!
A new DriveTribe project car is born! The James May spec Mitsubishi Evo VIII FQ-300! After Martin the Subaru from the Grand Tour took the channel by storm last year, we've decided to bring a fellow super saloon legend to the channel to take on the might WRX STI. Let Mike Fernie introduce you to our new project car.
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00:00 Welcome to our Evo 8!
01:26 What happened to James May's Evo?
02:09 What is an Evo 8?
04:13 What's the plan with our Evo?
07:53 How much power is our car running?
10:06 What is special about the 4G63 engine?
11:30 Smallest Cog inspection
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1) I like Evo more than Subaru 2) I think 500hp will be perfect for the evo🙂👌
1. James needs to be put in that Evo 2. Race it as is against Martin and see how bad its lacking 3. Mod 4.James and Richard have a showdown after the Evo is built
Insert additional point 2 - put it on a dyno as is.
@@andriusa.6444 agreed
0. Turn on the lights.
He won't like it if it's not *standard!*
@@Yvolve😂
Can we get James and richard together in a video?? Been a long time
Do not let James touch another bushi ever, EVER!
@@eetbmx900 at least, not in a Norwegian tunnel...
They were together on Richard and Izzy's podcast on the latest episode
Probably end up in a big JDM crash .
@@AKStovall In his defence, he was on studded tires on tarmac. Not the best for traction. You can see the marks on the tarmac after he crashes. He was flooring it, no doubt, but it was a huge oversight on the part of the production. Besides having a race in a dark tunnel, that has a dead end.
I have a blob STI. And I adore it. As a kid I wouldn’t entertain the idea of an evo. But 20 years later. I’m so glad to see either a Subaru or an evo. Both incredible cars. The likes of which will never be built again!
I've had an Evo the same spec, and although not an Impreza, I had 3 Legacy GTs, the Evo is way more edgy, the subaru more daily-able
Evo are better cars, a reason why the cost more.
@@v4skunk739 better on track, but not by much at all
You've got Martin, I think this car needs to be named "Stevo" 👍🏻 Oh, and as nice as Martin is I'm definitely an Evo fan, always have been 😊
@@v4skunk739they always been the same cost until they got discontinued.
As a Subaru owner I have to say Subaru, but I think these EVOs are awesome. It's a shame Mitsubishi isnt making cars like this today.
I was team Evo. I really miss the days of the Impreza/Evo rivalry. Those were some exciting times
Subaru isn't comparable to the Evo especially in the performance department. Evo's punch above it's weight in what their power figure suggests. More comparable to supercars of the same era.
Evo guy here after owning 4 of them, Evo 8, 2 Evo 9's and a X. I daily drove my Evo 9 MR since new with 400awhp for 6 yrs before I sold it and had ZERO issues. That was on a stock turbo running E85. I did have Cosworth M3 Cams, and Brian Crower Valve Springs and retainers in the head, and all the other simple bolt on supporting mods, but really not much money to get it to the 400awhp figure. The Subie you guys did was freaking fabulous. Typically, Evo's don't need as much internal mods to make power vs the Subie, but since the Subie is a completely built race motor, to keep it fair, I would go after the same power figures with the same type of build effort as with the Subie. Run separate maps like you did on the Subie as well. Low map on the Evo 400-450awhp high map 500-600awhp then take them to the track. I'm putting my money on the Evo if built to the same standard as the Subie. 👍😎
This is non related to the EVO platform, but since you talked about cams and valve springs, what other parts would you need to swap out if upgraded cams and valves are done? I’m trying to know what else would be worn out if they’re upgraded.
@@xxxbupropion5683it depends a lot on the motor as the design of the lifters changes a lot motor to motor, but in most cases with modern motors nothing should wear unless it was subjected to a lack of oil pressure. Typically when changing cams and valve springs one would also change valve stem seals (cheap while you're in there) and then the springs usually come with light weight retainers. If not you could consider this if you plan on increasing the rev limiter or the cam is significantly higher lift than stock. Keepers could also be changed out but those are usually an infinite life part unless it's a bmw/porsche/jag. Surprisingly those keepers actually tend to fail if they grip the valve too well and prevent it from rotating.
@@turbo_brian all very informative points I didn't have to change valve stems seals on my Evo 9 that I put cams in because the car only had about 3,000 mi on it when I put the cams in so that wasn't necessary and due to the valve train design in the Evo all you had to do was valve springs and retainers 👍
Inevitably, I'm going to be the person who says I didn't understand a word. But I did understand the concept
I have had a Black Tommi Makinen for 17years. 350bhp. Not a lot gets near it. Absolute weapon.
Nice, I've got a white one and a white Evo 7.. Love em'
Awesome man, never let it go.
If I ever had the money to buy either STi or Evo I'd choose a Makinen VI every day of the week, but in the traditional red please.
@@djshotty sadly you won't get near them. All going into collections. As it stands the rarest colours were black 244 satellite silver 412 and canal blue 455. Red they made 644 decal cars not the 212 everyone claims and 145 non decal cars. Easy to identify as non decal had red door handles and black door trims.
I'm an Evo girl tbf. at one time, that Evo 8 was my dream car. Almost bought one, but being sent abroad stopped me. I've owned a WRX STI before, and I had the dismal Evo X as well (Loved the look, not the drive.) glad you guys got the Evo. Now the proper play time between them can commence.
4g63 is a closed deck block, its one of the strongest 4-pots you can get
Truth!
Certainly one of the best along with the k20 sr20 and ea888
@@stichupman SR20 and EA888 are garbage.
Now you gotta race it against martin
And have Richard in the Subaru and James May in the Evo or Mike if we need a competitive race lol
Poor Martin is gonna take a beatdown. Followed by a CEL…..
and a following BANG@@brianrainey2739
like in some kind of a tunel ?
I have never encountered anyone in the UK who says "MITSUBUSHI".
Clarkson when emulating an American.
Good memory@@espenlund
Thought the same thing lol
What do you guys call it
Yank term all day long!
Team evo here also a owner of a VI. 440-460hp is a good place to be power wise but saying that i have friends running 600+ and absolutely love it.
Heart: Subaru. Driving dynamics: Evo
YESSSSS I'm so happy yall committed to the evo
Keep it out of any tunnels
😂😅
I owned a BBY 2003 Evo 8 back when it was brand new and kept it a few years until i got a layoff from my job. I watched that Grand Tour episode and started to really miss my Evo so as soon as I finished watching that Grand Tour episode, I started shopping for another 2003 Evo and bought one almost exactly like my original one. Same Blue By You Blue color, same year, same options and I couldn’t be happier. I felt bad for James when his Evo was destroyed and I’m glad he will have another one to enjoy
That's fantastic! Assuming it's the one in your profile pic, it looks to be a brilliant bit of kit. These cars hit different! 💪
@@Drivetribe Thank you!! The Evo in my profile picture is the Evo I bought after watching that Grand Tour episode! It currently has 247,000 miles and looks almost new, no rust and no leaks. I love these cars and I’m glad you guys bought that one! I can’t wait to see what you do with it!
I've got an 8mr fq340 running 1.8 bar around 430bhp with rods changed, perfect at that amount of power as a road car
Definitely team Evo as I own a 05 Evo 8. For building it don't neglect the suspension and transmission/transfer case in the upgrades.
As a subaru fan boy. I can say. Subarus are quick, and evos are fast .
The discussion regarding the rust protective qualities of oil leaks was a fine piece of dry English humour. Well done lads!
My childhood friends neighbours had a Sub, and the man over the road had an Evo. When I was growing up, when we played out we used to talk for hours over which car was better while we pedeled around the estate. This content feels very nostalgic and helps me remember better, more honest times. Thank you 👍🏻
Martin’s got a new friend…
Enemy
Friend / sparring partner! 🥊
@@Drivetribe More like a punching bag if its gonna run 100bhp less
That is the best one , thanks for this DT Team
So glad you went with me evo.. looking forward to future episodes 👍
And we're looking forward to sharing them! We have some awesome plans in the pipeline...
Isaac is briliant and dry as anything. Love his presence on camera. More Isaac!
The ultimate Evo
TME evo vi is considered the best one by majority
@@MrPlum1282 Yep i would say that too,
Agree TME is the sweet spot in the Evo range
They did a mega group test years ago from 1-10. The ultimate cars according to the journos were a 9 MR FQ360, TME, or 320bhp early (123) car. The ultimate 8 was considered to be an MR FQ340. They’re all great cars but an FQ300 8 is one of the least special evos.
@@MrPlum1282 Yes. Overall the top ones are V, VI and IX.
The evo was always my favourite
I like the older Subarus from the late 90's and very early 2000's. Evo is the top dog. Just for the fact Mitsubishi were racing under Group-A regulations in the WRC era and up until EvoX are Group-A race cars for the road.
I told you to get an FQ-400+, I know Top Gear did an FQ420 vs Murcielago… with new technology, low to mid 400 range would be perfect. I’ve always preferred the Evo with the sharpness on road. I should have known that was your Evo in the last video
Loving this. I have an Impreza and 1 of my best mates has an Evo from new so you're reigniting the whole debate from back in the day!
As the former owner of a 430bhp R32 GTR, it doesn't need any more power. Cars are most enjoyed when you can use the most of their performance. I had more fun in the Clio 182.
Around the 440 mark would be absolutely perfect to get the most out of it on B roads! My 6 is around 420 and it's absolutely brilliant on B roads! Straights etc! Incredible cars! ❤
honestly I would actually quite enjoy seeing an old car being saved/restored. I watch content like that elsewhere, it's almost more fun to see than making a bunch of power now that I'm 40
Hard agree mate!
Evo all the way.... as a kid I grew up coveting the Evo V so this ticks all the nostalgia boxes. Looking forward to seeing what you guys do with it.
Always preferred the Evo looks.
Well done! One of my dream cars.
YES! Wonderful stablemate for the STI.
Yess!! This is amazing. I was always more of an evo fan, but both are amazing cars.
7:21 I think even Clarkson said in early top gear he preferred the lower horsepower spec, saying it's much more drivable
Nah, that 4G63 is barely working up a sweat at that power level. Seriously stout little engines, those.
Saw a 4G swapped fox body mustang that was around 1100 hp
Exactly, the only dodgy thing would be the 6 speed if it has it, do a 5 speed swap.
both! love them. i remember that white evo racing on the streets spewing smoke and flames going soo fast.
Yay, you bought it! I'm all over this. 😊
We learned that putting 530 HP in Martin is very dangerous so I think the only appropriate thing going forward with this Evo is to put even more power in it.
You actually did it, brilliant!
I knew it when Richard had it on screen at the last video... they already bought it then, and that was the same car in this video.
Evo fan for sure! Look forward to the Subbie vs Evo vids!
Evo team here for me! But always liked the styling of the older evos personally! Glad u guys committed and I'm super excited to see what you do with this one
Absolutely true about what “FQ” means! From a Mitsubishi UK HQ Manager 👍🏻
😂
3:40 You might wanna ask Jezza about that one Mike😂
I had an '06 IX MR, an '08 X GSR and a '11 X GSR. These cars are soooo much fun.
I brought a wrx bugeye (Impreza) from 219bhp to 269bhp then to 327bhp on stock engine (ej20). Upgraded stock turbo to STI. De catted up pipe and de catted downpipe and a straight through exhaust 2.5 inch. Bit of overspray on the map and it snapped, cracked and popped through the gears. Man oh man that Subaru gurgle!! Never used the radio or mp3. Time of my life (so far) and I bought it for 950 euro at the time (8 years ago) as it had been in crash. Easy fix but Mike! 450 bhp is more than enough mate. 400 bhp would be more than enough. I say that because corners come at you in light speed on country roads. Needs to be drivable.
I still can't believe James May wrecked that Evo like he did! But Hammond saved the event by coasting down the tunnel at a snails pace.
Not surprised here. Was a big give away when Richard hinted at the idea that this was what he wanted to do. Lot of folks are going to love this. While "Martin" is cool in its own right, not in love with either car tbh. Not my thing. They work there in the UK brilliantly. But I would go for an M3 or M5. The Mitsubishi and Subaru's I have tried out and they just have a spine crushing ride. Would've been ok when I was in my early 20's I suppose. Even Izzy commented on how harsh the ride is in Martin. lol.
I was always on team Evo, can't wait to see the end result.
Watching from Kenya
Fuggin Quick Evo
Least surprising yet most joyful purchase so far! Can't wait to this one. I'd suggest aiming for 500, but having a "lesser" mapping if needed, it would still be nice to had the added potential grunt, since it's no harder than adjusting the boost, to get to the perfect drivable number.
Had the exact same car in black back in the day! Mods needed first is an Evo 9 turbo and if you add race bearings to it, it'll help even more. 2nd is an Injen cold air intake, really helps the car breathe. A walboro 255 fuel pump to add more fuel, that branch manifold is good, but ceramic coated is better! I also added a 1.2mm Cosworth metal head gasket to help compression with ARP head studs. If you add forged pistons you should be able to add boost and go to around 420bhp. I different turbo would be needed for more power, I reckon 450bhp would be the sweet spot. Lastly, polybush the car and decent coilovers will help it put the power down. Can't wait for this build, I can re-live my youth (if you call 38 youthful 😂)
7/8/9 are by far the best evos love them also as much as as a Subaru
@@kanagawakenji7 That luke just shows how unintelligent he is about Evos =D 6,5 TME all the way, its the "B22" of Evos.
Dream car 😢
I'm very excited for this mike! Love the fact you mention Underground 2 with riders on the storm 😂! Brilliant, i could hear the song before you even mentioned it!
Nostalgia bites hard! 😂
Evo person for sure. Always dreamt of owning a white Evo 9 that's around 650hp with nice carbon bits and stuff.
As a prev scoobie owner ( a bug eye factory pro drive uk300 ) Iv never really looked at a Mitsubishi Evo in any form - undoubtedly it’s a great car but for me the scoobie with its exhaust note will always have my heart ❤️
without trying to start a flame war, our local evo group has a lot of people who used to drive WRX's and then got an Evo and fell in love. They're certainly not perfect but I reckon you owe it to yourself to give one a go.
@@shanemshort I moved on into the German car segment after my Impreza and some years later I’m now happily in love with my current Porsche . If I was to ever buy an Evo for me it would be a 5 or 6 but I don’t think one will ever sit on my drive as it stands
Evo and 450whp evo is solid
700whp is solid for me
I gotta say being in New Zealand in the late 90's and early 2000's getting the japanese import Evos and STi's, it was awesome seeing them blasting away from lights. Although I prefer the WRX, the Evos from 3 to 6 were always re-writing cornering speed results. And the 6.5 is probably the most aggressive one they ever did, an absolute weapon! Looked the part too!
I'll take Evo content all day! Can't wait to see what you come up with.
I'm responding now hopefully you will see it What Has Happened To The V10 conversion??????????!?????????
It’s back on hold for now. Further build complications and very large costs!
400/400 people say is the magic number.
Nah 500 is the sweet spot. Brutal launches and nice acceleration over 100mph.
@@v4skunk739 Mine is 500, it's banging on the door of a B road basher.
Definitely the sweet spot on an evo. Mine is 490whp and it is wild on a backroad
3:45 Reminds me of that American with the mile-long store front, they've got every brand there: Hoondee, Mitsebooshe, Tayoter, Kneeson, Djagwarr, B.M. Dubya, the list is endless.
Hard to beat the fun analog experience the Evo offers. I’ve got two and enjoy them often. 700hp and 1100hp sequential setup. Hopefully be able to get parts for them in the coming years.
Completely stock ?? Past mots say very different 😂🤐😂 Also all the HKS parts came as stock from the factory that are on that car.
Not to mention the branch manifold 😂
missing the enkei wheels as well!
I’m evo … but why do you feel the need to push the power so much? What about trying to fix things which aren’t perfect from factory? Looking at brakes, suspension, reliability or even weight. Do an interior refresh or something. Power ain’t everything. I wouldn’t go above 400. But also, on another note, why buy a stock if you’re just going to do a power build? Buy one that’s already on the journey than doing that - you clearly loved that it was stock. It’ll wind up another evolution which isn’t stock and that will kinda be it
1990 DSM here. That 4g63 is mounted backwards. 200,000 and around 450hp. I've owned at least one constantly since 1994. You guys should look for a Talon or Eclipse 6 bolt. Stock bottom end and drive train and I launch all the time on 12psi!
A guy in my area has a 1400whp Evo 8. That motor can produce a ton of power!
Welcome to the channel James
I own both. I used to work on that EVO over 10 years ago! I know the previous owner well too.
I'm currently on the 400-410hp mark and I really love it, I think it's the perfect balance for driving it on the roads. Love the yellow evo 8 too I can't wait to see how it turns out :D
Evening Scooby all the way for me. Ex scooby technician plus having driven some of the old Prodrive development cars back in the mid 90’s wot a rush 🤗👍🏻
I’ve always been a Subaru guy, from my first one back in 1998 to my current 05 Blobeye STI. Should be a great sequence of videos once you put Martin and against the Evo 8. I can’t wait 😜
You definitely have a knack for unearthing yellow Evo's. Extra bonus points for the colour coordination with the shoes and the car lift support arms as well 😉 Would have loved to have heard Neil's opinion, looked like it was tea time and he was running upstairs in the background 😂
I just put an MHI TF06-18K turbo with supporting mods and E85 on my Evo 8 for 450hp. Perfection.
I've got a 1994 Celica st205 import so thats my fav, but I loved the old square Subaru , there was a Mitsubishi lancer estate/wagon that looked amazing, I was pulled over by Plod once in one ,I'd slowed down to have a look , they stopped me for speeding, l said I slowed down because the car looked great, we had a chat , they warned me and then let me go because they loved it too. Great show people.
Always watching from Georgetown Guyana south America 🇬🇾🇬🇾
Subie all the way. Having owned a 2013 "Stink Eye" and having my friends own a "Mean Eye" back in high school, there's something about the "do it all" presence of a Subaru. You can absolutely hoon it around on the weekends, and still take it to the office by Monday.
Honestly after I saw the thumbnail, I have never been more excited
This build has truly made my day. Thank you for listening to your fans! Can’t we see a Evo v Miata series? Get them both to 450bhp and crown the ultimate “fun” car.
“There’s no car that handles like this one” - Jeremy Clarkson 2008
Yes, the boys have done it! 👏👏👏This is going to make for epic content. It's the underdog, but I'm camp Subie!
I've always been an Evo person, 440 horsepower yeah sounds brilliant
My heart sank when I watched that episode of GT….as soon as I saw JM had a lovely Evo in yellow!!! I knew they were gonna trash it and i was gutted that such an iconic car was gonna get killed! Gutted couldn’t be rescued would have been awesome to see it breath again
Nice Evo I had an Evo 8 in yellow for 3 years. it's definitely been modded from what I can see. different rad, high performance exhaust manifold and also de-cated I would say easily putting in out more that 360 BHP would be nice to see the next video of it on a dyno. 😍I'm for evo all day long
Starting back in the mid-90’s, I was an Evo guy. (First new car I ever sold in ‘06 was a convertible Eclipse and I sat right next to our showroom Evo IX.) But now, at 42 and having owned a couple Subies, I’m Team WRX.
Always been subaru over evo and I'm currently trying to find a blobeye wrx to fulfill my inner child's dreams but I certainly do like evos I have nothing against them at all I actually think in most ways they're probably better, but now I think you have to appreciate both of them and realise we may never get cars like that ever again, they're both iconic legends of the car world
Welcome to the 4g63 go-cart club! 🎉🎊👏👏
🏎💥
I learned about the Impreza because of rally and the unique sound it makes just drew me to it. still hope to one day own a blob eye or Hawk eye.
Team EVO all day, always wanted my own one but where I live it will never happen. Can't wait to see more of this.
Having previously owned an Evo 6 GSR back in the day. For me it’s Evo ,every time !
Owned my Evo 9 going on 7yrs now and absolutely love it, much better than the equivalent Subaru
I had a lighting yellow evo 8 SSL package really fun to drive! Nice car!
Always been team Subaru, growing up watching our man Colin McRae, along with Richard Burns, Petter Solberg et al, just fell in love with Subarus (helped that our family car was a Subaru L series and our mechanic was a Subaru mechanic that raced a 99 2 door WRX hillclimb car). In saying all this I did own a 2007 lancer wagon with a 4G69 2.4L MIVEC N/A engine and that thing was a rocket!!! Go Subaru!!! 😄
4G63 is the most robust 4 cylinder to come from Japan IMO. Cast iron closed deck wet block paired with aluminum cylinder head capable of 500hp with the stock rotating assembly and over 800hp with upgraded bottom/top end and nice snail still through a stock block makes any car powered by a 4G63 a weapon. These are very square motors with 85mm bores and 88mm strokes they love making HP and Torque.
As if I didn't already have a problem holding myself back from buying an evo and now you guys have this. The temptation is real 😂👍