otter
01-08-2007, 12:24 AM
Alright, I've been running this for about a week now, so I figure it's time to throw up a review. First off, some quick notes about the removal/installation.
IT'S A BITCH!! Part of the problem is that the IM is BIG, and really doesn't want to squeeze out of the engine bay. Took a lot of fidgiting and swearing to get it out of there, and about the same amount to squeeze it back in (Wayne saw some of the scratches that were a result of this ;) .) Also, the Ralliart IM has a lot more connected to it than the 4G63 and 4G94 manifolds. This doesn't necessarily make the install harder, just takes longer and more little screws and sensors to keep track of. Also, the thermostat housing is connected to the IM, so to pull it, you have to drain your coolant and pull the thermostat housing. This is what really gave me trouble. I did the install on a late Friday afternoon. Once I got everything setup the car was leaking coolant, badly. Turns out that the o-ring that seals the therm. housing to the lower coolant pipe had a crack in it. Had to wait until the following Tuesday to get a new one from Mitsu, since no generic o-rings were quite the right size. Get yourself one of these o-rings ahead of time.
Picture of the giant IM.
http://www.paradigmperformance.net/products/ralliart/im-1.jpg
And here you can see the hole that the coolant passes through (closest). The oval hole near it is for the EGR stuff, and the other round hole is there for no apparent reason.
http://www.paradigmperformance.net/products/ralliart/im-3.jpg
Now, on to the good part =) First off, Wayne did a VERY nice job on the porting. All the lines are straight and clean and the blending is super-smooth. There was quite a bit of material for him to remove in order to match it to the gasket.
http://www.paradigmperformance.net/products/ralliart/im-2.jpg
As for performance, the low end is pretty much unaffected. However, once I get into MIVEC there's a couple differences. First, the car pulls more smoothly and consistently. Secondly, especially above 4500-5000 rpm, the car pulls noticably harder right up to the rev limiter (6800 rpm).
Definitely a great mod, and I feel it's worth more than the $65 that Wayne's charging. He got the manifold done quickly, too. I dropped it off, ran out to grab some dinner, and about 1 hour later he was done. :thumbup
IT'S A BITCH!! Part of the problem is that the IM is BIG, and really doesn't want to squeeze out of the engine bay. Took a lot of fidgiting and swearing to get it out of there, and about the same amount to squeeze it back in (Wayne saw some of the scratches that were a result of this ;) .) Also, the Ralliart IM has a lot more connected to it than the 4G63 and 4G94 manifolds. This doesn't necessarily make the install harder, just takes longer and more little screws and sensors to keep track of. Also, the thermostat housing is connected to the IM, so to pull it, you have to drain your coolant and pull the thermostat housing. This is what really gave me trouble. I did the install on a late Friday afternoon. Once I got everything setup the car was leaking coolant, badly. Turns out that the o-ring that seals the therm. housing to the lower coolant pipe had a crack in it. Had to wait until the following Tuesday to get a new one from Mitsu, since no generic o-rings were quite the right size. Get yourself one of these o-rings ahead of time.
Picture of the giant IM.
http://www.paradigmperformance.net/products/ralliart/im-1.jpg
And here you can see the hole that the coolant passes through (closest). The oval hole near it is for the EGR stuff, and the other round hole is there for no apparent reason.
http://www.paradigmperformance.net/products/ralliart/im-3.jpg
Now, on to the good part =) First off, Wayne did a VERY nice job on the porting. All the lines are straight and clean and the blending is super-smooth. There was quite a bit of material for him to remove in order to match it to the gasket.
http://www.paradigmperformance.net/products/ralliart/im-2.jpg
As for performance, the low end is pretty much unaffected. However, once I get into MIVEC there's a couple differences. First, the car pulls more smoothly and consistently. Secondly, especially above 4500-5000 rpm, the car pulls noticably harder right up to the rev limiter (6800 rpm).
Definitely a great mod, and I feel it's worth more than the $65 that Wayne's charging. He got the manifold done quickly, too. I dropped it off, ran out to grab some dinner, and about 1 hour later he was done. :thumbup