No FTO but close

[illogikalli]

Thanks to Ben i think, im finally registered


I live in Trinidad, and ive got me a 4 door 1998 CK4 Lancer. Shes going to get a major heart transplant in the next couple weeks. The stock motor is a 4g92 sohc and will be replaced with a 6a12 mivec out of an FTO.

Its a far from common swap seen on the island as most that upgraded motors from stock went the way of the 1.6 4g92 dohc Mivec motor or the 4g93 dohc turbo. I however have committed to being different especially after seeing countless instances where well tuned N/A motors have raped sloppy turbo installs. Short term plans for my project - get the motor in the car no later than next friday. I have already installed a new clutch, pressure plate, release bearing, front n rear crank seals, cam seals, tensioner system, water pump, timing belt and accessory belts. Basically the motor is prepped for install. once that goes well(enough) and its driven for a while to work out the expected teething issues, i plan to tinker with this mini monster.... This is where id need your guidance and suggestions Im thinking exhaust mods, CAI, FPR & upgraded fuel pump, piggy back safc 2 or something from greddy, adjustable cam gears, cams and meth injection. How far can i really go with this motor?

BTW- i do autoX with it

[bass_twitch]

Awesome and welcome!
Once you get it in, vids are encouraged

[rock_it]

Welcome...

Good to see something different.

[Astron_Boy]

Where do I remember your car from?

Oh well, welcome.

[illogikalli]

Well.. got the engine in and working.

It definitely is not tame

Took a total of 3 days, from start to finish however the original engine was out the car in just under 30 minutes and the 6a12 was inside the same day. Electrician came and wired the car n had her started in a little over an hour. Muffler guy took about an hour also to measure and fabricate the connection to the existing 2.5" system. He put another 2.5" flex joint, 2 bungs for O2 sensor and an optional wideband.

Points to note:

1: Had to remove the bracket that held both the power steering line and the A/C lines to the subframe near the firewall as the alternator sat right on it. Also, had to perform some magic to get the A/C fan in after the engine install.

2: I happened to break the TPS during the install, so i cut n gutted another 4-wire TPS with a dremel, soldered the contacts back together and then made use of some steel epoxy ( necessity is really the mother of invention ) to put it back together> and yes i know i need to order a new TPS.

3: A/C lines need to be redone as the couplers do not fit the lancer system.

4: Had to drill a 1.5" hole to pass thru the O2 sensor in the cabin< need to find me a rubber bung to plug it..

5: Tachometer is incorrect< Methinks i need me a tach signal adapter or an FTO instrument cluster to get it correct

Car currently has shell helix hx7 15 w40 synth, oem fuel and oil filters. RUNS LIKE A THIEF.

one problem though, im idling excessively high.
I checked the vacuum lines and connections for leaks, checked the IACV- its functional and cant think of anything else really. the idle screw is all the way in and im at a loss as to why im idling so high. Any suggestions? whats the proper way to set the idle speed after an ECU reset ?

[Bennoz]

Nice! It always takes a day or 2 for it to relearn how to idle. Best way is just to go for a long drive.

Failing that check the idle control motor. They're a known weak point.

Further than that, just ensure the throttle body is clean on the inside where the idle control motor sits & you can try adjusting the idle using the screw onto of the throttle body.

[illogikalli]

Success!!!!!! the high idle and consequent poor gas mileage was actually the Idle stepper circuit stuck open>>

However this was after i had already bought a new O2 sensor, scanned the car multiple times and was just about fedup when we found the issue. Air-conditioning circuit. Now she idles at 750rpm and im about to do a baseline dyno run.

I ordered an AEM water / meth injection kit and should be here in a cpl weeks... wish me luck!!

[illogikalli]

updates and additions with pics soon to come

[Technikhaus]

[illogikalli]

Allllllrighty....

So.... since last post ive gotten all issues sorted out.
ecu died on me, spent a minor fortune getting one imported, then sent faulty one to be repaired.
began to hunt for N/A cams... pfffft Oh em effing G @ those prices.
Long story short, id have to be insane to put 12 - 15k into cams for an engine that cost me 10k (my currency) which then can enable me to spend further money down the road with headwork, pistons and rods that would only net me very small gains> i weighed it out and came to the conclusion.... build for later, and build the car for better..


so, minor alteration to the course.

I relocated the stinger dry cell to the trunk and ran 0awg to a distribution block in the front , 0awg to the alternator and to the fusebox.. 0awg as ground also.
Made a custom CAI out of 2 3" diameter 90 degree aluminum bends, some silicone hoses and clamps.. filter is now in the bumper behind the left foglight. this works since its not going to see any water unless i drive thru 2 feet of it ,, which i wont .. but just in case i have an emergency whale penis intake in the trunk ready to be bolted on should the world go to hell
Ran a complete 2.5" exhaust, press bent, cat delete and 1 resonator
walbro 255lph intank pump that sings like the damn opera.
AEM fuel pressure regulator


Then i began with chassis stiffening via Ultra Racing products

* 3 point front upper
* 2 point rear upper
* 3 point room bar (b pillar tocentre hump to b pillar)
* 3 point fender braces

Braking and handling

* Evo4 subframe
* Evo4 aluminum cradles
* Powerflex poly bushes on the cradles
* Super pro poly bushes on the rear
* 23mm evo 4 front sway bar with energy suspension 23mm bushes
* Evo4 296mm rotors and 2 piston calipers (hawk pads)
* Evo4 front 5x114 spindles
* FTO rear disc brake setup (mintex pads)
* Ohlins springs off a mint evo 6 .. seated on lancer cs5w (4g93t gdi turbo wagon) front struts and DE3a fto rear struts (KYB excel g)
The ohlins springs would only fit the suspension of an evo, ck4a mivec lancer , cs5w wagon , or FTO. Reason i went with the Cs5w over anything else was that apart for the almost near nil availability of the other choices at the local part retailers, when i compared the weights of the vehicles i saw the cs5w was a heavier car than my ck4 and was closest in weight and dimension to the fto, hence the suspension should be the more appropriate choice to have the car handle better with this heavier engine, since the emphasis remains to have the car do autocross reliably.

Need to shakedown the car at an event to see how it handles with the front 23mm sway bar and no rear sway bar at all. 'Spirited' road driving has the front tracking straight and cornering very well at speed with no hints of understeer ( or it my be just my mind playing trix on me and hoping for the best result) the change in subframe and suspension components translated to a negative camber on the front wheels about 5 degrees ( so said alignment folks) but was corrected with camber bolts - which imo look kinda cheap and made-in-taiwanese-non-ISO-certified-sweatshop/factory .... anyways.. was corrected to 1 degree. These Springs are indeed the shizz..... i dont get the car diving into corners at all no matter how hard i seem to throw it in.. i do however hear my tyres wailing like cats ,,

Now ... near future plans are to pull this motor and throw in a 6a13 tt..
I can tune and fool around with it and not need aftermarket management since ill want to run stock boost levels for a while.
I can get a ton of spare parts cheaply and readily for it
I would not just slap a turbo onto a perfectly good motor as the 6a12..... if the 5 foot japanese folks made it NA , they did so for a reason.
I'll just pack it away incase my next motor explodes

Pics of the morning we began surgery







pix of some of ze other mods





ill add more pix and whever i forgot to mention to this post via edits subsequently...
i need some sleep ..... advice, tips are welcome ...i wanna hear from some 6a12 converts also ( yes you spetz ) about their mods and tuning advice.... im still a mechanical noob, altho i did most of this myself with the guidance of my patient friends and tools i bought specifically for the exercise..

[aza013]

great work keep it up.

[Kustom]

Nice UAS pipe.

[ObsidianRadio]

Nice UAS pipe.

Was about to say that... Holy sh*t!

[Sahin]

Don't think that's a uas pipe..

[Taz]

its a lancer UAS pipe?

[Technikhaus]

Loving the bracing!

[Taz]

Loving the bracing!

Pfft ive got those on my FTO
The difference is pretty good im not gonna lie

[Technikhaus]

Loving the bracing!

Pfft ive got those on my FTO
The difference is pretty good im not gonna lie

One day I'll get some

[illogikalli]

Nice UAS pipe.

Was about to say that... Holy sh*t!

necessity is the mother of invention....... and application swappage its actually a simota kit for an eg8 civic i found for dirt cheap at a rice store.

[spetz]

Those Civic intakes are made by Simota I think. They are copies of the carbon ones from passwordjdm.
Did the 3 point strut brace fit with no problems? Do you think it helps much over the 2 point?

As for tuning the 6A12, start with full exhaust (including headers), and a Cyborg gearbox if you can get one