The Impossible Evo X: Part 1 – An Introduction

In with the good, out with the bad

First on the list was replacing the god-awful exhaust that was on the car. I am officially old, so a nice, quiet, yet high-flowing exhaust would take its place. Having worked with Extreme Turbo Systems on the Pro Awe Time Attack Evo, I knew their quality and workmanship was top notch. In an effort to remain fully transparent, ETS provided yours truly with a discount, but no free parts.

The car also came without a catalytic converter, which was not cool. If you know me, you know I insist on minimizing being an asshole to others, as well as the planet, so I installed the best high flow cat I could find. ETS offers a GESI cat option, which is a big step above the rest of the aftermarket catalytic converter competition. Their cats are 2016 or 2017 OBD 2 compliant and come with +1 karma points.

Along with the ETS exhaust, I went with a 3” ETS intercooler. When the car was purchased, it already had a full ETS intake and hardpipe kit. I thought it wise to keep it in the family and use parts Professional Awesome was confident in. All silicone couplers used Turbosmart constant tension clamps for an even distribution of load, which helps keep intercooler pipes from bursting off.

Speaking of Turbosmart, I replaced the factory bypass valve with a Smart Port Dual Port Blow-Off/Bypass valve. Turbosmart and Professional Awesome go way back and we utilize a plethora of Turbosmart parts on the time attack Evo without issue. The reason to switch from OEM to Turbosmart for the BOV is both performance and reliability related. Evo X’s are known for bypass valve flutter, which may be related to compressor surge. This is very tough on the turbo’s bearings and having an adjustable bypass valve allowed this issue to be tuned out, but more on that in the future. Turbosmart did provide me with parts pro-bono, but I would have gone with them no matter what. The dual port valve was used in a single port setup, with all air recirculated back within the intake system, post mass airflow sensor.