This issue we have looked a little closer to home for a worthy race car. The Donut King Australian Performance Car Championship was a logical place to search, with its mix of eclectic race vehicles, battling it out on some of Australia’s favourite race tracks. WRX’s are pitted against HSV’s, and EVO’s rumble with the best FPV has to offer, all in the name of entertainment.
One of the top running contenders is Barry Morcom. Driving an EVO VIII in anger is something Barry enjoys and he is finding some success doing it this season. At the time of writing, the Morcom Motorsport Mistubishi was placed in 4th position with a race at Symmons Plains, Tasmania just around the corner.
Starting life as a stock standard Mistubishi EVO VIII, the vehicle was ordered directly from Ralliart in 2004 and flew in from Japan. Immediately the interior was removed at Racecar Logistics, making way for a full roll cage, which was expertly welded in by Bond Roll Bars.
The rules in the Australian Production Car Championship allow only minimum engine mods (see drop box). This means that the modifications allowed need to be quality, particularly the tune of the vehicle which can make or break reliability and peak power output as well as the overall power curve.
Extracting power from a turbo mill is easier than taking candy from a baby and Barry has put this knowledge to good use. An Apexi boost controller is set at 1 bar (14.7psi) and a 3 inch pipe, straight through, has been fitted to allow for maximum exhaust flow. Access to data logging and engine tuning can be performed easily after every race due to the installation of a Motec dash and engine management system. The rest of the engine has been left stock, however stiffer engine mounts have been installed to ensure the engine is secure and stable for a full race.
A ceramic button type clutch has been installed to handle the extra kilowatts, and the 4th and 5th gears have been replaced with higher ratios than what the stock EVO offers. Strong acceleration is now apparent in all gears. A clutch pack limited slip differential replaces the stock unit. With the gearbox out of the chassis, stiffer gearbox mounts were also fitted. The active control device, while it is certainly a great item, was replaced by a Ralliart tarmac version, for optimum control.
Proflex shocks and Eibach springs assist the handling of the car, and light weight OZ wheels shod in Michelin slicks no doubt add substantial levels of grip. On a rainy day, Pirelli wets are pulled out of the garage. Once all this was complete, the car was taken to Oran Park, where a series of laps were performed so that Barry could become accustom to the tendencies of the all wheel drive car. Further suspension and engine tuning followed, to ensure that the car was performing at its peak, and was comfortable and responsive to Barry’s driving style.Barry himself is accustom to racing rear wheel drive cars, but has taken to exploiting the awesome road holding capabilities of the Mistubishi. |
