A good friend of mine recently picked up a slightly used Evolution X from a dealer, after trading in his S2000. He’s been around DSM’s for the better part of his professional career, having worked at Road Race Engineering and the now defunct BOZZ.
So to say the least, he knows his way around the 4G63, and while it’s not the same motor we’ve grown to work on, love and hate, it’s still a Mitsubishi.
He’s not completely sure what route he will take in this car, but he knows that the current
rock-climbing-Jeep stance is not what he wants to drive around in.
To remedy the solution, he picks up a set of TEIN Stech Springs for his Evolution X.
What you will need for this install :
- TEIN part number SKE18-AUB00
- 17mm socket and open end wrench
- 14mm socket and open end wrench
- 12mm socket
- flat head screwdriver
- needle nose pliers
- Spring compressor ( optional )
- * I am not liable for any damage, direct or indirect due to any modifications made on your car, related or unrelated to this writeup.
With the shock now removed, you must now mark the orientation of the top hat and mounting hardware. You will be best served to remember the layout of the top hat and the orientation of the shock itself. If you have a spring compressor, now is the time to tighten it down on the front spring coil as to prevent harm when it uncoils.
If you don’t own a spring compressor, u can place the bottom of the shock against your rim and tire and gun the top nut off. If you are not comfortable doing this and don’t own a spring compressor, maybe this job isn’t for you.
Remove the top hat and set to the side, you should now be able to remove the rest of the bushings and mounts to get to your stock springs.
Now, with the top strut mount removed, locate your bump stop as it will require modification.
Using a marker, mark where you wish to remove the excess material in your bumpstop so that the Evo’s new stance will not create any problems.
Now reassemble your front shocks with your TEIN Stech lowering springs, make sure that you are aligning the marks on your top mount, and make sure the spring is seated flush against the shock body as shown here.
With the front shocks buttoned back up, you can now reinstall the entire assembly into the car. If you are working on a lift, you can now move on to the rears. Open your trunk and locate the push pins that hold the rear panel in place in the trunk.
Carefully push in the pin and pull out the tabs to allow you to remove the back panel.
You may elect to remove the factory trays that cover the spare tire and wheelwells. We elected to do this step, as the car was still pretty new and we didn’t want to damage anything. To remove these panels, simply push in the tabs as you did with the rear trunk panel.
Now, remove the long bolt that secures your rear shocks to the lower control arm and spindle.
Push the rear shock in and away from the lower assembly, and then go back up top and remove the 2 14mm nuts holding the shock in place. As you did with the front shocks, make sure you have secured the shock to prevent it from falling.
You’re almost there! Now undo the top bolt to the rear shocks, for those who skipped ahead or with some sort of attention disorder, use a spring compressor if you are not comfortable unloading the tension in the coil.
Seat the spring into the rear shock housing, making sure to line up the spring as your oe coil sat.
Don’t forget to modify the bumpstop!
Now tighten up the rear shock assembly and re-install into the back of your Evolution.
Now you are ready to rock and roll! Happy boosting!
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