She's currently a work in progress. Funds are short so im modding little by little. Mostly just upgrading what needs replacing. The stock chrome wheels were peeling when i got her so they were one of the first things i replaced. I went with Cobra-R replicas, 17x9, and wrapped them in 255-40ZR17 BFGoodrich G-Force Sport rubber...
Looking back I should have went with 18 or 19s, but these will do for now. Also, i wish i had the cash to get better tires. The BFGs arent bad for the price, but they are no where near as responsive as my old goodyears.
Under the hood ive got a K&N FIPK (fuel injection performance kit), under an Ultimate Performance cold air box, which helps the intake suck mostly COLD air, not the hot air coming off the engine.
To make sure my turbos dont burn up, i got an HKS Type 1 turbo timer, which allows the car to idle and the oil and coolent to continue flowing to the turbos after i pull the keys and leave the car. The Type 1 also gives me my speed, RPMs, 0-60 times, 1/4 mile times, serves as a shift light, and few other functions which i never use.
Next, the carrier bearings in my driveshaft were shot, and since i had just got my tax return, I splurged and decided to get an ACPT 1-piece Carbon Fiber driveshaft to replace the whole stock 3-piece unit. It decreases the rotational mass of the drivetrain significantly, meaning better acceleration and easier shifts. This also means less stress on the tranny and transfercase.
Next on the list was brakes. All the power in the world means nothing without a way to stop it. Since the rotors were warped, i decided to just go ahead and do the whole system. Caliper paint, Axxis Ultimate brake pads, drilled and slotted rotors, and stainless braided lines. For fluid I went with Motul RBF 600 becasue there's nothing better ;)
Heres one snapped right after i got her tinted up. It's 5% (not exactly legal, but i can live with that...) I tried to do it myself, but turned out to be too much of a PITA becuase the windows are curved on 2 axis', so i brought it to the local tint shop.
Prosport gauges, 60mm Amber/White Performance Series
Installation required a complete dash teardown (as you can see below), but the end results justify the means. I moved boost over to the A-pillar, and in the center stock locations i have water temp, oil temp, and oil pressure. They are white during the day and amber/red at night.
Audi Envy? Hey, it happens to the best of us. Luckily, LEDs are cheap! So i mounted some behind my snake-eyes for a nice stock look. I also did a row of orange and wired them to my turns. The added visibility is nice and it looks sick! Kind of hard to tell in the pics, but it person you can see the individual LEDs, and it looks awesome.
Got a good deal on a powdercoated valvecover. (+Bling :D)
3G Lifters, EGR Delete, Vacuum Reduction
91-98 Cars had hydraulic lifters (aka lash adjusters) with 1mm oil ducts. In '99 Mitsu changed it to 3mm, which flowed more oil to the cams. They were a pain in the ass to swap out, but it's good to have that extra peace of mind. Since I had the engine bay torn apart anyways, I did a vacuum reduction and deleted my EGR system. This drastically reduces the number of vac lines in the engine bay, making it look nicer and have less chance for boost leaks, and also getting rid of the EGR stuff saves a good bit of weight and increases both power and fuel economy, as well as keeping your intake system cleaner. **** emissions. :D
Polyurethane Motor Mounts, Shore 80
Roughly half way between stock and solid mounts, the Shore 80 polyurethane mounts will not allow nearly as much engine movement from torque as the stock rubber ones, but are soft enough to absorb most of the engine vibrations and retain daily driving comfort...and the powdercoat just looks good!
MEGAN RACING DOWNPIPE
I've FINALLY got around to upgrading the restrictive stock exhaust. Megan Racing's 3" stainless steel downpipe is much less restrictive than the stock unit, as you can see in the pictures, and it also eliminates the front pre-cat and the main cat. I aslo gut the rear pre-cat, so now the exhaust is almost free-flowing, with the exception of the stock muffler. I was debating upgrading the rest of the exhaust, but the stock cat-back in not that restrictive and i like the functionality of the dual-mode muffler/resonator.
GReddy Type RS BOV w/Recirculating Adapter
Louder than stock, but not annoyingly so. Also, the stock BOV is only good for about 12psi before it will start to leak, so this is a neccesary upgrade for my future plans.
FUTURE PLANS
Eventually i'm going to upgrade to larger turbos, most likely EVO 16g TD-05s, although I have been considering going with a more street-frindly staggered setup, using one 13g and one 15g. With either setup, i'm going to switch to DSM SMICs. My short term goal is a carbon fiber hood and a repaint.
TO ALL YOU HATERS:
Let me start off by saying this; These cars were designed almost 20 years ago now. That said, they still beat almost everything else on the road, and will give the others a hell of a run. The styling is timeless and still looks good today, and the cabin is luxurious even by today's standards. Like all things, dont knock it until you've tried it.
There seems to be alot of rumors, myths, and misinformation around about these cars, which are referred to as "3/S"s. I'll help clear some things up for anyone who might be interested.
3/S stands for 3000GT/Stealth. The Dodge Stealth is the sister car to the 3000GT. 3000GTs and Stealths are nearly identical. The only differences are some body panels, trim pieces, the B-pillar location, and a few small options. 3/S's ARE NOT DSMs!!! They were ALL built in Mitsubishi's Nagoya manufacturing plant in Japan. I'm not hating on DSMs...i like DSMs...just trying to make the truth known.
Secondly, the weight. The heaviest of all the 3/S's tipped the scales at about 3800lbs. So many times do i hear people say that these cars are "slow and heavy". I will agree that it is certainly no lightweight, but to call a car with stock 0-60 times ranging from 4.8s to 5.7s (depending on year) slow...I would like to know what the hell your driving?!
The 0-60 and 1/4 mile times are on par with modern giants such as the NSX, Supra Turbo, LS1 GTO and BMW M cars, and older supercars such as the Lamborghini Countach. These cars handle like they're on rails and can out pull almost anything, whether starting from a dig or from a 70mph roll. All VERY impressive when you take into account that the car is 16 years old and was not designed to be a hardcore sports car. The "GT" is in "3000GT" because the car is meant to be a true Grand Tourer. If you want something of comparable performance and luxury on the market today, you can expect to pay upwards of 50 grand.
Another misconception is that they are unreliable. While they have their quirks and "weak links" (91-92.5 transfercase being the main one), they are just like any other performance car. So long as it's not neglected there's really nothing to worry about. Of course running 30psi on monster turbos will shorten the life expectancy, as it will on any car, but I know plenty of owners with more than 200k on the clock. The 6G72 engine is virtually bombproof, with the stock internals capable of doubling the stock 320 ponies. All you need is the fuel, air, boost, and a way to control them.
In case anyone wants to know more about the 3/S platform, mods, or anything else, heres a link to the international owners club, 3000GT Stealth International.
3Si.org
and if you ever just wanna chat with some cool knowledgable guys, check out Automotive Forums
AutomotiveForums.com
