10 SECONDS EVOLUTION 7 : :

What meets the eye when looking at this ride is not necessarily what one would call "eye candy" as it conveys a "stock" (factory) look. Who really needs eye candy when you have a ride that's doing below 11seconds down the 1/4 mile? Oops, did I say that out loud? My bad. This machine has the Mike Tyson effect; has a small voice but packs a serious punch. We are talking about the exterior of the car here, so forget you just read that.

Lets' move on..................

What I love about this particular Evo VII is the preservation of it's assembly line look, giving no hint of it's menacing capabilities. Its appearance continually fools many unsuspecting braggarts into thinking that this daily driver is simply a stock model......................right before it makes them nothing but a memory.

This Evo VII rolls on Enkei 18 inches ten spokes gun metallic rims, with a knife looking chrome lip. Wrapped in Federal 235/40/18 . It sits pretty with its leopard like stands on Tien suspension and by putting his foot on the brake pedal Craig initiates the calipers that grip with shark like intensity in the Brembo breaks. This facade roams the streets of Kingston looking like just another slightly, if at all, modified import. But beneath its skin, is a different story.

A turbocharger is seen as an equalizer for small displacement engines, but what would happen if you added a turbocharger to a large displacement engine? BIG power of course and that’s exactly where Lue starts. The car was designed to be a one shot build headed for the 9-second range. Research indicated the power levels required for such a goal and by extension the turbocharger that could reach the target. The massive Garrett GT35R may have a ball-bearing centre cartridge to help it spool, but that alone wasn’t enough. The 4G63 was moved from its 2-litres to 2.3-liltres with an Eagle stroker kit consisting of a new crankshaft and connecting rods. This displacement increase builds extra torque, but also makes puttering around town with such a naturally laggy turbocharger a matter of ease. (BREAK)On top of the rods are Wiseco pistons and the whole thing is held together by uprated bolts where possible. The Garrett turbo connects to an octopus like Extreme Turbo System (ETS) turbo manifold and forces its compressed contents through a stock throttle body into the AMS intake manifold. Between them is an ETS front mounted intercooler four inches thick to cool intake charge. Due to the size of the turbocharger and the pressures it pushes, the intercooler piping has been custom designed and upgraded.

A Tial wastegate and blow-off valve ease boosts levels as per their function. The exhaust system again is Lue’s own design providing a full 3 inches of flow from turbocharger to a Magnaflow muffler at the rear. 1000cc RC fuel injectors feed the bigger engine, all controlled by an AEM standalone engine management system. The AEM EMS deleted the restrictive stock Air Flow Meter, offering an unfettered processing of the 35psi of boost used to power down the quarter mile. The original goal was 400 wheel-horsepower, but on its first dyno run it made 550whp. This was good enough for 11 second passes at Vernamfield with an ailing clutch, a known problem with a big horsepowered Evolution.

Lue has been running this setup for two years now with no questions about reliability. That fact is a testament to his engine builder Devon Scott, and tuner Gregory Gutzmore from Machine’s Gone Wild in Florida, who fly to Jamaica on occasion to tickle the keyboards for the AEM. How reliable. While Honda Civics on the street sport more gauges than a commercial airliner, Lue’s interior is uncluttered with nothing more than an AEM wideband oxygen sensor meter, and three Defi gauges monitoring oil and water. His last retune before the record resetting pass saw the car generate 650whp at the same 35psi on C16 race gas. For shopping purposes 450whp at 19psi using 90 octane fuel is the everyday option.
Just like the interior, the rest of the car, despite the speculation, is a lot closer to factory than one would expect. The notoriously fragile GSR drive train only has a Tilton twin-disc clutch. Lue uses the stock Evolution GSR transmission, not some ultra-expensive model, unobtainable by the rest of us mere mortals. The proof came when at JamWest he broke the transfer case trying to make a pass on slicks and went on to make a 10.7 second pass on his daily driven wheel package, 18-inch Enkei rims with Federal 235/40/18 595RS. This made his car the fastest full weight Mitsubishi, and the fastest on street radials.

Lue does admit that he has to baby the Evolution off the line to avoid breaking anything, but his experience with launching the more difficult front-wheel drive Civic has helped him keep things intact underneath the car. As for suspension, things have been kept simple with stock dampers and Tein lowering springs.
9s are just a drop in weight away, but Lue has no plans to strip out the car. He’s been captivated by the civility the car currently provides, but understands that a transmission upgrade is a must to back up the power increase he has planned.

We arrived at Jamwest Speed Way approximately 2 hours and forty five minutes after leaving Kingston . We embarked from the cabin and the car went straight into the hanger to be prepped for the track. This run would be testing the newly tuned settings and the upgraded drive shaft. The racing gas has been added to the tank and the tyres are now on; clear the runway for take off. Running four slicks for the first time with this setup, he went easy on the first pass, clocking low 11 seconds. The tyre pressure was adjusted and as they fine tuned the tyre pressure, the time came down to the 10 seconds rage. So after four passes down the track he gained positive improvements on his 60 foot time. “The best the car has ever pulled” he said. With a few minor tuning adjustment the car will run a lower time than the record 10.7. We anxiously await the next Drag Race meet to see the car on the track.

Tell me that this machine is not worthy of gracing the pages of any popular import car magazine. Jamaican Built! We commend the Lues for displaying a very professional approach to building a car. We drove from Kingston to Negril, off the road, then on the track, ran 10.7 seconds, and then back on the road to Kingston . The only word we could think of to describe this machine is AMAZIN!

Although Craig has evolved from a Honda to an Evolution, his passion for performance is unchanged, which only goes to prove what many have speculated about for years now while watching him drag; he does indeed have gas in his veins..!