# SmallSoldier's 2010 GG EVO X - SQ and Street Build



## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Gents,

After a couple of years of owning the Evo, I finally decided to start modding it with the intention of making it my ultimate daily driver... To achieve this, I will try to mod it in a way that I can have what for me is the best of both worlds, a car that is fun in the streets and that will see some autocross sessions/track days... And that achieves a good level of SQ (Sound Quality), probably competing next year in a couple of audio competitions.

I will be using this thread to keep track of the changes made to the car and will try to load it up with pictures as we go along... It will be an slow build, because I will try to do most of it myself and my skills and spare time are limited (I travel quite a bit for work)... I hope to also use the opportunity to get advises and pointers from you, first DIY project and which better place to have help than this forum, right? 

The Car: 2010 Graphite Grey MR



















Power Goals: Never been fixated in a number and really don't care that much about how much whp the car has, but I have a good idea of the mods I will be performing to it down the road:

Engine/Powertrain Plans:

- 2.2L Overbore Build (Speedcircuit or MAP)
- Pistons and Rods (TBD)
- Cams (MX1's or AMS TMP)
- Springs and Valves (TBD)
- Turbo (MAP EF2.5 or the new MHI turbo... One between a green and a red)

Engine/Powertrain Done or to be done next month:

- AMS Intake
- AGP Intercooler
- Cobb Hard IC Piping
- Greddy Ti-C CBE
- Perrin Downpipe/HFC
- Grimspeed 3port
- AEM Analog Gauges

That's the plan in terms of Power Mods as we speak, hopefully it will end up as a fun daily driver 

Regarding the Audio part of the build, the following is the system that will be installed:

- Head Unit: Pioneer ODR Combo P9 (Dex P9 and Deq P9)
- Front Stage: Dynaudio Esotec 3way system (MW172, MW142 and MW102) in a full active configuration... 8'' midbass in doors, midrange and tweeters in kick panels
- Subwoofer: 1 JL Audio 10W7 (still thinking about a Morel Supremo 12 as an other option)
- Amplifiers: 2 JL Audio 600/4 (one delivering 300rms to each midbass, the other one delivering 150rms to each midrange and tweeter)... 1 JL Audio 750/1 for the subwoofer
- Deadening (several different materials/brands)

During the audio build, I will also work on trying to improve the look and feel of the interior of the car, for which I will be using the help of no other than the famous IKT for some "one of a kind" CF parts for the EVO... We have already been bouncing ideas and there are some interesting things that we believe could be done and keep it as classy as possible... I will also be upholstering some parts in Alcantara or Suede... And trying to figure out if I should go for a fun color scheme on the car to highlight some accents or stitching, but totally undecided at this point in time

When discussing with my wife (which of course believe that is a total waste of time/money, haha)... The "boss" allowed me to go through with the plans, as long as I did it in 3 stages:

Stage 1: Bolt-ons installation (done)
Stage 2: Audio installation (in progress)
Stage 3: Engine Build/Turbo change (planned for the end of 2013)

So... With the above been said, I will start updating this thread as I move along with the project... I hope to use this platform to also ask for ideas and advises from all of you :nerd:

Regards,
SS


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Let's start with the audio build log... As with everything in life, a good foundation is the basis for success, therefore I started with the sound deadening of the car as my first step

Due to how time consuming this project could be, I decided to do it in 4 stages:

Stage 1: Front Doors and Trunk
Stage 2: Floors
Stage 3: Rear Doors and Roof
Stage 4: Front Fenders

Stage 1: Front Doors and Trunk

The EVO trunk is minuscule, but I figured that if I can relocate the Windshield Wiper Reservoir as well as the battery... I could install my sub as well as the amps against the backseat and gain substantial space... I will go into more detail when I get to work on the trunk itself... From a deadening perspective, the trunk is very easy to work on and shouldn't take a novice (like myself) a lot of time to complete it in a couple of hours

I used Dynamat Superlite in the trunk because I knew I was going to be using substantial amount of it and wanted to keep the added weight on the low side... Suggestions to anyone doing this is to pay special attention at the wheel covers and try to get material into that area, which would reduce a lot of the road noise... Between the exposed sheet metal and how thin it is, it actually acts like an speaker "multiplying" the amount of road noise... I also place deadener on top of the OEM one and applied the "knuckle" test and added layers where needed (the knuckle test is just hitting the sheet metal with your knuckles and applying more deadener if vibrations or resonances are found

A couple of pictures of the deadening job in the trunk:

Starting to lay some deadener:

















Trunk almost done:

















I also applied deadener on the trunk lid (trying to get it against the outer skin as far as my hand could reach)









My sweet baby girl giving her approval:









I haven't applied any Closed Cell Foam or Neoprene in the trunk yet (which should further reduce exhaust drone and road noise), because there is still work to be done back there and wouldn't like to have to tear it apart... So, it will be finished when the sub and amps installation starts

Doors:

As with the trunk, I also used Dynamat Superlite... It is very good, specially with vertical surfaces that will be against heavy heat in the summers... I placed deadener in the whole outer skin and applied additional in some areas, especially where the back wave of the midbass would directly hit the sheet metal... I also deadened and sealed the inner skin of the door... I can ensure that even the OEM speakers sound way better with just this step done, I am not blown away, but really happy with the improvement... As with the trunk, the doors still are missing one step, which is the installation of Closed Cell Foam and Neoprene... For the doors I will be using a material from Focal called BAM, it is actually deadener + CCF + Neoprene sandwiched together, so only one layer is needed, since I will be cutting part of the sheet metal of the inner skin, I don't want to install it just yet (it is a PITA to cut through deadener)

Some pictures of the door deadening:

Inner skin:

















Outer skin:

















The following is an small video clip of the sound difference between the front doors deadened and the back doors non-deadened:



Regards,
SS


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Once I got the doors and the trunk deadened and waiting on the actual speakers, sub, amps installation... I started with Stage 2, which is the deadening, road noise treatment and rattle attack on the floors and part of the dash

I have to give an special thanks to IKT for bearing with me during the whole process... This was the first time I gutted the interior of the Evo and had tons of questions on how to take her apart, thanks mate for all the advises and quick text how-to's!!!

Anyway... Let's get into it... the first step of course was to take everything out, which proof to be very time consuming if it is the first time you do it... A good piece of advice for anyone doing this is to buy a box of ziploc bags, have a notepad near you and write down where every screw and nut go, it will make the re-assembly process way easier and you won't either lose parts or have spare ones by the time you are done 

Gutting the interior:




























Taking the center console was the trickiest part of them all... In order to prevent breaking clips, I decided to take it all as one piece... Therefore, had to take the trim on top of the glove box, the glove box itself and the A/C controls out... With everything out of the car, I started laying Raamat, which is a great material to work with and way cheaper than dynamat too... It did a very good job... Some pictures of the deadening process:





































Driver floor area:










After all the deadener was applied (I couldn't do the firewall at this point in time, unluckily the dash is bolted on top of the carpet backing (noise barrier) and in order to get it out, I would have had to take the whole dash out and seemed like a little bit too much at this point in time)... Well, once the deadener was done, I applied to layers to the car, one of PS Ensolite, which is a closed cell foam with a an adhesive which makes it very easy to apply... and 1/8'' Thick neoprene, less dense than MLV (Mass Loaded Vynil), but does the job well and is lighter at the same time... I applied the Neoprene to both the floor and the back of the carpet for a total of 1/4'' thickness of noise barrier... For the ones thinking about doing this, keep in mind what each product is made for:

a) Deadener (Dynamat, Raamat, etc.) are meant to absorb and reduce "Panel Vibration", of course if the panels vibrate less, the less noise you will have... But they aren't really a noise barrier (they don't help much reducing road noise)

b) Closed Cell Foam: It is just that, Foam... and it's purpose is to act as a "decoupler" between the deadener and the noise barrier (in my case neoprene, but a lot of people recommend MLV)... It is also used between 2 panels to avoid rattles between themselves

c) Noise barrier, which could be MLV, Neoprene or that carpet padding you find OEM... It will block the external noise (as well as keep your sound inside)

A couple of pictures of PS Ensolite application, as well as Neoprene:

PS Ensolite on top of the deadener:










PS Ensolite on top of the back seat area and Neoprene on top of it in the passenger floor:



















Ensolite on the AC ducts below the seats and neoprene already in the floor:



















Covering the back part of the carpet with Neoprene:



















Carpet is back in!!!










Now... In retrospective, I shouldn't have placed Neoprene on the sides of the carpet... This made the plastic trim parts suffer to get back in place (and made me break a couple of clips of the passenger kick panel cover)... So, my suggestion is to only do it on the "floor" parts and not on the ones the "walls" of the carpet

Finally... Here is an small clip of deadened floor against non-deadened floor (keep in mind that in the non-deadened part, I am actually doing the test on top of the OEM deadening)



Of course... With the neoprene on top... There is almost no sound 

This is as far as I have gotten... Will update when I get to do the roof (this weekend)

Regards,
SS


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## crazy88 (May 2, 2012)

looking good! must sound awesome!


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## henrymo2 (Feb 19, 2011)

What a beast of a car! Can't wait to see this build, great product choices...not 100% sure about why you chose the headunit/processor combo but they are both really nice. I personally am a huge fan of audison bit one, but why do you need another processor with the dex-p99?


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

crazy88 said:


> looking good! must sound awesome!


Still working on it... But, unless psychoacoustics and the placebo effect are playing games with my head... The OEM system does sounds better with the work done so far


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

henrymo2 said:


> What a beast of a car! Can't wait to see this build, great product choices...not 100% sure about why you chose the headunit/processor combo but they are both really nice. I personally am a huge fan of audison bit one, but why do you need another processor with the dex-p99?


Well... This is the old P9... And I simply love it... It has more capability than my ears and skills can process, so it should do the trick

I also love the fact that it connects via optical cable with the processor, which allows to keep very short runs of RCAs and not worry a lot about induced noise


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## Derekj (Aug 11, 2011)

Sub'd. Looking forward to the rest of the install.

PS - is that the washer fluid bottle in the trunk?


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Derekj said:


> Sub'd. Looking forward to the rest of the install.
> 
> PS - is that the washer fluid bottle in the trunk?


Yes... It actually is and will have to figure out a way to relocate it... Filling it out is not very user friendly, lol... I also want to relocate the battery


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## Topdown (Aug 12, 2009)

subscribed... dont see many X's getting full audio treatment here, glad to see it. When I went to buy mine, they had a white Ralliart parked right next to the black Evo I ordered... I ended up driving home the white Ralliart... I couldnt resist the white, just too sexy.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

I don't care what color they were, there is no excuse for taking a Ralliart over an Evo. That's like ordering an M3 and driving home in a 335... 

If you ordered it why didn't you order it in white to begin with?


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## Topdown (Aug 12, 2009)

quality_sound said:


> I don't care what color they were, there is no excuse for taking a Ralliart over an Evo. That's like ordering an M3 and driving home in a 335...
> 
> If you ordered it why didn't you order it in white to begin with?


Really... No excuse? Maybe your right... The 2011 Ralliart with every option available (just pure luck there) was more than 13k less than the 2012 Evo X MR... and since they share the same engine, including all internals, same AWD system and the Ralliart has a larger trunk, I made a quick call to a couple of Evo owning buddies about the power difference. As it turns out, the Ralliart with 2500.00 worth of investment easily puts 300+hp 300+tq to the wheels (the stock SST trans wont take more than 350tq regularly, so its tune-limited) and passes dealer inspection as bone stock (visual inspection, tune is another story). Since I had planned on replacing the stock Evo suspension anyway, the stock Ralliart suspension comparison is a moot point since the upgrades cost the same for me. (Same goes for the Evo/Ralliart wheels, I replaced them with lightweight racing wheels) Lower insurance, equal set of creature comforts, more power for less money... then the important part, the Evo has 1/3 less trunk than the Ralliart... which turned out to be slightly more space than needed for my sub, so I still have more trunk space than an Evo.

So maybe your right, I should have spent the extra 13+k on the Evo for no real tangible gain so that I could have an "Evo", but instead I "settled" for the Ralliart, the money, cheaper insurance, more trunk space, the color and spent the difference on the upgrades I was planning on doing to the Evo anyway, only now I could afford them immediately.

Foolish as my decision may have been to some, I dont want to hijack this thread away from the build or the OP, its not often we get to see a build in these cars.


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## Datsubishi (Jan 9, 2012)

Lookin forward to this build. I own a lowly Lancer GTS but hope to one day upgrade to the EVO. The inability to get a manual trans in a RalliArt pretty much made up my decision to look towards the EVO. That and I don't plan on modding it excessively besides the stereo. But we all know how that plan usually ends up.


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## co_leonard (Aug 14, 2009)

Same as Datsubishi, I'm looking forward to the rest of your build. You've got a yummy car and yummy gear!


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

Looking forward on this build also..
On the side note, are you going to add DVD player for the P9 also?


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Topdown said:


> Really... No excuse? Maybe your right... The 2011 Ralliart with every option available (just pure luck there) was more than 13k less than the 2012 Evo X MR... and since they share the same engine, including all internals, same AWD system and the Ralliart has a larger trunk, I made a quick call to a couple of Evo owning buddies about the power difference. As it turns out, the Ralliart with 2500.00 worth of investment easily puts 300+hp 300+tq to the wheels (the stock SST trans wont take more than 350tq regularly, so its tune-limited) and passes dealer inspection as bone stock (visual inspection, tune is another story). Since I had planned on replacing the stock Evo suspension anyway, the stock Ralliart suspension comparison is a moot point since the upgrades cost the same for me. (Same goes for the Evo/Ralliart wheels, I replaced them with lightweight racing wheels) Lower insurance, equal set of creature comforts, more power for less money... then the important part, the Evo has 1/3 less trunk than the Ralliart... which turned out to be slightly more space than needed for my sub, so I still have more trunk space than an Evo.
> 
> So maybe your right, I should have spent the extra 13+k on the Evo for no real tangible gain so that I could have an "Evo", but instead I "settled" for the Ralliart, the money, cheaper insurance, more trunk space, the color and spent the difference on the upgrades I was planning on doing to the Evo anyway, only now I could afford them immediately.
> 
> Foolish as my decision may have been to some, I dont want to hijack this thread away from the build or the OP, its not often we get to see a build in these cars.


Congratulations on the Ralliart... I had a chance to drive one not so long ago and they are really fun cars and very mod friendly... Regarding the differences with the EVO, you make it sound like there aren't 13k worth of difference between them and I disagree slightly 

They don't have the same AWD system, the Evo has Active Yaw Control, which is lacking in the Ralliart, you also get a wider track which of course helps a lot with the handling part that you would have a hard time fitting in the Ralliart due to the difference in the fenders (which are wider in the Evo)... Finally you have a couple more important differences, mainly the brakes (Brembos on the Evo), Single Scroll Turbo in the Ralliart vs. Twin Scroll in the Evo and the SST's are mainly the same, but with different programming (the Evo has S-Sport and Launch Control)... The Evo also has better suspension "out of the box"...

Been said all of the above, at the end of the day... It depends on what the car will be used for... In reality, in an straight line the Ralliart could be faster than an Evo for not a huge investment... If you are interested in track days or autocross, you might be better off with the Evo... I love mine, but I'm sure I would enjoy a Ralliart as much

Please share pics of yours! And interior wise, it's the same platform, so looking forward to your comments and opinions


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Datsubishi said:


> Lookin forward to this build. I own a lowly Lancer GTS but hope to one day upgrade to the EVO. The inability to get a manual trans in a RalliArt pretty much made up my decision to look towards the EVO. That and I don't plan on modding it excessively besides the stereo. But we all know how that plan usually ends up.


Once you get the mod bug... You are in trouble! Haha... I also thought about not modding at all and the plans now include a build engine, with modified head and new turbo


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

co_leonard said:


> Same as Datsubishi, I'm looking forward to the rest of your build. You've got a yummy car and yummy gear!


Thanks leonard! I am enjoying the car a lot and I hope I will be happy with how it sounds once I am done with it


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

kyheng said:


> Looking forward on this build also..
> On the side note, are you going to add DVD player for the P9 also?


Nope... Not adding the DVD player... I don't see myself watching movies in the car, lol

What I would love to do though, is to find a way to connect an Ipod/Iphone or another type of music storage device to it... Not sure how yet


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

An small update... Already got a set of spare door panels, that way I can work on fitting the 8'' midbass in the doors and keep the stockers in the car (also, if I mess them up, it won't be a total loss)...

I also bought some suede to do the headliner and pillar trim covers... I will also be upholstering the new door panels once they are done... I am trying to find how-to's on upholstery but haven't been lucky

Finally, I am waiting on some more material to finish the deadening (I run out, ha!)

Regards,
SS


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## Datsubishi (Jan 9, 2012)

SmallSoldier said:


> Once you get the mod bug... You are in trouble! Haha... I also thought about not modding at all and the plans now include a build engine, with modified head and new turbo


I'm hoping I can get away with one track car and have something fast, but a lot more comfortable than the old Datsun 510 for the street. Datsun is pretty heavily modded for the track, currently with no stereo in it. Still
Gets tons of looks on the street, but your ears buzz after a good run, and it ain't from the concert sound inside. 

I guess the EVO would end up on the track too, but hopefully it would be fun enough. My mildly modded GTS just isn't as fun as the rear driver. We'll see how it feels with some Tein adjustable coil overs in it. But it "needs" those to look good and be fun. Right? 

That's not the bug. Right?


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Datsubishi said:


> I'm hoping I can get away with one track car and have something fast, but a lot more comfortable than the old Datsun 510 for the street. Datsun is pretty heavily modded for the track, currently with no stereo in it. Still
> Gets tons of looks on the street, but your ears buzz after a good run, and it ain't from the concert sound inside.
> 
> I guess the EVO would end up on the track too, but hopefully it would be fun enough. My mildly modded GTS just isn't as fun as the rear driver. We'll see how it feels with some Tein adjustable coil overs in it. But it "needs" those to look good and be fun. Right?
> ...


Well my friend... I believe you are in trouble... Deep trouble

If you are already thinking about fitting coils to a GTS, I can only imagine what you would end up doing with an Evo on your hands... My EVO is not a build track car, but it is fun enough for open track days and autocross... Audio build and competitive racing don't go hand on hand, haha

I may be buying an Evo VIII for track purposes, but the wife is against any toys for at least the next 15 months... why 15?... We have a 9 month old baby (first one) and I am not allowed new toys until she turns 2 :mean:... That doesn't mean I can't work on the current ones :laugh:


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## kyheng (Jan 31, 2007)

SmallSoldier said:


> Nope... Not adding the DVD player... I don't see myself watching movies in the car, lol
> 
> What I would love to do though, is to find a way to connect an Ipod/Iphone or another type of music storage device to it... Not sure how yet


CD-IB100 or CD-UB100 is the add ons you need to get....
Beware, they are old school stuffs and not easy to get...
I started of with DEX-P9 then CD-UB100, follow by SDV-P7 and now with XDV-P6....


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## Topdown (Aug 12, 2009)

SmallSoldier said:


> Congratulations on the Ralliart... I had a chance to drive one not so long ago and they are really fun cars and very mod friendly... Regarding the differences with the EVO, you make it sound like there aren't 13k worth of difference between them and I disagree slightly
> 
> They don't have the same AWD system, the Evo has Active Yaw Control, which is lacking in the Ralliart, you also get a wider track which of course helps a lot with the handling part that you would have a hard time fitting in the Ralliart due to the difference in the fenders (which are wider in the Evo)... Finally you have a couple more important differences, mainly the brakes (Brembos on the Evo), Single Scroll Turbo in the Ralliart vs. Twin Scroll in the Evo and the SST's are mainly the same, but with different programming (the Evo has S-Sport and Launch Control)... The Evo also has better suspension "out of the box"...
> 
> ...


all too true, AYC is an X problem not a RA problem . The RA has identical transmission to the MR *except for ratios*, same front end, front diff and transfer case... only the rear on the RA is a mechanical limited slip, and is significantly stronger than the X. Not that I will ever need the added strength as I will rarely, if ever, track the vehicle... maybe once or twice just to see what she'll do in the corners.

The biggest drawback is the brakes, your dead-on there. to upgrade to a comparable system is around 3k to upgrade to the corvette Z06 brakes. for me, not worth it for the 1-2 times having something better than an upgraded rotor and pad isnt enough.

As a daily driver though, I couldnt be happier and congrats on your X, If you get half as much enjoyment out of it as i have my RA, you'll never look back.


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## mklett33 (Dec 7, 2009)

You mentioned not covering the back of the carpet, you can get away with it, the trick to fitment is removing the cut out pieces shown in the upper right of this picture. 










They are typically held on by a minimal amount of hot glue, if you pull those and put them in their respective places in the car, then line the carpet and put the carpet back in it will help with your fitment issues. The only reason those pieces are even glued to the carpet is for ease of assembly at the plant and for stacking purposes of multiple carpet systems before assembly.

I only know this because a previous company I worked for supplied the carpet systems to Mitsubishi. The tolerances in thickness should allow for the extra 1/8 inch, following the advice above and obviously cutting to the same outline. 

Good job though, looks nice


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## speakerpimp (Feb 15, 2012)

Great thread so far, the damping job is stellar. Looking forward to seeing how this evo turns out.


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Thanks to all for the nice comments... It has been way too cold to work in the garage and even with a heater I got from Lowe's, it is still not very inviting to be there for a long period of time... Nevertheless, I got a chance to work on the roof... Which now has the same 3 layers as the floor... Dynamat Superlite, PS Ensolite and Neoprene... In this case, I used 1/4'' since I will only be placing one layer

I will be posting PICs and a couple of sound clips tomorrow... Needless to say, there is a huge difference... The roof is an aluminum roof and it was bare, absolutely nothing in terms of deadening and the headliner quality is... let's say that I want to think that Mitsubishi wanted to keep the weight as low as possible and it isn't great by any means

While I had the headliner and all pillar covers out, I decided that it was a good opportunity to re-do them and upholster them (a job that I have never done in my life)... Needless to say, I messed it up

I used a material from 3M Yellow (8090) that is supposed to be really strong... The problem is that I ended over spraying it (the instructions recommend a minimum of 2 layers on each surface and I applied around 6 per layer) and the Suede that I was using got ruined, the glue went trough it and you can see the spots on it... Any advise? I really need help 

I will be buying more Suede next week to finish the project (I can't place my headliner back in looking all yellow from the first try), I took the suede out before it dried up to avoid tearing it up and destroying the headliner... Help, please?

Thanks,
SS


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Good morning!

Well... Even though it has been really cold lately, I managed to keep on working in the car and continue the deadening process... It was time to do the roof of the car and it wasn't really hard to get it done (probably just a little time consuming)

For the ones that might try to do this in a Lancer, the following are the steps to remove the headliner:

(Note: You don't have to take the pillars out completely, in reality, probably the B pillar could stay in its place too, but I removed all of the pillars because I was planning on working on them too)

a) Take the C-Pillars and A-Pillars out: Pretty simple and in both cases, it's the same procedure. Start by pulling from the top of the pillar towards the interior of the car... Here comes the tricky and PITA part, there is a rubber clip that holds the pillar so that in the event the airbags deploy, the pillar won't become a projectile inside of your car... Twist it around until you can get it out... Then it is just a matter of pulling towards the front of the vehicle for the C-Pillars and back of the vehicle for the A-Pillars to completely take them out

b) Take the dome lights: The dome light on top of the rear view mirror just needs to be pulled down (4 metal clips are keeping it in place)... you will also have to undo 2 wire harnesses (one is for the Bluetooth mic and the other one for the lights themselves)... For the dome lights in the center of the headliner, you will have to open the clear cover of the dome light, this will expose 2 screws that are keeping it in place... Get the screws out and just pull it out

c) Before we take the rest of the parts, it is time to take the front seats... Especially in an EVO, since we don't have removable headrests... In retrospective, removing the bottom part of the back seat might help a bit, but is not needed at all... Once the seats are out, make sure to also take the driver seat belt bolt out (the passenger seat belt is attached to the seat, so that one will be out already)

d) Now that the Front seats are out, it easier to take the B-Pillars out... First pull the bottom trim part towards the center of the vehicle, then with a flat screw driver or trim tool, pull on the sides of the small circular cover on the upper part of the B-Pillar... Now we will need a 10mm socket to take 2 screws out, one in the top (where the circular cover was) and one in the bottom (that was covered by the bottom trim panel) and just take the pillars out

e) Now we will take the sun visors out, pretty straight forward... the clip where the visor "hangs" was an SOB to take out... I ended up using a big set of pliers to pull it out, with minor cosmetic damage to them 

f) There are 2 clips close the rear window, pop those out

g) Final pieces to take out are the "Oh ****" handles... Just pull them down, there are plastic lids covering the screws, unscrew and they are out

h) Time to take the headliner out... What I did (after several tries) was to take it out through the driver side back door, it was the easiest way to do it... Some help might be welcomed to do this and afraid someone comes out with a better technique, you will end bending it a bit (some nasty noises of it breaking will be heard, but you won't really be damaging it... Just be careful and patient)

With the Headliner out, I finally had access to the roof... Which as you can see in the next picture, is absolutely bare and been aluminum it even deforms itself while going through the dryers of a car wash










After a layer of Dynamat Superlite (it was pretty cold in the garage... between 17F and 21F, so I had I did "warmed" up the material with a heat gun before applying it










Once the whole roof was deadened, I applied a couple more layers where I could still hear big resonances (I applied additional at the center of the each roof panel... I considered the roof as 2 panels divided by the center beam)... PS Ensolite was applied on top of the Dynamat:










Afterwards, I applied a layer of 1/4'' Thick Neoprene... I attached it to the PS Ensolite using heavy duty double sided tape (My car was without the headliner for 6 days and it never fell off, so now that the headliner is holding it, I don't expect any issues)

A couple of clips of the sound difference before and after the deadening project:

Before any deadener:



After the deadener:



Regards,
SS

EDIT: No idea why the pictures are all sideways... I tried to correct them in photobucket, but it isn't working


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Since I had the headliner and the Pillars out, I thought it would be a good idea to improve the interior a little bit so I decided to wrap it up with Suede 

I have to admit that I went through several yards of mistakes while doing this... The biggest ones were:

a) Over spray: I was using a very heavy duty material recommended by my friend Pete (IKT) 3M 8090, but I ended applying too much of it and didn't adjusted the nozzle for the amount of spray and it went through the fabric and had this nasty glue spots on it

b) I used the wrong material for the headliner... In my first attempt, I used material that didn't had backing... Went back to the fabric store and got one intended for Headliners that actually has a foam backing in it

Non backing material:










Material with foam:










What I did was to do it in sections... Laid out the material on top of the headliner and applied glue to both, the headliner and the material... Then when it came time to do the other half, I made sure to pull about 1 inch of the material already glued and applied glue to that section in the middle as well as well as the other half of it... I left about 2 inches of material in each end to wrap it around










Headliner glued:










Wrapping it:



















Headliner finished!










Then it was time to wrap the pillars... For some of the complex curves, my advice is to stretch it out as much as possible and then apply some cuts with scissors to relieve tension and allow you to go through the curves... I used 3M 90 for the pillars and the non-backed Suede for it... The 3M 90 gave me a better spray pattern to avoid glue going through the fabric.

I also used a lot of plastic to cover the work bench were I was working... What happened to me is that I was spraying glue on the bench and then when sitting the parts on it for stretching and wrapping, I was getting that glue on the material!!! So I just used the plastic and threw it away after each time I would spray glue to avoid damaging the fabric (I threw away a couple of pieces because of this... So be careful!




























All the Pillars wrapped in Suede:










Keep in mind that it was the first time I ever tried to do any upholstery job... The material ended pretty tight around the pillars, I believe it looks pretty good

Finally, some pictures of the Pillars and Headliner back in the car... You will notice that some of the plastic pieces are still in their OEM grey color... I tried to plastidip them, but I didn't got good results and when I compared the black color pieces with the grey looking pieces, I liked the contrast of the grey with the Suede way more than the black (and I didn't wanted to plastidip my sun visors and didn't knew how to wrap them in Suede either... So, at least there is some consistency in the car), the pics show the grey pieces way lighter than they really are because of the flash and the crappy Iphone camera... The "Oh ****" handles will be installed this afternoon (needed the car to come to work and it was pretty late when I finished installing everything else yesterday)

Pics of the new interior:




























Now is time to work on the doors and try to fit the 8'' midbass drivers in there... I don't know when I will start work on those, but needs to be a little warmer than it is right now!... At least above 32 

As always, all comments and advises are more than welcomed!

Regards,
SS


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## Topdown (Aug 12, 2009)

Looks fantastic!


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## Datsubishi (Jan 9, 2012)

Looking forward to the shoehorn into the doors. I'm planning on doing upgrades to the highs and sub stage before attacking doors like that on my GTS, so I'll let u do the learning for us. Looks awesome so far!


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

awesome stuff so far dude! great job starting on the deadener! 

it makes a big difference!


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## prettysweetsounds (Jul 26, 2011)

I'm really into that headliner/pillar work you did. Looks great


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Topdown said:


> Looks fantastic!


Thanks! I am actually loving the new feel and look of the Suede on the Pillars and Headliner


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

Datsubishi said:


> Looking forward to the shoehorn into the doors. I'm planning on doing upgrades to the highs and sub stage before attacking doors like that on my GTS, so I'll let u do the learning for us. Looks awesome so far!


Thanks Datsubishi... I am thinking about 2 options for the installation of the midbass in the doors and haven't made up my mind yet

a) I was thinking about doing a sealed enclosure with Fiberglass for the MW172's, but I am afraid that I won't end up with enough volume and will have some nasty pics in the midbass section

b) Just install them free air attached to the door card and let them protrude enough to clear the door card... This should simplify the modifications to the door card too and make it easier... By doing this, I may be able to keep the pocket in the door to store some things (like CD cases)

So far I am inclining for option B, but it will also mean that I will have to cut the sheet metal in the door and that freaks me out a little bit :blush:

As soon as I start tackling them, I will post some pictures... I can just say that I measured the spacers that I would need and it seems I will need spacers of at least 3'' deep!


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

req said:


> awesome stuff so far dude! great job starting on the deadener!
> 
> it makes a big difference!


It does!... I wasn't sure how much the deadening on the roof would help, but it has made it a lot quieter during commuting... I have to admit that I am impressed with how much improvement I got from the OEM system with just the deadening job and can't wait to hear it with an actual system in place

Regarding the deadening... I still have a couple of things in my to do list:

a) Finish the trunk (it only has deadener and I still have to install the Ensolite and Neoprene... Waiting on figuring out how to relocate the windshield wiper fluid tank first)

b) Work on the rear doors... I haven't deaden them at all, it will be interesting to see if the car gets even quieter inside once that is done and my first guess is that it will... I will be doing that this weekend for sure

c) Deaden the fenders... When I was working on the floor, I realized that there was no way I could properly deaden the kick panel area without rerouting all of the cables in there (Fusebox is there too)... A job that I won't dare to tackle... So the idea is to take the fenders out and deaden them from the inside, which means taking the bumper and tires out as well

Thanks!


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## SmallSoldier (Aug 8, 2007)

prettysweetsounds said:


> I'm really into that headliner/pillar work you did. Looks great


It wasn't really hard and for what it was, it wasn't that expensive either... The material was about 25 dollars per yard... 3 yards should do the trick for the headliner and I would get 2 yards for the pillars... I spent about 30 dollars on glue... So approximately 150 in materials and your time in labor

It was the first time I did any type of upholstery job, so if you are patient, I am sure you can do it and most probably way better than I did


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## mklett33 (Dec 7, 2009)

Suede turned out nice, good job!


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## strakele (Mar 2, 2009)

Any updates?


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Yes as it seems this build dropped off suddenly.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Agreed! I never saw this build and it looked like it would have turned out great! I like the suede stuff.


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## sirsleepsalot (Mar 1, 2007)

I'd love to see the rest of the build as I'm doing a build in an Evo X myself.


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## sk8ter4life (Jun 25, 2013)

wow u are really doing the whole car! thanks I am going to start w/ the headliner on my evo x. I want to see how much quieter I can make it, but probably not doing the whole car. Just enough to notice the difference.


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