Summer is well and truly here in Okinawa, with the temperatures rising and the sun shining. Checked the weather report at 9am this morning and was told that it was 31°C but that it felt “like 36°C”. Thankfully the humidity was only 70% and a sea breeze coming through my apartment managed to keep me [...]
As I stated previously, I received a review copy of How to Build Max-Performance Mitsubishi 4G63T Engines just 4 days after I had destroyed piston 3 in my engine. So I really could have picked a better time to pick up this book, take a read and give you all my opinions on it.
The main target audience of this book is people who own an early Evo or a DSM and are looking to up the power a little (or a lot). As the book itself states, “this is not a manual for rebuilding your stock engine” and states that this should be used as a guide in conjunction with a factory workshop manual or other guides to the cars. Saying that though, the book does go into a fair bit of detail on its topics. Having written a beginners’ guide to reading compressor maps myself, I was pleased to read Robert’s write-up on it – the latter being aimed at a slightly more advanced level than my own coverage.
The book starts with an introduction to the 4G63 engine in its various guises, and while it gives a nice little history of the engine, there are some inaccuracies when it comes to the early Evos ad the differences between them. I understand this is a book written in the US where there are very few early Evos around, but in the days of the internet it seems to be a little lazy. One thing I didn’t like (and again because this is catered for the US market) is that later on in the books the cars are described either as DSMs (1G or 2G) or Evos, the latter referring only to the Evo VIII and IX. This is because the Evo VIII was the first to be introduced to the US market and I can understand the terminology. But it should have been stated initially that “DSM” refers to the 1G, 2G and early Evos.
The book covers all aspects of upgrading your 4G63T engine, in a pretty logical manner. I think the turbo section could have come after the fuelling and possibly tuning section, but I think that is due to the DSM community’s first thoughts when they pick up one of their cars to upgrade the tiny turbos they are equipped with. We start with basic bolt-on modifications, running through fuelling & supporting modifications all the way through to choosing forged engine internals if you’re going for a powerful rebuild. Each section also makes suggestions on parts you might want to install, but they are merely suggestions and you never get the feeling that the book is trying to sell you a specific part. This can be a hard medium to achieve and I am pleased to say this book has managed it.
One part I had to disagree with was the section on blow-off valves. The book states that a blow-off valve and a bypass valve are 2 completely different things, but doesn’t note that almost everyone will refer to them as blow-off valves or “dump valves”. What the book should be focusing on is the difference between blow-off valves recirculating air back into the intake vs venting the air to the atmosphere. Seeing a picture of my blow-off valve next to an illustration which states “A BOV on a stock car is a recipe for poor running, and it’s not needed” is very misleading
The sections I really took a lot from were the Turbo & Intercooler section, and the two sections on the engine internals. The book takes pains to explain things like volumetric efficiency and its consequences, the importance of a good torquing sequence for tightening headstuds and the value of port flow and a good polishing job on your cylinder head. It’s all stuff that you could probably find out online, but this book brings everything together nicely.
Despite a couple of inaccuracies and the very odd spelling error (“loose” vs “lose”), this is a very good book. I would have no hesitation in recommending How to Build Max-Performance Mitsubishi 4G63T Engines to both beginners and experienced tuners who have or work with the early Evo or a 1G/2G DSM. Check it out if you get the chance.
Tags: 4g63, 4g63t, book review, books, Cars, evo, featured, lancer evolution, mitsubishi, road/race engineering, robert bowen, robert garcia
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May 3rd, 2009 at 04:25
so do you reckon a novice (like me) could rebuild a 4G63 with this book, dave?
May 3rd, 2009 at 08:42
mikek – Definitely not do a rebuild with this book on its own, but the book could go a long way in helping you plan your rebuild or the upgrade route you might want to take with your car.
May 3rd, 2009 at 17:49
thanks, Dave. I have a spare evo3 engine stored and would love to rebuild it myself, more or less standard. Oh well.
May 14th, 2009 at 23:18
Hello Dave,
I am planning to do some upgrades on my engine but I would like to know what the difference between a 4g63 and 4g63t engine. I have a 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse with a 4g63 engine and watching the picture on the cover of the magazine,4g63t seems to be a completely different engine that I have.Will this magazina be a good choice for me?
Appreciate your attention,
Wellington Nelsen, from Brazil
May 15th, 2009 at 00:29
Wellington – Thanks for your comment. To be honest though, I am not sure this book will be for you unless you are thinking of doing a turbo conversion for your engine. I am not so familiar with the differences or similarities between the N/A and turbocharged versions of the 4G63 engine, but most of the modifications in the book seem to be catered towards a turbocharged engine.
Hope that gives you a little information.
May 15th, 2009 at 03:13
Hello Dave,
yes, my eclipse is factory turbocharged. On the engine firawall it shows a 4g63 engine. It has 213hp from factory, but has 105000 Km and is starting do smoke. I think is because of the valves gasket and as I’ll have to fix the engine, I tought about change some parts to have about 50 to 100 extra hp.
May 15th, 2009 at 08:04
Wellington – Ahhh, right. I thought when you were talking about the “t” in the engine number, you meant that your car was naturally aspirated. If it’s turbocharged then definitely get a copy of this book. It will help you plan your upgrades to get you that extra hp you need safely.