Major Modifications Robispec Clubsport KW Variant 3 coilovers; Hotchkis front and rear swaybars, bumpsteer kit; Whiteline front and rear adjustable camber plates, roll center adjusters; StopTech six-piston 355mm front brakes, four-piston 345mm rear brakes, pads; AMS intercooler and piping; Harman Motive exhaust; Cosworth cams; re-programmed valve timing; 18x9.5 Volk Racing RE30 wheels; 165/35-18 Yokohama Advan AD08 tires
Tyler Mcquarrie Power delivery felt good, but its soft spring rate and big sway bar setup gave it a unique feel. Because of the soft set up, the car tended to move around a bit under braking, but had the best grip from turn-in to apex. It felt like the outside front was being driven into the pavement, which is a great feel to have as a driver. The brakes were great, and allowed for braking to start much later.
Stephan Verdier With a comfortable spring rate, softer ride, and no problem over the curbs, this car's only downfall was that it felt a little lazy in the esses--could have been the tires, or maybe the springs were a bit too soft. Awesome brakes, though--no fading, great feel when on the pedal, and consistent. Well-balanced in high-speed corners, the car felt really predictable with almost no understeer.
Major Modification AMS bolt-on turbo upgrade kit, intercooler piping, exhaust, bumpsteer kit, rollcenter adjusters; ECUtek-reflashed ECU, tuned by AMS; JRZ RS Pro coilovers; StopTech brakes; custom swaybars; 19x10.5 Enkei RPF-1 wheels; 275/35-18 NT01 tires
Tyler Mcquarrie This car had the best power, hands down! The brakes were great and the car turned-in very good, but seemed to understeer too much just before the apex. The understeer seemed to be stemming from a tire pressure issue (no pun intended) which seemed to go away under throttle. The car felt awesome on the exit of a corner and its little mid-corner understeer issue didn't change the fact that this car was easily the fastest on the clock.
Stephan Verdier This was my favorite car, handling-wise. It felt better in the esses and had a little more body roll due to softer sway bars--which I liked on Buttonwillow, with all its elevation changes--and felt like the inside wheel kept better contact. It understeered a little, exiting a corner, but that may have been due to tire pressure. Power was higher than the other EVO Xs, but had more lag; I had to keep the revs high to be in the power band.
After everything was said and done, AMS' EVO X came out on top, with the fastest lap time of the day--a 1:56.871. Right after this event finished (no doubt, partly inspired by Tyler's and Stephan's criticism) the AMS boys went back to Chicago and proceeded to tear their EVO X apart in preparation for Unlimited Class Super Lap Battle competition. Their next trip back to the California desert won't be for another year, at which time they'll have set their EVO's sites on the HKS CT230R's record-holding time. And make or break, as always, 2NR will be there to catch it all unfold.