I call my 2013 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR Project Five because it’s my fifth Evo. Once I’d finished the exhaust work and tuning, I turned my attention to the Evo X suspension. I wanted sharper steering and more grip in corners. This is the same car I drove in my comparison with the 2015 Subaru WRX STI.

Getting the Evo X Suspension Right

The cheaper coilovers on my 2008 Evo X bounced around town. I didn’t realize how much I’d been putting up with until I put the factory suspension back on before trading it in. For the 2013, I called Chad Block at CBRD Speedfactory.

We went with Öhlins Road & Track coilovers, 10 kg/mm springs front and rear, and a 25-millimeter Perrin rear sway bar with end links. I kept the drop modest to preserve suspension travel and ground clearance. I settled on the bar’s middle setting. The car rode firmer, the low-speed bounce was gone, and the rear followed the front more readily through a corner.

The Öhlins kit lets you adjust damping and ride height separately. Damping controls how the suspension moves when the wheel hits a bump and how it settles afterward. Ride height determines how low the car sits. That separation gives you room to tune the ride while keeping the ground clearance you need on the street.

Making Room for More Tire

I fitted 18-by-9.5-inch Rays Gram Lights 57Xtreme wheels with 22 millimeters of positive offset and 265/35R18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports. The tires cleared the rear fender liners on my car without any fender rolling.

Wheel offset measures how far the mounting face sits from the wheel’s centerline. When you go wider, check the clearance on both sides. The inside edge needs room near the suspension, and the outside edge needs room under the fender. A wheel width and tire size alone can’t tell you where those edges will sit.

With the wider tires on, the car had more grip than I’d hoped for. I could carry more speed through a corner and felt more confident doing it.

Project Five Photo Gallery