PERFORMANCE

WWe’ve seen some hardcore Evo enthusiasts in our time, but not many who are as dedicated to evolving and developing the Evo lineup as Shoneel Ram. You see, this isn’t Shoneel’s first Evo, and it also isn’t his first time modifying the 4G63T engine. Shoneel has a love for the Evo line-up like no other, but his real passion lies in modifying the first incarnation of each chassis platform to make them perform better than that of the last. Take his previous Evo IV, for example, which was extensively modified to outperform the Evo VI.

Following on with the first incarnation theme, Shoneel sold the Evo IV and replaced it with a later model Evo VII — the first of the CT9A chassis — with the hope of one day building an Evo IX beater. The build didn’t start off immediately, as Shoneel wanted to enjoy the relatively stock example for a while as he explains, “I bought this Evo pretty much bone stock because I wanted a clean platform to start the build with. I drove it with minor bolt-ons for roughly two years and enjoyed the feel of driving a stock Evo after driving and owning my modified Evo IV for so long.” With that being said, the modification bug was pestering Shoneel to get to work. “Slowly but surely I felt the need for speed, so I planned the whole build for about half a year and then proceeded with my plans. The initial build was a simple reflash of the ECU, fuel pump upgrade, and Kinugawa TD06-25G turbo, but as time went by the

POWER: 443kW (594hp) on 30psi of boost with E85

plans started to evolve as 300kW (402hp) just wasn’t enough,” stated Shoneel. With the initial power output now insufficient, the TD06-25G turbo was binned as it was evident the turbine housing would now be a major restriction in the quest for 400kW.

With an ambitious power goal in mind and not wanting to sacrifice streetability, it was decided extra capacity would be essential to spool a larger frame turbo. Wanting everything built correctly the first time, Shoneel enlisted Possum Bourne Motorsport for the engine build as they’d completed more WRX and Evo builds than you can shake a stick at. First off, a set of 85.5mm CP stroker–forged pistons, Manley 100mm– forged stroker crankshaft, and Manley-forged rods were purchased as they’re essential to get the capacity up to a much needed 2300cc, and compression up to 9.8:1. With the block now more or less bulletproof, the head was ported and polished in-house at Possum Bourne Motorsport and a set of Kelford 272 degree cams with Tomei adjustable cam gears were dropped in. At this stage you’re probably wondering what turbo Shoneel required to warrant these modifications and you’d be correct in thinking it was something gargantuan. After seeking advice from several tuners, Shoneel finally decided on a BorgWarner EFR 8374 with a 1.05A/R rear housing and dual ceramic ball bearings — a gnarly unit for sure — which sits on a beefy Sinco manifold. As torque and response were the main criteria for the build, the Evo has been set up to run both E85 and 98 pump gas and every combination in between, thanks to the