What do you guys think I could do to get rid of low end bog? I heard that since I have a CAI and cat back, a tune up would help a lot and eliminate the problem. Does that sound right? After 3000 rpms everything is great, but off the line it sucks. I may just drop in an a viper engine :460:

The CAI is the reason you have that low end bog. CAI's are better in the mid-range to upper RPM bands. Grab yourself RRM's V2 pulley, that should remedy SOME of the low end bog.

As for the exhaust, don't do a muffler delete (Works AB Exhale). Mufflers provide back pressure and help low end torque. Removing the muffler will only add more to the infamous bog.

The tune-up won't help with the bog though, it's a brand new car. You already have a new air filter, the only real thing you could do is grab some new plugs, but the stock iridium plugs are good enough as is. Pulstar's do add some pep, but SixFeetDeep had some issues with the car idling funny.

Yep, the Pulstar Pulse plugs were nice & did help with some added go-go....but they didn't last. So away they went.

As time goes on, more mods will be out for the Lancer to help with the low end grunt. Waiting stinks...but soon enough they will be here.

Willy, your killin me here...NO Exhale AB???? :grin:

Maybe RRM's version 2 lightweight pulley?

If you've got a cat, that will be plenty of backpressure. If you run an exhaust straight out of the engine you will kill your low end. So a muffler like willy said... leave it on

Willy I am confused... refering to the CAI are you saying that a less restrictive intake makes you bog down more in the lower end? I thought CAIs and anything that helps your air flow would help with torque even in the lower end

Physics lesson! Warm air makes it easier for fuel to combust, cold air hinders it. When you are at a dead stop and you punch it, the car needs to go from idle to active combustion (or I2AC for short) in a split second and so, it needs to combust more fuel to make the car GO. If your intake was pulling in warm air (SRI), it would combust faster, reducing your I2AC time, and your car would pick up quicker. However, if you were pulling cold air (CAI), your car would need more time to combust, thus bogging you down off the line.

It depends on the intake. Cold air is the best for mid-range RPMs. In this range, since your car is already actively combusting the fuel, adding cold air to a pre-existing combustion will boost performance. Warm air is better for low-range RPMs which makes them great for CVTs since they are slow off the line (they, not we... if I said we, that would include me... and I am not slow off the line ;) )

Hope this clears things up.


I wanted to ask you... did you keep the plugs at the stock gap? If you increase the gap, you also increase the voltage output which may have contributed to the severely decreased lifespan. Any decent spark plug should last at least 50,000 miles.

And don't worry about my comment about the exhale. Losing back pressure just means you are slower off the line... and with your "mad driving skills", you'll have no problem adjusting. :grin:

I believe I used .038 or .040


G-R-E-A-T.......my car will be even SLOWER off the line now???!!!!
Wouldn't ya know....just my luck.

I'll let you know maybe Tuesday or Wednesday when I have time to install everything.

adding a header will further enhance the low end. the workings of the CAI are that air temp remains low or what ever outside temp is. The ram effect of airflow is why the gains of a CAI perform on average better then Short Ram systems.

On the flip side, SRI provide a better unrestricted flow of air into the engine. problem is under the hood temps ran be very hot. cold air is denser then hot air. cumulatively speaking. those degrees of different add up to losses in engine cumbustion efficiency in the mid to high RPM range. the only advantage SRI's have consistantly shown is a performance benefit in the low and some times mid range. a CAI will overtake a short ram from the mid to highs.

for different cars, different engines, stock setups this will vary. but on average, I think I can say with confidence the above is true. When it comes down to it, if i had to drive a distant war zone and could only bring 3 things, I would bring my AK 47, Booze, and a CAI. an intake is cheap, Quick and Dirty and generally doesnt disapoint.

thats my two cents

I think you were supposed to keep the stock gap. I knew the Mitsubishi service manual would come in handy!

"The new plugs should be checked for the proper gap. Spark plug gap: 0.7 − 0.8 mm (0.028 − 0.031 inch)"

A wider gap means the plug has to work harder, working harder means a stronger spark, but it also means reduced life. Maybe the gap was too large?

As for being slower off the line, I took another look at the dyno for the Exhale. Apparantely, it still produces more HP and TQ throughout the 2000 to 6000 bands. So you might not be slower after all! But it doesn't show anything from 750 to 2000 which is where you normally pick up.

I used the rec. gap from Pulstar. I called & asked the company when I did it & I asked EVOSOUL & he confirmed it.

unfortunately you can go as small as .025 or as large as .044 it will not resolve the unstable idle, that can only be resolved with aftermarket piggyback tuning. or a reflash map. I will speak with Enerpulse (makers of pulstar) if they would consider sponsoring my R&D to create an optimized map and ignition firing advance that will correct the problem and further bring more TQ out of the plug.

Do it! Do it! Do it! Then this will something i could get in my car.

If they can get things together.....I would def. give them another try :thumbsup: