Erni902 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Hey guys, Just thought I would post up a quick thread with reference to my Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4. My VR-4 ownership started back in 2011 when I purchased my first one. For those that do not know the Legnum's or VR-4's they are basically a Mitsubishi Galant. They were only released in Japan and were never released in any other country hence you dont see many round. The estate versions were badged in Japan as Legnum. The engines released over here only went up to a 2.5 V6 NA and only front wheel drive. The VR-4's were only released in Japan and had a 6A13TT engine. This was a 2.5 V6 Twin Turbo lump pushing out 276bhp. (The early models had 260bhp). These were also complimented with an AWD system and the AYC (Active Yaw COntrol) system that we now find on the EVO's. In fact there are many parts that are interchangeable with the EVO's (4-8 most commonly and certain parts from 9 and 10). In estate form these things are an absolute beast, weighing in at around only 100kg's more than the 350Z they can make it down the 1/4 in 14.7 seconds stock and at 18yrs old! A slight increase of boost can see these times reduced to low 14's and with uprated intercooler, panel filters, exhaust and stainless downpipes these can easily drop down to 13.6 seconds. I ran a 13.6 without the ECU being fully mapped and power output was around 302bhp but after fettling with the stock ECU you can see 340bhp and these times will be lowered once again. Due to the AYC and the AWD these cars are not just handy in a straight line. The speeds you can carry through corners are insane and when you feel the back end letting go you simply point the front wheels toward the exit of the corner and floor the throttle. The AYC does its thing as the back end wiggles to get itself straightened up and then it unleashes the power to all wheels and you get catapulted out the corner and the feeling is something else indeed. Anyway enough write up, Im sure you all just skipped that anyway and are bored as hell so here are the pics: First car I bought and how she sat at the time: I had a few iterations of wheels etc so here are some during: Upgraded the brakes to Brembos off an Evo 8 and had to change the wheels, bought a facelift bonnet (more Aggressive) already wrapped in Satin Anthracite and liked it so matched the wheels to it and had the Brembos refurbed and colour matched to the car. The bottom end on the original engine went so replaced that This is how she ended up: I took her to Santa Pod not so long after I got her in fairly standard form and was up against a gorgeous RX-7. Thought I would get annihilated but not only did I beat him off the line I beat him over the 1/4 mile by about 0.5 seconds. He swiftly approached me to see what the hell I had under the bonnet: Anyway a few years later and a little rust in the usual spots had appeared. I saved a 2nd VR-4 from the scrappy and the bodywork was in cracking condition (been garaged for the previous 6yrs) Owner was getting rid due to back problems and not being able to work on it himself he couldnt afford to pay someone for the maintenance. I picked it up at a bargain price as the MEOT had run out and needed a few bits doing to get it to pass. Took it back, changed a wheel bearing and it sailed through the MOT. I told the seller and he nearly cried and I felt guilty that I only paid £800 for it!. This is how she looked when I bought her: And here is how she looks now: Took this one to both Japfest and Japshow in 2015: My dad is also on his 2nd VR-4 after the cambelt snapped on his first and destroyed the engine. Here is part of our driveway, its the most powerful driveway in the village with 3x 2.5 TT VR-4's, 1x 3.2 Porsche Cayenne, 1x 2.0 Audi A4, 1x 350Z, 1x BMW 118d, 1x 1.4 Renault Scenic and 1x 2.0 Renault Scenic. Thats alot of cylinders! 5 of those cars are mine: Those of you with beady eyes will recognise I migrated some of the bits from the purple VR-4 over to the silver one. The reason being when I checked it out the rust on the purple one was setting in nicely and the silver one was immaculate. I decided that I felt too guilty simply getting the silver one back on the road and selling it for a huge profit (huge as far as VR-4 sales go). So I decided to make the decision that the purple one would become a donor to get the silver one on the go and I would simply keep the silver one. Shortly after Japshow 2015 the gearbox went tits on me. The engine also developed a small water/coolant leak. I then decided that the engine I had put in the purple one would go straight into the silver as that engine had been fully rebuilt (not forged) and had anly covered 5k miles. The gearbox in the purple one had also not long been rebuilt due to an issue. This would also get swapped over (far easier to swap the whole lot in one go than the gearbox immediately then potentially the engine later on. At this point in time the silver one is off the road still. Due to not having much time due to family and work I dont get much chance to work on either of the cars to swap bits over. Also both cars being 140 miles apart doesnt help. I do miss the VR-4 so will be getting the silver one transported to Northampton and paying a garage to swap the engine and gearbox over. Funds will probably allow this some time after Christmas as I am replacing a ton of parts such as all rubber coolant hoses, all turbo/intake pipework, rocker cover gaskets and plug seals along with cambelt kit and water pump, all auxiliary belts etc etc. Once the engine is dropped back in I shall take it to be set up on a dyno to make sure she is running healthy, if she is then remap the stock ECU and hopefully be back to 340bhp. The future may then hold a twin TD04 upgrade but as the car never hit the tuning market there are no bolt on kits and everything is bespoke meaning its a very costly upgrade. Anyway I have waffled on far too much so will bring this ridiculously long post to a close. Thanks for your patience if you managed to read this far 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Seen a few of these in my time but never really paid them too much attention. I do like the silver one and who can argue with the sort of performance they're capable of. Very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Interesting write up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floydbax Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Absolutely love these, I want one as my windsurfing waggon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Absolute total win of a car Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) Rare car on the roads that are very capable. Yours is a nice example. Edited October 5, 2016 by Rock_Steady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-G- Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Love the VR4 - such a rare car to see over here - you're a hero for having 3 of them! Great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erni902 Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 Cheers guys, I love the overall performance of these things. Yes they arent ever going to win the numbers war on the dyno and yes the Evo's will always be more tunable etc but they are the ultimate sleeper. I took my 20yr old muddy estate car to Santa Pod a few years back while Japfest was on and got tons of runs in and the only cars that beat my times that day were the ones that turned up on the back of trailers! Granted alot of jap cars were at japfest and not santa pod but it was still a good feeling running against Mustang GT's and AC Cobras and wiping the floor with them.I even pipped a road legal Skyline gtst to 3rd spot in the V6 table (there was some sort of competition running that weekend). One of the best things about these though is the sheer amount of space in the back! You can fit a double mattress in the boot with the back seats folded down just nicely so no need for a caravan....or a hotel room Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 I even pipped a road legal Skyline gtst to 3rd spot in the V6 table (there was some sort of competition running that weekend Maybe if he had a standard engine he would have been OK If you lowered that by about 35mm it would look awesome, eve thought about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy1984 Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 I've been in one of theses many moons ago and was great.Make an awesome noise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erni902 Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 If you lowered that by about 35mm it would look awesome, eve thought about it? A few of the guys on the forum have lowered theirs and they look mean as hell and I love the look but due to the roads I drive on and live around I can't get away with lowering it. I have the same issue with the Zed, I think it would look mint if I wound the coil-overs down a bit but its just not practical for the routes I drive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy1984 Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 I'm in the same boat tbh.Now I live with a sloped drive.Still gone as low as poss lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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