It is actually a shame that with the number of regular guys building these cars with Mitsubishi OEM parts and junkyard finds that no-one has done back to back testing of such combos on a stock block. I guess it's an expensive exercise to find out the best 'street' setup especially when it is such a subjective issue. I mean the roads I saw in the States were nothing like the ones I usually drive on here in Hong Kong.
I've often wondered if a straight EVO III setup throttle body to O2 housing on a 6 bolt motor would be better than using the Cyclone manifold on a 1G head with an EVO III exhaust, turbo and O2 housing.
What about a Cyclone manifold with welded ports blended back out to match a 2G head? Should make for awesome low end and mid range and since the cyclone flows less than the 1G and 2G intake manifolds it should just react like a stroker on a smaller scale.
It IS hard trying to make a decision. I can tell you, over here I rarely have an opportunity to push to 100-120 mph, even on the highways there is just too much traffic. I live at 5000 rpms or under 80% of the time so a stroker made perfect sense to me and a 1G head seemed most appropriate for that. But it's not perfect!
I need an engine that revs fast, gives me full boost between 3000 and 3500 rpms, but that can idle in traffic jams for an hour without overheating. I don't need a huge amount of power actually, under 400 AWHP would suffice. But here's the kicker, whilst I don't need to rev like mad to make power up top, on the hill climbs around here I need a car that can live at 7,000 rpms ideally to haul uphill in low gears and maintain torque in the numerous switchbacks.
Like I said, the Stroker and 1G head aren't perfect but I figure on making it through on brute force and making peak torque early on. Would a 2G head help? I don't know.
I thought about a long rod 2.0 litre build, but where the hell do I find a turbo that gets 20 psi under 3000 rpms AND can still flow enough to go to 9000 rpms or higher. True divided T3 manifold and a dual ball bearing twin scroll?