First Love

Words & Snaps by Ben

We all have a first love. A special one who made us discover new things, and learn more about ourselves. In some cases, it's love at first sight, but other times it's unexpected. She would come about casually, promising nothing more than friendship; just someone to accompany you on your journeys.

And then before you know it, you are in love. Addicted. To you, none other can make the cut. You love her strengths and adore her weaknesses. She is your first love. The one with whom your adventure starts.

I am, of course, talking about cars.

While Faz would have loved getting his hands on a Civic Type R, we all know how enthusiastic insurance houses are about letting their beloved customers get one of those as their first car. Faz thus had to settle with a less ostentatious econo-box.

Among this less exciting car segment, his choice went to the Lancer CS3. Its light weight chassis was a better choice from the heavier Lancer EX, but the performance was nothing more than underwhelming. At least that shut the insurance house up.

I'm not saying the CS3 is a bad car, but in its stock form, it promises nothing but a reliable, fuel-friendly, point A to B daily.

But one day, Faz got his hands on a Drift Racing exhaust, probably the only legal straight-through exhaust system on the market, and things took a turn for the best.

It was love at first rev. Hearing the throaty roar of his otherwise mundane Lancer ignited the fuel running in Faz' veins, and he knew there and then that while his car wasn't the best performer, he could make it into a performer. And that was all he needed to know to start building his dream CS3.

At the time he started the build, Faz had little understanding about the mechanical aspect of cars and how to mods them, and he grew his knowledge as he pieced together the CS3 brawler you see here before you.

At first sight, Faz' creation means business - the Voltex carbon fibre hood, CS5 grille, drilled front bumper and polyurethane v-lip sets an aggressive theme to the car.

The theme carries on to the sides, with Ganador motorised mirrors, and PU side skirts underlining Evo 9 carbon fibre fender vents.

The Voltex Type 5 carbon fibre GT wing steals the show at the rear. Faz installed it to improve the stability at high speeds on track and on the bumpy North-South highway when he runs up to KL. 

He added a vortex generator to streamline the air being fed to the wing, and operated the read bumper with an HKS Kansai 8-holes diffuser.

He put the final touch on the rear with a custom rear lip and Depo carbon fibre tail lamps.

Faz' works also extend to the chassis, where form and function weave together to make a creation that handles as good as it looks.

The Lancer's light chassis is strengthened at the front with Ultra Racing's 2-point front strut bar, echoed by its 4-point under brace counterpart. 

At the rear, an UR boot bar, Summit 22mm anti-roll bar and a custom ASR and Beaks rear bar add rigidity for better handling.

Faz' CS3 sits on Silent fully adjustable coilovers, lowering the ride so that the 15" TE37 shod in sticky AD08R rubber fit snuggly in the wheel arches. At the front, camber bolts give -2 degrees of angle to the wheels to optimise the Lancer's cornering performance.

Peeking from behind the TE37's is a an Evo 3 brake kit, connected to the braking system by Magnum stainless steel brake lines. Fitted with high temp brake pads and biting on 276mm Brembo Slotted Rotors, the 4-pot callipers are sure to stop this CS3 on a dime.

While the hands-on DIY sessions, online discussions and garage-dwelling grew Faz knowledge and brought him and his CS3 much closer, he couldn't let it be an all-show-no-go car. His commitment to his car grew so that he had to make it as fast as it looked. It was time to up the game of the 4G18.

The blue-themed engine bay reflects Faz' sense of aesthetics, where function meets form. The battery is relocated to free some place for the long ram intake and its custom piping.

Underneath the front strut bar, the intake manifold is bored to match with the bigger S90 throttle body. Fuel pressure is maintained at a constant flow by and INGS fuel regulator, and the power delivery to the spark plugs is handled by Arospeed cables.

With the spark, fuel and air flows optimised, the custom high cam driven by an Arospeed cam pulley pulls more ponies out of the 4 cylinder lump. The exact number of horses transmitted to the road through the racing clutch is yet to be determined as the Greddy E-Manage Ultimate controlling the engine has yet to be retuned on the rollers.

Faz added a D1 Spec oil catch tank to handle the blow-by gas build up in the crank case and prevent an early retirement of his engine. 

Cooling is taken care of by a Forged Racing Aluminium Radiator plugged with signature blue Samco hoses.

An interesting D1 Spec meter radiator cap keeps the water temperature in check from under the hood.

Finally, Faz makes sure his CS3 picks up on the double by eliminating engine motion thanks to stiffer Evo 3 engine mounts and and NRG Engine Damper.

Inside, this CS3 makes do without the back seats for a bit of weight-shedding, but also just to hear enjoy the road of the exhaust better.

While to us motorheads the sweet sound of a proper exhaust is the only music we really need in a car, the ladies often lack the ear to fully appreciate the rev melody, thus Faz upgraded his sound system to let his lady listen to more traditional tunes.

The front seats have made way for hugging Bride full buckets, complemented by a 4-point Takata harness for the driver, and a cute Takata seatbelt pillow for the passenger.

Sitting snuggly behind the 330mm Deep Dish Momo steering wheel, Faz jumps through the gears thanks to a Jasma short shifter with custom bushings for an enhanced shift feel.

To bring life to his CS3 brawler, Faz uses URES' engine auto start with a custom engine push start switch. This, along with the bright orange Sparco driver-side window net, complement the racing theme and feel of his Mitsubishi.

Finally, he keeps track of his engine's vitals thanks to an Evo 9 dashboard meter, and an Apexi RSM D1 Imamura Edition with G- Sensor. A set of vacuum and oil temp gauges complement his setup, giving him at-a-glance updates when enjoying his beloved CS3 on track.

Faz' story is far from being done, and he his love for his Lancer has grown so much that as it is reaching the end of its paper life, he has already decided to renew its ownership for another decade instead of letting it rest and finding another car to build.

Specs
Make	Mitsubishi
Model	’06 Lancer CS3
Engine	4G18 I4 SOHC
Transmission	Manual
Drive Layout	FF
Modifications
Power Mods
Electrical	Arospeed Spark Plug Cable, Relocated Battery
Internals	Custom High Cam, Arospeed Cam Pulley
Peripherals	D1 Spec Oil Catch Tank, NRG Engine Damper, Evo 3 Engine Mounts
Intake	Long Ram HKS Intake with Custom Piping, S90 Throttle Body, Bored Intake Manifold
Cooling	Forged Racing Aluminium Radiator, D1 Spec Meter
Fuelling	INGS Fuel Regulator
Exhaust	Drift Racing Full System Exhaust
Driveline	Racing Clutch
ECU	Greddy E-Manage Ultimate
Handling
Wheels	15” Volk Racing TE37
Tyres	Yokohama Advan AD08R 205/50R15
Brakes	Evo 3 Brake Kit, 276mm Brembo Slotted Rotors, High Temp Brake Pads, Magnum Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Suspensions	Silent Fully Adjustable Coilovers
Chassis	Ultra Racing 4-Point Front Undercarriage Brace, 2-Point Strut Bar, Boot Bar, Summit 22mm Anti-Roll Bar, Custom ASR and Beaks Rear Bar, Camber Bolts (Front)
Exterior
Body	CS5 Front Grille, Polyurethane Front V-lip, Polyurethane Universal Side Skirts, Custom Rear Lip, Custom Front Bumper Holes, HKS Kansai Long 8-Holes Rear Bumper Diffuser, Vortex Generator, Evo 9 Carbon Fibre Fender Vents, Voltex Carbon Fibre Bonnet with Custom Hood Pins
Downforce	1600mm Type 5 High Mount Carbon Fibre Voltex GT Wing
Others	Depo Carbon Fibre Tail Lamps, Motorised Granador Mirrors
Interior
Seats	Bride Full Bucket Seats, Miki Railings, 4-Point Takata Harness
Steering Wheel	330mm Deep Dish Momo Steering Wheel, HKB Boss Kit
Gear Knob	Carbon Fibre 5 Speed Gear Knob, Jasma Short Shifter with Custom Bushings
Gauges	Evolution 9 Dashboard Meter, Vacuum, Oil Temp Gauges, Apexi RSM D1 Imamura Edition with G- Sensor
Others	Custom Engine Push Start Button, URES Engine Auto Start, S[parco Driver Side Window Net

Faz would like to give big thanks to Rapid Automobile Repair, JKS Motorworks, and 73 Automechanica