New guy. CH 2.4

Hi all, in the process of purchasing a nice little stick-shift CH 2.4l sedan. Seems like a good, cheap, honest, fun little car.

Have a newborn little girl now and although the missus has a nice SUV, Ive only got a single cab 4x4 work ute, a couple bikes, and a 450rwhp 1st gen Rx7, all of which are wildly impractical for fitting a baby seat and/or getting groceries with more than one passenger.

Natural conclusion was to get a cheap runabout i can put a baby seat in, so here we are. Put a deposit on one the other night. drives great. really looking forward to having a fun practical car to run around in, the ute and the rx are both pains in the arse.

Long story short, just wondering if there are anythings to look out for in general.
Also, how hard is a timing belt swap?

Can i swap out the exhaust, or at east punch out the cats and fit a rear muffler without getting fault codes if i keep all the sensors in place? if so is there even any benefit to doing so without a re-flash? To be honest i dont think it needs the performance boost, but being a bit of a compulsive tamperer, Im seeing extractors online for like $300 and quality offset straightthrough mufflers for less than $100 and ive got welding gear so its hard to resist, if nothing else for a nice crisp but quietly authoritative note.

Do they have TCS, ABS and Stability control and if so can all that guff be unplugged?

Rear sway bar seems a no brainer, will keep the stock springs, but are KYB shocks an improvement over stock?

Cheers all.
Nick.
 
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Hey Nick welcome to the forums!

2.4L CH is a sweet pickup. As far as things to look out for? Mainly the ignition barrel/switch playing up, fan relay not working and really just servicing. Changing the timing belt? 2-3 hour job if youve done one before. Full day if you’re inexperienced. Mitsubishi don’t sell a kit, and buying oem is over priced. You’re after a kit with main belt, counterbalance belt, waterpump, TENSIONER, all the pulleys and cam/crank seals. You will need to replace the tensioner, don’t cheap out. You will also need a special tool to set the tension on the offset pulley, can’t do the job without it. Something like this. It’s been talked about on here a couple times, check out the info thread in the ch section, I put up some pictures to assist. Also be sure to do plugs, coolant and oil service at the same time. The car will thank you.

The 2.4L has two cats, one in the manifold and one after. If you remove the second one found under the car, you wont get an engine light. These motors do benefit from a proper exhaust, so go right ahead, and sound alright too. A new cam makes a hell of a difference too if you’re keen.

All 2.4L models have ABS only, and it’s quite passive anyway. You could unplug the abs unit (top right hand side of engine bay) but I’m unsure of the effect other than just having an engine light. Doesn’t get in the way of driving hard.

100% get a larger rear sway bar, the whiteline one is mint. Strut brace in the front too if you haven’t got one. For suspension, you need to decide on comfort or ride. The standard springs are comfy, high and soft. The VRX springs are lower and the shocks that match take out a heap of the body roll. But you are maybe 15% less comfy. Not coilover spec at all but its noticable. KYB make good units, I recommend weather you stay with standard replacements or vrx replacements.
 
Cheers mate that is all excellent info. As to the KYB shocks, would the VRX ones work ok with the standard springs? Im kinda reluctant to go lower and stiffer with springs if i can get away with good shocks and a sway bar. Yes im looking out for a vrx strut bar too. Great info on the timing belt, and that special tool. Good to know there is a cam upgrade available if i decide to go silly later down the track, although i'd imagine a reflash or a standalone ecu will be in order then, and then a torsen diff and grip tyres lol. I dont think im ready for that yet but you never know. At this stage id like to keep it mostly stock but for a few subtle but tastefull and cost effective mods.
 
Ok so so far have;
changed engine and gearbox oils, (went Penrite since its australian, top notch and never let me down in my rotaries and diesels, and synthetic since its not much more expensive than dino anymore) and both filters.
So far the car is a delight to work on, everything within reach and so easy.

Got a VRX strut bar on, in matching paint colour complete with matching 12-15 year patina. Very happy

Set of 17x7 with 215/45, perfect offset even had the correct centre bore spacers, i believe they came off a mirage or something. came with tyres for 300$ two michelins with manufacture stamps from 8 months ago with 90% tread, went on the front, two 8 year old chinese no-mames obviously went on the rear. Speedo is now as good as i can tell 100% accurate against GPS and roadside roadworks speedos, but obviously lost a bit of "pep" with the taller wheels and extra reciprocating mass. Also its a bit of a missmatch having super soft suspension and liquorice strap tyres. Would have preffered 16" wheels or even just tall tyres on the stock 15"'s, but hey its hard to pass up a deal sometimes.

Got a $650 baby seat for $300 ex display, bubs (and mum) loves it!

Ive got coming:
VRX KYB struts front and rear
VRX Standard height springs front and rear
Whiteline rear swaybar
Led h4 bulbs lol

Will try to post pics at some stage.
Nick.
 
Nice work man! I think you’ll be very happy with the changes/mods.

Let us know how you find the penrite - I’ve had trouble in the past with BMW N52, honda k24 and k20 motors with VVT after using penrite 5w-30. Supposedly has all the same grades met. Never had an issue with castrol edge, so that’s what I’ve used in both 4g69’s. Only downside is that you 100% notice a lack of power when theyre up for the 10,000kms services.
 
Always an issue with the variable valve timing after a few thousand kms. Always ran into limp mode and spats codes for a control solenoid fault. On the hondas, I cleaned the filter baskets for the vtec solenoid, and replaced one, before trying a different oil. As soon as the penrite was gone, no problem anymore. Same deal with the bimmer.

Don’t get me wrong, I rate penrite, just have had issues with VVT engines from mid 2000’s for some reason. Hopefully it’s something they’ve resolved
 
No probs with the oil so far. Winding it out on part throttle the kick-up is noticeable at about 3500. On harder runs its smooth all the way to the top.
In other news, the rear bar landed yesterday so chucked a sicky today and chucked that in. Went for a test drive, yes its subtle but car definitely wants to turn better. Rear slip from the 10 year old chinese rear tyres much more progressive now, plenty warning. Bit concerned about the flimsy stamped brackets that hold the mounts to the chassis though. Very thin steel, moves a LOT just while torquing up the bolts and when jacking up one wheel or the other. Just a matter of time untill it fatigues and lets go. thinking about gusseting it or bracing it back to the chassis. That should make the bar a fair bit more effective too. Then the tiny mounts that attach to the suspension will snap lol.
Anyway, no sooner get back from test drive and my VRX springs and shocks arrive!
Only had time to chuck the fronts in. Big difference. Smoother. Firmer. No more nose dives and scrapes on speed humps and driveways. I thought the rears were ok , but really notice how wallowy they are now. The bumpstops and boots were munted, both sides came out in three loose pieces. Zipped up to Bursons and bought a pair of KYB universal bumpstops and boots. $50 a side (ouch!) but gives me the warm and fuzzies knowing they are there.
Interesting the springs were same wire diametre as what came out but with one less coil. Not sure if previous owner lowered it maybe or was just sagged. was very soft. Forgot to take measurement but sitting maybe 5-10mm higher now, which im happy with. Will probably settle some. The rears look like they will be a bit heavier than what's in the car though.
 
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Ok so far; KYB VRX shocks. VRX "standard height" springs from King Springs. VRX strut brace. Whiteline rear swaybar with gusseted mounts. 15x7 fake Enkeis with 195/55r15 RE003. Ditched the 17's (They are for sale, with two as new michelin Pilot Sport 215/45r17 and two no-name tyres) Also have the stock 15x6 wheels for sale with 95% new tyres if anybody interested)
Anyways here's how she sits. Sits a bit higher than when I got it, which I wasn't really expecting lol. What you dont see in that pic is how much rake it's got, it sits really high in the back. Drives great though. Im lovin it.
 

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Woah that is high in the rear!

I’d almost go as far as to say that you’ve got standard CH springs, not VRX ones.

Im glad youre happy with it
 
Im pretty sure from memory the part numbers match up as King springs Standard height VRX. They do say on their website that standard height rears give a 10mm lift.
So i guess the previous owner lowered it. It used to scrape over speed humps even with the standard wheels and tyres.
The rears are definitely very heavy springs, 2mm oversize wire diametre and an extra coil, quite firm. Im thinking to either cut a coil out of them which will get the height right but make them even firmer, or put the old springs back in. Not too worried about it for now though.
Yeah I'm happy with it. Near go-kart handling but still comfortable (compared to what I'm used to!) and very quiet. Going back to small tyre diametre makes a big dfference in zippyness, and i can actually use the spare tyre now if i have to.
 
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