Photos by RJ Deslate, Words by Alvin Thai
Through my years of experience in the car scene, I have come to notice a lot of things about car us lovers. It seems that us die-hard car junkies are almost destined to become a tuner at the time of birth. We are born into childhood filled with hot-wheel toys and racing games. Then filled with media garbage from MTV music videos and The Fast and the Hideous movies to fill our brains up even more about cars. If you are from OC like I am, then the JDM scene is almost inescapable from daily driving. At an early age we dream and dream of a desired car, what mods we wish to place upon them, and how bad ass it will be to finally sit behind the wheel of one and call it your own. For Paul Maleon of Team Ar-Kan the story is no different.
Paul’s childhood dreams is now fullfilled with owning not one, but two Evo’s: a 2003 Evolution VIII GSR (current feature) and a 2010 Evolution X MR ( not pictured). This didn’t come easy, but took years of patience, waiting, and hard work. Like many of us he started out in the Honda scene owning a 95′ Integra that went through the “Black-Widow Body-Kit” phase all the way through a JDM transformation until it was finally sold. The Honda scene is where his roots are showing way back in 2002-2004. With this past time experience at hand you may be able to get an idea of where his current Evo VIII GSR gets its quality from.
And when I say quality, I MEAN quality. Pictured above is a close up of some 3M Di-Noc carbon fiber work on his car. Now usually if you’ve payed close attention to cars at shows you’ll notice some interesting things about the vinyl. A lot of cars especially now have adapted to this new material, but few of them are this clean. Examine closely next time your at a show with a carbon fiber wrap like this one. You may notice that not all the weaves of the carbon fiber are perfectly aligned. A lot of them are stretched during wrapping which creates a distortion or bend in the weaves leaving an imperfect finish.
There are ZERO bends or curves in this cars carbon fiber wrap, and I mean ZERO. These aren’t flat surfaces either just look at how many bends there are in the fender alone. What’s more amazing is that this isn’t just a fender that’s wrapped, but the whole front end! All work was done by another Team Ar-Kan member (Jobey). Paul states he wanted to do something different and he did it big by wrapping the whole front end of the car. In fact, underneath the faux carbon fiber hood is real carbon fiber, he just wanted to complete the flat satin look and feel for the car. While only the front of the car is currently wrapped, he hopes to wrap the entire car in the future. I didn’t even know they made CF wrap that big!
The wheels are also unique to the Evo scene. They are 18×10.5 +22 RAYS Gramlights 57G which is rarely seen on this chassis especially in that offset. Being unique is what brings character and personality to ourselves and also to our cars. How many Evo’s have you seen out there? Now how many can you actually identify out of the crowd? There are very few and now you have Paul’s ride to add to the list.
The interior is also pretty unique as well. While Bride is a very popular fabric it is very rarely seen in the blue color, which matches very will with the stock Recaro’s. The door panels, shift boot, and center arm rest are wrapped in blue Bride fabric creating a unified interior theme. The green Takata harnesses also add a nice touch complimenting the cool blue theme latching onto a blue NRG harness bar. This interior was clearly well thought out.
Aside from a few bolt-on’s, this engine bay may appear almost stock, but there is a lot more behind that valve cover. The head is fully built utilizing TOMEI cam gears, TOMEI titanium valve springs, retainers, and HKS 272 intake/exhaust cams. Adding to the HKS collection is HKS racing suction kit, HKS SSQV V1, HKS upper intercooler pipe, HKS lower intercooler pipe, and HKS carbon titanium cat-back exhaust. It also sports a GRRETT 18g leading to a HELIX turbo outlet, 3” downpipe, and high flow cat. The ARC heatshield and radiator cooling plate and a bit of bling to catch your eyes as well as many more mini mods. All is managed with the Apexi Power-FC controlled inside the vehicle.
“A very special thanks to my friends/family especially to the wifey and my son for understanding and supporting my very expensive hobby LOL!!! All my friends/team mates of Team är-kªn’, Jovi La Victoria for sometimes even going out his way help a friend out thank you! Mike Hyun, Continental Tires, Meguiars, Khiem from KT MOTORING and Berge from BBT Motorsports, Mikey Dang from PVR Motorspors/Photo M.D., RJ Deslate and Alvin Thai from CARSXHYPE.com” – Paul Maleon
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII GSR
ENGINE/TRANSMISSION;
-HKS racing suction kit
-HKS ssqv version 1 w/ re-circulating kit
-HKS uicp/licp
-HKS 272 cams (intake/exhaust)
-HKS carbon titanium cat-back exhaust
-TOMEI cam gears
-TOMEI titanium valve springs
-TOMEI titanium retainers
-ARC titanium heat shield
-ARC titanuim radiator cooling plate
-GARRETT 18g turbo compressor wheel
-HELIX turbo outlet
-HELIX 3inch downpipe
-HELIX high flow cat
-APEXi Power FC standalone system
-APEXi voltage stabilizer
-BUSCHUR port/polished exhaust manifold
-RALLIART spark plug wires
-TODA timing belt
-DEJON TOOL mechanical boost controller
-WALBRO 255 fuel pump
-DENSO 720 injectors
-BYC intercooler
-INGALS engine damper
-BLOX front engine mount
-PASSWORD JDM blue washers
-ACT HDSS clutch kit
-ACT 13lbs streetlite flywheel
-RAZO counter weight shift knob
-APS short throw shifter
EXTRERIOR;
-JDM rear bumper
-JDM side markers
-JDM window visors
-VOLTEX style rear diffuser
-VOLTEX side spats
-DO-LUCK style CF front lip
-GANADOR JDM Side Mirrors
-VIS CF hood
-REXPEED CF side skirts extensions
-REXPEED CF type-c wing
-CUSCO front license plate relocator
-3M DI-NOC dry carbon wrapped VIS CF hood
-3M DI-NOC dry carbon wrapped VOLTEX side spats
-3M DI-NOC dry carbon wrapped front bumper
-3M DI-NOC dry carbon wrapped front fenders
-3M DI-NOC dry carbon wrapped roof
-3M DI-NOC dry carbon wrapped trunk
WHEELS/SUSPENSION;
-RAYS GRAMLIGHTS 57G (gold) 18×10.5 +22
-VOLKS Racing formula lug nuts
-CONTINENTAL TIRES Extreme Contact 245/40×18
-CUSCO rear strut bar
-CUSCO rear triangular v-brace
-MEGAN RACING track series coilovers
INTERIOR;
-APEXi Power FC commander
-TAKATA MPH harnesses
-TAKATA harness gel pads
-BRIDE (blue) door panels
-BRIDE (blue) shift boot
-BRIDE (blue) front/rear center armrest
-SUN AUTO cyber speed pedals
-RALLIART Carbon Fiber dash kit
-HKS limited edition shift knob
-HKS Type-0 turbo timer
-NRG (blue) harness bar
-AUTOMETER boost gauge
-AUTOMETER gauge gauge pod
2010 Mitsubishi Evolution X MR (mod list)
ENGINE;
-ULTIMATE RACING exhaust
EXTERIOR;
-VOLTEX style CF front splitter
-CF Aero Kit side skirts
-CF Aero kit rear covers
-JDM/OEM Window visors
WHEELS/SUSPENSION;
-EIBACH pro kit
-ADVAN RGII (gold) 18×9.0 +29
-ICHIBA Version II 15mm front/rear spacers
Team är-kªn’:
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