Welcome to the world of the Proton Wira, Malaysias own version of the Mitsubishi Lancer. Considering the Wira was co-developed by Proton with Mitsubishi, the Wira shared a lot of DNA with the Lancer. It inherited the 4G series of engines, it used a very similar chassis and almost all Lancer parts were plug-and-play with the Wira. This made the Wira model very popular, so much so Proton came up with a few variants and the production line even lasted a good 13 years before Proton finally decided to replace it with another model.
Why is this important?
Because of these 3 words : Mitsubishi. Lancer. Evolution
Mitubishi made several models of the Lancer Evo that had interchangeable parts with the Proton Wira/Waja/Perdana so much so Evo parts became an expensive commodity back in the day, a front half cut costing something in the region of RM13k (USD3450 approx). However the Wira chassis was never designed to take the punishment from the venerable 4G63T that dished out an approximate 270bhp on wheel, and a lot of reported accidents and deaths resulted in the banning of transplanting 4G63T on all Wira platforms. That made the 'commodity' prices drop significantly, now these 'unusable' engines were selling for a third of their original prices.
Xavier the owner of this brooding grey convert, explains that all he wanted was more power. The 3 different workshops that worked on this car kept introducing all sorts of additional mods which Xavier just opted to install just because it sounded like a good idea. A very unique and probably rare blue heat-sink cooled Cusco intercooler pipe in particular caught my attention. The heat-sinks weren't welded onto the pipe, instead it was moulded as a part of the piping!
Another odd mod that I found surprising is the the front arms now use the aluminum Evo 5 arms and the rear was converted into the Evo 9 double wishbone setup, god knows how this car handles! On top of that the 4WD system taken from the Evo 3 is fully functional on this car which is actually necessary since the amount of internal mods done on the 4G63T would make any FWD car be uncontrollable.
By the time the car had changed to the 3rd workshop, the only part of the car that still a Wira - is the shell (chassis) and the rear seats. Brakes, wheels, suspension, engine, undercarriage, front alumnium hood, headlights, whatever that could fit - it was installed on this car.
Earlier in the build, Xavier had a multi-point rollcage installed to stiffen the chassis. But he opted to downgrade to a 4-point rollcage for simplicity and easier management as he had difficulties getting in and out of the car with the multi-point cage. But unsurprisingly this greatly softened the strength of the chassis and it was felt whenever he pushed the car hard enough.
The terminology "Wiralution" sometimes is referred to as a derogartory term for a poorly converted Wira, or a half-assed modified wannabe Wira. This doesn't apply to this car considering the amount of Evo parts in this car, it's more Evo than Wira!
Age and maturity is usually a reason why a car modder changes his taste in cars and modification styles. Xavier is now happily married with 2 kids so unfortunately when we reviewed the car, it was the last week of its existance before it would be demodded and turned back into a plain jane Wira. At one point of time Xavier referred to the grey Wiralution as a "Death trap on wheels". Apparently too much power can be dangerous especially when you have a chassis that was originally designed for a 1.3L engine, not a stroked and uprated turbocharged 2.2L 4G63!
So instead of our usual thanks and greetings, I would like to have a moment of silence for a fallen hero - a hero that gave us high blood pressure, plenty of adrenaline rushes and probably a few life-flashing-before-my-eyes situations. With that, I wish you a fond farewell oh grey warrior - you will be missed. 2001 - 2015.
- Izso
The Heart:
HKS 272/272 cams
Works cam pulley
Stock Evo 3 head
2.2 stroker kit
Power Enterprise timing belt
Denso iridium plug
Gearbox:
Evo 3 gearbox
Exedy 3 puck clutch
4WD conversion
Turbo:
Trust T67-25g
Trust 50mm wastegate
Trust turbo manifold
HKS air filter
FGK downpipe
Exhaust:
FGK exhaust
3 inch full piping
Cooling:
Stock Evo radiator and fans
Stock Evo 3 intercooler
Cusco blue intercooler piping
HKS oil cooler kit with air duct
Fueling:
SARD fuel regulator Type S
Walbro fuel pump
Injector Dynamics 1000cc injectors
Chasis:
Cusco front strut bar
4 point roll cage
Evo 5 front lower arm aluminium
Evo 9 complete rear aluminium arms and double wishbone conversion
HKS Hipermax suspension
Brakes:
Brembo Evo 9 front and rear
800c brake pad front and rear
Dixcel slotted rotor front and rear
Goodridge steel braided brake hoses
Rim:
17 × 8.5 +30 Rays CE28N bronze
235/45/17 Achilles ATR Sport
Interior:
Bride red full bucket
Recaro milenium passenger seat
Evo complete black interior
Momo Race steering
Ralliart gearknob
Electronic:
Apexi Power FC D Jetro with controller
HKS EVC5 boost controller
Defi BF red meters (boost, water temp, oil temp, oil press, fuel press)
Defi link display
Exterior:
Evo 3 front end conversion
Truth front bumper
Full blast wide fenders
