Stock for Stock the Evo will walk on the Ralliart (already established). For less than a $1000 you can level the playing field enough that 99% of drivers will NEVER find the point at which the Ralliart can't keep going and the Evo can. That was the whole point of what I'm trying to say.
Aluminum Suspension, Better Steering Alignment from the factory, REAL brakes, and a TD-05. This is what gives the Evo it's HUGE edge in stock trim. Much of this can be shaved away fairly easily ($$$ of course), to the point that the same driver would never be able to tell the difference. I happen to like modding cars, it's my hobby. For me I would rather have a $500-600 payment and $300 to spend on modding per month, than $800-900 and no modding money.
Do I love the Evo, absolutely , no doubt about it. Would I like to own one, yes. But the prices aren't worth it to me.....yet
OP stated newly married, buying a house, etc. Guess what that means, bills. If you want a fun street car that you can occasionally work on (mod), Ralliart is not a POS like so many ill-informed seem to "preach". It's kinda like saying an SI can't be a great DD....cuz it's not an Evo
As for the turbo swap, you notice that was the SECOND option to make an amazing Ralliart. I never said it was easy or needed. Please stop half quoting to try and re-inforce you view point. Rememeber, it goes both ways (that is a photochop threat )

 

with map recently coming out with the ralliart swap kit, the ralliart is becoming more and more of an easy-to-mod vehicle. almost anything u can get for an evo they have a version of for the ralliart. if you want an out of the box track beast well evo all the way undoubtedly.

the ralliart is a hated on and doubted little car but you can mod the ***** off of it. a brand new RA with a turbo swap, bbk, and some suspension upgrades will give you one badass ride for less than the price of a new evo. no it won't make 600 horsepower and no it wont walk any of these modding freaks cars, but itll still give you one hell of a chub when you take it to the track and walk 90% of any street car.

if you have the money for the evo and modding it, obviously go for it. if you are pushing your limit with just the price of the evo and you still want to mod, maybe the ralliart is the way to go. its all up to you obviously.

 

I agree both cars are different. If you keep both stock. I would not compare the ralliart to the GSR but the MR since they have the same transmission. IF you do mods you can get the same power out of the ralliart as the MR for a lot cheaper and similar performance. That part is very true. We have the same engine and as we all know the Evo X turbo does install in a ralliart. Then you can get the AMS DP and so on that the Evo uses and do the same to the engine. Both cars are great! I can have the same power as the MR and pay a lot less if i'm willing to mod it. That is the key difference between the two is only when they are completely stock. We can sit here in argue all day. Yes for the ralliart it needs more work unlike the MR but it's because of the huge price difference so the MR has bigger turbo, and a few other accessories than the ralliart. We both also have the same issue with the SST, it cant go higher than 350tq unless you pay about 2k to upgrade the clutch.

One advantage of moding a ralliart is the cost of the insurance and the initial cost of the vehicle. Then you can get most of the parts cheap to do the Evo X turbo. Or you can go with the RAD from CBRD.

One of the advantage of the MR is that you just need to get a good tune and minor upgrades and it's a beast already.

Both are great cars but you choose. It's really a personal preference. I driven both cars and I personally like the Ralliart more. I like single scroll turbos and my plan is to go with the CBRD turbo after much debate.

If you want a car that can handle extreme amount of power and mods. SST upgrade is required for the Ralliart and the MR. If you go the GSR route it will be a lot cheaper to get huge power out of it.

 

This debate is similar to the Subaru STi vs WRX... There is a lot of R&D invested into the Evolution X that trying to compare it to a lowered priced model should not be questioned. There are many components that makes such vehicle price worthy. Going back to the WRX vs STi debate, many swear about the bang for the buck on the WRX with it's faster 0 to 60 mph but, they do not realize what makes the STi price worthy or in this case, overpriced from their perspective. If you put both model features side by side on paper you will see why. Sure, you can make a lowered price car faster to match it's bigger brother but, at a price and with expensive consequences.

If it was me, I would save and get the vehicle you want. Believe me, you will be much happier the end. Sorry for the long post.

 

I agree thats why I stated "and a few other accessories than the ralliart" which is stuff like the brakes, suspension and a few others. For me I don't plan to go huge but a little bigger so the ralliart suits me. I did change stuff on the suspension and would have done the same on the Evo.

I believe in you get what you paid for. I paid for a ralliart and I got a ralliart and not a Evo. Do I want my ralliart to be an Evo? No. The only problem is that since the ralliart is an underdog most companies don't make stuff for us. I asked AMS if they would make a wide mouth DP for the ralliart they told me no and that most people just get the Evo X turbo. Which is great for people who want to go that route. I don't I want to keep what the ralliart was designed and thats why I like CBRD because they have been helping out our small community.

Im happy with what I have. I can afford it on my budget and it does what I need it to do. I do plan to do some upgrades.

I don't think the Evo is over priced at all. What I am doing is saying that the ralliart should no be down played or overlooked. Both are great cars.

 

Again, I am a big proponent of the RA. However, this is simply not the case.

 

Edited**

 

I'm gifting this thread to 09+ RA General, where it really belongs.

 

This is a never-ending debate. There are no winners. There are no losers. Everyone just has their own opinion.

 

Very True! as long as we do it respectfully. I enjoy it. Sometimes you can actually learn from it if you are open minded.

Like I said in both my post. Both are Great Cars. Cheers!

 

NO. the RA is just flat out BETTER than the evo in every single way imaginable.

 

I thought the AYC was supposed to make it great. I guess not from your post.

What was done to the Evo IX & RA? Was it a fair comparison? Most likely not.

Are we still comparing apple to orange?

Brembo 4 piston brakes to Outlander 2 piston brakes.
Bilstein to MacPherson with different spring rates.

Has anybody follow anything on Ralliart?
This is Ralliart
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/wo...art-build.html
http://jalopnik.com/5615269/ten-cars...irty/gallery/4

 

I keep telling this to EVERYONE, even when I sold Mitsu's (and now NFS can confirm this with me ). AYC is completely overrated for 99% of owners

Half (if not more) of the reason the Evo handles so well is the new chassis. That's why even the regular GTS or even the Outlander drives so well. Every time I drive my Outlander, I wonder what it would be like to auto-x. I've accidentally gotten on toll roads without an EZ Tag in my Outlander because I thought I was in my RA - they feel surprisingly similar

a car purchase is way more involved than just price. An Evo is NOT worth stretching your finances/budget for - no car is

 

For me the ralliart is a consolation prize for those who can afford an evo (like me)

 

I throw my car into corners all the time, haven't found one yet that it can't eat up. Even at Streets of Willow, there a couple turns where we regularly see VIII's & IX's go 4 off (CW #2); if I feel like the car is starting to go out on me I just dig in the throttle even harder (contrary to your natural reflex) and she has NO problems pulling me through. And that's on stock 7" rims w/ DWS's, I CAN'T WAIT to try out proper 8.5-9" rims with real rubber