Future Ralliart Owner (2015 model)
 

Hey everyone, first time poster long time follower here. Just wanted to introduce myself to you all and hopefully get some answers to some questions I have.

First off, a little about me... I'm 28, I live in British Columbia, I've been driving a '98 protege for the last 5 years and have been researching vehicles for the past 6+ months trying to decide what I want.

I'm not very experienced when it comes to working on cars, but I can do basic stuff like change fluids, brakes, etc. My gf's dad is a licensed mechanic with 30 years in the field, so not only is he going to help me learn but he has access to high-end and oem parts at discounted prices.

My decision to go Mitsubishi came around about 2 months ago when a friend suggested the lancer. Narrowed my choices down to the Mazda 3 and the Ralliart, but after doing more research and doing some test drives, I felt like the Ralliart was more akin to my style of driving. Plus the amount of upgrading both aesthetic and power wise is geared more towards a car I won't easily get bored with and can modify to my liking.

Anyways, after reading about the changes they're making to the base Ralliart model for 2015 I decided I would take the leap and buy brand new. Basically you get everything that was included in the 2014 Premium package except the Recaro seats at no extra cost.

Spoke to a few dealerships, bartered a bit, and ended up getting $1000 extended warranty at no cost, 0% financing for 60 months, and deferred payments until the New Year, all with no money down. (GO AUTO for the win!).

So I signed a promise to purchase order yesterday and put a $1000 deposit on it, now the waiting game begins...

Anyone have any inside knowledge of the 2015's, like actual specs and release date? The dealer told me they're scheduled for September but no specific date... basically he said It should arrive anywhere between September and October. *sigh*

- Big_FN_Target

P.S. - I spoke to a different dealer when I went in for a testdrive one day, and asked him about the warranty and what I can do to the car without voiding it. Basically he told me there's nothing I can do to it without voiding it, he said even a high-flow k&n filter would void it... which I find hard tp believe considering all the "won't void warranty" promises k&n makes.

Does anyone know if this is dealer specific? Am I really limited to aesthetic mods like tinting the windows and stuff?

In order for a warranty to be 'voided' the dealership needs to be able to prove that a modification you did is what caused any future failure. So if you put a drop in filter in and then your power mirrors stop working the dealership would still have to fix the mirror.

For the 2015 I doubt there will be any changes from the 2014 other than maybe a new set of wheels or a small change to the interior.

Welcome to the family!

I'm hoping you jumped on the Recaros regardless. I cannot imagine getting this car without them. I have the 2014 model and opted for the Premium Package because it had the extra features plus the Recaros. Definitely worth the upgrade for me and my driving style.

Like DjRags says, 2015 is probably just a minor update to visuals and maybe a bump in power or efficiency. The Lancer platform is due in for a major refresh, but if it was happening for 2015, everyone would be posting news about it.

"Ralliart Model

New standard features including:

HID headlights with daytime running lights (DRL)
18-in. dark finish alloy wheels
9 speaker 710-watt Rockford Fosgate® premium sound system
Auto-dimming rearview mirror
Auto on/off headlight control
Rain-sensing wipers
New white contrast seat and door stitching

...

The long list of standard features found on every 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart include aluminum foot pedals; paddle shifters; rearview camera; FUSE Hands-Free Link System® with USB port; voice-activated Bluetooth® hands-free phone technology; FAST-key passive entry system with alarm feature; and steering wheel-mounted cruise, audio system and Bluetooth® hands-free system controls; along with many other welcome amenities."

(source: http://media.mitsubishicars.com/releases/e1e4cd7f-3cdd-4e3c-8512-9265f628361f)

But yeah, same car performance wise, just a few new standard features.

Hmm apparently my first reply never went through, but thanks for the welcome and the quick replies guys.

DJRags604, hmmm guessing by your username you're also from BC... you must be driving one of the two Ralliarts I keep seeing. Haha. Anyways, your answer makes sense logically speaking. If I were to modify the engine somehow and down the road there was an issue with it, then I wouldn't be covered under warranty. But I can only assume that their analysis of what caused the problem will be broad, and something simple like changing the air filter to an aftermarket one would void any warranties on the engine, turbo, and anything else that uses air from the intake manifold. Or at least that's my take on it...?

Athrun88, how big are you physically speaking? I'm about 5'11" l, 220 lbs, with a 38" waist and wide shoulders. One of the Ralliarts I test drove had Recaro's and I found that the hip supports dug into me a bit and I felt a little squished in there. Not sure if I'm too big for them or I'm just not used to them but they didn't seem like they'd be very comfortable after an hour or so.

- Target

I have the non-recaro's and they are very nice for long periods of time. I personally wish I had the recaros for better feel during autocross, but for daily driving, I love my non-recaros

We always have the Active Center Diff! That's what our ACD pump is for.

Anyhow, congrats!

I'm 5'8" and 180lbs. The seats were weird for me at first as well, but like anything else, they got better as I broke them in. My first test drive was in an RA that was owned by a dealer. He was 5'11" and about ~200lbs and he loved his Recaros. All definitely personal preference, but you're right, they were alittle uncomfortable before I either got used to them and broke them in.

Haha, I have seen about 4 or 5 in the past 3 years. Usually in Richmond and downtown. As far as the warranty goes a company will always try to save money and if they can legally deny you the claim they will. It will entirely depend on who you speak to and what mood they are in when you bring in a broken car. My car is now out of the warranty period and I'm willing to stretch things a bit more but will not put anything above stock Evo levels on the motor (and likely not even that high).

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. No dealer whatsoever, can deny a warranty if that specific aftermarket part did not cause the damage. This is only in the US by the way, if you live in Canada youre outta luck.

Welcome!
Yep, I came from a Protege5 (what a great love-affair for Ten Years), and everything I loved in the P5 is here, and more...

If I were you ALL I would do is get the AMS boostpill and a Tactrix cable. Then Flash the correct GST Base map when its out. If you want to speed that along get a loggable wideband and get in touch with Razorlab here to get the 2015 maps out.

Or the easier way is to get a Cobb Accessport and do there stage 1 map but that's more money.

Both ways will give you a noticeable power increase and you can reflash to stock for service or warranty work.

I was under the impression that altering the basemaps would void the warranty... even if you were to reflash to stock before taking it in.

Aren't there logs that they check and wouldn't a flash/reflash show up on said logs? I thought that everything gets logged and can be checked, so even changing the air filter would show up as increased air flow in the logs... or am I mistaken?

Again, I'm still new to all of this and don't even have my RA yet. I'm just trying to get a head start on learning what I can and understanding what I can do to it in the future.

Mainly I just want to make sure I don't get screwed out of my warranties, which is the whole point of buying new. If I have to wait until the warranty runs out before I start modding it and tune it then so be it.

Thanks for all the help guys.

If you're the sketchy about it and your dealer is that uninformed that saying a K&N drop in filter will void your warranty you'd be better off just leaving it stock then. My $0.02

I did the evo x bpv upgrade, axle back exhaust and bought but haven't installed yet the evo intercooler, its been at the dealership a couple times and they know what i have done and don't car about those. Next will be the boost pill...