I know the thread started a long time ago. But for the new comers out there. The RS, IX, and even SE's are pretty much all sold out up and down East coast. There are still quite a few MR's available, but any other trims are all gone. I like the SE version over any other trims. Aluminum roof, updated front spoiler, HID, red stitching seat. Spend $700 at the market place thread for a set of Bilsteins then you have a suedo MR, all for $3000 less (sticker price).

 

i like my mr.

 

if this was 2004, MR all the way...esp in gg, however, mitsu totally took away the uniqueness of the mr and so, we have a bunch of naysayers against the mr now...
make mine an mr!!!

 

I think you are right. took the uniqueness out of the MR with the various trims of the IX. Anyway, if you notice all the naysayers against the MR don't own MRs or don't even drive EVOs .... It's easy to put $hit on somebody elses car. I'm quite happy with my MR over the previous EVO VIII. Now, I'm thinking about changing cars anyway, but I certainly would not take a step back and get an EVO RS or GSR... Perhaps I'll wait for the EVO X and see what trims they offer. For sure I'll get the DSG tranny

 

I read most of this but really can't waste the day reading. It comes down to the fact that i have owned and modded both cars and am far more happy with my IX MR than my VIII with cams etc. If you haven't owned both then you really won't understand. I use to say it wasen't woth the money when I had an regular VIII. But, know I understand after driving it for awhile and modding it. The gearing is great on the road compared to my old 5 speed which felt sloppy.

 

dude if you had almost the same whp in the VIII after you put over $10 k mods in it... they rip you off ,big time!!! specially if your stock MR is lot faster and quicker then your 03 Evo 8, with over $ 10k mods in the engine..../how did you spend that much money anyway?
the seats you have,is stock in the RS too.... also it's not superior ,only smoother for better ride. /comfortable,but same performance.that is why you pay more /

you really need to look after couple of things...
But i also sad ,if you happy with the stock performance ,the MR is your choice.
Read my posts here ,before you post for me.....

 

Most of the MR's around here have a frickin' sunroof. So much for lower center of gravity. I like the leather/alcantara seats in my IX much more than the full leather ones. (Try sitting on a leather seat when it is 119 degrees outside) I perfer the 5spd. I do like the BBS wheels, and the Bilstiens if they truly perform better.

It is a really just a $6000 badge, when you think about it...

Aren't my headlights HID? I didn't even notice. They are cool looking round sealed beam chingasa's? Hmmm....

 

My EVO VIII first got an SAFC II but since I did not get much support from the seller, I never used it. Then I was first in line to get Al's famous "road tunes" in Nov of '03. The end result was that Al detuned the car because he could not get it to stop knocking. He blamed it on the gasoline, etc. and finally said "it is what it is" and that was that. I decided to go all the way and took it to Boost Solutions. They installed HKS cams, Intake, cam gears, big injectors (2 different sets), big Greddy FMIC, fuel pump, fuel rail, full turbo back exhaust, AEM EMS, electronic boost and egt gauges, AEM wide band O2 sensor and controller, Exedy twin disk clutch and probably more $hit that I've already forgotten. If you add to that the cost of installation and many sessions of street and dyno tuning and you'll see how fast it adds up.... This whole sorry business has been discussed before at length. I've been an EVO owner from the time the first EVO arrived in Atlanta in March of '03 (I believe I bought the first EVO to arrive in Atlanta).

Anyway, thanks to Andrew at Dyno4mance, Seth, and the guys from Vishnu, the car got somewhat sorted out but in the end I was sick of it and traded it for my '05 MR. I know what I know. The MR is way better than the VIII. After Boost Solutions finished screwing up my car, it made 250+ whp on the DD dyno at Dyno4mance. Sure, Andrew managed to tune it better and got 290 whp, but that was after lots of hassle pain and much money wasted. The MR with only an XEDE and a custom tune by Andrew made 249 whp on the same DD dyno..... Now, this is car with perfect driveability, absolutely stock driveability, Stock exhaust for a nice quiet ride and the handling of the MR is considerably better (like way better) than the VIII.

Until you've owned and driven both cars, you don't know enough to pass judgement on the MR vs the other EVOs. Talk is cheap and opinions based on hearsay or assumptions are not worth much. Basically, all the criticism of the MR is baseless because it's made from a position of ignorance. First go buy an MR, live with it and compare it to the RS or GSR. Then come back and tell me how bad the MR is....

 

I love my 05 MR. Apex silver and no sunroof. Does have HID package.

The only limitation I know of is the 6 speed is a little weaker, 4-6 gears being very small n size. So IIRc the power limit is right at 400 ft/lb torque. the 5 speed has higher limits.

My MR has espilar GT springs on the bilsteins and a 25 mm Progress rear bar. I think it handles very well. ( Ex SCCA nationals autocrosser )

One thing I dont like is how hot the aluminum shifter knob gets in the sun. Even placing a sock over it in summer, it is super hot. I wish there was a factory leather 6 spd knob for the MR. i would snap one up fast.

milburn

 

My Evo 04 gsr with cat back/$650/ test pipe/$120/ downpipe/$240/o2 housing/200/ 10.5 hotside /$240/ boostcontroller /$70/ 272 cams/$400/ short ram intake /$260/ and Turbotrix ECU flash , 23 psi boost/$400/ made = 350 whp -344 wtq.
So i spend = $ 2580... and i got those numbers

i droved both cars /MR -RS/numerus times ,actually i had 8 GSR for 2 years...
and i got RS...

 

MR all the way; we all know it stands for Mad Racer

 

That's great, congratulations on your great success. I see you've owned the GSR and now you've taken a step back and downgraded to the RS..... I wonder why? You say you've "droven" the MR numerous times. But I don't believe you've owned one. Taking a few test drives in some MR does not qualify you as an expert on the MR, particularly since you hold a strong bias against the car.... BTW, your hp and tq numbers are meaningless as benchmarks to compare it with my cars. I think you are talking about completely different dynos.

 

MRs, like SEs and RS', can't support sunroofs due to their aluminum roofs. You're thinking of a SSL.

MRs don't have leather seats. Again, you're thinking of a SSL.

Now, that's silly. Compared to your GSR, the MR comes with HIDs, an upgraded suspension, a 6-speed, an aluminum roof and a host of trim items.

Not unless you have a MR, a SSL or a SE.

<gulp> Errr...okey-dokey.

 

This entire thread will always be based on the drivers expectations. Is one actually better than the other? If you compare stock to stock since that is the only way you really can compare cars when you look at the price tag, they are obviously different. Is the MR worth the extra money? To those who (do not mean to offend anyone) don't have as much money as others most likely it is NOT worth it. Why? Most people like to mod their evo and it really can't be compared anymore when talking what is worth the dealer price tag. For those who do have the money for the MR, I think it is worth it since you are already a step above (IMO) than the RS evo. Since these buyers do have the money, apparently the tag price on an MR is worth the differences and therefore proves otherwise. As I said earlier this is really a personal perspective in which it comes down to people's expectations on what they will be "doing" to the car.

I find it funny when people compare their "modded" evo to a stock evo and say that they will beat any stock evo anytime. DUH, they forget that it cost them more money to do that. If someone with less money buys an RS and someone with more buys an MR and they race stock v stock (assuming similiar driving skills) what will be the outcome? Now if you take them both and mod them both with the same mods, the outcome will be the same. Since the person with more money can always match the person with less, why wouldn't the MR be worth it to HIM? It won't be to someone with less money since they pay more for it and can't do as much to it...see what I am saying? It is all based on expectaions for the car and how much money you have to spend. IMO.

BTW I own an 06 IX MR and love it.

 

There are several factors at play that make the discussion somewhat confusing:

1. "Worth it" is a personal value judgment and cannot be prorated to others by definition.

2. This thread began with a discussion of VIII MR, which differed from the VIII GSR/RS on many levels. The same cannot be said for IX GSR vs. IX MR, and even less for SE vs. MR. Even though the model designations stayed the same, the cars changed.

3. Arguing which is "better" is a meaningless pursuit without accounting for individual tastes and preferences. This, too, cannot be prorated to others.