if you move up to an IX you will like the improvements for a little while but then you will be back to where you are now. I say you either keep what you have or upgrade to a different car altogether.

 

I woudnt want anyone to IMO waste the money on a MR. Evo IX ftw though. Just no MR

 

I sold my 03 on Ebay, and after driving a civic for a year (thought I would become Econo-man!), finally grew another set of ***** and traded the civvy in for an 06 IX MR. Haven't looked back. While my transition was not direct, by any means, I can see why you're thinking about it.

FWIW, you'll be able to get the same (or maybe a little better) power out of the IX's Mivec 4G63 with a much quieter exhaust, relative to your VIII.

my 0.02 ^__^

 

The whole point, seemingly missed by many, is he's looking for a DAILY DRIVER - one for a fairly long commute. The IX MR fits the bill better than any other choice. No need to spend megabucks on loud exhaust; just some judicious mods that don't hurt drivability or noise level and you're way over the 03 VIII.
Get the MR

 

If you want to improve the daily driver qualities of your car, you can beging by taking off any mods such as exhaust, etc. Next thing I would do is buy and install the MR suspension. I'd get the shocks and the springs because the shocks alone might not help much. If you are still riding on the OEM tires, you can try changing to some quieter, more comfortable tires.... All these things might help the EVO VIII to become a better daily driver. However, the IX MR will be better because it's newer and a more integrated package. The 6 speed ratios are nicer for the everyday drive (specially the higher 6th speed). Also, the aluminum roof makes the car ride differently and to my estimation, better.

If you have the means, try to test drive other high performance cars. You might be surprised and find you like something else as well or better than the EVO for your purposes. Don't discount the cars you mentioned as a step down from the EVO XIII. Regardless of what some ppl might say, it's not so clear cut that you are "stepping down" by going to a M3 or a S4... Those are very nice, very fast and great handling cars. I believe that they are also quite more refined and luxurious.

 

I agree with the above post. I think you should evaluate what you are looking to get out of a car as opposed to getting a car and trying to adapt it to yourself. I had owned an 03 evo and an 04 evo and I loved them both to death. I still have not driven any car that will match its raw performance.
However, much like yourself, the harshness of the car in day-to-day situations got to me. I thought to myself......how often am I driving this thing buck-wild. Maybe 5 to 10% of the time for me. A weekend canyon run, or an occasional back road sprint was about it.
I decided that for me it was worth sacrificing a bit of performance for creature comforts. I ended up getting a 2005 S4. I payed a little to trade out of the evo, but the S4 is awesome. It has all the bells and whistles, I love the V8 power, and the handling is quite capable. My commute and road trips are ten times more enjoyable.
The evo is an awesome car, I still give a thumbs-up whenever I see one. If I were to buy a weekend only "toy" I wouldn't hesitate a second. However, my current finances won't allow this. The evo is a race-car adapted for the streets. Because I cannot enjoy it as such everyday (due to speed-limits, police, traffic, commuting etc.) I decided to trade. I hope this helps you out with your decision. Cheers.

 

PERFECTLY said man. Great post

 

I was considering the S4 especially because i had a 2001 A4 before the Evo. The only things are the 50K price plus the low gas mileage. How is your MPG??? I drive about 80 miles round trip a day. If gas was still $1.99 things would be nicer wouldnt they.

 

I've found the gas economy to be quite interesting actually. The difference between city and highway is mind-boggling. Around town I will pull 16-18mpg. The car is a bit of a porker - so gettin' her going does take a bit of go juice.....especially from a dead stop.
However on the highway, the situation is rather different. My girlfriend and I took a trip down to San Diego for the 4th of July....the trip computer showed an average of 28 mpg. I verified this upon fill-up because this is the best I have ever achieved. On the freeway this thing just idles along...even at 75 or 80. I absolutely love the car on the freeway - it's smooth with crisp handling, and the top end power is rather impressive. This is one area in which it could probably give an evo a run for its money (assuming its stock).
So all in all the gas mileage isnt great...but its not like the evo is an economy car either. Around town I would plan on getting ~18mpg, and ~25 on the highway. So in a sense....much similar to the evo. Once again, it also depends on how you drive.
The car is a bit more to get into....however deals are out there. I found a 2005 used with 1800 miles on it. A local guy had purchased the car from the dealer.....fell into some more money soon thereafter.....and traded it in a month later for a 911. The car is Nogaro Blue with the matching leather/blue alcantra Recaros in the front and back seat, with all options except for navigation. I got it for 42k and it is Certified Pre-Owned.....so it has a bumper to bumper warranty untill 100k miles. All maintenance is included as well.
If you're interested go and take one for a spin at your local dealership. Let me know if you have any more questions etc......Good Luck

 

Thanks man.

 

I'm in the same boat with paid off '03 VIII with 35k miles and in perfect condition. Even in a best case scenario if I sell VIII for 22k and get a new IX MR for 36k otd I would end up in a $14k hole and for what? 6speed, mivec, bilsteins, cosmetic exterior differences, ayc/lsd that I'll never use and no sunroof option? Does not seem to be a smart move

 

The difference is those 35K miles. Well worth 14K, imo, especially for all the other reasons a IX is so much better than an 03 VIII. But, each to his own...

(Also, you can get the new IX MR somewhat cheaper than 36K OTD, I believe)

Edit: if you must have the sunroof, the SSL is like 2K cheaper than the MR!

But the original thread was about improving daily drivability, which is how we came to talk about MR, Bilsteins, etc...

 

Don't waste your $ for such "minor" upgrade...like others have suggested earlier, considering purchasing MR suspension off classified section. If you must have quieter exhaust (I'm guessing you have aftermarket), you're going to have to convert back to stock...generally, louder the exhaust, more power it nets. You're going to have to sacrifice speed and sportiness for comfort and luxury.

I also have 03 Evo (silver =p) and I'm used to its harshness...what you could also do for harsh ride is get yourself some soft-rubber compound tires--they really help softening up the ride. I forgot what model I have on mine but I got some Kumhos and they work like magic =]

Hope this helps!

 

If you want sport and luxury it will cost you and if i wanted that i'd get a m3 bimmer but i dont so i drive an evo. Like others have said the MR dosent give that much more commfort than your VIII. I think going from an 8 that you took good care of to a nine is a waist of money since its pretty much the same car.

 

I think the 'amount' of depreciation money you would lose on a IX you'd probably want to spend it towards a nice suspension setup on the VIII. My favorite recommendation is a set of "VishnuSpec" Ohlins set on a very soft setting.

As far as exhaust, the less-expensive high-horsepower exhausts usually net you lots of drone noise. (As much as they don't claim drone.) I'd seriously recommend something on the order of a nice system + a nice Magnaflow at the end. It'd net nice power, but the sound would be much more manageable.

Cheers,

Joel.