bought my 06 IX last week and now having driven it, i have formed a solid opinion on it compared to the 8. simply put, its better. in my 03 8 the drivetrain felt loose and shaky. i had the car for about 33K miles and never had a problem, so obviously it was a quality drivetrain, but it didnt feel like it. it didnt want to go into gear smoothly at all, esp 1 and 3, even after it had warmed up. the clutch chatter was also really bad, sometimes even after car was warm. like i said i had no major problems with the car and obviously was satisfied with it, thats why less than a year after getting rid of it, i have a IX.

in the IX it seems mitsu really straightened out those drivetrain issues. it still takes a nice shove to get it into 3rd most of the time, but other than that it shifts very smooth compared to the 8. clutch engagement is also very smooth, no chatter, and feels more solid than the 8. the car is being broken in properly, so i have not gone over 4k rpms yet, but i can say that the boost def hits harder and earlier than the 8. im feeling a full spool by low 3k rpm range, which is where it would start in my 8, and id feel it fully by 35-3700 rpms. another thing i didnt like about the 8 is the boost dropoff at about 5500 rpms. havent gotten the IX into that range yet, but i know a controller will fix that. as for handling they both cut like knives so they are equal in that aspect.

 

I just traded my 04rs for an 06 rs. The difference in power delivery is definitely noticeable and transmission feels completely different (much better). The 06 rs pulls much stronger than my 04 rs.

 

i almost went with the RS but the difference in $$$ was so small that ill take the power, haha. RS is pretty cool though.

 

By "power" you mean power accessories, right? Not horsepower...

 

ur IX should corner better thanks to an LSD up front, whereas ur 03 VIII had an open front diff.

full boost depending on gear will hit at different rpm, but my IX hits around 19.5 (peak boost) at around 3500 rpm in 3rd gear as well. however MIVEC does let the boost come on sooner and the transition won't feel as strong as the VIII because of that.

hope u break in ur IX soon so u can really drive it

 

He would really need to race the car in order to notice the difference between and open diff and a LSD.

Sounds like hasn't pushed the IX hard enough yet and I would say that most EVO owners don't drive hard enough to distinguish between the two.

However, I did in my old open diff 2004 GSR and I hated the way that it truly felt like a 3 wheel drive car.

-Nate

 

Ditto. In autox's the LSD helps so much

 

im partial more to the evo 8's

 

I have a 05 8, and it's much more like the 9.
The 9 is a little smoother on the power band, but other then that
I was unable to really see much of a difference from my 8.
The turbo spool was the same from what I could tell.

Granted I have a 8 and put 20kmi on it, where I just drove the 9 for 10mi

I like the interior trim on the 9, but like the 8 front end.

I think the 9 would be a little better as a daily driver, due to the smoother
power band.

 

I like my IX, haven't driven a VIII but the IX feels kinda slow compared to STI, I don't know why.

 

Well said. I couldn't have said it better. Those are my exact same thought I had when I got rid of my 03 and got a IX

 

+1... I loved my 8, but it never felt "high quality" with the clutch chatter and rough tranny etc. I drove a IX MR when they first came out and thought "this is how EVO's are meant to drive," solid, smooth, and fast. Good choice on the upgrade!! As soon as I have the funds I will be back in an evo with a IX MR

 

yeah the 8 was great like i said and really opened my eyes to sports cars, but the 9 is smoother and more well rounded drive train wise. and correct, i havent gotten on it hard enough yet to notice the diff between open and LCD......key word yet. problem is i only drive a mile to work so ive had it for a week already and have put barely 60 miles on it. i havent had time to do a lot of extracurricular driving haha.

 

Same thing here I drive like 5 miles to work. I got the IX sept 15 and I just went over 800 miles

 

I 100% Agree, the IX is much better then my 2003, but the shifting issues sounded like a simple clutch adjustment issue. I had my ACT clutch shifting perfectly at 8000 RPM's. The motor is significantly better, the front LSD is VERY VERY noticeable over the Non-LSD equipped car. The MR handles VERY well, I love it.