A few words to express my feelings...

I bought my 2006 GG Evo MR back in January 2009 with approximately 41k miles. It had one modification on the car - an unknown intake. A few months later, the filter broke off it's metal MAF adapter plate.

Since then, I haven't really done much to improve performance. I got a 2.75" downpipe (primarily to add a wideband) on eBay that also shipped with an O2 housing and 3" test pipe. I didn't intend to install the test pipe, but the bung welded on the down pipe made the wideband interfere with the driveshaft tunnel and forced me to use the bung on the test pipe.

I've also installed a Grimmspeed 3-port EBC and an Omni 4bar MAP sensor. Being the nerd I am, I wanted the goodies to log and control engine parameters.

I've also performed the 60K service in my garage with success. It was a bit challenging, but I think my wife was more concerned about me getting it done at my slow pace (I do things to the best of my ability).

Now, to comment on my impression of the Evo and some of my future plans:

Disappointments:
- My back doors seem to be rusting from inside the door out
- My driver's side window rattles with it rolled down half way
- Gas mileage - it'd be nice to get 25 mpg with all the highway driving I do, but it's worth the fun factor of the car

Points of Pleasure:
- Open Source ECU programming - special thanks to Tephra, mrfred, and many others for contributing to the Ecu Flash forum
- The overall driving experience - steering response, seats, power, handling, etc. It's truly a driver's car and perfect for engineers that appreciate the effort that goes into creating a package like this

Regrets:
- Not having it paid off by the time I hit 100k
- Not participating in track events (just haven't had the funds owning a house, being married, and having a kid - all worth the expenses)
- I have moments when I regret driving it as much as I do, but I purchase cars to drive them, not just look at them

Future Plans:
- Battery relocation - probably be my next mod
- Intercooler and piping (after battery relocation)
- Saikou Michi Catch Cans (after battery relocation)
- Suspension refreshment - Bilstein damper rebuild to GT Worx spring specs
- Additional power adders - I envision trying to do what any engineer would want to take into production without compromises
- Powertrain refreshment - 2.3L, Shep 6 Speed, refreshed center and rear diff (long way to go on this one)

I think that's it for the time being. The journey has been awesome and I appreciate all those active members that contribute their learnings and experience on EvoM.

Thanks,

Paul

 

Congrats! It sure sounds like you drive a lot -- my IX isn't even at 48k miles yet, and it's daily driven :P

 

Congrats. Hope you get many more miles. Good choice in mods too. Should of tried to get a 3in downpipe. Care to post some exterior pics?

 

I don't blame you for hitting the miles, once you drive these cars it's a drag to drive most anything else !

 

Congrats I'm just over 97K bought the car back in May of 03

 

Im with you on the point you made about driving a car that you buy and not just looking at it. Sounds like you really enjoy your car and those 59k miles were all ones you enjoyed. I hope to have the same story as you in 48k miles.