hello, i'm looking to buy an evo, i just had some basic questions. to my understanding the 2003-04 evos do not have ACD, 05up does. is this system worth the extra money?whats the best evo for around $16k? I've found the evo base for as low as 12k, which would be prefered unless the ACD is worth the extra money of buying a 05&up?
Thank you!

 

Most people have more issues with their ACD than they would prefer. It is not necessary for your Evo to be equipped with it. For $16k or less you could probably get yourself a decent condition Evo VIII. Unless your willing to save up some more money to purchase the Evo IX, which is what I would do if I were you.

 

Especially if you are going to use your Evo year round in an area that snows and uses salt on the roads it'll be a matter of time before your ACD pump fails and a new unit from Mitsu runs ~$1800 or you can always rebuild them if you can source the rebuilt kit/parts for about $300.

 

Acd is cool if you don't mind not having complete control of your car.

 

I you are going to be competitive racing the car a 2006 is the only year. Evo IX had mivec which is good for around 15-20 HP extra. I autocrossed a IX for 4 year and never had an ACD issue.