Yup, there's "stock" and then there's "the way it should have been stock".

That power level was interesting, teaches you more. Now I'm just darting around in a straight line, coasting through corners.

 

I just picked up a beautiful 9 Mr with 26k miles two weeks ago. It's basically stock, other than upper intercooler piping, greddy exhaust, and tein coilovers. After 9 years, it still has a new car smell!

 

Owned my car since September '15, bought it stock, right down to the original intake and paper filter and exhaust, and intend to keep it stock.

I've driven less powerful cars as well as cars with more power, but this feels like "just enough" for my daily driving purposes without getting into the territory of unreliability and hard shoulder chats with LEOs.

 

I bought my car brand new and drove it the whole first year about 15,000 miles totally bone stock and then I started modding it and haven't stopped since. My only advise is watch out when you start modding because the increase in power will leave you wanting more and thats good but it will leave your wallet a lot lighter

 

I live in Hong Kong and I had an Evo 8 since 2008. It was quite stock (only aftermarket muffler and BOV were changed), which was hard to find in this city since everybody who imported an Evo were either already modded or prepared to mod it. Left it in the same state since then. I enjoyed every minute of driving it for the last 7 years, but I feel that it's not as powerful as it used to be. Would anyone suggest anything I can do to properly service it with a view to restore some of the original power but not changing or modding any parts?

 

I bought my car with full bolt ons making 313whp, so now I only have to maintain it Until I decide I want to make real power.

Luckily it only has a little over 46k.

After 7 years you're probably just used to the car and power.
I think it's time for a front facing 6262.

 

As much as I love the idea of buying a stock evo- I don't think I could ever live with it at that power level. That's like having a super hot wife and not hitting it raw.... just saying.

 

almost bought a stock 8 about five months ago...definitely a fun car. But decided to get my bolt on 06 ix se, not bad power for having a tune....but need more powa. these are fun cars but dont think they make the best daily drivers...load on highway and not the greatest mpgs...really what ever your plans are.

 

Original owner IX here. A couple years after purchasing I had it re-flashed by WORKS to get rid of the high-rpm boost taper, but that's it. THIS, in my opinion, is how the car should have come from the factory. I even enjoy the stock exhaust (now that I'm old).

This car is the first car I really felt was perfect in (near) stock form, which keeps me from modifying it despite the relative ease of making more power. The quest for more power is never ending, usually resulting in countless trade-offs and regret.

That being said, I have almost 130K miles on the car. I drive it as it was intended ("spirited"), but don't abuse it. And outside of normal maintenance (consumables, fluids, timing belts, etc) it has been the most reliable car I've ever owned.

And I'm still on the original clutch, which has no signs of slipping. I think the key to these cars is respect what they are and what they aren't, and keep your expectations of the cars realistic.

Cheers!

 

i have an 05 gsr and was proud of myself for keeping it stock for 1 year and 8 months. About 4 months ago i caved and bought an intake and an ap to tune it.

I am itching for an exhaust soooo badly... Already have a downpipe though. Having a street bike helps with the speed/ modifying your car urge.

 

One more thought ...

Take the E30 M3 for example - sure it only had ~200hp in stock form, but it was never intended to be a drag racer. Pretty much any aftermarket part you put on that car would be a step in the wrong direction. If you don't believe me, take a look what even high mileage stock ones are selling for.

The E30 M3 was a racecar for the street and I feel the Evo is in a similar category - one of the last, relatively lightweight (for AWD), true driver's cars in stock form derived from years of development in rally. It's too good to ruin with a bunch of ebay bolt-ons.

But then again, being stock isn't going to impress anybody. Having driven and owned many modified cars with 2-3x the horsepower, I still enjoy driving my 'nearly' stock Evo the most.

Again, just sharing my $0.02. If you want to mod it with some crappy coilovers, ill-fitting exhausts and big cone filters, go ahead - it's only going to make mine more valuable

 

If you go eBay for your parts. However there are several high quality aftetmarket suppliers whose quality is just as good or better than OEM. A tune and simple TBE will make this car perfect. I used to think like you and keep it totally stock but just uncorking it a little bit enhances the character of the car without ruining it.

 

Yeah, good point njboy. An exhaust sure helps and isn't irreversible, but with this car's short gearing, I just couldn't tolerate the noise at 3500+ rpm's on the highway. Maybe I'm just getting old...

 

I have a Stock 05 Evo with 98k miles on it that i bought 3 years ago, still loving it.

 

Ah! very lucky!!
I'm looking for a stock IX myself, and it's a hard to come by to say the least!
Enjoy your new car!