I owned a Evo ix with bolt-ons putting 335whp. Sold it, regret it, bought another one.
Now I have Evo ix MR fully stock other than radio. I'm sure I wont be able to keep it stock for long, but just want to see if there is people driving them stock or how long you managed to keep it stock. The car drives awesome and it's quite, but it's freaking slow. 240whp or something.

Just wondering since these cars are meant to be modified.

 

yes, mine was stock for about 2 months. i drove a buddy's evo and it is still stock with 90k miles. feels super slow. def a car for modding.

 

It seemed so fast when it was new, compared to other trash I drove. Now 200whp later I'm so used to it that it seems slow. "Is it pulling timing? is there a boost leak? how come my neck didn't snap back?"

 

When I bought mine, I tested an old guys totally stock Evo 9, even had a stock exhaust. It was a different vibe, he was like keeping it as a collectors item for cruising along the highway, I think he bought it new and then thought his sons would want to mod it with him and take it tracking and the sons were like not into cars and going fast. I thought the same with my sons when I bought mine, its virtually stock but has like a stage one tune, pipe, pump and filter prob about 320hp in the cold, but i am hesitant to go that next step as I can beat on it endlessly around a track with other hot hatches chasing after me, if I take it up to 400hp I can visualise myself lying under it on a cold winter night pulling the trany down and other drive train failures, so maybe when I get totally used to the power, I'll go that next step.
So if your going stock, I'd recommend just pop it to a stage one type set-up and you can easily take it back to stock if that's important to you. I don't see keeping it stock in hope that it might be worth a few bucks one day and you'll get 5 grand more for it compared to what fun you can have in the mid 300hp range

not sure of any of that makes sense?..lol

 

Unless you NEED the power, just do intake, exhaust and a tune. Helping the engine breath easier is win win.

 

It just depends on your goals. My goal is to keep the thing reliable and drive it until they quit selling gas. So I do things like replacing a radiator that is not leaking, replace wheel bearings that are tight and quiet or all new accessory belt idlers. For me it is a cross country road car. If it has enough poop to pass on the interstate, that is all I need.

 

Having a bone stock, buttery smooth, rich running evo was fun, but this was a car meant for modding. The most reliable evo is a stock evo. The downside is they lack power in stock form.

-pal215

 

I bought mine new, and it's still stock.

 

 

I bought a 11k mile evo 8 MR a year ago and it's fully stock still. I put about 1,800 miles on it so it's around 13k now but I think I'm going mod it. honestly I'm not real worried about the resale value plus if I get the work done by a reputable shop, keep all the paper work, and keep it clean like I do already it'll hold its value pretty well anyways. a quote I always liked was " life's too short to stay stock. "

 

My car still rolling stock, except K&N drop in filter, close enough.

 

My car was stock for about 3 weeks when I got. It got wheels/tires, intake, tb exhaust, mbc and a tune in short order. Those 4 things turned the car into what it's supposed to be from the factory.

 

In stock form the car is still fun to drive around, but now in 2015/16+ all those new cars come with more power than a stock Evo, even Hyundais. New four bangers like an audi s3 will destroy a stock evo. Back in 03 286hp was awesome... not now.

Thanks to that power plant Iron block known as 4G63, this car begs to be modified.
I agree with the previous post. Bolt-ons and a tune should be the way the car should have come stock

 

S3 only has 292 hp so im not sure how that is that much more than an a stock EVO 8. Like what 15 hp difference? But it weighs like 200 lbs more than an EVO 8.

Plus a S3 is like 42k MSRP. The base EVO goes for around 33-36k. Two different cars for two different markets. Not even an apples to apples comparison.

In addition, I would bet my money on a stock Evo if both were put on the track.

 

I have a bone stock Evo IX SE that I bought new in February 2007. Actually just hit 90k miles tonight.