I've got an 05 MR with 21k. I am original owner.

But now building a track car with it

 

Evo IX simply for the interior and front fascia. Although if I was building a 600hp DD, I'd go cheap as possible with high miles but never driven in the winter, so wouldn't have a preference.

 

Why me?

 

I misread. I thought you were the OP. LOL. Sorry bud.

But either way, Great White Buffalo.

 

staying on topic here, for a 600 whp platform... the Evo VIII wins.. Why? 6 speed transmission on the Evo 9s are trash period unless you have a 5spd swap- longevity speaking... the only negative effect of the VIII is if you have a 03-04 and you have an open diff in the transfer case which is the weakest point of the car...
besides that obvious preferences involved consist of interior/exterior and of course year of production reasoning
You're not going to find much gems with the 5spd swap in a Evo 9.

 

Only the MR's come with the 6 speed here in the U.S. The 5 speed on the 9 is just as good as the 5 speed in the 8. There are some different gear ratios between the 8 and 9 which can be mixed and matched to get you to your goals.

 

I love my Evo 8 but if I could do it again I'd get an Evo 9, just didn't find one I really liked and jumped and bought my 8. the 9s have nicer interiors which IMO make driving more enjoyable.

 

Evo 9 because as stated, interior, upgraded stock turbo from the 8 and i enjoy the front end more

 

its pretty funny people keep commenting on the interior. The 9 interior sucks just a fraction less then the 8 interior. Also the guy wants 600hp so the stock turbo doesn't matter.

 

Quality-wise, you are correct, but aesthetically, there's a bigger gap. The black/grey seats are much more pleasing to the eyes than the black/blue seats, which looked odd on certain colors like red.

And only a couple of people mentioned the stock turbo (and more people also conceded that when going for 600 hp, you're going to swap it out, and that the IX turbo's benefits go out of the window at that point).

 

8 bumper with a DL lip > 9 bumper. I don't get the silly holes they put on the evo 9. Cooling for licp?? lol all in all evo 9 is more appealing and has a greater market value. If you're modifying then performance doesn't matter much as stated in the thread. youl want to swap out mivec anyways and turbo upgrades will be the same. if you're keeping it stock id lean to the 9 personally, but that's just me.

 

a wise man told me to never argue taste, so I was mostly talking about quality.

 

For the front bumper and interior upgrades alone, I'd preference the IX.

The Mivec is nice too but I believe it depends on your goals if Mivec becomes a problem.

I have had both. A SSL AS IX and a 05 WW VIII with all the IX goodies.

I currently have the best of both worlds as I have a IX interior and front end (now beat up).

I'd do a VIII as long as it is setup like mine and has the IX interior. The VIII stock interior is way too ugly and would stop me from purchasing unless it was prestine and I'd do the swap myself.

Do it right from the get go and look for a SE.

 

I have SE seats in my 8. I think they are more attractive but the blue seats more comfortable at least for me.