I will be disappointed if the U.S. market Evo VIII does not have ACD and AYC when it arrives.
Those are major selling points for me. Without those unique features, the Evo is on an even playing field, or do I dare say, it will be a weaker competitor to the WRX STi.
The fact that it will have "only" a 5-spd and the rumor that it might only have 265hp are things that will hurt it in a lot of buyers' eyes when they compare it to the STi. The horsepower should be easy to recover with bolt-ons, but the ACD and AYC are what separate it from the Subaru, and make it the superior handler.
Why should the rest of the world get ACD/AYC and not the U.S.? Mitsubishi had better think this through very well, so they don't hurt sales. EVOs will sell, regardless, but they could actually hurt Subaru if they keep the EVO drivetrain intact.
If those drivetrain features aren't included in the U.S. version, then I think it's not really an EVO. I'll have to change my position from "definitely-EVO" to "maybe-STi".

 

if it's not a big deal to add bolt ons how big a deal is it to change diffs.? It will be one of the first things aftermarket companies sell for the EVO if it's left off

 

couldn't have said it better myself, which is why i'm going STi now.

 

I am torn on this subject. :torn: hehe.

On one hand thiers the less weight, lower cost and less to brake arguments. Also Pimpson makes a great point about the aftermarket possibaly jumping all over the opertunity to sell you what your "missing". This would also allow for us to get a stronger AYC and ACD that can handle the 350HP that most people find to be the sweet spot between performance and functionality as a daily driver with the Evo.

However, with the STI scheduled to arive with, IMO, stunningly good looks, and all the things that are suppose to be there (minus a few non-emmision compliant horses); I am almost compelled to go take my deposit back and see if I can still catch the Scubby bus.

Next on my list of possibilities is the nissan 350z. A true sports car by every definition. Reliability will no doubt be there and with 200+lb/ft of wheel power availible at just 2000 rpms and 244 wheel HP available at 6200 RPM it would be a pleasure to own and race with everyday. Too bad the earliest attempts at tuning it didn't go so well (Sport compact car last month).

Lastly thiers the fact that without the Active diffs and much larger wheelbase, possibly the softer suspension and clutch problems the evo 8 isn't looking so good to me anymore.

P.S. yes, that last line was a pun

My 2 cents

 

There's a difference between adding bolt-ons to compensate for a country-specific, emissions-equipment-induced horsepower reduction, than spending time and money to change a diff and transfer case that it should have in the first place.

We'll already be paying as much or more for the Evo VIII as people pay in other countries who get the ACD and AYC. So why should we get a de-contented product? That's the question I posed in my first post that no one has answered.

 

ru4real,
I think it WAS answered. It simply comes to reliabilty, warranty issues with Mitsubishi. Americans drive alot more miles than any other country. The ayc/acd reliabilty/durabilty would be questionable with the US cycle of use compared to other countries. It was told to me that it presents to much of a risk to MMNA regarding warranty. It really won't bother me if they come without it....less weight, less worry about reliabilty. And I think I drive well enough that I'll do just fine without it. Most racers prefer NOT having it.

 

When you say we are going to pay the same as other countrys you are wrong. It all comes down to the country's economy and the value of thier currency. In Japan they pay alot less then 30k US converted and get the full real deal j-spec monster it is suppose to be. Then in Europe they pay alot more then the 30k converted US and sometimes don't even get all the j-spec stuff.
Here alot of people will pay 30k for a 328i which is so little car for the dollar that could charge 40k for a full J-spec Evo and compared to the bimmer it would still be alot for your money and sell well. Im not saying its right but its the truth.

Welcome to capitalism

My 2 cents.

 

The biggest problem is to use the car under some specific rules that most of the serious types of racing have. It would make a big difference for us here if we could use the car with active drivetrain in the Stock category under the SCCA racing. That would give as a change to go against some serious racing machines. But, with mechanical diffs we would go back to the regular WRX and old DSM field the most.

In the higher classes, adding active drivetrain is not allowed, unless you go to the top two classes where (EM and SM), where even current EVO 7 is legal to race! And, it cost less if you bring it from Europe (assuming that EVO 8 will be around 30k). Also, since it is racing only, there will be no issues with the DOT crap.

So, EVO 8 without the active drivetrain means that no body would go for one in the SCCA Solo2 and ProSolo world, since there is a cheaper and better version overseas! I hope will recognize that.

As of the your driving skills and being able to do well without the ACD+AYC, why do you think that WRC cars have them in there? And that goes for every single one of them (including the active front diff too). I don't think that those guys are that bad that they cannot use the standard drivetrain. It is more like that, they all have the use the active stuff in order to be competitive.

If you are racing for fun only and don't care about getting that last tenth or hundred of a second from yourself and the car, than we are talking about the different things and I agree with your point of view completely!

Mr. AWD

 

Thnx for the post MrAWD,
As always I get a new prospective posted in a professional and well educated manner. I dont know much about the different racing classes but do agree that if they don't bring it with the active diffs then the car is going to be missing out on what allows its longer size to corner like the cars with much shorter wheelbases. To say that without the active diffs it would ruin the cars handling however isn't true either as I've seen a stock RS go up against a stock GSR and win on the track due to it getting a slightly faster acceleration off the line (less weight) and the driver made a flawless run.

AYC+ACD= Dynamic car control or Traction assistence=

My 2 cents.

 

Gus don't mean to rain on your parade, but the Las Vegas photos are not the Evo V111. The car is not even built yet. This is what my Japanese contact said.

 

I don't think that your contact is up to date with the current spy shots at nuremburg or the ones from the vegas meeting.

 

Any car can be made to handle well (with or without the active diffs). The fact that RS was outrunning the GSR could be possible. I have been beaten by the stock Neons before, and that didn't make Neons faster than DSMs. The fact that multi National Champion was driving the other car didn't help either.

What I am trying to say is that there are so many different factors that will affect the lap time. Weight, suspension settings, wheel alignment, level of tuning, driving skills, and probably bunch more of those. It is always very difficult to compare even two identical cars, because even they might be the same, small little differences will make one of those faster than the other.

What I can say is that at the stage of the tuning for my car, I am at the level that I need to have rear end a bit more nimble. I tried several different things and there is always some kind of compromise that you are faced at. The final solution is to have an AYC in the rear and that seem to be the option with the least bad things that will go along. The great thing is that already had that done pretty well in the EVO 7, so we don't have to deal with too much of the engineering on our own. If they make a bad decision and don't include the active setup into the latest model that should be here anytime now, than we will have to look at the other options that are available!

Mr. AWD

 

Just so were clear the two cars where stock and if you would like I would be more then happy to either send you the vid or tell you the filename so your could get it over Kazza or something. I totally agree that the AYC is a GREAT thing. when I read about it I was like and a huge light bulb went on in my head asking why all cars didn't have it.

 

Nicely said MR AWD... It is so nice to see another person worried about where the EVO will be classed based on avail hardware.

I couldn't agree with you more about comparing cars. There are so many factors that come into play, it is almost totally worthless.

Personally, I hope they do come with mechanical diff. "Wha?" you say. Well, let me clarify. I hope they come with good mechanical diffs. The LSD for the center diffs in DSMs are (as you know) Viscous. Which means they suck. They take about (seems like) 1 to 2 sec to fully lock. Where clutch pack diffs are locked up yesterday but wear out depending on driving style and hp. And then there are Torsen LSD which lock up yesterday and don't wear out, but act like an open diff if a wheel leaves the ground. My S2K has the latter and it is awesome! The nice part about using a Torsen in the center is "rarely" both the front or rear tires leave the ground in auto-x type driving. I am really interested in finding out what type Mitsu chooses. Do I think it will make the car less completive. No. I will take less weight over anything else short of mucho torque. But, and I can't stress this enough.... but thats IMHO.

/<

 

The Imprezas, Evo 4/5/6 all use a viscous center diff and you are saying that they suck?