I just bought the 04... for a number of reasons.

1. I think this car has PLENTY of performance in terms of speed and handling. More is not necessarily better... I will probably never be able to ring 90% out of this car... if I wanted to spend more money.. it would be on a performance driving school... not 10 more HP.

2. Like I stated above.. I don't want to pay any more than I already did.

3. I have the car now.

4. I am not convinced that a 6 speed will be better than a 5 speed.

5. There will always be a better car coming out soon. In 05.. they will start talking about how the 06 will have more hp or more whatever.

6. I paid less than MSRP for my 04. I can only imagine what people will be paying over MSRP for the MR.

I am happy with my 04. Any one else feel the same, or is everyone reaching/waiting for the 05 (and regret buying an 03 or an 04)?

 

Man, all I can say is, ditto! I feel exactly the same about my '03. I'm kinda tired of all the people crying cuz they didn't wait and they want and MR. Why? Everything you said above is so true. You HAVE the car are driving it; not waiting for a dealer to call you.

Best of luck with you new purchase and congrats! Good post!

 

I thought I was regreating it at first till I drove the evo more and you know what I agree. I'm fine with what I have and I'll have fun adding my own performence to it. The 6 speed is a lost but I can live with-out it.

 

People complained that we weren't going to get the 6 speed, the AYC, the ACD, all the other goodies. Now they're coming, and people are complaining. Okay, why are they still complaining? Face it. 03 doesn't have it. 05 will. If you want it, get an 05, and take the hit on your 03 or 04. If not, stop complaining just because you think you have to have the newest and best thing out. Cars evolve over time, especially a car named the EVOLUTION. But all cars do this and some can't face this fact.

How do people know that they want AYC if they've never driven with it before? How do they know how awesome the JDM six speed is? Unless you're the kind that always thinks about the things they don't have, it's probably pretty easy to forget you don't have AYC. I can see maybe if you are a road racer, these things can be signifigant. But for the most of us, there's nothing to miss, unless you get joy out of cruising in 6th gear on the highway.

 

nicely said, you just can't keep up with the new model since they are changing things every two years or so. I have an article saying that the Evo 9 will be debute early next year (Feb) in Japan, Turbo plus Mivec!! They have a picture of it too which looks like the WRC evo. So what you gonna do? Wait for that? But then the EVO 9 RS and MR will be follow....Anyway good luck with your new car!

 

The reality is... very very very few EVO owners are skilled enough drivers to completely use the STOCK performance of this car. I am convinced that a pro/semipro driver in a stock car could out-perform all of the modded EVOs out there in just about any type of racing forum (although drag racing is a different story.. as that one has a simple formula.. cash = fast). Auto-X and other forms of racing... skill > hp.

 

I would not consider a new Evo unless and until a new body style comes out along with more HP and performance. There's just not enough change in the '05 to warrant a trade of your 03. Not worth it for 6 gears, light roof, ACD, struts and BBS wheels. Car looks identical.

 

My only gripe is that I ordered an 04 car for delievery in July, because I could not find the color/option package I wanted on the remaining 03 cars. Now the 05's will be out only 3 months after my car arrives. The only thing I wanted was abs with a front lsd, which apparantly will come on all 05's.

 

Scotty... here is my question.

We currently have a car with WORLD CLASS turning. Look at the test results through the 600ft slalom. Also.. I am speculating that an open diff, is less resistant and allows for better speed (I think).

Help me understand what the front LSD will give us.. cause as I see it.. our perfomance numbers are already AWESOME (0-60, slalom and breaking).

 

let's just be happy that we're even getting somewhat of a complete mr to the us market
you can't always have the newest toy
just be happy you have an evo and let know we appreciate these new updates to the evo instead of all this negativity

 

I am selling mine not to get a mr but for other reasons, mostly investing, saving, and my wife and I are probably both going back to school. But in about a year and half I will buy another evo because I love this car so damn much. If the mr is all its hyped to be with my speed r&t magazing and the price is right and last but not least the electric blue or the gray is what I want than so be it. But for anyone that is just going to sell it or trade to each their own. Know matter what you do you just can't go wrong with any evo period. What Evo enthusiast said about very few drivers can take a stock evo to its edge is very true, I consider myself a good drive but I am just not trained enough to know it's true potential anyways.

 

I'm a road racer.

A good one as a matter of fact. I will be getting 99.8% of what the car can do on the track. I'd like to be able to get that power down.

Its really not that big of a deal when I think about how many track hours I have on relatively powerfull FWD cars. I didnt miss the LSD too bad on those cars and I'm not going to lie awake at night because I dont have something. HOWEVER, for basicly the same price I could have waited 3 months and got the ACD etc.

 

i recently read a test article for the 2005 evo mr us spec vehicle. its curb weight is 3085 lbs., 1/4 mile in 12.9, 0-60 in 4.3 sec. in my opinion thats alot more than just ten horsepower. plus acd and lsd and six-speed tranny, oh and bilstien suspension.
im already on the list for an mr, i cant wait!!

oh i forgot a stock evo runs a .88 skidpad a mr runs a .98 skidpad, big difference

 

Mainly due to even sticker stock tires from what I understand. With people already *****ing about tire life I cant wait to see the threads "Tire wear problems on MR 5k worn out"

This is not *****ing about the MR, but think what you are paying for and its intended use. I'll play devil's advocate with the reasons I dont need an MR

- Sticker tires = shorter life. I buy race tires anyway
- Cool BBS rims = major theft target (a concern since my ITR, but they took the whole car) I buy race rims
- 6 speed trans = I hear other markets have had some problems. The 2-3-4 spacing looks a little better for track use but I would rather the 5 speed.
- Stiffer shocks = many people will replace them anyway for lowering. I plan on some adjustable shocks.

All the other stuff, bigger turbo, drivetrain etc. comes on all the 05 cars as I understand.

 

Isn't skidpad a direct function of the tires? I remember seeing a BMW SUV with a great skidpad just cause it had some really sticky tires.