GT-R owner considering switch to Evo X MR
Should consider a 2006 IX MR. The seats are gorgeous, the transmission solid, easy enough to get into 11's, etc..
I think South Coast Mitsubishi even had a couple brand new ones still available.
I think South Coast Mitsubishi even had a couple brand new ones still available.
evo viii and ix seats are garbage compared to the X. The SST is getting quite the development, however you have to be very dedicated and most likely know how to tune it yourself unless you're willing to pay a proper tuning shop such as GST and HBspeed. There are very few out there who know how to adjust the SST ecu.
Evolving Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 205
Likes: 0
From: Houston TX
One of the gtr owners i know told me the break down of his services and money he pays for his car. He concludes that my evo x is a much more ideal dd than his gtr. Living in texas we tend to drive long miles commute. whereas my oil change never exceeds 80 dollars, his gtr needs 3 times more to maintain. It's only a 70000 dollar car, but it's not really an ideal dd since it's his only car. i told him he should have bought a m3 instead. gtr is a nice car and it's my dream car aslo, but the flame and eagerness of wanting one get extinguished after i know about the maintenance cost.....
Interesting read. A lot of the content on this thread focuses on the Seats of the car. IMO, if your biggest concern before getting a car is the interior, then you probably shouldn't get a car that's known for rally and racing at the track...
One of the gtr owners i know told me the break down of his services and money he pays for his car. He concludes that my evo x is a much more ideal dd than his gtr. Living in texas we tend to drive long miles commute. whereas my oil change never exceeds 80 dollars, his gtr needs 3 times more to maintain. It's only a 70000 dollar car, but it's not really an ideal dd since it's his only car. i told him he should have bought a m3 instead. gtr is a nice car and it's my dream car aslo, but the flame and eagerness of wanting one get extinguished after i know about the maintenance cost.....
My main concern is whether the car can be made as fast (or faster) than the gt-r, how much that would cost, how reliable the car is, and the quality of the car (including stuff like seats and paint).
Mainly maintenance costs and to lower my monthly payments. I just started thinking whether I wanted to put that money into the GT-R or get something new. I love the car and I am very happy with it, but by the same token I like driving new cars.
Last edited by westmc; Mar 17, 2010 at 07:57 PM.
The Evo just like any perfomance car is reliable to a certain degree. If the car is taken cared of, it can be reliable. If beaten, the car will not last. If you want performance for cheap, then the Evo is for you. If you want quality in paint and interior, I would look for something else... Maybe an Audi or something...
After paying $200 for the most recent oil change, I was told that I should change the transmission fluid soon (they wanted $2200, but I found an independent shop willing to do it for $1150) and that the tires are beginning to feather which means $1800 when they go. I just started thinking whether I wanted to put that money into the GT-R or get something new. I love the car and I am very happy with it, but by the same token I like driving new cars.
Evolving Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
From: Dirty South
I own a GT-R but I am considering getting an Evo X MR instead. I've been reading these forums for the last few days and I am really concerned about what I have read so far. I understand fully how people generally post negatives more than positives, but I would appreciate comments on the following things I have read...
The transmission can only handle about 300 ft/lb torque (even though it is rated for 350) and there are no upgrades out there right now to improve that. I read that there are clutch upgrades but they don't really help the max (only make the clutch last longer) and if you want to track it (even stock) you have to add transmission cooling.
FALSE, the tranmission can handle more than what is ti be "rumored" on these forums. I have seen it first hand. COBB's MR here in Plano TX makes 400+ whp and wtq on E-85, no slipping, grinding etc. And you can modify the stock TCU to handle the higher wtq gains, it has done to my car. From what I have seen, people/tuners in the industry are being very tight lip about the TCU and what they can do to it. Also, SSP has clutch packs to handle 400 whp up to 500whp. But the installation is not cheap.
If you track your MR, you will probably need the upgraded tranny cooler or simply replace the fog lights with the JDM delete kit and keep your fingers crossed. The tranny cooler was just simply designed too small.
The launch control sucks and wears down the clutch significantly.
I have launched my car only a handful of times, whether or not it wears down the clutches fast, you could proably argue that it does, but who knows. But if you sit there and launch your car over and over and over again, then you WILL wear something out or overheat the tranny.
400hp can be achieved with minimal tuning, but quarter mile times are still 12.9 to 13.0.
Have yet to research these numbers
The seats are very crappy and tend to fall apart.
FALSE for the MR seats, GSR seats yes.
The paint quality sucks and big chips in front of the rear wheels are to be expected.
Agreed, but they do make clear bra kits that cover the front end and side rock chip area.
Dealers are bastards about the warranty if you modify anything or they think you have tracked it.
Not all dealers are this way, just really depends on your relationship with the service manager, but most of them are. Pretty much everyone knows that an Evo is going to be modified in some way, Mitsubishi is just protecting themselves from loosing a lot of money.
I know a few people who own Evo IXs and Xs and they seemed happy with it which is why I was considering the move (as well as for financial reasons and just for a change), but these forums scare me a little. I realize that the Evo would be quite the step down in terms of performance but I thought that for about 5k, it could be made to be as fast as the GT-R, but now I am questioning that.
If you can't afford the GT-R anymore you could easily go the MR-T route, 5k will probably not get to GT-R performance but it will get you close. You do have to remember something, its probably safe to say, the Evo is quicker than 90% of the cars on the road, now a modified Evo may be quicker than 95% of the cars on the road. So in the big picture, your not dropping that far down the performance scale.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. I realize that most will probably automatically respond with the statement to get GSR instead but after driving dual clutch for a while it is hard to go back (also the reason why I am sticking with awd).
You will love the SST. Its an awesome transmission. Some will say to stick with a manual, due to the feeling of being mechanically linked to the car, etc. etc., if you like the dual clutches, then go for it, obviously you have had experience with a dual clutch tranny. Honestly, if I could afford it, I would buy a GT-R. But every car in the world has its positives and negatives. You have to decide if the positives out weight the negatives, for the MR-T or the GT-R, the positives win.
The transmission can only handle about 300 ft/lb torque (even though it is rated for 350) and there are no upgrades out there right now to improve that. I read that there are clutch upgrades but they don't really help the max (only make the clutch last longer) and if you want to track it (even stock) you have to add transmission cooling.
FALSE, the tranmission can handle more than what is ti be "rumored" on these forums. I have seen it first hand. COBB's MR here in Plano TX makes 400+ whp and wtq on E-85, no slipping, grinding etc. And you can modify the stock TCU to handle the higher wtq gains, it has done to my car. From what I have seen, people/tuners in the industry are being very tight lip about the TCU and what they can do to it. Also, SSP has clutch packs to handle 400 whp up to 500whp. But the installation is not cheap.
If you track your MR, you will probably need the upgraded tranny cooler or simply replace the fog lights with the JDM delete kit and keep your fingers crossed. The tranny cooler was just simply designed too small.
The launch control sucks and wears down the clutch significantly.
I have launched my car only a handful of times, whether or not it wears down the clutches fast, you could proably argue that it does, but who knows. But if you sit there and launch your car over and over and over again, then you WILL wear something out or overheat the tranny.
400hp can be achieved with minimal tuning, but quarter mile times are still 12.9 to 13.0.
Have yet to research these numbers
The seats are very crappy and tend to fall apart.
FALSE for the MR seats, GSR seats yes.
The paint quality sucks and big chips in front of the rear wheels are to be expected.
Agreed, but they do make clear bra kits that cover the front end and side rock chip area.
Dealers are bastards about the warranty if you modify anything or they think you have tracked it.
Not all dealers are this way, just really depends on your relationship with the service manager, but most of them are. Pretty much everyone knows that an Evo is going to be modified in some way, Mitsubishi is just protecting themselves from loosing a lot of money.
I know a few people who own Evo IXs and Xs and they seemed happy with it which is why I was considering the move (as well as for financial reasons and just for a change), but these forums scare me a little. I realize that the Evo would be quite the step down in terms of performance but I thought that for about 5k, it could be made to be as fast as the GT-R, but now I am questioning that.
If you can't afford the GT-R anymore you could easily go the MR-T route, 5k will probably not get to GT-R performance but it will get you close. You do have to remember something, its probably safe to say, the Evo is quicker than 90% of the cars on the road, now a modified Evo may be quicker than 95% of the cars on the road. So in the big picture, your not dropping that far down the performance scale.
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. I realize that most will probably automatically respond with the statement to get GSR instead but after driving dual clutch for a while it is hard to go back (also the reason why I am sticking with awd).
You will love the SST. Its an awesome transmission. Some will say to stick with a manual, due to the feeling of being mechanically linked to the car, etc. etc., if you like the dual clutches, then go for it, obviously you have had experience with a dual clutch tranny. Honestly, if I could afford it, I would buy a GT-R. But every car in the world has its positives and negatives. You have to decide if the positives out weight the negatives, for the MR-T or the GT-R, the positives win.