Confessions from a formerly blind SST hater
Confessions from a formerly blind SST hater
You’d think that after almost three years in the states, I’d have had an opportunity to drive an MR before now. You’d be wrong. Most of my Evo buddies have CT9As. The ones that have Xs all drive GSRs. There was one time four Mitsubishi dealerships in this area, but now there is only one, and it is located well north of town about an hour from here in light traffic.
My wife and I have bought several cars out of a Honda dealership near our home, and I drove by the other day and saw an X MR on their used car lot. So the next day, I called up my sales buddy and told him I wanted to drive it.
Being on staff here, I always try to maintain peace, but I will be honest in saying that my expectations were to dislike the SST. Unfortunately, that was a bit of groupthink coming out. You see, I’ve had four Evos over the past seven years, and there was a stigma that they are supposed to be manual with driver controlled clutch stuck in my mind.
That went right out the window pretty fast on the test drive. I put the car in S-Sport and headed off the lot.
I didn’t flog on it for quite a few minutes and allowed it to warm up. The thing I noticed immediately is that this sucker shifts really, really fast. It is quite impressive. At one point, Bryan from GST Motorsports posted up a boost graph, and you can see just how fast it shifts, because it does not drop boost at all. It’s like having all the benefits of anti-lag without any of the drama. The bottom five gears are spaced perfectly for acceleration.
One thing I’ve heard people complain about on here is throttle lag. I felt none of that, at least not enough to make a stink about.
When I finally got to the really curvy section of the road, I felt the engine had been given ample time to warm up. Even with 45k miles on the clock, the power delivery of 2008 Evos on the stock tune is so uninspiring; the car felt like cold poo above 5k. But in spite of that, acceleration ramped up nicely, mainly due to the reduction time in upshifts from the SST. I would love to drive one of these that has 100whp over stock with some mild upgrades and a nice tune!
But the best part of the transmission is that it operates seamlessly. You can upshift and downshift all you want, but it does not disrupt your line or upset the chassis. I think you could even shift mid-corner under power, and the SST wouldn't offer a hint of drama in complying with your request.
From a performance standpoint in a short fun drive (I say this because I didn't go long or heavy enough to get a slow down message), I give this transmission a 10/10. It is definitely the best non-driver-actuated clutch transmission I have ever used.
After all those heaps of praise, and in spite of the much better interior, rims, rotors, and suspension, I would still probably take a GSR. I am just too conservative. The cost of the transmission replacement and the fluid is frightening to me. The fear of how the software would react to my ultimate power goal, and how it would stand up to that power for time would be concerning without the protection of a warranty on a modified car.
But as far as feel, shift time, gear spacing, and all out performance, it kills the five speed. Yes, it is a little less engaging, but I think I could forgive that for what it would make up in laptimes.
Thanks for reading.
My wife and I have bought several cars out of a Honda dealership near our home, and I drove by the other day and saw an X MR on their used car lot. So the next day, I called up my sales buddy and told him I wanted to drive it.
Being on staff here, I always try to maintain peace, but I will be honest in saying that my expectations were to dislike the SST. Unfortunately, that was a bit of groupthink coming out. You see, I’ve had four Evos over the past seven years, and there was a stigma that they are supposed to be manual with driver controlled clutch stuck in my mind.
That went right out the window pretty fast on the test drive. I put the car in S-Sport and headed off the lot.
I didn’t flog on it for quite a few minutes and allowed it to warm up. The thing I noticed immediately is that this sucker shifts really, really fast. It is quite impressive. At one point, Bryan from GST Motorsports posted up a boost graph, and you can see just how fast it shifts, because it does not drop boost at all. It’s like having all the benefits of anti-lag without any of the drama. The bottom five gears are spaced perfectly for acceleration.
One thing I’ve heard people complain about on here is throttle lag. I felt none of that, at least not enough to make a stink about.
When I finally got to the really curvy section of the road, I felt the engine had been given ample time to warm up. Even with 45k miles on the clock, the power delivery of 2008 Evos on the stock tune is so uninspiring; the car felt like cold poo above 5k. But in spite of that, acceleration ramped up nicely, mainly due to the reduction time in upshifts from the SST. I would love to drive one of these that has 100whp over stock with some mild upgrades and a nice tune!
But the best part of the transmission is that it operates seamlessly. You can upshift and downshift all you want, but it does not disrupt your line or upset the chassis. I think you could even shift mid-corner under power, and the SST wouldn't offer a hint of drama in complying with your request.
From a performance standpoint in a short fun drive (I say this because I didn't go long or heavy enough to get a slow down message), I give this transmission a 10/10. It is definitely the best non-driver-actuated clutch transmission I have ever used.
After all those heaps of praise, and in spite of the much better interior, rims, rotors, and suspension, I would still probably take a GSR. I am just too conservative. The cost of the transmission replacement and the fluid is frightening to me. The fear of how the software would react to my ultimate power goal, and how it would stand up to that power for time would be concerning without the protection of a warranty on a modified car.
But as far as feel, shift time, gear spacing, and all out performance, it kills the five speed. Yes, it is a little less engaging, but I think I could forgive that for what it would make up in laptimes.
Thanks for reading.
You’d think that after almost three years in the states, I’d have had an opportunity to drive an MR before now. You’d be wrong. Most of my Evo buddies have CT9As. The ones that have Xs all drive GSRs. There was one time four Mitsubishi dealerships in this area, but now there is only one, and it is located well north of town about an hour from here in light traffic.
My wife and I have bought several cars out of a Honda dealership near our home, and I drove by the other day and saw an X MR on their used car lot. So the next day, I called up my sales buddy and told him I wanted to drive it.
Being on staff here, I always try to maintain peace, but I will be honest in saying that my expectations were to dislike the SST. Unfortunately, that was a bit of groupthink coming out. You see, I’ve had four Evos over the past seven years, and there was a stigma that they are supposed to be manual with driver controlled clutch stuck in my mind.
That went right out the window pretty fast on the test drive. I put the car in S-Sport and headed off the lot.
I didn’t flog on it for quite a few minutes and allowed it to warm up. The thing I noticed immediately is that this sucker shifts really, really fast. It is quite impressive. At one point, Bryan from GST Motorsports posted up a boost graph, and you can see just how fast it shifts, because it does not drop boost at all. It’s like having all the benefits of anti-lag without any of the drama. The bottom five gears are spaced perfectly for acceleration.
One thing I’ve heard people complain about on here is throttle lag. I felt none of that, at least not enough to make a stink about.
When I finally got to the really curvy section of the road, I felt the engine had been given ample time to warm up. Even with 45k miles on the clock, the power delivery of 2008 Evos on the stock tune is so uninspiring; the car felt like cold poo above 5k. But in spite of that, acceleration ramped up nicely, mainly due to the reduction time in upshifts from the SST. I would love to drive one of these that has 100whp over stock with some mild upgrades and a nice tune!
But the best part of the transmission is that it operates seamlessly. You can upshift and downshift all you want, but it does not disrupt your line or upset the chassis. I think you could even shift mid-corner under power, and the SST wouldn't offer a hint of drama in complying with your request.
From a performance standpoint in a short fun drive (I say this because I didn't go long or heavy enough to get a slow down message), I give this transmission a 10/10. It is definitely the best non-driver-actuated clutch transmission I have ever used.
After all those heaps of praise, and in spite of the much better interior, rims, rotors, and suspension, I would still probably take a GSR. I am just too conservative. The cost of the transmission replacement and the fluid is frightening to me. The fear of how the software would react to my ultimate power goal, and how it would stand up to that power for time would be concerning without the protection of a warranty on a modified car.
But as far as feel, shift time, gear spacing, and all out performance, it kills the five speed. Yes, it is a little less engaging, but I think I could forgive that for what it would make up in laptimes.
Thanks for reading.
My wife and I have bought several cars out of a Honda dealership near our home, and I drove by the other day and saw an X MR on their used car lot. So the next day, I called up my sales buddy and told him I wanted to drive it.
Being on staff here, I always try to maintain peace, but I will be honest in saying that my expectations were to dislike the SST. Unfortunately, that was a bit of groupthink coming out. You see, I’ve had four Evos over the past seven years, and there was a stigma that they are supposed to be manual with driver controlled clutch stuck in my mind.
That went right out the window pretty fast on the test drive. I put the car in S-Sport and headed off the lot.
I didn’t flog on it for quite a few minutes and allowed it to warm up. The thing I noticed immediately is that this sucker shifts really, really fast. It is quite impressive. At one point, Bryan from GST Motorsports posted up a boost graph, and you can see just how fast it shifts, because it does not drop boost at all. It’s like having all the benefits of anti-lag without any of the drama. The bottom five gears are spaced perfectly for acceleration.
One thing I’ve heard people complain about on here is throttle lag. I felt none of that, at least not enough to make a stink about.
When I finally got to the really curvy section of the road, I felt the engine had been given ample time to warm up. Even with 45k miles on the clock, the power delivery of 2008 Evos on the stock tune is so uninspiring; the car felt like cold poo above 5k. But in spite of that, acceleration ramped up nicely, mainly due to the reduction time in upshifts from the SST. I would love to drive one of these that has 100whp over stock with some mild upgrades and a nice tune!
But the best part of the transmission is that it operates seamlessly. You can upshift and downshift all you want, but it does not disrupt your line or upset the chassis. I think you could even shift mid-corner under power, and the SST wouldn't offer a hint of drama in complying with your request.
From a performance standpoint in a short fun drive (I say this because I didn't go long or heavy enough to get a slow down message), I give this transmission a 10/10. It is definitely the best non-driver-actuated clutch transmission I have ever used.
After all those heaps of praise, and in spite of the much better interior, rims, rotors, and suspension, I would still probably take a GSR. I am just too conservative. The cost of the transmission replacement and the fluid is frightening to me. The fear of how the software would react to my ultimate power goal, and how it would stand up to that power for time would be concerning without the protection of a warranty on a modified car.
But as far as feel, shift time, gear spacing, and all out performance, it kills the five speed. Yes, it is a little less engaging, but I think I could forgive that for what it would make up in laptimes.
Thanks for reading.
with that said, i am hoping that more and more companies embrace the SST so in 2-3 years, servicing these transmissions will be common and easy and then i will make the switch for sure.
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
From: Northern NJ
I love the SST...we have a 2010 MR. The downshifts are what impressed me the most since the car blips the throttle and matches the revs for you in a split second while all you do is pull the left paddle with your index finger.
As far sluggishness off the line, I've learned from threads here that if you blip the throttle before take off like you would on a 5speed, the car will engage the clutch faster when it's go time.
I'm a little wary about all the high power handling issues as well, but since this is a daily driver, I'm only planning a mild mod list (CBE, UICP, Drop in) and this should give me a viable street car that's a blast to drive. I'm trying to ask around the forums what people have tuned their cars to as far as torque goes. My initial goal was 300whp/300ftlbs wtq, but I think the torque figure may have to come down to like 280-290.
Right now, I'm tuned on a stage 1 with HKS drop in OTS map on a Cobb AP and the car is a blast to drive. The v1.07 maps feel much smoother than the v1.06...I actually think the v1.06 feels more lively and raw, while the v1.07 is a little more subdued. I'll tell you this though, this is the way the car should have felt from the factory. From 5k-7k rpms, it's butter smooth now and the power climbs effortlessly compared to stock where the engine felt like it was struggling in the higher rpm range.
I have an ETS V2 CBE coming in this week as well as Swift Spec R and Whitleline RCK and rear sways waiting in the garage. The car will be a little more fun after this weekend's install.
As far sluggishness off the line, I've learned from threads here that if you blip the throttle before take off like you would on a 5speed, the car will engage the clutch faster when it's go time.
I'm a little wary about all the high power handling issues as well, but since this is a daily driver, I'm only planning a mild mod list (CBE, UICP, Drop in) and this should give me a viable street car that's a blast to drive. I'm trying to ask around the forums what people have tuned their cars to as far as torque goes. My initial goal was 300whp/300ftlbs wtq, but I think the torque figure may have to come down to like 280-290.
Right now, I'm tuned on a stage 1 with HKS drop in OTS map on a Cobb AP and the car is a blast to drive. The v1.07 maps feel much smoother than the v1.06...I actually think the v1.06 feels more lively and raw, while the v1.07 is a little more subdued. I'll tell you this though, this is the way the car should have felt from the factory. From 5k-7k rpms, it's butter smooth now and the power climbs effortlessly compared to stock where the engine felt like it was struggling in the higher rpm range.
I have an ETS V2 CBE coming in this week as well as Swift Spec R and Whitleline RCK and rear sways waiting in the garage. The car will be a little more fun after this weekend's install.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 3,135
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From: chicago, michigan, arkansas
I'm glad you have the same feeling about the XMR SST. I drove it a few times here in my local dealership and was impressed by the responsiveness as well as the rev matching and downshifting esp on turns of the brand new 2010 evo X MR. being a CT9A purist though, I would still like the manual tranny.
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I have to agree with this. I drove an evo 8 since 2003 and recently purchased a 2010 evo x SE.
The sst trans is great and its the real deal. The s -sport mode, while sifting with the paddles is unreal.
The sst trans is great and its the real deal. The s -sport mode, while sifting with the paddles is unreal.
Last edited by evo8tp; Nov 3, 2010 at 08:26 AM.
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 32
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From: Northern NJ
I had a 2003 M3 as well and just recently a 335i (which the EVO X MR replaced) and as far as sports car raw feel, the EVO X delivers in spades...the 335i was great but I wanted the more raw feeling like I had with the 2003 M3. Actually, the EVO X MR is even more raw than the M3 (of course, I expect a $50K car to be a little more luxurious). But yes, I must agree the EVO X MR is just as fun as the M3.
lol, one of the main reasons i ended up going with the GSR is because my wife CAN'T drive it so i know exactly where you are coming from. Nobody in my family drives manual so the GSR is perfect for that
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