Really? 400whp through the OEM. That's impressive. I think at this point I'll probably take a roll of the dice and order the Ralliart from Japan parts. I have no idea what it sounds like. I bought the car sight unseen. I bought the wheels based on internet pics. The Toyo Proxes Sports are so new there are no reviews at all so that was a roll of the dice too.
A little deeper tone would be nice and some extra performance along with a racing air filter then call it good.

Also, on another topic. I was going to go through my insurance to get the paint touched up from road debris hitting the car. Unfortunately Seattle is harder on vehicles then other place I have ever lived. (The construction here is never ending) Then a friend told me that any claim on your car will show up on a car fax report and make a serious dent in its future value. Even if its only a paint touch up they would report it as damage?

 

The Ferrado 2500 are okay. They dust a lot.

My personal favorite bang for the buck braking package, that I have recommended for a bunch of people is:

Front Rotors:
125.46076 Centric Premium High Carbon Rotor (Solid)
or
126.46076 Centric Premium High Carbon Rotor (Slotted) - Add L or R in part number for sides

Rear rotors:
125.46075 Centric Premium High Carbon Rotor (Solid)
or
126.46075 Centric Premium High Carbon Rotor (Slotted) - Add L or R in part number for sides

Front pads:
Performance Friction 1001.11

Rear pads:
StopTech 308.13680
or
Girodisc MP-1368

There is no need for two piece front rotors on the street so you can save a ton of money there if you wish. If you want to stick with the two piece:

129.46082.13 Centric 2 piece aerorotor and hat (Left)
129.46083.14 Centric 2 piece aerorotor and hat (Right)

Centric owns stoptech, so same rotors, cheaper price usually.

 

I just got the 126.xxxx rotors through work.. We own an auto parts franchise and carry Centric/Qualis stuff for brakes.

The slotted version of these rotors look really good.

I got the 309.10010 and 309.13680 - "sport" pads. I really like the rotors, but the pads seem slightly underwhelming.

I didn't know what the previous owner had put on there. It was Magic pads on the stock rotors still with 63k miles. The Magic pads had more initial bite I think. The Centric 309's are not "bad", just not as aggressive as I wanted.

 

Razor - correct me if I'm wrong - but aren't the Ohlins supposed to feel 'very close to stock' and just give you better all around ride / performance and you can adjust if you want for even higher levels of performance for track days and such?

I was leaning towards them because they 'felt' stock and wouldn't ruin the car for daily. Just something to consider

 

Stock feels stock.

They def don't feel close to stock. They are firmer but they ride super well for the spring rate they use. Out of the box they are 10k/7k.

I run 10k/10k and for those rates, they ride surprisingly well.

 

This patently false. The improvement in ride quality over "budget" junk coilovers is well worth the extra $5-$700. The increase in ride quality also comes with a huge increase in performance over those same coilovers. It's a win-win.

No coilovers is going to feel stock. But I personally don't think a stock evo rides that great anwyas. Ohlins will not disappoint you in a daily driver, and they have a good range of adjustment to soften it up for every day use, and stiffen it up for the track. Order them from Performance Shock in Sonoma, CA, you'll get the best deal from them.

 

I'm not entirely sure what you are disagreeing with me on here.... I never mentioned anything about budget coilovers.

I'll hold firm with my statement that dropping $2200 on coilovers for a car that is driven to work and back is overkill. It is. Does it mean you shouldn't do it? Not what I am saying. Technically an Evo is total overkill for driving to work and back as well but 95% of owners here do that very thing.

 

I have no doubt the Ohlins are superb in every respect. I really do mean that. Ducati use them on their bikes and many other high end manufacturers. And perhaps one day I will purchase them. Unfortunately I need to finish this car off and get back to life as stated earlier. I have decided to purchase another car as possible as a DD and put this one under a tarp for a while.

 

I am in total agreement. The more I drive this car the more I realize it is very specific and made to do one thing. Win WRC championships. I have to say though that taking it out to Eastern Washington on the back roads is epic. And the drive back from Denver over 4 days taking the smallest roads possible delivered a driving experience I have never had before. In any country. And cornering speed that would get one locked up.

 

Might be too quiet for others but Ive been looking at the HKS super turbo exhaust and it sounds great to me.

 

Well my hard earned work at keeping this car pristine and undamaged came to end today. I was waiting to turn left out of a QFC with groceries. The lights turned green and the car ahead of me turned left. I started to moved forward and caught a white pick up in my wing mirror on my left. He was being an *** and didnt want to wait until I cleared the junction. I stopped the car fast then watched in horror as he cut in front of me turning right and rammed the front driver side of the Evo.
He knew exactly what he was doing. And then I watched him drive off with no intention of stopping. I lost it. I pulled out hard and accelerated, passed him at lightning speed, pulled in front of him at 45 degrees and slammed the brakes on. I got and ****ing screamed at him. "All you had to do was wait 20 seconds! What the **** is wrong with you?! None of you sons of *****es have patience in this state! Your ****ing psychos!" His reply? That's right mother ****er! Welcome to the greatest country on earth! If you don't like it, go back to where you came from!"
I called 911. Done. I wanted to break his legs. Only when I said I had called the police did he pull over and give me his insurance. I took pictures and then he got in his crap truck and drove off. I told the 911 dispatcher and she asked what direction did head? I told her. I had to stay put until the patrol car arrived.
Finally an officer shows up and gets out. "We got him sir. How's your car?" See for your self.

Owning this car is becoming a misery. I don't know what else to do. He hit my car knowing full well what he was doing. Intentional. It's not the first time I have people do this in traffic. Change lanes with mm to spare. Racing up behind me and then a last minute lane change within inches of hitting the rear of the car. One guy in a Mustang going down I5 South towards Tacoma passed me at over 120MPH and cut in front of the Evo within 3". The worst part? My 9 year old daughter in the back seat. I was on cruise control doing 65.

My days with this car are coming to end. I cant tolerate this any more. It's a liability and danger. It's either sell it or put away indefinitely into long term storage once it's fixed and forget about it. I don't know what else to do. I am quite literally sick to my stomach. It's going to need a new front air damn, headlight light cluster and a new front section. Thank God I stopped the car when I did.

 

You got in a little fender bender and now your car that you loved is now a misery? :-/

 

I love the car. Driving it around here? That's a whole other experience.

 

That's like that with anything nice just keep your head on a swivel and live your best life. Sorry for the scuff, but looks minor overall and not something you should throw in the towel on your car for. You got him too, so you are going to be covered.

Don't let the world beat you- It will try every day - but you get rid of what you enjoy to hide from the world - you're leading a lesser life and all because of others? f-That -

Get it painted, and get a dash cam - carry on with life -

 

Sorry to hear about your luck! I've had a lot of cars over the years and I've found that daily driving a car I care about 365 days a year is nothing but stress! Something that has a comfortable seat, requires minimal maintenance, and a good stereo is all I need in a DD. The more dents and scratches the better as long as I'm not in a death-trap!

I drive my Evo when I leave early enough to get a good parking spot at work and the weather is nice (especially when the temps are extra conducive to boost) and on the weekends. All other days I drive my $800 POS that I put a head unit into and gets 30mpg on 89 octane. The POS can street park, take the crappiest spot in the lot, and I don't care about the Winter rust. It makes keeping the Evo nice a lot easier.