Like the title says, who else has grown out of these cars? Share if you think I'm wrong or if you feel the same way.

I'll go first.

I've been in the Evo world since 2012. I've owned 2 Xs and 1 IX. These are great cars and I love how much power you can get with simple bolt ons. However, living in California with a modified car is a huge headache, for me at least.

My first Evo X was still under the 5 year grace period where I didn't have to smog every other year so I was not stressing about emissions too much. Plus I was 22 years old at the time so I guess I didn't care much. I didn't get to enjoy that Evo for very long because I was wrecked by a DUI driver while parked on the street. Long story short = it was totaled.

I used the money I got from that accident and found a super clean stock Evo 9 with 80k miles. I was so in love with this car that I immediately went full send with mods. FBO, turbo, cams, built head etc.... I absolutely disregarded the fact that I would need to smog it a year later. Fast forward one year and boom I get hit with a smog related state ref. I loved the car so much that I actually went back to stock 100% just to pass the ref inspection. After passing the state ref I reinstalled all of my mods once again, spending a lot of money along the way but something kept bugging me after experiencing this. I always wondered "what if my state ref randomly would reappear". So after a long conversation with my wife I sold the evo 9....

I was car shopping again and told my self that I wanted to try a different platform. Something that didn't require too much (or anything at all) to fill in that HP void. I looked at V8s, V6 cars but I just couldn't do it. Something about the Evo handling and style kept me thinking about them! Many months later I found a clean STOCK Evo X and bought it! This time I kept it stock and only concentrated in wheels (TEs) and suspension. I did buy all of my bolt ons again but kept them in the garage. I was already talking to a tuner lol.
One day I thought about tuning/modding my car and just thinking about smog made my stomach sick. Was I really ready to go through this all over again?! Stressing to find someone that could "pass" my car! I'm 29 years old now and my mentality is not the same like when I was 22.

With all this said I ended up selling the evo with barely putting any miles into her and selling all of my mods separately including my wheels.
What's good is that I at least made a profit from that sell.

I've heard the following:
You could've kept it stock - yes I know but why keep something in the garage?! Rather have someone else enjoy the car
Register out of state - yes but too much hassle and time and money
Have someone "pass" it for you - how do you think I got reffed the first place?


Anyways, thanks for reading! I'm very curious to see if there's people out there that feel the same way!

 

It sounds like you just need to move out of that ****hole cesspool of a state.

 

I lived in California for 35 years and owned evos since 2005 and been modifying cars since 1992. Just now growing out of it, ironically after leaving California.

 

^ This, If you cant drive around in a car modded the way you want that's a pretty bad place to be lol...also I will never grow out of this platform. In fact as I grow older (30 years old now) I appreciate just how special and capable these cars are. I think you made a huge mistake selling the IX at least from an enthusiasts perspective. I cant imagine selling mine ever since getting another one after selling isn't easy at all anymore.

People are starting to realize that they're not comparable to just an sti anymore but more high end imports such as gtr, supra ect.. hence prices are rising. Don't get me wrong i love all imports but the evo is my dream car. I don't think that will ever change with age.

 

44years old here.

Had a 2005 evo8 rs and then bought an evo x mr 2008 i also sold it and moved on. Went with a Mustang GT 5.0 but i still missed the evos and always thought of owning one of them back.
10 years later since 2010 that i sold the evo x i recently bought it back and iam happy to have it.

 

The strict emission laws are horrible, yes. However, no other state comes close to SoCal

The next car I get will be quick from factory and I'm sure I'll do some "mods" like wheels and suspension but nothing that will mess with emissions. It'll look fast and be stock af

True... I'm sure I can find another one if I really wanted to

Who know maybe I'll get back into a IX or X but for now it's too risky having a modded car in Cali. Not worth it for me

 

This. Right here. One of the MANY reasons I would never live in that state.

39 here. I don't think I'm ever gonna grow out of this car. Have had the same IX since new back in 2006. Wife will never let me get rid of it anyways since I convinced her to trade in our 350Z for it. The car is too damn fun and nothing else I have ever driven is even close. I will be adding a C7Z into the mix to change it up but that's about it.

 

I'm 48 and have thought about it more than a few times, but I know it would be hard to replace now when I regretted it. Of course I don't live in CA. I did sell my 08 GSR to "try something different", but regretted it and picked up the 14 MR a year later.

 

my sentiments exactly!!!!!!!

 

If in CA you play the smog game or turn it into a dedicated track car. Or like others have said leave Kali.The Evo has truly been targeted by CA and has gotten worse lately. Sold my '06 IX RS back in 2011. Yes I miss the car but being into my 60's I enjoy just having a stock fun car (or slightly modded). '18 Fiesta ST and now a '20 Hyundai Elantra GT N-line (closest thing we can get to a I30 N) here in US. Pretty much done with any kind of mega-perf car.Just a smaller light car that has boost satisfies me now.

 

This sums it up ^

I've had the same Evo 9 since 2009 and have learned to play the smog game because where you live is more important than what car you drive. The important thing is to keep in contact with the right people and have a garage, EXTRA CAR, tools, and patience needed to go back and forth from modified to stock. It only takes a few days to swap back and forth if you know what you're doing, but I can see how it can become a PITA. I don't think I will grow out of this platform, but I can see how people can grow out of California . I don't think i'll be leaving anytime soon though.

 

I've been involved with Evos since 2008. This is my second one. I consider selling all the time...probably would for the right price. But then I think "What else would I buy?". I still can't think of anything that scratches the itch as well, so I still have it.
I live in California and wouldn't leave for anything, especially for something like "boo hoo smog" I haven't found a state I like as much. I'd rather keep a car smog legal or find other ways to deal with it. Not that I think anyone would actually leave a state so they could mod a car, of course. LOL
I don't daily the car, so that probably helps keep stress down.
I'm still on this site, so obviously I haven't grown out of it...yet.
I do admit I'm losing interest since none of my friends do track days any more. Covid is partly to blame. I no longer wrench on the car...I don't buy parts for it any more. It just sits until the random track day pops up. I did start it yesterday, to get the oil temp up. First time I've touched it in weeks.

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I'm just growing out of my old vehicle and looking to get into this platform

 

I’m 46 and no plans of moving on too much money invested and love the performance of the car , I have owned mine for over 15 years bought it brand new.

 

This thread did start me thinking - maybe I should plan on a 50th birthday present to myself to mod the car further instead of thinking about selling... Surely by 2022 HPDE will be back to "normal" and I can correct the fact that I haven't been on a track since 2014. MHI 18K and supporting mods would make it feel like a new car. 🙂