My Evo X Journey finally begins..
My Evo X Journey finally begins..
Well, after being a member of the forums for four years, I finally have an Evo in my garage. When the time to buy my last car came, I needed to pull the trigger just as the first Evo Xs were arriving at certain coastal ports. At that time, I knew any one that I could get my hands on would be significantly marked up, so I bought and modified this car instead:
an Audi A4.. also 2 liter turbo, manual (six speed though), all wheel drive.. Lots more luxurious, way better gas mileage, not nearly as fast. I had it flashed and a few minor engine mods, as well as PSS9 coilovers, Hotchkis swaybars, and Volk CE28Ns (I'm sure ya'll will appreciate those).
After 23 months of ownership, I finally found the perfect Evo. Extremely low mileage, perfect options, very well taken care of. Only possible problem.. it was right at 800 miles away in Huntsville, Alabama.
I did all of my homework and finally bought a one-way plane ticket to inspect the car, hoping to buy it and drive home. I was also excited to epically document it with photos. Well, at least half of my hopes came true.
The car was perfect and in less than 30 minutes, I finally owned an Evo X.
Of course, my first fail was that I did not take any pictures until my first stop in Tuscaloosa. Had to roll through to pick up some food and stir things up a little bit...
I certainly enjoyed both kinds of attention I received while there. After a quick lunch at Jimmy John's, it was time to head on to Mississippi..
I rolled through Mississippi in miserable drizzle, stopped in Jackson for yogurt at a shopping center that my company worked on and gas for the car (the first of four such stops over my eight hundred mile journey), and headed on to Shreveport where I again filled the tiny tank.
I neglected to take any pictures and every time I saw a state border sign, it happened so fast that I couldn't even turn the camera on. So the next pictures didn't come until I was finally back in the homeland, around 10:30 PM in Longview, Texas.
The Evo doing its second favorite thing:
Proof that I was getting closer to home:
Finally arrived home at 1:30 AM. Roughly 800 miles, twelve hours, 3 or so tanks of gas, and four states later.
Here is how I did for the whole drive:
I was so tired and excited that I forgot to take a trip odometer or clock shot.
After washing it and making up a million and one excuses to drive today (I know I'm not the only one), I can offer up some more impressions.
As far as a highway/long roadtrip car, it does MUCH better than all magazines and forums had led me to expect. The steering that many criticize for being slightly nervous was never an issue, but the on-center stability and weight made for very easy tracking and maintaining my lane, even in nasty fog, Cajun darkness, and dealing with all manner of backcountry Southern Madness. The Perrin Exhaust (more about it in a minute) was completely unobtrusive at a 77 mph cruise, the majority of the cabin noise was caused by tires/the road.
Didn't draw nearly as much attention as I anticipated, save for a few curious looks at the gas stations. I wasn't sure whether this had to do with my burnt orange, the lack of any license plates whatsoever, or the car itself..
The Recaro seats that I have drooled over for so long were certainly slightly restrictive, but I also emerged from the drive feeling perfectly fine and refreshed. They certainly rock when attacking any curve at the speeds which the Evo can tackle them with.
None of this will come as news to all of the owners on here, but to anyone who enjoys reading about their own car, their dream car, or is trying to decide between the Evo and something else, I hope this might help! I know I spent unhealthy amounts of time on these and a few competitor cars' forums reading all the real-world review material I possibly could get my hands on.
The steering really is just as perfect as every bit of seat time I had remembered from all of my Evo encounters over the past four years. The weight is superb, and the steering wheel size and rim thickness are spot-on. They nailed it just as well as the MkIV .:R32 and E9x M3.
I will probably wax philosophical at length some other time as to why I chose the Evo X over other cars I was considering and just generally write a public love letter/review of the car.
For now, I wanted to present a quick narrative of my first day with my new Evo and show some pics as the proud new owner. I didn't take many after it was washed today, but I did snap a few in the garage. Nothing exciting, creative, or stimulating. Just proud to call it my own.
The Perrin turboback (much cleaner than this low-light+flash picture suggests)
is a phenomenal exhaust. Quiet at cruising speed (I passed more cops hiding, pulling over, or trolling on this trip than I have anywhere in my entire life), enough at startup to cause butterflies, and truly exotic sounding as the revs rise. I think it has to do with the tone of the sound and the volume. You can tell Perrin's engineers know when and where to have fun and where it needs restraint. Doesn't have quite the combusting money and God and Pavoratti singing an opera duet sound of an F430, but, having driven my share of exotic cars, the Evo does NOT sound cheap! This exhaust sounds very similar to the Nissan GT-R and has a very similar stoplight idle sound.. just enough noise to know that you've got a lot of potential under the hood.
Also have the Cobb AccessPort with a Stage 2 Perrin flash for now. Over all of the sock X's I've driven, this car feels tremendously faster. Can't wait to get to Cobb Plano to dyno it and get a full custom tune after I throw on a few mods.
Looking to do an UICP, drop-in filter, O2 housing, and 3-port boost controller to start with power wise. A shorty antenna and opening up the left foglight opening are also high on the priority list.
The car is crazy fast as-is. Eventually I'll do some more power mods, but I am definitely more of a sucker for handling and my next mods will be coilovers, sways, and wheels/tires.
A little nervous for the Aero Kit front lip...
Total clearance without my garage step is about 2.5 Razors. Yikes.
Modding will go a little slow for a while.. Like the incredibly honorable Sleestack, I gave away a significant chunk of my car funds to help out a friend in need. The only reason I showed such restraint on the Audi is that I knew I'd be buying an Evo when the time was right. Sorry for the verbose yet disorganized ramblings. I look forward to contributing more to the forums that have given me so much information over the past few years.
Oh yeah, and I stalk fellow NTEC guys...
Cliff notes:
I flew to Alabama, bought an Evo, saw lots of cops, it was foggy, rainy, and dark, drove it home to Texas, it has mods, I love it more than any car I've ever owned, I think it drives very similarly to a GT-R with a little less power and a more even AWD bias, and I am one extremely happy dude. I try to be humble in all things I do, but if there was ever one thing that could cause me to brag, it would be this car!
an Audi A4.. also 2 liter turbo, manual (six speed though), all wheel drive.. Lots more luxurious, way better gas mileage, not nearly as fast. I had it flashed and a few minor engine mods, as well as PSS9 coilovers, Hotchkis swaybars, and Volk CE28Ns (I'm sure ya'll will appreciate those).
After 23 months of ownership, I finally found the perfect Evo. Extremely low mileage, perfect options, very well taken care of. Only possible problem.. it was right at 800 miles away in Huntsville, Alabama.
I did all of my homework and finally bought a one-way plane ticket to inspect the car, hoping to buy it and drive home. I was also excited to epically document it with photos. Well, at least half of my hopes came true.
The car was perfect and in less than 30 minutes, I finally owned an Evo X.
Of course, my first fail was that I did not take any pictures until my first stop in Tuscaloosa. Had to roll through to pick up some food and stir things up a little bit...
I certainly enjoyed both kinds of attention I received while there. After a quick lunch at Jimmy John's, it was time to head on to Mississippi..
I rolled through Mississippi in miserable drizzle, stopped in Jackson for yogurt at a shopping center that my company worked on and gas for the car (the first of four such stops over my eight hundred mile journey), and headed on to Shreveport where I again filled the tiny tank.
I neglected to take any pictures and every time I saw a state border sign, it happened so fast that I couldn't even turn the camera on. So the next pictures didn't come until I was finally back in the homeland, around 10:30 PM in Longview, Texas.
The Evo doing its second favorite thing:
Proof that I was getting closer to home:
Finally arrived home at 1:30 AM. Roughly 800 miles, twelve hours, 3 or so tanks of gas, and four states later.
Here is how I did for the whole drive:
I was so tired and excited that I forgot to take a trip odometer or clock shot.
After washing it and making up a million and one excuses to drive today (I know I'm not the only one), I can offer up some more impressions.
As far as a highway/long roadtrip car, it does MUCH better than all magazines and forums had led me to expect. The steering that many criticize for being slightly nervous was never an issue, but the on-center stability and weight made for very easy tracking and maintaining my lane, even in nasty fog, Cajun darkness, and dealing with all manner of backcountry Southern Madness. The Perrin Exhaust (more about it in a minute) was completely unobtrusive at a 77 mph cruise, the majority of the cabin noise was caused by tires/the road.
Didn't draw nearly as much attention as I anticipated, save for a few curious looks at the gas stations. I wasn't sure whether this had to do with my burnt orange, the lack of any license plates whatsoever, or the car itself..
The Recaro seats that I have drooled over for so long were certainly slightly restrictive, but I also emerged from the drive feeling perfectly fine and refreshed. They certainly rock when attacking any curve at the speeds which the Evo can tackle them with.
None of this will come as news to all of the owners on here, but to anyone who enjoys reading about their own car, their dream car, or is trying to decide between the Evo and something else, I hope this might help! I know I spent unhealthy amounts of time on these and a few competitor cars' forums reading all the real-world review material I possibly could get my hands on.
The steering really is just as perfect as every bit of seat time I had remembered from all of my Evo encounters over the past four years. The weight is superb, and the steering wheel size and rim thickness are spot-on. They nailed it just as well as the MkIV .:R32 and E9x M3.
I will probably wax philosophical at length some other time as to why I chose the Evo X over other cars I was considering and just generally write a public love letter/review of the car.
For now, I wanted to present a quick narrative of my first day with my new Evo and show some pics as the proud new owner. I didn't take many after it was washed today, but I did snap a few in the garage. Nothing exciting, creative, or stimulating. Just proud to call it my own.
The Perrin turboback (much cleaner than this low-light+flash picture suggests)
is a phenomenal exhaust. Quiet at cruising speed (I passed more cops hiding, pulling over, or trolling on this trip than I have anywhere in my entire life), enough at startup to cause butterflies, and truly exotic sounding as the revs rise. I think it has to do with the tone of the sound and the volume. You can tell Perrin's engineers know when and where to have fun and where it needs restraint. Doesn't have quite the combusting money and God and Pavoratti singing an opera duet sound of an F430, but, having driven my share of exotic cars, the Evo does NOT sound cheap! This exhaust sounds very similar to the Nissan GT-R and has a very similar stoplight idle sound.. just enough noise to know that you've got a lot of potential under the hood.
Also have the Cobb AccessPort with a Stage 2 Perrin flash for now. Over all of the sock X's I've driven, this car feels tremendously faster. Can't wait to get to Cobb Plano to dyno it and get a full custom tune after I throw on a few mods.
Looking to do an UICP, drop-in filter, O2 housing, and 3-port boost controller to start with power wise. A shorty antenna and opening up the left foglight opening are also high on the priority list.
The car is crazy fast as-is. Eventually I'll do some more power mods, but I am definitely more of a sucker for handling and my next mods will be coilovers, sways, and wheels/tires.
A little nervous for the Aero Kit front lip...
Total clearance without my garage step is about 2.5 Razors. Yikes.
Modding will go a little slow for a while.. Like the incredibly honorable Sleestack, I gave away a significant chunk of my car funds to help out a friend in need. The only reason I showed such restraint on the Audi is that I knew I'd be buying an Evo when the time was right. Sorry for the verbose yet disorganized ramblings. I look forward to contributing more to the forums that have given me so much information over the past few years.
Oh yeah, and I stalk fellow NTEC guys...
Cliff notes:
I flew to Alabama, bought an Evo, saw lots of cops, it was foggy, rainy, and dark, drove it home to Texas, it has mods, I love it more than any car I've ever owned, I think it drives very similarly to a GT-R with a little less power and a more even AWD bias, and I am one extremely happy dude. I try to be humble in all things I do, but if there was ever one thing that could cause me to brag, it would be this car!
Last edited by johntesi; Dec 13, 2009 at 10:23 PM.
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You are the same person who sold his GTR to help a friend in need and picked up this Evo X right? Wow. I'm honored to call you a fellow evo owner. I hope you enjoy the vehicle to the best of its ability. Good luck to you and your friend. I have a Perrin Catback and ATP Test Pipe. Perrin did a great job. I would like to suggest the Cobb Intercooler Pipes for about $600. Looks clean.
Here's a pic of the intercooler pipes on my car:
Here's a pic of the intercooler pipes on my car:
