Thread title pretty much sums it up. I recently discovered this little factory hotrod the Evo VIII and I'm considering a purchase. I've been reading everything I can at this forum and a few others, doing my research, etc but I've found that the _best_ way to uncover things is ask those who know. You.

Anything I should be on the lookout for relating to owning an Evo VIII? Reliability or other issues? I currently have several cars, my daily driver being an '01 6 speed Corvette and this would be the one I'd be selling/trading for the Evo. Anyone else move from a same/similar car to an Evo? Likes? Dislikes?

I've only owned one other turbo in the past, a '93 RX-7/R1 and, to be honest, I regret the day I allowed myself to get rid of that car. Wish I could get a "do over" on that. lol This Evo VIII could be that "do over".

Anyway, that about sums it up. I'd appreciate any insights, experiences or other tid-bits of info as they relate to the Evo whether they are good or bad!

Thanks,
BadAttitude

 

You'll love it!! Have you test driven it ?? ive had no regrets with mine but of course ive only had it for a month and a half !

 

rx-7...mmm...yummy...

 

only bad thing I've noticed is facial muscle strain from smiling ear to ear so much.

 

You cant drop the clutch like your corvette .. bad gas milage ... Its a money pot ... No big smokey burnouts (if you were into that) ... If you plan on modding consider your warrenty out the window ....

Besides that .. I suffer from the grin from ear to ear muscle strain as stated above everytime I step on the gas ^^^^^ ...

Enjoy the car if you purchase it!

 

Gas mileage isn't that bad, I get 200+ miles to the tank with sprits of spirited driving.

 

Learn to drive the car at a provided track.
Find the limit of your car in a _controlled_ environment, ya know what I mean.
Then yeah, save money for the Clutch UpGrade.
remember, Evo can get to 500 HP crank mark faily quickly, so don't SideGrade. Know what I mean?
I think I need to do something about my chronic tension in my cheek muscles.

 

Thanks so much for the replies so far guys, and ladies, as the case may be. LOL Replies, especially like the one below, are exactly what I am looking for. I realize I wasn't very clear in my original post as to what I was looking for, but keep the coming. I'll eventually extract the information I need to make my decision.

Basically, to clarify, and I'll use my current Corvette as an example, there are "issues" with every car regardless of make/model and I was just attempting to find out if there were any of those with an Evo VIII that would keep me from making the purchase. With the Corvette, there's the "column lock", the fuel gauge and idiosyncracies like the "tranny rattle" for the 6 Speed when at idle.

Not really a problem. Don't let anyone fool ya, you do that with a Corvette a few times, ESPECIALLY if you've done any mods, you'll be buying a new clutch fast.

Now that does surprise me. Not that gas mileage is a deciding factor for me, if it was I'd buy a Toyota Prius. But it does surprise me. By the way, drive it sanely and an LS1 Corvette will routinely pull down 30mpg on the highway, I do it all the time. But, anyway. Mileage-shmileage. LOL

Show me one car worth driving that isn't. LOL Any areas particularly that I should be aware of though?

Not into it. I was actually looking forward to cutting some really decent 60' times because of the AWD. Smokey burnouts only impress 17 year old girls. At 37 I could have a 17 year old daughter. And, my 22 year old girlfriend keeps me plenty busy anyway. LOL

Now this statement DOES interest me?! I keep reading veiled references to Mitsu's warranty service (or lack therof). Are they especially harsh on mods? My Corvette is modded and the dealer really doesn't have _much_ of a problem with it. Albeit, I've bought a LOT of cars from him:

2003 Z71 Suburban (still own)
2001 Corvette (still own)
2001 LT Suburban (sold)
2000 Camaro SS (sold)
1996 Z-28/SS #1416 (still own)

But, anyway, does Mitsu take THAT dim of a view on modding their "premier" factory hot rod?

Well, one step at a time but I'm really enthusiastic at this point. I've been also considering the Subbie STi as it and the Evo seem very evenly "matched".

Thanks again,
BadAttitude

 

yeah...dealer will see anything "out of the ordinary" and warranty voided...trust me...you say you have read the posts...not enough if you are asking this question...obviously by your join date...read more and you will see....look especially at clutch/ transfer case/ voided warranty and other posts before buying it....if i could change time it wouldn't be an evo in my driveway....

 

the warranty is pointless. anything and everything voids it; but other than that, it's a great car

 

just remember brakes, tires, and clutch, if driven hard will need repllacing within the first 6 months or so of ownership. granted if babied the clutch can last forever, but track days and drag strip drops will anihalate it. tires only good for 10k or so. have that on your mind when you buy, cause driving it is so much fun 10k miles will come FAST.

 

Nice to see my post actually helped someone ... As far as gas milage goes ... depending on where you live, the climate, driving conditions etc ... You can get anywhere from 180-280miles on a full tank. As far as the money situation .. it is a turbo car - so maintanence, clutch, break pads tend to wear quicker ... TIRES ARE EXPENSIVE ... Ummm lets see what else ...

As far as warrenty issues .. it really depends on the dealership your working with ... There are a few dealers that are ok with it and some that arent ... But what it really comes down to is the MITSU REP that they have to report to to see if they approve or deny your warrenty claim ...

The STi is a great car ... I came from a 400hp WRX and the next step up was an STi ... I test drove the EVo and I havent turned back since ... Im sure you will enjoy which ever car you choose ... =D Glad I could help!

 

Thanks for the tips gentlemen. I've been (re)reading the warranty threads and I'd have to agree. It seems Mitsu really _does_ like "voiding" warranties. Hmmmm. Oh well, c'est la vie. LOL It's always been a "if you want to play, you'll have to pay" sort of game. What can you do?

Never the less, as an update, I've got a line on a silver '05 Evo VIII MR that I'll be taking a look at buying within the next couple of weeks.

Until then, I received a couple of PM's asking about my current rides. I'll attach a couple of pictures I have handy. The Corvette and the Suburban are my current daily drivers. Well, my g/f and myself. The RT/10 I haven't owned in several years, don't know what ever happened to her. But I had a picture handy and thought you "car guys" might appreciate a nice machine.

Regards,
BadAttitude

 

what would you have? just curious btw.

 

Interesting question. Especially to someone like me currently in the market.

Regards,
BadAttitude