I kinda agree with you Dean, hence why I have yet to do any power mods on my car. Like MalibuJack said, when I decide to spend money on the car, I am going to focus my attention on things that were lackluster from the factory, and honestly, speed is not one of them.

The thing that bothers me most about the car is the comfort and poor NVH. Call me a P&^%Y, I don't really care. But honestly, when I'm driving to work at 6:30 in the morning after 4 hours of sleep, I'm just NOT in the mood to deal with a street legal factory race car. I occasionally miss slunching down in the seat, throwing the automatic on D, turn the radio on softly, and just kinda cruising along on my drivable couch. And you can do that with the evo. The ride is harsh, the seats are firm, the steering is ultra fast, the tire noise is nothing short of astonishing, and with the hole in the hood, a thin windshield and little NVH padding, it sounds like the engine is inside the cabin.

Needless to say, I am looking into quieter, softer sidewall tires, softer dampers (maybe MR) and putting dynamat in the cabin. I think that would make a huge difference in everyday driving enjoyment. Especially on those occasions when youd rather be driving a Mercedes than an Evo.

The evo is a great car though. I have yet to find another car in its price range that I like driving more.

 

If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.

 

Simply put these cars were built for car guys. Autox, road race, drag... whatever you like to do you can dominant in the evo. Its not made for comfort so if you want that you bought the wrong car. Its made to scare the living **** out of your passengers when they ask what the car can do.

 

.....because it is "t3h f@st3r!!!"

 

The question should be, why not?

 

The EVO is harsh.

Do you see Ferrari's bring daily driven either?

Get a beater car, that's what $2k civics are for.

 

this is an enthusiast's car and enthusiasts modify their cars. i have yet to do anything to mine im waiting to put a few more miles on it first, but when i feel like its time im nt going to go crazy with turbo swaps, ect, but like what was said before you can do a lot to this car bang for the buck wise that is a great improvement over stock. its an amazing car to build off of

 

My car is still totally stock except brake pade, brake air guides, and rear sway bar. The temption of doing power mod is great. But for me, I spend my money on doing driving school and track days. Next on my mod list are track rims and handling upgrades. Maybe in a few years, my driving skill will improve to the point that I am able get more enjoyment with higher HP than meerly step the pedel to the metal, then I will do power mods.

 

When I got my Evo I was coming from a car with 100 more HP, so I needed the mods just so the car would feel normal.

 

mod for power for that last 1%. that's why everyone mods for power.

 

Man I know all about it, i used to drive an S52 M Roadster...no exhaust below $1,000

True, but on the bimmer we're talking $1500 for a cat-back alone. Not only that, but the HP/per dollar value is much higher with the evo...a catback on an E46 M3 will get you barely any gains, maybe 5-8whp as opposed to the evo where a full exhaust can result in around 20-30 whp. I'd like to say tho one of my best friends has the E46 M3 and we always compare the two cars, and he gets pissed when i fly by him but i always say, i got the car to modify and make fast for less money and he got the pimpin' ride with leather seats and navigation. Both are sports cars at heart and you AC556K have the best of both worlds!

 

If i could do it over i would just build the car to esp spec for autox.. and leave everything else alone!.. super wide wheels and tires + suspension make a huge difference. All the top end power is awesome, but not essential.

 

$1500??? on the verrrrry low end (i come from/currently involved in bmw as well). enjoy the evo tho i was amazed when i started looking at the prices for aftermarket parts! my friend who has an e46 M3 and my dad who also has one both looove driving my car they both commented on the loss of top end power compared to their m3 so you might miss that with the evo unless you mod

 

Yeah, like others have said, the lack of top end punch is why you mod an evo for "speed". Driving through the torquey band of 3000 to 5500 rpm's is fun, but that is a narrow band of fun. I can't wait to mod mine.

 

Once you start you can't stop - it wasn't two weeks after I turned out 324whp at the dyno before I started thinking the car felt like it was slowing down and I was headed back to the tuner for the next mod!