New to this board but have frequented several other boards relating to cars I've owned (Honda, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, etc.) When I decided to buy a new EVO IX (whenever it actually gets here), my primary thought's were "this thing is FAST from the factory". There are very few cars that do 0-60 under 5 sec's completely stock, especially for under $35k. The primary detractions from the vehicle are defintly the interior which looks cheap and lacks any hints of luxury. Second the car needs a slight drop, maybe 1 to 2 inches. Third the wheels definitly need an upgrade to 18's and with a little flair and maybe a lip. So other than tint and a decent sound system the car is great. I think the EVO IX at least addresses the interior issue and the extra 10 ponies don't hurt either. So basicly what I saying is that since you've already got a car that can blow the doors off 99% of other cars on the road our money would better be spent making it looks better than 99% of the cars on the road .
Thanks Dean.

 

That's like asking a crack fiend why he wants more crack! This car was meant for enthusiasts, no less.

But in all seriousness, I'm sure the novelty of the speed wears off after a while for a majority of the owners--hasn't yet for me.

It's like when that new rollercoaster opens up. You wanna ride on it because its bigger, better and faster. Why settle for less?

 

Here's the plain and simple honest truth...

Because it's so easy and relatively cheap to make fast(er).

I though the same generally. It's pretty fast from the factory so why do power mods? Well exterior wise... it's pretty much got what you would care for, on a tuner car, with even some extras. Honestly... if I really had to do it over and knowing the things I do know... I'd probably focus towards suspension and handling for road racing and such.

 

Luxury, large wheels, flair, and sound systems are not what this car is about. It's built the way it is for a purpose. The Evo blows the door off most cars 0-60, but not from a roll/highway speeds/quarter-mile, which is a limitation caused by the lack of top-end power (boost taper/turbo limitation/cam limitation). The 4g63t foundation can easily be modified to create another 100 wheel horsepower on the stock turbo/engine, unlike many other platforms.

I do agree that springs are very useful and make the car look much better (1-1.5" drop) while improving performance. Tint is not a big deal, but I do enjoy the shading/cooling factor.

 

There's two kinds of enthusiasts.. Drivers and Modifiers.. The drivers tend to like to leave things well enough alone, if they do modify their car, they tend to be minimalist making changes only necessary to improve what is already there. The other kind of enthusiast are modifiers, their typically horsepower addicts, and like to play with everything.

I fall somewhere in between, I love making modifications to my car, but with a primary focus on not sacrificing what the factory did well.

I bought my car with the intent of not modifying, but I like to experiment and alter things that I see have deficiencies. Then there's others where too much is never enough, but I tend to see these people generally lose interest in the car quickly and move on to something else. Usually after rendering the car somewhat unenjoyable to drive every day.

This is just my personal opinion and observations.. And you'll find that this forum is not the majority of owners. Most of the owners of this car do actually leave their cars stock and leave well enough alone. There are around 15000 cars here in the USA, only about 2000 of us or so are here on the forum, and of that, only a few hundred of us make major modifications.

 

hey man, i think it's great that you're starting out with this mentality..i told myself i wouldnt mod my evo, its fast enough, but i knew for sure it wouldnt stay stock in the end. well "the end" just happened to occur like 2 months after i got it lol but honestly, if you don't wanna mod the evo, don't mod the evo because once you start, you cannot stop. Loving the M3 btw..

 

I never even touched on the appearance mods.. I'm purely a form follows function kind of person, my wheels were chosen for function, APR splitter is functional, short shifter, gauges are functional, springs functional..

I don't understand the sacrifices in safety or comfort that some people make just for appearance, or the huge weight sacrifices you make when installing a "Killer" sound system.. Like another person said, its not what this car is about.

I don't really understand the body kits, people claim they use them to look unique, but I've seen dozens of these cars with the exact same mods, wheels, and body kits, how unique is that? Plus some of these guys are slaves to JDM, which means they remove safety equipment (crash bars) to get these things to fit. Plus their low to the ground, and constructed of fiberglass (FRP) which cracks, etc.. And with the exception of two kits, none were designed or tested with aerodynamics in mind.

Ultimately if you like the car stock, leave it that way. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably leave my car stock too. But I'm way too competative in nature and feel the need to constantly improve what I have. And I'm sure thats the motivation for any type of modification to any car... I can't fault someone for doing that, whether its handling, speed, or looks.. I can only reflect my opinion of what I see worthwhile for myself.

 

Yea, I am sure I will get to that but for once looks can come before speed. I like the fact that the performance mods are so cheap especially compared to the BMW's. I won't go into that, but a decent aftermarket exhaust is $1500+ .

 

I complete turbo back exhaust can cost around $1500 on the Evo too.. It depends on the type of exhaust you choose though.. The difference is you get more bang for your buck with mods on the Evo.. On the BMW the aftermarket is there, and you can make power, but at a price.. On the Evo, your really liberating the power thats already there, therefore its easier and generally cheaper (bang for the buck) You can end up spending similar money, but the results you get tend to be a little better.

 

Yeah, the prices are much better. I've spent ~$900 so far on mods, and with $1500-2000, you can have quite a monster.

 

I should have around $6k to $7k for mods when my M3 sells less whatever I put down on the IX. First will absolutely be coilovers even before wheels

 

well i thought the same way, but i guess i can blame it on a need for speed.

 

I really couldnt have said it better. I also want to add the part of, sometimes you just cant help that feeling of wanting to be faster than your buddy with the srt-4 (sorry matty)

 

Ah, then do coilovers, TBE, MBC, flash (or your preferred tuning device), MR DV, panel filter, cams, and alky injection for a 350+ whp monster that can rip up the road course...

 

because you have people like that, that will blow the doors off your stock evo w/ a modded evo then your like awsome i want something like that.