Maby that is all it is.....a feeling of being faster. I should race a stock STI. Im going to mod anyway so that is not an issue at all.

 

Torque makes it feel fast. It sucks you back in your seat a little easier and faster. But its an illusion! Then you're wondering how the hell that stock evo IX with a 2.0l pulled on you

 

The clutch play on the Evo is MUCH longer than your STI's was. You will have to adjust your driving habits by engaging the gas a half second later or letting go of the clutch pedal faster. It's this adjustment (and compromise of my driving comfort) that led me away from the Evo. Pressing the gas pedal was fun; shifting in between was not. And yes, I've been driving stick for over 12 years now.

 

^ Or you can just adjust your clutch pedal.....

 

Maybe the brakes aren't bedded? I know that I wasn't impressed with the bite on the brakes but the pedal feel is great....very stiff and strong, but now with more mileage now the brakes are getting "grabbier" but I always like doing pads/lines/fluids on my cars.

As for the trans, I first felt like the trans was so easy to shift but then I also noticed it was ridiculously notchy...I'm almost afraid to put a shifter and bushings in cause that made my subaru notchier.

As for low end, I had a WRX but I felt this car always wants to boost but I'm sure the vf39 / 2.5 combo vs my td04 then vf22 on a 2.0 is way different.

Overall I think the handling on the Evo is worth it and hitting 12.0 with turbo back/filter/mbc is worth it vs buying a stage 4 + kit on my WRX/STi to go mid 12's.

 

Brakes, not breaks...

With that out of the way: the whole revving issue when changing gears was something introduced on the 05s and it has something to do with emissions. It won't go away and is perfectly normal. A simple search will show a lot of topics covering this.

Brakes: Yeah, you have to push hard to stop hard.

Speed: It's an illusion. The car does tend to feel slow but you'll realise the power when you have a car next to you to compare with.

 

Sorry, typos....I was writing this very late last night and i wasnt paying attention to all they misspelled words. Im not the greatest speller to begin with either. So the rev is normal, and the BRAKES are normal. The torque issue makes sense. I guess I really just need to drive it more and get used to it. A lot different feel from my STI that is forsure. Im gonna order all my mods this weekend so im sure ill get my power issue handled then! The reving and notchy tranny ill just have to live with.

 

Fist issue, the brakes, Yes, many of them make the noise however that is just dust. I wouldn't say that the STI brakes better because in all the road test comparisson that I have bettwen the Evo 8 and the Evo 9 they both (STI/Evo) brake identically, one feet more or less.

Topic number 2, the shifting, yes you are correct, the Evo 9 5 spped(some of them) came really notchy, mine came like that also and I must admit it was a frustration. a early tranny oil change with GMshyncromesh fixed the problem and never came back. The tranny now shift almost as good as my Teflon coated MR shifting mechanism.

Issue number 3, the power band. Also you are correct, the Evo 9 is fast but in stock trim it pulls hard untill 5500 then all the sudden the power band surges and the boost vanishes. I have tested this many times before the car was modded, I must agree with you that the Evo 9 pulls hard but then kind of vanish in the higher RPMs.

Listen, this are my suggestions. The braking is just normal, you might thing your braking is bad but is actually not, it is just the pedal sensation. Wash your calibers often, I do that everyweek.

Tranny, put GMshyncromesh, 2.3 quarts of it will fix your problem forever.

Power, get at least a boost controller and pass that power surge that the car as at 5500rpm or simply send the ECU to a reputable tuner.

What you are experiencing is the STI instant torque(big displacement) and fast spool up(smaller turbo), plus shorter 6 gear ratio. That is giving you a false indication that the STI is faster, it might be faster the first secong second an a half from a roll but then it vanishes and the Evo 9 is when it pulls harder.

Please try all that I said and give us some feedback. Good luck and don't quit yet.

Also you said that the Evo 9 puts less whp. Uhmm. This is my history:

a friend of mine with a bone stock 04 STI put down 239whp/229 lbtq(average of 4 passes) on a Mustang Dyno at IAperformance

I put 267whp/316tq @12psi on a bone stock 94 Stealth TT with 110000 miles same dyno and same shop.

I simple mathematical equation show you I put 29whp/87lbtq more than the STI. Remember the STI is rated at 300hp/300lbtq my Stealth at 320hp/315lbtq only 20hp crank power difference still the dyno shows another history.

I am just saying, don't always believe the manufacturers claim, absolutely all Evos are underrated..

Carlos

 

spend 1000 bucks on it and it will put 330-350 hp to the wheels. mod the bejeezus out of it thats your only cure my son....

i had your problem but even worse, i stepped out of a LS1 6 speed SS camaro, into an EVO, and i felt like i was driving a tercel for a while. now modded it feels faster than my old car, and i have just a hair less than 1800 bucks into it....

 

maybe just get a sti again and call it day. Im happy with mine

 

Even if you dont use syncromesh (i have still yet to, though I'm planning to), the tranny will break in and get smoother. I have around 5700 miles now and it's getting pretty smooth. Mine was notchy as hell when I first got it. It was rediculous. The brakes have to somewhat brake in. I think it's jus pedal sensation, they feel weak and kinda mushy, but when you need them, they're really there and they work great. Power-wise, I felt the exact way. Depending on what car you came from before, the Evo will feel like a slug. I know, when I first got mine, i kinda regreted it because it felt WAYYY too slow, but after about $1500 of parts and tuning, my car feels 100x better. I rode in my friend's STI last weekend and I must say, it feels like a slug compared to my Evo now. We both raced from a 2nd gear roll and I ate him alive. All I have is a TBE, drop in filter, and a tune. I dyno'd around 300awhp on a DD Dyno with just that little crap. Makes a world of a difference.

 

Every comparo between STi and EVO they usually note that the STi has much better brake pedal response.

 

OK, all this input is def making me feel better about the situation. I will be modding! The brakes ill just get used to or change the pads for better response/feel. Ill do the tranny fluid as well. However, i still have one problem that bugs the SH*T out of me.....The revving issue ive been experinecing. I read a bunch of threads on it and everyone is complaining about it but no one knows how to fix it. I tested it again today on my way home from work. Got on the freeway, boosted it to about 5k, let of the gas completley and clutched it like i was going to shift and the RPM's jumped almost 1k. Just barley below the 6k mark! What is up with this?? I can only imagine its going to get worse with mods. Can someone help me out???

 

dunno what to tell you about the revving thing... my car does it too. I just shift a little slow to match it... shrugs. I never really thought too much about it. It almost seems like the clutch is'nt disengaging fast enough (possibly due to that restrictor pill in the clutch line...?)

 

Sounds like the brakes are not what you expected.

Maybe the dealer rep breaks the brakes?