so im looking for a car to replace my stg 2 b5 s4. and currently im looking at a evo's and heavily modded legacy gt's.
ive heard that the 6 speed in the mr is quite a bit weaker than the 5 speed? i dont know if this is true, i just heard it from a friend. also i could probably only barely afford an mr, so it would be nice if a normal evo was a better choice. whats the performance difference between a normal evo and an mr? is it that noticible?

 

if you can barely afford the mr just go with a gsr you will be happy with that car. the cars are probably pretty even in performance. supposidly the 5 speed can withstand more abuse than the 6spd..

 

If you can barely afford an MR, then dont even get an Evo. The cars cost ALOT of money to maintain and the insurance isn't cheap.

 

And the S4 is cheap to maintain and insure? hm
Im pretty sure hes saying the car payments are barley out of his range on a MR.

 

I have had my MR since 19 Oct 05 6miless on it. Modded 3 days later, got tuned pushing over 335 on a mustang dyno, went out street racing and stock clutch slipping very bad and 6th gear very hard to get into had to slam it in. Installed ACT 6 puck still bad 6th. 1.5 yrs later stop drag lauching only highway racing slamming it into 6th, now with 400hp 5th went out. Shep said it would be useless to rebuid 6spd. New trans with conversion with Shep mods 3500.00 Done own labor which saved alot of money to do the swap.
5 spd is a hell of alot better love it car is faster with it.
Hope it helps alittle

 

You need to break the car in before you mod it and run hard. I have owned my IX MR since April 06. I have replaced the clutch one after 20k miles. Never any problems with my tranny. It is all preference really for 5 or 6 speed. Also don't get the performance confused, you have the same engine in both 5 and 6 speeds, just the ratios are different.

If you can barely afford the MR then I suggest playing it safe and get the GSR as recommended before.

 

+1 he's coming from a S4...a S4! If anyone knows maintenance expense, it's him

 

All Evos of the same vintage have the same powertrains. The MR differs by having a 6-speed. Other than that, its powertrain is identical to the RS and the GSR. There's no difference in performance.

 

yup i paid 11k over 2 years just in repairs, thats not including regular maintenance. i think i have it harder than most s4 owners though, some hardly have any trouble at all. i know a guy in town with 140k miles on stock turbo's and he said he has barely spent anything on repairs.

and yeah ive been leaning towards the 5 speed, i figure the cheapest i could get an mr for is lowish 20's while i could find a good normal evo for 18, and have the rest over money for mods.

but doesnt the mr have better brakes, suspension, and lower weight too?

 

I can ninja shift better with the 5spd!

Although the feel of the 6 speed is kind of nice. If I had a choice, I'd still go with the 5spd in the end.

As for legacy GT's.. I've been looking at selling/trading my evo for it. Only for the reason that it's a little bit of a cushier ride, and comes in auto. Performance wise... it's like driving an A4 and your S4. Hehe.. not that the legacy's can't be fast, but handling and acceleration is just starting off at a very far distance apart.

 

Shopping for an Evo based on a low price is a disaster waiting to happen. Stick around and you'll see why. If you can't afford a mint, perfectly maintained Evo, don't buy one.

The brakes are the same on every model, the MR is the second heaviest Evo - RS, SE, and GSR are all lighter - and its Bilstein suspension is a preference issue. BTW, I'm saying this as someone who has the Bilstein setup on his car.

 

The MR has a more agressive suspension, but the same brakes. Either one you get you will love. I came from a B6 A4 just a few months ago. I can't say how much I am glad I got rid of the Audi. A lot easier to work on, not as luxurious, but you will get past that if your like me. You will also have to get passed the fact that it is a Mitsu. Face it, we all paid for the engine and the drivetrain. Even though the Evo is pretty heavy, it feels a lot lighter the an Audi. You should go with the regular Evo. MR isn't worth it in my opinion. Not that many performance differences. I do love the wheels though.

 

Actually, the MR's suspension can be called less aggressive and more compliant.

 

I don't get why people put down the MR so much? I've picked it up mainly because of its uniqueness and the 6 speed was one of the factors. I drive a lot and I love the tranny on the highway. For being weaker tranny, how much hp are you looking to run? I have close to 350whp and I have no problems. If you don't abuse it it will run safely even to 400whp. You will hear a lot of bias opinions on here, so I would suggest to do your own research, just like I did, and go for the model that most suits you. Good luck.

 

5spd ftw!