Hey guys, in the market for an EVO right now over from the LSx world.

I've been using the search and researching for about a week now and after some problems finally got signed up, anyway....

From what I've researched, other than being newer and a couple little things here and there there isn't a whole lot between the 03 - 06 models that should sway someone too bad? Appears the only main difference is the ACD and MIVEC (I'd assume this is not that big of a deal?)

Plan on the car being a DD, and it will be lightly modded nothing crazy. Hoping to learn a lot, and pick up one of these here very soon.

-Kyle

 

What are you asking for your 06? Also if you do end up selling it, or know of others FS let me know man.

Unless it's a steal though I'm going to try to get an 03 simply to have it paid off in a few months so I can house search myself.

 

Welcome to the show.

To anyone that posts in this thread, this is not a for sale thread. All rules pertaining to the for sale section apply to this area too.

 

Theres a big difference between 8's and 9's...The 9 has mivec and a larger turbo...In terms of basic bolt ons, the 9 makes the same power with basic bolt ons as 8's do with basic bolt ons + cams...I'd go with a 9

 

Main things to consider:
open front diff or lsd
mivec or not
5spd or 5psd

Go for the lsd and mivec for sure. Mivec makes a HUGE difference in bottom end torque when properly tuned. 5spd is stronger than 6spd so if you plan to track it go with the 5spd.

VIII's 5spd have longer gears than IX 5spd.

 

before people flame you and tell you to search, I will give you a couple main differences in the car. You can followup by searching them further. 03-04 had the smallest turbo of the groupe with a 9.8 hot side. many people upgraded this with the 10.5 hotside from the 05/06 evo. the 05/06 cars both came with slightly larger turbos and ACD(active center differential) and lastly the 2006 EVO came with the larger turbo, ACD, and MIVEC. I beleive the gearing is a tad different for the latest 5 speed transmissions. But those are the main differences. If I missed anything feel free to chime in. oh yeah, 2006 gsr did not come with HIDs. Only the MR and SSL had them one the EVO IX.
I will advise you to try and locate a later model EVO I. Nothing wrong with the VIII, but people have repeatedly made more power with less mods on the 9 then with the VIII. for example bolt on EVO VIII with cams is very close to bolt on EVO IX without cams.

 

I've searched, and read stickies in this section. Those stickies didn't have the information (atleast I didn't see it) about the 06 making more power with less mods other than in stock form. I figured they'd take about to light mods about the same.
But, they also cost about 10k more from what I've seen. People are asking 10k over book on those cars. I would've gave 20k for that stock 06 I was referring to though.

As far as reliability goes I don't figure there is much difference between each respective year ( 03-06 ) As for what I'm planning, I imagine an 03 will suffice if it can be had for that much less than the 06's.

I figure ~300-350whp will be a nice DD Keep in mind, I'm 21, working full time and in school and would like the car paid off quickly, so having a 18k debt is much better than a 30k debt and much more realistic, honestly. I like the features such as LSD the 06 offers more, but at what cost you know? I'm saving for retirement here. Haha

I appreciate the help so far guys, keep it coming. Sorry for the long posts, I feel people can give better opinions understanding the situation.

 

That's cool man. Just figure I would try to let you know as much as possible do make an informed decission. 03/04 will still rock just alsobw carefull and be sure that it was not severly modified Nd returned to stock for sale. Not that there is anything terrible about but people rush to put it back together and some things are not 100%. Also try and see what a stock clutch feels like. If it was built before it will probably hve a heavier clutch on the car. Most people just leave it in and sell it as stock. Good luck with your purchase and welcome aboard

 

You'll love an EVO bro. I came from a 1998 Camaro SS with near 500whp.

You wont be disappointed. I got a 03 and wouldn't have it any other way.

 

the viii's dont have 2-step factory like the ix's do do they?? and the 8s bov is supposedly not near as good as the ix recirculator valve isnt it?? ive only had mine for 2-3 months so im no expert. but im pretty sure those are 2 things that havent been stated yet.. and 8s dont have suade recaros like my se

 

yea dude interiors are different. and yes the factory EVO VIII diverter valve is a POS plastic one, unless its an MR. Then its also metal like the standard EVO IX Valve. factory 2-step is no biggie. you can add that to the ECU no problem

 

Man my SS had a cam and bolt ons and made ~400rwhp, and my Z28 (the reason for me wanting a STOCK Evo, never again shall I trust other peoples work.) made 500rwhp on 5psi, a lot of nice parts put together quick. Took a long time to straighten out, but it's good now.

Those are gone (the Z soon will be ala a nice down payment on an Evo. ) I think I'm going to enjoy this all around a little more, we'll see.

Jerseydino, thanks for the info man. I think I'm just wanting a standard whether it be the IX or the VII, I don't want to hassle with the 6spd of the MR (I've read not as reliable) and the RS stripped version is a definite no as I would like to retain some creature comforts since it's a DD.

I haven't searched yet, so I may answer my own question here in a few but what kind of MPG are you guys seeing with a tune? My other Noob ?'s I'm searching for first lol. If you all don't mind, I may post a few cars I've looked at online to see if it's a good buy or not if that's ok per forum rules.

 

any time dude. Like otherS have said. The IX is the better car to start with but money wise, you may find a better deal on an VIII... Though lots of guys want or already got the X making more IX's availabe....I think as long as you get a solid car you will be happy. As far as MPG. I will say it's definitely no Honda. The 5 speed I feel is a bit worst then the 6 speed fir obvious reasons. Some of the Aem guys or bigger turbo guys claim really high mpg. Nearing the 30s. Combined driving I can get maybe 230-240 out of a tank, and thats letting it get low. Highway and lightfootes a bit more but you still not getting anything great out of the 5 speed and it's not so ecoconmic 5th gear.

 

It's definitely a different world coming from an f-bod into the evo. Both are fun, just in completely different ways. I never got my TA too heavily modded (still have it as it will be my post grad school project car) but I can't keep my wallet out of the evo! 1 positive is the evo doesn't need a $2k rearend upgrade!

the 03-06 cars have more differences than the 98-02 f-bodies did (and I'm sure you know how much stronger the 02's are), but the differences start to disappear the more they are modded.

 

I don't know what you were paying for the Camaros, but at 21 you are going to be paying some big money for insurance on an Evo. Also, unless you do the maintenance all yourself, that adds up quickly especially for a DD. You should look into those costs too before you make the purchase.