future Michigan evo owner i would get a GSR stronger tranny..... last year my buddy bought a used evo ix mr with 17,000 miles on it the trans went along with the T-case a week later. The T-case was whining so loud. However a 6-speed is nice for cruising good luck

 

my dad has an '08 civic si.... it is a smoother tranny... but the 6 speed in the MR is quite nice! just dont plan on commiting the car to road-race duties and it will be fine (I have actually done 5 HPDEs on my MR, all day long 100 degree heat, no probs, especially with the tranny fluid Milspec sells)

 

depends how the car was treated, track days, maintainance, etc. Milspec has over 100K miles on his MR...

^^^THIS^^^^

 

From driving my dad's MR and getting back into my GSR, I will agree the 6-speed feels alot better. It can still be a little notchy at times, but overall much smoother than the 5-speed. Although, I do get a "vibe" that it's just not as strong just from driving it. It might be from this forum beating it into my brain that the 6-speed it weaker. If the car is a daily I would prefer a 6-speed. You get the extra bit of overdrive for freeway use, it's smoother and the MR with the bilsteins ride SO nice!

My biggest suggestion when buying an Evo is do your best to find one as stock as possible. One thing I look for (if the car appears stock) is the back of the radiator. If it's dinged up chances are it was modded with either a different turbo, mainfold, o2 housing or all of the above. It'll be REALLY difficult to find a 100% bone stock Evo, but it's defiantly possible, and I defiantly suggest it Both of my Evo's have been modded with bolt-on's. I'd defiantly have preferd them to be OEM but when you do fine that very one that is all OEM, they're usually not cheap.

 

Hmmmm, alot to think about.

For the most part, this will be my dailey driver, but I often venture up north to my grand parents (family owns 80 acrs up north in millersburg, in the middle of a few 1000 ars of woods) and do alot of dirt/gravel/sand fun. Theres quite a few trails that I've been using to practice on in thick wooded areas thats a mix of sand/gravel/dirt areas with my current lancer. Also, the quarry, which is all gravel open areas.

Basically, i'll be making this a somewhat rally spec evo, so would the MR still be a best bet? As stated, I'll be using this as my dailey driver also.

What do evos get on gas?

 

From what I've gathered, about 18city 26hwy

 

from a new evo owner to the next potential evo owner.. here is the best advice. i know its hard but dont fall in love with the car.. if it isnt everything u want in the car or if there is slightly thats fishy and u feel that theres something wrong its most likely true. If you have the money in hand dont worry about finding another evo. YOU WILL FIND ANOTHER ONE. definitely let it come to you. i was on the same boat as you as of a month ago. Saw probably 10+ different evos. I own a X now but i personally love the 9MR's the most. as a daily i would want a 6 speed for highway. I get at most 23mpg hwy. But your definitely gonna spend a lil more than 21K for a used 9MR with low miles.

 

This is true! Gear 123 are stronger but the fourth is the issue if anything and I will tell you why. The transmission holds less fluid than the 5 spd which allows it to heat up more. Second the fourth gears is a thinner gear to allow room for the 6th gear. I own one myself and haven't had ANY issues but I don't road race where most failures if any occur in and I don't launch the car. There are guys hear with MR's and close to 500 whp with no prblems! Its all up to the driver. I personally would rather the 5spd at this point because I can't stand constantly shifting. I live in a large city so open roads aren't as common as suburban or rural areas. I do love my MR SE for all of those other reasons though. If I could do it all over again I might as well get an RS mod the hell out of it and drive a beater for a second car. In fact the best thing you can do is buy a high mileage evo, build the motor, and upgrade the turbo. This if you are looking to have animal of a car. I didn't ever think I would do more to my car but this sh*t never ends. Its like having a one woman in your life, your never satisfied!

 

So, if I were to get something OTHER then the MR (although I'm still very partial to it), what would you recommend? I'm scraping to just get 21k, so if my trans died i'd probably be out a car for awhile. Modding won't be an option, atleast for quite awhile.

edit: I might be interested in an 04/05 8 depending, any advice with 8s also?

thanks

 

Transmission issues aside, I'd recommend against the MR. There's nothing wrong with it, but while it could be worth the money you pay, is it worth the premium that you would pay over an otherwise identical GSR? It wasn't to me, and I've purchased two Evos (a IX and IX SE). I couldn't justify the extra dough over non-MR models, especially when their performance is SOOOO similar.

 

I hate you...

I'm thinking about bouncing out of my lease early to buy this Evo that looks like an AWESOME deal... One that has convinced me another deal like this WILL NOT come...

But now I'm thinking it might, because of your post

I doubt in the 8 months until my lease is up, not another sweet deal will come by. Time to be smart

 

OMG, DOMO you again!!!!!!

hahahahah

 

IX RS, SE will be good or Reg is good too which all 5spds.

Or you really the MR, get it burn out the tranny and get sheperd 5spds

 

the fourth gear of the MR are thinner
but so far
its reliable
but u need to prepare some money in case something spoilt...

 

If I sell my Evo (IX SE, 23k miles, completely stock) around that time, I'll hit you up.