hey everyone...
im going to be getting a car soon and the US lancer (5spd) is the top of my list. the sales guys are telling me that the performance on the OZ and the ES are the same. i know they have the same engine specs but im not sure about suspension, brakes, etc... is the OZ and ES models exactly the same except for the looks? if so, i am thinking about going cheap and getting the ES. after i buy it, i will put some new custom rims on it.

i am looking forward to getting involved with this forum. btw... anyone from socal (specifically the pomona, north OC area)? i heard that there is a socal lancer club. where can i get more info their meetings?

thanks for your help

 

if you want to go cheap then go with the ES the OZ has a sway bar so its a tad but better on handling, I love my guages and the interior of my car ( i have a OZ ) and the rims are nice and the grounds effects and spoiler is nice. But its all in prefrance get what you want.

 

As far as Lancers go they are techincally the same except the ES does in fact lack the rear sway bar that the LS and OZ have. Other than that, all differences are aesthetic. ABS is only available on LS models if that's of any use to you. If you're going to get aftermarket wheels and a body kit, I would say an ES or LS in favor of the OZ.

 

Thought they had a different bolt pattern too

 

Argh...yes "b" they have a different bolt pattern

ES: 100 x 4
LS/OZ: 114.3 x 4

Not that that's of any consequence. Also the ES is the lightest of them all but that's to be expected having little itty bitty wheels (14" steelies as to 15" alloys" and no body kit)

 

Most wheels are drilled for those two sizes anyways, so it makes no real difference

What about the spring issue? Wasn't it eibach that said not for the ES?

 

The stock OZ's are not cross drilled. Kinda limiting their resale value but oh well. Regardless, yes it was Eibach who said the springs wouldn't fit but finding out WHY exactly is turning out to be harder than expected. RMR hasn't replied and I got a busy signal from Eibach. Disconcerting to say the least.

 

OK..I think I'm done making p reply to stupid questions

 

So will it be harder to find after market parts (i.e. springs, rims, filters, etc..etc) for the ES? I think I saw something on RMR saying that their parts are made for the OZ... not sure though.

 

By no means will it be harder to find parts since the Lancers share the same engine. Bolt pattern is irrelevant since there are others cars with the same pattern. The spring issue however I believe should be fairly easy to resolve, this from Rob at RoadRace:

For some lame reason, Mitsubishi fitted the ES with a different front strut. It uses a narrower diameter spring. It is around an inch narrower. I think it was decided in early production that they use some existing strut they had from another model maybe. That is what I know. Unfortunately guys like Eibach were not informed of this by Mitsubishi (the great communicators that they are) it took customers to figure it out. Hope that helps. Note new struts are probably the parts RMR are talking about.

Rob (ROCK)

With that, simply replacing the front struts would seem to eliminate the fitment issue with the Eibach springs. I'll email again just to make sure.

 

From Rob:

I think the diameter of the spring perch. So if you get a new one such as Ralliart , they are probably for the OZ and LS. Therefore only part you need is the upper cap for the spring (larger diameter also). Rob

Soooo...my assumption was kind of right...the suspensions are a tad different but if it's only the upper cap that needs to be replaced, I could simply get the OZ one (which is probably what RMR does when they say they have the parts to make it fit). Hm.