Hey everyone,

So I am just about to close on my first home with my girlfriend (hopefully fiance soon!) and this kind of made me realize that having a mustang as my DD is very limiting. Both in the winters here in NJ, and as we grow as a family with our dog + kids down the line.

The evo / STI were some of my first go-to cars. Chargers are AWD but too much of a boat, low mpg, and just not a fan of the styling.

The EVO X really stands out to me in the sense that it's subtle, until opened up and then its a beast. The 4 door + AWD is what I'm after too.

I wanted to introduce myself since I'll be reading, educating myself on the platform, getting to know the community, and hopefully work towards trading in my car for a 2013 EvoX! I have about 13k miles, but will all the incentives and crap that Ford had on the mustang I dont think I'll get destroyed on a trade-in.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone!

-Dave

P.S. - At the risk of sounding a little ignorant I wanted to point out that from what I've seen, everyone seems really nice and helpful, and the community isnt the young, "eff the world" type tuner crowd I had anticipated based on my outside perspective. Very excited about that. Just a bunch of car enthusiasts working on a different platform...who dislike rice just as much as the muscle guys.

 

Welcome brotha...I won't be of much help with info on the X seeing as how I drive a 8 but you can't go wrong with it. New is good and used also, as long as it has been taken care of by the previous owner you should be ok. Word of advice though, read read read. Get as much info about the platform as you can and become familiar...

 

Hey man, I normally dont do the whole welcoming thing, but in the spirit of EvoM, Ill give it a whirl.

It looks like you have the V-6 Mustang? Great car, very well balanced, sharp handling. I like the car a lot, but for me, there was just something lacking. Soul, character, whatever you want to call it. The 5.0 is an entirely different ball game, though.

The switch to an Evo is an entirely different car. Literally in Every way. Easy to make power, turbo (and lag), awd handling is amazing, 4 doors, just a great car.

I could go on and on, but bottom line, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy your switch to the Evo Platform. Congrats on the plan, and welcome to the forum.

I bought my Evo thinking I would have it for a couple yrs then mature out of it, and 7yrs later I cant even think about selling

 

You'll be very happy with the switch. The AWD is amazing in the NJ winters.

 

Yeah I saw a used 2012 GSR for $27k with 16k miles that seemed pretty solid. Thats what peaked my interested because with my trade-in I might only pick up 4-6k extra on the loan. I'm a molecular biologist, so doing research is one of my favorite things to do. I'm already reading up on the DCTs, etc. etc.

Thanks man!

Thanks for taking the time boosted. I appreciate it a lot. The coyote engine is definitely a monster platform, my boy has a full bolt-on and tune 5.0 and its close to 450rwhp. The sound is definitely sweet music too...but for me getting 29mpg, 305hp, for around $20k was the ticket lol However like i said, its just kind of lost its attractiveness. The 3.7 isnt a great platform to make big power (struggles to make 300+whp) and its a 2door RWD. As much as I love how many people point and stare, I need something more practical both as a DD and as a fun car.

Yeah man, the house is over in Rockaway which isnt exactly flat roads every where haha So I'm probably going to grab some Blizzaks or some other winter tire, suck it up, and then try to trade in for the spring.

Where are you located at? Hows the Evo scene in NJ, performance shops, etc...is it decent? Theres an awesome amount of guys that work on the stangs so I'm hoping I wont regret leaving that community.

So far though, even just based off this welcome, I'm getting very excited!

 

Welcome, always nice to see new people on here. Any info you need should be around. If you cant find the info you need or need it in a hurry, their are many people on the forum who are more than happy to help any way they can. Also, if you plan to do performance work the variety of performance parts for evo's is just as vast as for mustangs. good luck, hope you get in an evo soon.

 

Wow haha what a coincidence! I was just watching tons of Top Level vids on youtube! That Dexter's street creeper video was awesome.

You guys are actually only about 80mins from where I live, so that's awesome to know. I'll keep it in mind if/when I grab the new wheels.

The EVO seems to respond to well to mods, it'll be a breath of fresh air from my 3.7L mustang. 300+awhp seems very achievable for a pretty affordable price based on a lot of the cars I've seen on here. It'd cost me closer to $3k+ to do that in my car after I upgrade my driveshaft, gears, and full bolt-on.

I just realized being on the boards looking at all these clean, modded EVOs is going to be torture lol

 

I would pick an EVO over an STI anyday. The market for the EVO is way bigger as well. The only thing I don't like is here in S.Florida, they get stolen quite frequently.

 

Welcome! And from the sounds of it, you would really enjoy an evo. Good luck on your search for the right one.

 

Yeah, my house is in a pretty quiet suburb so at least I don't have to worry about that lol

Yeah, I'm really starting to think it's the right move...now I just have to close on the house, get a ring for the girl, and the EVO is next on the list!

 

Welcome! Eveyone has their own opinions, ideas, and feelings towards all types of cars whether they've had good or bad experiences.

I was in a similar boat as you last year. I had a Nismo 350Z, but it wasn't the most practical car (especially since it was my only car). My girlfriend and I had no where to put groceries, we couldn't take it to Big Bear to go snowboarding or camping, etc... So I was in the market for a 4-door AWD car.

My immediate choices were an STI or an Evo. I have a cousin with a "Bug-Eye" wagon WRX, another cousin with a "Hawk Eye" STI, and another with a "Blob Eye" STI. So naturally I was automatically leaning towards an STI.

I test drove a 2013 STI and it was fun... Felt great, super comfortable, great sound, solid interior etc... I was almost set on either the STI or WRX.

Then I went across the street to South Coast Mitsubishi. I checked out the Evo and at first glance the front end looked super aggressive. The interior was kind of bland... but I loved the Recaros. They hugged way better than the STI seats. The famous Sam Smash took me on one of his "famous" test drives.... We punched it down open roads, went into some industrial areas and hooked turns like champs, and then he even took the car sideways. It was by far the most exciting and insane test drives I'd ever been on.

Long story short I currently own a 2013 Cosmic Blue Evo X

 

Absolutely man, thats an awesome story, and I hope I'm fortunate enough to follow down a similar road. I love muscle cars, but I also love real clean european, import, anything cars haha Thats one thing I cant stand, is the close-minded people who think their way is the "best" way, or even the "only" way. I love cars, from the GT-R to the new C7...and my favorite being the Koenigseggs.

The 350z is awesome, and really is a similar situation with me. Tight back seat for any dogs/kids, very little room for groceries, or anything for that matter.

I am personally not a huge fan of the STI looks. The EVO has a much more modern, aggressive look and that's really appealing to me. It reminds me of an M5. Not for its looks, but for its concept, which is a bass performance 4 door car. The M5 I would argue is even a little less performance minded.

That sounds like one hell of a test drive lol I bet they have sold so many cars that way, and I can't say it wouldnt work on me either. I'm not even going to dare take a test drive until we're settle into the house and engaged...cause I'd cave! haha

Thanks for the welcome man...really enjoying myself already here!

What's everyones thoughts on the GSR vs MR? Is the MR worth trying to spring for? What's peoples' experience with the DCT? I know it's obviously no Porsche PDK, but if its that smooth and effective I may actually consider leaving the manual for it.

 

Nice! Yeah same here. My dad had a Chevy Nova and an El Camino when I was a kid. But my dad raised my brother and I to love and appreciate all cars.

Yeah, the STI is nice... but after test driving both the STI definitely felt more like a daily driver and the Evo was more of a fun and badass car. On Top Gear they said the STI is the car you drive to the track and the Evo is the car you drive at the track :P

That's awesome with your home and your future wife, congrats man!

As far as the GSR and MR I think they're both cool. They both have their ups and downs. I had a 2012 Ralliart for a few months which also has the Twin Clutch-SST transmission. I think the SST is cool, but there are a lot of people that don't like it. I didn't own my Ralliart long enough to experience what other people have said, and I've never owned an MR so I can't really say much other than the 4 months I had the Ralliart. But people say that the TC-SST can't handle the big power that the traditional 5-speed can handle. I've also heard that it over heats quickly especially when you're on the track. When I had it the gear changes were smooth and solid and I never had to deal with mis-shifting.

I currently own a GSR. I love it. For the first 3,000 miles before my first oil change everything felt 'too' new. The gears had a little "bite" between gear changes, and you can feel that car hasn't broken in yet... But now I'm 13,XXX miles in with a turbo back exhaust, intake, AP, and custom pro-tune and the car feels amazing

 

Nice man, my dad had a Cuda haha I wasn't even really raised on cars, it was always sports for me, and then powerlifting in college. I just sort of fell in love with cars once I got my mustang, and I've recently been really getting into detailing (check out autogeek.net).

The transmission on my stang pretty much sucks, guys are replacing the bracker and the shifter as one of their first mods. The driveshaft has broken on v6s going 120-130+...so theres issues with trying to make the v6 fast, issues that I'm not willing to tolerate to be honest especially since its RWD and 2door lol

So it doesn't sound like there's any huge inherent benefit to the auto compared to the MT. The mustangs the autos could actually handle more power, so that was a lot of people's justifications for getting one. I personally dont mind being a few tenths slower because I enjoy the engaged feeling when youre driving and shifting. It reminds you you're safe from the world for the time being (depending on your speed )

Thanks by the way, its been an awesome year for me and her...really excited about the house and the future. And grats on the car yourself man, looks gorgeous! Top level said for around $2k they were able to bring a Ralliart to ~300awhp, so I'm curious what $2k could bring a GSR/MR to/ Thoughts?

 

I traded a 2010 Camaro 2SS/RS for my 2013 Evo. The Evo is so much better for me and my family. Especially with the winters up here in northern PA.