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After 10 years of lurking... I bought an Evo IX RS!
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After 10 years of lurking... I bought an Evo IX RS!
I made this account over 10 years ago and promised myself I’d own an Evo IX one day, after I was responsible and grew my business a bit more.Right when things started going well, I was diagnosed with cancer. During recovery, stuck in bed with way too much time, I binged watched car videos and then one thing lead to another... decided to go to car meets after I recovered. I saw an Evo 9 there and remembered my dream. I casually browsed Cars & Bids, Bring a Trailer, Built for Backroads, Marketplaces…Then my dream spec popped up locally. I was still weak, and part of me thought it just wasn’t the right time. A few months passed, but, the more I thought about it, the more it felt like one of those “now or never” moments where you either choose to live life or keep waiting for a “perfect” time that may come again the following year, especially with these cars in good shape. A good friend offered to drive me 5 hours to pick it up. The second I saw the car in person, it was completely love at first sight. 73k miles, 3 owners, no rust, no major accidents, super clean interior. The mods (that I am aware of) include: lighter battery, intake and light exhaust, all for a fair price. Currently, the car is in storage, ready for maintenance. Can't drive it for long periods yet but it is motivating my body to catch up. I am going to try to restore it even more and keep it simple. Thank you for reading my story and I have a lot of questions in the near future. I'm glad the community on Facebook and Reddit has been welcoming. Hoping to make more friends here.
My simple to do list:
Fluid change
Headlight, engine bay and undercarriage cleaning
-Bonnie
Last edited by bodangers; Feb 5, 2026 at 07:17 AM.
Reason: Errors
Congratulations really there is nothing like getting the car you always dreamed of. The evo 9 was always a dream car of mine also, made that dream come true along with my recently acquired r34 gtr and they just feel so right couldn't replace them with anything else. The rs, IMO is the top model, these are extremely rare and finding one in that condition, you really lucked out. Enjoy it like you deserve!
Also you sound like a very strong person being able to go through all of that, I had afew up and downs in my journey but nothing like that. I feel like people who are getting their hand on these cars recently are the real ones with a true passion for them. Its real good to see.
Congrats on the purchase. I bought an evo ix MR in 2007 w 4000 miles. I daily drove it to 87k miles when the rear subframe rusted out. I missed it ever since and just picked up a bone stock 2005 ssl with 62k miles. I feel like this forum had a lot more people participating when I had that car. most of my new posts are getting little traction. I ended up doing Full TBE with milspec 100 cell cat, megan O2 housing 1000 cc injectors, ETS intake intercooling and piping FP green DBB turbo, halman MBC and Walbro 255 L/min fuel pump. The car made 882 HP, and 387 tq. THe stock engine lasted many thousand miles this way. The drive-train was different story, but I suspect if I hadn't drag raced it so much the drivetrain would have been fine. I ended up getting the t-case rebuilt by shep and swapping in a evo 8 stage one shep 5 speed trans. My 6 speed started popping out of 5th. I thought the transission was whining too, but after the swap i realized it was my rear diff. Your car can reliably make that power so long as you don't launch it. Good luck with it. Both my cars are/were black, but the ix looks great in white. For my MR I thik I would have preferred white, but it was hard to find a good one in any color after they released the X. dealers taht still had 9s were marking them up many thousands of dollars.
Congratulations! You are a true inspiration! Your car looks amazing! I wish you many happy miles with that rare car! Enjoy every second! I am facing a major health issue myself, and your story really hits me! Keep up the good fight and enjoy that car! (I own an Evo IX-MR that I bought new. It's heavily modified, please see below)
What a great story! I am happy that you are recovering and what a great present to yourself! I've owned four Evos but the RS has always been an elusive one to find. You will love it.
I am new to posting on forums so I am not sure the best way to reply to individuals.
Just want to say that the kind words mean a lot. I cannot wait to drive the car more and try to get into creating basic content without all the fancy editing. Unfortunately there are not alot of new Evo videos out there and I hope to change that. I enjoyed reading everyone's story and mod list. It's really tempting me to mod the car but I need to slow it down 🤣. I wish you guys all the best🫶🏼
There are so many parts that I did not know existed. Thank you for being so detailed! It really helps me figure out the direction I want to take the car in.
The rs, IMO is the top model, these are extremely rare and finding one in that condition, you really lucked out.
Taking the time to show compassion toward me truly means a lot.Initially, I wanted the MR because I grew up around people who swore it was the best trim. But once I started going to the track, the RS became the perfect fit. While many of my Evo friends focus on adding power to offset the extra weight from cosmetic mods, I’ve always gravitated toward prioritizing handling and balance. I see lighter parts in my future.
Also, someone once mentioned they’re glad these cars are difficult to finance, because it naturally filters out people who wouldn’t truly value and respect them compared to people who work hard their butts off to pay for it in cash.
Great story and welcome to the club! If you're anywhere near IL or Chicago hit me up, I'm planning on reviving the local Evo meet scene here.. should be a good season ahead!
Car looks great and congrats on getting it! I have an 8 RS and I have driven other cars and it is easily one of my favorite cars to drive! I also went down the path of restoring mine, albeit most things were in good condition. The one detail I can see that you may want to consider is the RS specific center console, which is arguably worse than the one you have lol, but was only offered on the RS models. The part no. is MR630442. For OEM parts, even with tariffs, Amayama.com in Japan is a great resource for oem parts. Enjoy the car!
Also, the gas cap has two notches on it so you can slide it onto one of the stamped steel parts that sticks out. I can take a photo at some point if that doesn't make sense.
