AH! Im coming over to the "dark side". Im a domestic guy, always have been. However, im not close minded and always respected imports. It was a tough decision between the STi and the Evo8 but I decided to go with the Evo. Here's some things I would like to know before diving in since I am new to the import scene.

1) Mitsu has a bad rep for having low quality cars and bad customer service. Nothing you can really do about the cust. serv. but what about the quality. These are, from what I gather, the "flagship" of the company. Are these things put together well where it counts (drivetrain, engine, chasis, etc.)?

2) I have heavily modded my previous cars (Mustangs and Camaro's) and was able to get them to over 400rwHP reliably. My latest project was an 03 Cobra that I had over 575rwHP (576.3 rwHP if ya wanna be exact). I absolutely LOVED that kind of power. Will the Evo8's even be capable of doing this? The 03 was able to do that on pump gas with much more room for more power. I've been people running 670rwHP+ with pump gas without any/minimal problems. Just sold her 2 weeks ago and I miss her every day that goes by.

2.5) Really related directly to #2. How much will it take to get to this power level? I am willing to do a stroker kit (if it's available) and turbo kit if that's what I need to do, but will I be needing to sell my sould to the devil to get there? I know domestics were relatively cheap to mod. I hear from a lot of domestic boys that these imports can be quite pricey to start modding.

3) Probably one of the more important ones. Since I haven't really been following up, should I jump on an Evo right now, or is there something new that will be hitting the market soon that is worth waiting for?

4) Lastly, I hear a lot of sh*t about the Evo8's interior. Is it as bad as people say? Ok, it's bland. So were my pony cars tho. My wife's CR-V isn't at the top of the luxurious interiors either...I think that might be even simpler than the Evo8...but hey, it's functional and I really don't want anything else out of the car. Leather would be nice, but since that's not an option, im not gonna b*tch and moan about it till I turn purple.

Alright, that's it for now, thanks everyone for your help...

 

Anyone?

 

1. You are right about customer service, they are not the best but really depends on the individual dealer. If you're going to be moding the crap out of the car what kind of warranty do you expect? I still prefer built in japan quality much more over built in the USA.

2. If you want raw wheel horse power the 2.0 evol may not be the car for you. You can get a good amount of power out of the car ~400 hp. As many dom. drivers say there is no replacement for displacement.

What you WANT this car is for it's mad Handles!!! Mustang or camero can't come close. The lancer is like what Barry Sanders was to football.

3. you can read about the MR.

4. Go look at the cars interior and decide for yourself. I can't stand american interiors, but thats just me.

 

it's a different kind of car is the simple answer.
The built quality is far ahead of any ford that's ever been released but the style is simplistic. They could have put a lot of stuff in the interior and done it cheap - or have a few really well built items and this is the difference you are looking at.
This is a drivers car and does not pretend to be luxurious, my back hurts on long trips, but for around town and going to work it's great. I'm sure you are familiar with power to weight ratio - how fast do you want to go and what kind of racing are you looking for. 500WHP is more than enough to make an evo hold it's own against a heavier domestic. I would not buy this car for drag racing, it's built for the track.

so to conclude - this car may be everything you wish that you cobra was, or everything you hate about imports... the only real way to know it to drive one.

 

it is possible to achieve large hp numbers if you have the money. stock internals i would stay around 400 reliable. built motor with the right set . well the dynoflash evo is well over 600on c16.the pruven evo should be right around there as well. both cars no nos. it is a matter of the right set up and enough funds.

 

i guess i can chime in. a buddy of mine blew up his xfer case on his 03 evo about two months ago due to extreme abuse. (10 minutes of doughnuts in a parking lot). he took it to mitsu & they wouldn't cover it under warranty because the car was heavily modified. he works at a chevy dealership & a 03 cobra came in on trade with 500 miles on it. (the guys wife wouldn't let him have it) he somehow talked the dealership into selling him the cobra for what the trade in value was & taking the evo on a REALLY good trade in.

since getting the cobra, he has modded it & dynoed at 503 hp. the car is absolutely sick when going straight line i will give it that. however, my friend now has his cobra up for sale & is looking for an 04 evo again to start over with. having driven both, been the co pilot in both, etc........ the evo is a more complete car. i also am a completely open minded individual when it comes to domestic/sc cars as well. i have owned my fair share of mustange, et..... and honestly the evo is the most "complete" car i have ever driven. the cobra feels kinda scary when taking bends fast & braking hard. the evo, you will have complete confidence within 10 minutes of driving it.

the cobra is a better drag strip car. the evo is far superior in every other way, braking, handling, etc. the build quality of mustangs & mitsu's pretty much have always had the same reputation. after owning 6 dsm's (eclipse, talon, lasers) i can tell you that the evo is a godsend. my only complaint about the evo is some of the interior parts are kinda cheap looking plastic, but if you owned an 03 cobra.....i feel the same way about them. it all comes down to what you are looking for. it is possible to make big power with the 2.0L platform. (look at all the fast dsm's). it is common now for a 2.0L dsm to run 10s in the 1/4th. but it is going to take a little more for an evo to do it than a 0tree cobra. lol but take both cars & race, throw in a couple bends....i'll take the evo any day of the week.

i hope this helps you out in some way.

 

If you love V8 low end torque - buy another V8. The Evo 8 has a terrible turbo lag and non-liner throttle response. When the boost comes on at 3500 rpm...... Car is 4wd so you get the power down much better than a Mustang.

Just drive one, Dude!

I actually like the interior in my sun, sound and leather.

Wait for the MR.

 

Pump gas power of the EVO will definitely pale in comparison to modded higher displacement motors.

And as for xfer cases blowing up due to doing donuts, our cars were not designed to take that kind of abuse! AWD cars are not like RWD cars. You put some serious strain on all the diffs doing AWD donuts. I would only do it in the rain.

 

Well, everyone else has pretty much covered the major points.. But I'm a hybrid.. I have both Domestics and Imports, and work on both..

I have a supercharged Malibu putting down around 600rwhp.. and guess what? I Haven't driven it in the year I've had my EVO..

The Evo in its modified state is beginning to approach the performance (in a straight line) of my malibu, however it doesnt tell the whole story.. Its just much more "Drivable" and enjoyable. The handling is predictable and nowhere near as tempermental to drive in bad weather (assuming you have good all season tires) Its damn quick, but the torque isn't there like on a V8, but with practice and a few dollars in mods, you can definitely keep up with or beat most of the cars you find out there.

The one thing about the domestics, it's cheaper to make horsepower.. Only one problem, I had a heck of a time getting it to the ground, after chassiswork, rear end modifications, beefing up the transmission, it ended up costing me quite a bit more than if I took that money and put it into the Evo..

 

notice i called the doughnuts "extreme abuse".

 

I have an 04 with the sunroof, sound, and leather seats and i LOVE the fricking seats. I will never understand the argument about "slipping" on leather seats.

If you get an EVO.. get the the leather it improves the interior of the car 110% IMHO.

Good luck!

 

THE '04 RS does not have any lag and has the helical front LSD just like the MR but llighter... so the extra 5hps is a wash...

My question:

When I downshift especially to 4th, 3th I hear the tranny "grinding sounds" from 4500 through 2800 RPM. I just bought the car this past weekend and have 100+ miles. I then went into the dealer and drove a similar '04 RS heard noise but not the grinding but was not able to hit the same RPMs. Maybe will have to go back and try again. When I try the same when my car is cold its hard to tell but when its been on the hwy I hear it clearly.

Any thoughts would be appreciated...

 

i feel that the "cheaper parts" of the interior have nothing to do with the seats. the seats are awesome! the cheaper parts consist of the dash, the pockets on the doors that are just plastic moldings screwed in that don't blend in, etc. believe me, i really could care less about that.....LOL the sheer performance of the vehicle will make you forget that you even have an interior. i am not a fan of the s&s package. i couldn't justify leather & a sun roof in an evo. i had the option when i got mine & opted not to. we all have our opinions on that.

 

What about that stroker kit that is out? I believe I heard it was out by JUN? I forget the exact company but it's a 2.4L stroker. Is it worth the money?

 

RnR sells a complete set up for the 2.4 block and with their gt35R turbo kit and other stuff i think its very possible to get a very high hp evo with pump gas = )