I have been considering the purchase of a 2005 EVO. I know all the buzz is about the limited production MR. But I am leaning toward the RS for the following reasons:

My primary use for the car is racetrack events - HPDE, open track days, etc. on road courses. Using price estimates I have heard, MSRP of the RS is $27,000, and the MR is somewhere between $33,000 and $35,000. The RS gets the same hp bump to 276 hp as the MR and VIII for '05, and it already has the front helical differential.

So the real diffences between the MR and RS are:

MR gets BBS wheels that shed 13 lbs. of unsprung weight, Bilstien shocks for better handling, 6 speed gearbox, and it has the big carbon fiber wing like the VIII.

RS has more weight saving measures, like thinner glass, no trunk carpet, less sound deadening, wind-up windows, and it has the same aluminum roof panel as the MR (VIII keeps the steel roof). Also, I think the RS does not have ABS.

So here is how I look at it:

You can get an RS for $27K, and maybe even get a discount. I doubt seriously that the 700 ' 05 MRs to be sold nationally can be had without a dealer markup over the approx $34K msrp. You are probably talking about a $10K difference in price. For $10K, I can do a hell of a lot of mods to my RS, including getting a factory VIII wing, way more suspension work than just Bilstien shocks, and wheels even lighter than those BBS. I could do some significant turbo and engine management upgrades and still have money to spare. While a 6MT is nice to have, the 5MT is adequate for my needs.

What do you all think?

if you are going for strictly track use, RS is the way to go, no comparison.

If you are going to heavily mod and use your car for mostly track days IMO i would by and RS... i would personally rather have 10K to play and mod with then spend the extra money to be able to say oooooooooo i have an MR.. why pay more when you can be a whole lost faster from the get go modding and have a lower payment allowing even more mods.

Dont get me wrong i would love to have and MR, but if you are going mostly track i would think the RS is a better option

Just my cents

have you test driven the RS? i was actually debating about getting the RS, but I had a chance to test drive the '04 RS and wasn't counting on the removal of the sound deadening and whatever else. seeing as you plan on using it as a primary track car, i can assume it won't be too much of a problem for you, but I drive enough between school/work/home and everywhere else in between that I can't justify the RS. Then again, I wasn't even considering the MR, I was more concerned about GSR vs. RS. Also, considering you plan on modding anyways, you could probably do a lot, like you said, to the RS over the MR with the amount of cash you're saving. And uhh.. also, depending on the track, you have to consider 5 speed vs. 6 speed. from what I hear, the MR 6 speed isn't just the 5 speed with a gas saver, it's actually geared differently, so think about which you could utilize better.

can't go wrong with either of them

RS is better suited for the track.

I think you are right that the MR 6MT has closer gear ratios, which is beneficial on a road course. But I can't justify the extra big $$$ and diffuculty of obtaining an MR for just another gear. Looks like you all agree.

I truly appreciate input from current EVO owners. My daily driver is a nearly $50K Audi S4 with 340 hp V8, awd and 6MT. My current track car is a 350Z Track with a fortune in N/A mods. But, having spent the last year at many racetracks in CA and NV, the EVO is a serious machine.

The 5-speed weighs less, and is arguably more reliable. 1st and 2nd are nearly identical anyhow.

any pics?

Lots of pics. It's Nogaro Blue Pearl Effect with Black leather Recaros with Blue Alacantara inserts. But I can never figure out how to post a pic here. I like the websites where you can just upload a pic directly, rather than link to pics from somewhere else.

MR > RS imo

for some reason, most of magazine test the MR weight a lot than Mitsh. states? only for the ACD, i would get RS, unless it comes with AYC and ACD, that reminds me the 97~98 supra turbo i had, come with snow botton compare to 94~96 supra did not come with it, but i never use it, so, i guess ACD won't be hugh different,
go get the RS, put a 2.3 stroker kit with GT35r = a little more than 10K, you would be rock!!!