I am an Australian consumer and will be putting a deposit down on a Evo IX this week.

Here in Australia the Evo's all come in one model with options you can add on.

They all have the same specs as the USDM MR version except for the BBS wheels, Bilstein dampers and vortex generator. Here in Australia, those are options you can add to the car when ordering.

My dilema is this---

Should I order the optional performance pack that includes the BBS wheels and Bilstein dampers now or wait and add differenct wheels & coilovers down the track. The performance pack is a $3700Au option and also puts the car into the australian luxuary tax bracket which occurs a tax of about another $1000-$1500 dollars. That means I will be paying an extra $5000au for slightly better wheels & Bilstein's.

IS IT WORTH IT???????????????

My other option is save the $5000 and add better 18 inch wheels and coilovers down the track.

your opions are much appreciated

 

NO, it's not worth it paying an extra 5000.

I don't know about you, but I would get the factory stuff and spend the 5000 on getting some JIC or TEIN entry coilovers which should be around 2000.
and spend the other 2000 on lightweight rims and the last 1000 on tires. You'd have yourself a suspension system way better than the bilsteins and MR rims.

 

its not worth it for you in that position IMO.

 

$5,000.00 Australia Dollars = $3,787.88 USD

not worth it. go buy yourself some nice aftermarket parts with that money.

 

I read a post where a guy made a comment that the BBS wheels are worth $1000 each?

That seems very high for a 17inch wheel. And at the end of the day it is only the weight that gives it a benefit. If I were going for looks, I would add some nice 18's.

What about those Bilsteins? What advantage to they offer? The Mitsubishi dealerships here in Australia cant really give me a good answer Are they really that good?

I am not going to be on a racetrack everyday so I am thinking that just changing the springs would do for me.

For those of you out there nice enough to reply, don't forget that $5000 Australian dollars = around $3700 US.

By the way, the Australian Evo IX gets the 6 speed, climate control, new rear bumper, and all of the other new parts for the IX standard. The only factory options are the BBS & Bilstein's. They call this the performance pack.

 

if u r NOT gonna road race ur car, especially in stock form, then there's no point to buy the package. bilstein struts/shocks do however have softer ride and give better grip on bumpy corners, but they don't respond to quick steering inputs as quickly as standard ones. there's a comparison article for MR, GSR, RS that supports that. BBS wheels r lighter, but again, if u'r not a road racer, u won't notice, except maybe slight acceleration improvement. since u wanna get aftermarket rims anyway...
another thing u can do is buy the package, then sell the rims, u might make some profit check the forums to see what they go for.

 

Talk to your dealer to get a separate invoice for the package to avoid the luxury tax.

 

This is all good, except that this scenario applies to people that would be paying cash for the car. IMO, I think majority of the people out there will be financing.. but I guess you could buy a base GSR and put that extra $5k on credit. Or maybe have the car over financed, get a check back from the dealer and use that money.

Are BBS wheels, 6 spd tranny (if you want that), front and rear aero kits, crappy gauge pack, Bilstein suspension, HIDs and a better resale value (IMO) worth the extra $5k sticker? I honestly don't think it's that bad.

 

For those of you out there not aware, this is an Australian spec car that comes standard with the 6 speed.

We don't get the HID's but we do get a 6 disc CD player and climate control.

 

Hi AMERICANAUSSIE,

I too live in Australia (Sydney) and am pondering the exact same issue.

I am Buying the car on Finance so I think I'm going to go for the package then sell the 17" BBS's for some nicer after market rims as the finance Company will not fund wheels separately.

I would have kept them however I want a Black EVO and I don't like the look of a dark car and darl wheel, any other colour and I would keep them for sure.

I'm taking both an EVO and an STI for a drive tomorrow, let me know if you want details.

 

Depends on how you are using the car. For street driving, the MR package with Bilstein's and BBS is nice. For track use, you are going to get a different suspension anyway, so why pay extra for shocks you are going to throw away?

 

Look at the BIG Picture for YOU.
What are you getting the car for?
Do you need the 6spd trans? You end up using the clutch about 16% more with an extra gear.
Do you need "Bilsteins"? Are you drive to work or in a rally?
BBS Forged Wheels are dam good wheels "Light and Strong"!
Do you hit alot of pot-holes in the road or bang the curb while parking?
Enkei Casted Wheels are not as light or as strong. But, they are easy to clean "Less Spokes" to wash around.

 

Sorry, I missed this part.
You got to love the good old USA. We just water down everything.

 

The BBS weigh 1.1 kg less than the Enkeis. Thats probably worth 0.1 on the quarter. But for the same price you could get a Motec M800 installed that will knock 1.2 off your quarter.

Whats your budget? What are you using the car for?

Btw theres an excellent Australian forum of VIII owners and IX owners: http://web3.bekkers.com.au/%7Eevo/phpBB2/index.php

 

Don't get me wrong they are nice OEM wheels but I would get some nice WIDER Volks or even Ralliart.

For the extra $3700 I would get Zeal V6 coilovers and volks. Also go ahead and sell the OEM wheels and get some more cash on that, I'm sure it'll be easy to do. Besides man you are getting the 6 speed already plus the sweat climate control.

I'm sure you guys get JDM parts cheaper then us. You could always go with Whiteline, which kicks ***.