I have come quite a ways with my lancer and now I am entering my 2nd year in college. I have always said when I get out of college I would buy myself an evo because I love them. Only problem is I am not sure whether that will be practical or not. I have been exploring options that in a year or 2 investing in something like a supercharged cobalt, SRT4, WRX, Spec v, or comparable cars.

A little background on my car. It is an 02 with mods listed in my signature. The problems with the car is it is an automatic (it was my first car and only regret). It has almost 100k miles on it. Transmission needs flushing, the front struts are going out, and little things such as paint chips, little oil near the spark plugs ( I think I need new gaskets) etc. Car runs strong though and NEVER gives me problems.

Recently I thought that maybe I could flush the transmission fluid, do new valve cover gaskets etc. and at some point replace the front suspension. I have several thousand and would like to save as much as possible for life. I was thinking that I could delay buying a new car for quite a while longer by doing this little maintenance and turbo'ing it. I have the RRM header so all I would need is a turbo internally wastegated, BOV, O2 housing, downpipe, and fuel pump/injectors. I already have a SAFC Neo as well to tune with. I would probably run non IC'ed for a while at least.

I would love to turbo it but am afraid of:

-resale/return on turbo'ed car when I go to sell it
-being bored with an automatic
-damaging the motor with already such high miles on it


If you all could give me some insight as to what would be the most rational while still enjoying a fast car it would be appreciated.

 

get the evo, i think the 8 and 9's will hold value for a long time like the supras and rx7, especially how fast they get wrecked

 

Depends, if you have the money or plan on selling it in the next year or so don't do anything to it and just save your money. If you want a turboed car now, turbo it.

 

thing is the getting a new car is a possibility. I don't have anywhere near the money for those cars listed but I COULD get like an 02 spec v with 75k miles on it for the cost of a turbo lancer.

So basically if you had the choice... turbo lancer with mods in my sig vs. almost stock spec v for 3-4 years?

 

I would turbo the lancer myself. Going to a Spec V with that kind of mileage isn't exactly a huge leap up, you'd be getting a car that is on it's way down and who knows what kind of problems could pop up. The increase in power isn't stellar so to me it wouldn't be worth. Now if you could get an SRT-4, WRX, Spec V with like 50000 miles or less, than it would be worth considering.

 

With the current funds you have, put in a new set of Megan coilovers, get a upper gasket set and replace everything, and the flush you can do yourself (did it myself and now get 50/75+ miles extra per tank now!). So basically a $1200 investment will make you through college and then get your Evo!

BTW, have you had the timing belt changed yet?

 

Do this, then do a custom t28 or 16g setup. 2500$ for a great setup and 200whp.

 

all that sounds tempting. Will you get at least some money back from all of this? Timing belt/coolant flush/water pump was all done 1 year/10k miles ago as well as accessory belts. Will the 16g setup work with that RRM header? I might just do replacement shocks up front. I would LOOOVE coilovers but just can't justify the cost :/

 

um, research turbo, if u go turbo don't be a noob about it. 16g has a manifold not a j pipe setup like the t25 t28.

 

I'm kind of in the same boat as you are.

I'm currently deployed to the middle east right now and I've been dreaming of owning an evo ever since they came out, but lately i've been having second thoughts. Maybe i buy a new '08 lancer ? I have an '03 OZ and it's scheduled to be paid off next year. So herein lies our dilema - do we get a new car ( i know - used ) or do we keep our old standby?

I think you should wait until you get out of school or put some money into savings and that way have a better down payment when you're ready. Just keep up regular maintenance on the car and she should keep running like a champ.

My $.02... you have some good car choices there. I drove a cobalt s/c last year and was not impressed. wrx's are good stout platforms and you'll always get differing opinions on the srt. Ultimately, the choice is up to you and what you are looking for in the long run. If i get my evo - i'm going to hang on to it for a long time.

Sorry for rambling btw

 

If you'd rather not go the more expensive full coilover route and just do fronts, I just put on Evo front struts...from blown struts to Evos is awesome! Stiffer, but holds in the corners. Now on to the end links! LOL

 

I have started seriously debating whether or not to go turbo. The more I read the more something like a T25 would be my best bet because of how quickly they spool up. I would never push anything more than 7PSI on it so I don't need it to be very big, just a big useable powerband.

 

I say go out and test drive an Evo (if you can still find one), and you'll be hooked! You'll not care about anything else expect for getting that after college... Just make the Lancer road-worthy until then.

Good luck with college btw!

 

Just to be able to afford that type of car would take me 5-7 years at least. I think a turbo lancer could be pretty quick.

 

Based on experience, consider your next move VERY carefully. For my last car, I wound up buying a $3,000 turbo kit, and then turned around and sold it after the headaches and aggravation of just trying to get the thing installed got to me.

I can't speak for Lancers, but anytime you decide to turbo a car you're taking a huge gamble. If you're proficient with turbo installs and will know how to troubleshoot virtually anything that could go wrong, and are up for the challenge and the work it takes to maintain, by all means go for it. If you're like me and need a dependable daily driver, I'd say look elsewhere.

5-7 years is an awfully long time. Have you considered upgrading to something a bit better? A regular WRX or SRT-4 are sure to give you that extra boost you crave, and both come with nice warranties to boot. Even if you don't go forced induction, I'm sure a regular V6 Eclipse could be a lot more fun between now and then.

Bottom line, unless you seriously know what you're doing, avoid the aftermarket turbo if you need a daily driver.