hey guys,

I was just wondering why there's a lot of interest in modifying the standard lancer either performance related or just cosmetic related.

I dont mean to cause any offence by asking this at all. Its just a general thought.

Why would you want to take a normal run around car like the lancer and modify it to look like an evo when you could buy an evo? I appreciate many people cannot afford to buy an evo which is perfectly fine, no point is stretching yourself way over budget.

but surely modifying a standard lancer will always feel like you really wanted something else and will constantly get grief from evo owners?

the lancer isnt a fast car and isnt a luxurious car, so why not buy something else which could at least fill one of these categories, surely it would be a nicer car?

just curious to hear the thoughts on this, i figured you guys would be the best to ask. please dont take this in any way shape or form as an insult, I would just like to hear your reasons why you went for the lancer and modified it rather than going with either an evo or something else.

 

Well...reason why i went with the lancer is cause i got it real cheap a 2002 for 2,000 with just 30,000 miles on it. It was my first car and i did little performance mods on it like exhaust and intake and headers. I knew it was never gonna be a evo so i didn't even try to mod to be like a evo. I don't really understand why people think the 4g94 is similar to the 4g63. They are 2 different cars so you really can yell at anyone for modding their cars. I decided to go turbo cause i got the turbo kit real cheap. I kept my o-z rally badge. I wouldn't give my lancer up sure i would take a Evo, but i own a audi a4 1.8t sooner or later i will own a evo.

 

i dont think my car is an evo at all
nor do i make it look like one
i dont like the evo bodykits and what not becauuse i know what my car is and im not a wannabe evo
sure i envy the evo and hope to get one soon
but at 19 years old i can afford to mod my lancer since the parts are cheap and i know evo parts are more expensive and im happy with my lancer for now
another reason i like it is because its not like every other car out there... and actually most people tihnk its fast until i tell them its really slow its just a regular lancer but if i turboed my lancer i would be happy with the speed i dont need a drag car or anything its a DD

 

Yeah and like SlvrOz117 mentioned the cost of owning something real expensive is a lot down the road when things go bad. Like parts for the base lancer and the evo are real different and cost entirely different. Since im good with cars fixing it isn't a hassle but for parts could cost you a lot.

 

Price points

Lets look at numbers.

1. I bought my lancer back in 02 for roughly 15k
2. Where I'm going, I my end up spending around 12 to 13k total on this car to get it where I want it.

= 28k

Now if I were to buy an Evo in 03 I'd start out already spending more than 30k just buying the car.

Of course I would buy into a different class of car if I went with the EVO. I know this.


I think too many people want an EVO and can't afford it. They see the Lancer because it's got a similar shell but better than half the price. They see a body kit for about a grand and call it a day.

These are similar looking cars but they are not the same. They aren't even in the same class. I wish more people would understand this.

 

alot of lancer people that i know are for there first cars, coz they are relatively cheap jap cars and easy to modify,

my 06 RA is my first car and got it $~26K on the road, where if i went for an evo which would have costed $35k for a 7, $45k for a 8, or $60k for a 9, and as a uni student i cant afford those then

also note i havent made mine into an evo wannabe, but i did do some affordable modifications because i want to be better than stock which i think is why people do it

 

and although it is a lancer most of us take pride in making our lancers unique and we appreciate what we have .. i saw a quote on sclc.net and i think it applies here.. well im going to modify the quote a little bit lol

anyone can take a fast car and make it faster but it takes a lot of dedication, money, and time to make a slow car fast.

 

I'm not trying to single you out, but I find this quote somewhat silly. It takes just as much work to make a fast car faster as it does to make a slow car faster, there are basic fundamental rules to modding and they apply regardless of what you start with. While you won't find any Evo/STI owners gushing over 300 whp, you'll find plenty pursuing 400whp/500whp/etc.

 

Consider how much more work it is to take a lancer and have it pushing 300-400hp vs an Evo making the same about of power. Plus when I pull up to an Evo, STi, Mustang, GTO, etc., I expect it to be fast but if I pull up next to a lancer, civic, corolla, scion, (cars that have under 200 hp) and watch it blow down the road/track, I'm truly impressed.

Now seeing a Evo go into the 11s or 12s down the track is one thing but when you see another sub-200 or so hp stock do the same thing, it's pretty impressive.

 

True but no one is going to treat a 400 hp lancer the same as a 400 hp evo, they're two completely different cars with completely different requirements (and completely different starting points). What I'm saying is that using the argument that a fast lancer is more special therefore it's a better choice is silly. I don't care how someone does it, fast is fast.

 

this car is nicer than any other in the price range. and i laugh at Evo owners and their bad ankles from no CC. i got everything i need. Navi,looks(gts) 18s wing. its a nice car

 

Some BMW 3-Series owners put M3 badges on their cars. Some Porsche Cayman owners put on a "GT3" badge and a wing. It's just human nature: whatever we have...we want something better!

One of my clients owns a Lamborghini dealership. He says that customers often request the carbon fiber spoiler & bumper from the Gallardo Superleggera be put onto their plain old crappy Gallardo in order to make it look like the Superleggera. So the whole "make your car look like the XYZ model" doesn't end with the Lancer/Evo, either.

I personally went with the Lancer because it's a sexy, reliable car with lots of gizmos and it's reasonably fun to drive. A 291-HP car is almost a waste of potential in my situation since it would be sitting in traffic more often than not. And by not buying an Evolution, I save money on fuel, insurance, & maintenance...and then all the cash I save gets reinvested back into my track car (I don't modify the Lancer, really).

And just to get one thing straight: the Evolution is NOT a luxurious car. The VIII-IX had all the creature comforts and conveniences of a shopping cart and the X isn't too spectacular either, despite the way it looks.

 

Yea I agree with all you guys. I bought my 02 OZ Rally for $5,800 2 months ago. It was previously owned by a girl and she had pink lights and a fake evo body-kit. I got rid of the lights (trying to sell)and pink stuff but now I'm saving up for a new body-kit cuz I hate it when evo guys talk $hit about my car. They call it fake/wannabe evo. I don't understand why they feel so superior over us if we have the same amount of pride and joy for our cars as they do for theirs.

The reason why I chose this car was cuz I don't have the money for an evo and I'm in school so its hard to even save up to mod out my car. But I have big plans for this car and it's gonna stay with me for a long.. long.. time. But after this car I am for sure getting my dream car (EVO)

 

this was my first car the my rents bought me back in 06. before then i had been driving around our old family 1990 gmc truck so i was more then happy with the base lancer. sure id loved to have the evo, but honestly im kinda glad i do mod my oz vs. having one, its been just really enjoyable to have something different.

sure we get grief from evo owners all the time, but ive also gotten plenty of comments from some of them as well on the work ive done.

it would make since (if you had the money) to get an evo vs. the base lancer if you wanted something faster, but honestly to me saying why did you get the lancer and not an evo, is like saying why didn't you get a gt mustang its a lot faster than the base lancer too.

they are all completely different cars and all have different prices..

and if you didnt notice as well a lot of the guys on here are younger like i am and dont have 30g's to put tords a car right now.. so we stick with what we have and enjoy it. sure i still get spanked by some nice cars, but to me they are in a totally different league. nothing makes my day better than to have a civic pull up next to me not knowing anything ive got under the hood and to watch his face in the mirror as i pull away car length after car length : p


but yeah if your talkin about people who slap kit on there lancers and call it an evo with the badge and all.. yeah i think it pretty lame too. at least the badge anyway

 

Modding a car is a personal choice. i don't question dudes who've modified their Lancers; just as I don't question someone who has modified a Scion Xb or a Chrysler PT Cruiser. Whatever makes them happy is fine with me. I respect them for that. Not everyone desires a fast car. Most people are more practical than that...and that works for me.