hahaha .. i was thinking that too. i was scrolling down waiting for some one to say "R U CRAZY?" hahaha .. atleast he did research and look at a brochure rather than saying.. "are they the same and can i call my lancer an Evo now?" peace with everyone

 

but I guess it'd have been a totally different story if it's been posted in Evo General (flame) or OT (hijacked )

 

Take off the hood, front bumper, and wing. Now the only difference in styling between the two cars is the fender flares. Otherwise... same exact looking midsection, same hood lines, same door panels, same color layout, same general ground effects..

I've had my eyes check I know what I see .

 

I'll repeat this for the umpteenth time. We have no idea what Boe is at right now. We never know... but I bet he is easily faster than a stock EVO. Stock evo's put down 210 to 230. They also weight 700 lbs more. Soo... since a non-ic turbo automatic put down 180... that's not a far cry off.

Also for whatever reason no one has sat down and tuned the daylights out of their car. Andrew is trying, but hit technical difficulties.

Everyone keeps using cookie cutter RRM turbo's (no offense I swear) so we have no idea what can be done fully with the turbo's or not. I haven't seen any RPW turbo numbers either.

I drove an EVO as I was looking at buying one. I was not happy with the drive of it. I was also somewhat unimpressed. Yes it was better than the Lancer I drive, but not by such a significant margin that I could justify the extra 15,000. And I race auto-x, and placed in the top 8% in the nation for the Mazda Rev It Up, so I CAN drive. The feel of the car was not so vastly improved that I saw it as amazingly superior. I love the EVO, and I'm not slamming it. I'm just saying that modding up a suspension on the Lancer to a decent level, and learning to drive worth a damn there isn't enough of an advantage to the EVO that most of us would be able to tell the handling difference.

So although i'm going to get flamed like all hell, the Lancer can get up to the speed of the EVO without that much issue, and hopefully get rid of that terrible power spike at 3K that the EVO has... what a terrible power band setup... about as smooth as a witches warted ***... And although the EVO has superior suspension, and stiffness, MOST people will never find those limits to any measurable degree. I could go on, but you all are going to kill me anyway.

Try to be somewhat nice .

 

sdhotwn...yer brave man, very brave...but i very much agree..i'd love to see a hardcore tuner do something to his lancer...something other than buying a boxed up turbo from RRM...there's still so much more that can be done we all really havnt been able to see...

 

sd town did make some very valid points.

 

sdhotwn - thank you. I've been jealous of Evo owners. Now I'm not so much. I just gotta start saving for the turbo and the coilovers...

 

I think people are just afraid to say some of the above, the EVO is an amazing car and I think we are all more or less fans of it to a great extent. But at the same time I think we put it up on an untouchable pedestal.

If I hadn't had my car modded and raced an entire season in it I would probably have been wowed by the EVO to a great end... but much to the chagrin of the car salesman I was abusive to the evo, made it hit some turns awfully hard, and braked as hard as hell.. and at the end of the test drive, the brakes smelled terribly strong, a little clutch was mixed in, and I was unimpressed, and actually kind of disappointed as I had expected more it was still the best car I had driven to date, but wasn't so vastly ahead as I thought it would be.

I can assure you guys that with a good reliable low spooling turbo system, and a good suspension and tire set on our Lancers, we'll give stock Evo's a lot more of a challenge then they'd ever dream possible. Remember they are making 220 whp at 3300 lbs. It's not that difficult to get a Lancer to make 220 whp, and we only weight 2700 lbs.

Also keep in mind that the suspensino and tires of the EVO also have to deal with that extra 700 lbs of weight and the momentum it creates. So a lesser suspension can match handling of a greater suspension when there is less mass momentum to handle.

There is an unquestionable advantage of the evo having awd, but unless you are pushing some serious limits into drifting, or you are on traction impaired surfaces (snow, gravel, mud, etc) the difference will not be absolutely massive.

Also our cars are much more forgiving when pushed, so they are much better for any of us that are not experienced track drivers. If you get to the point where you race a lot, and are well trained, then the EVO will start to show advantages. But honestly taking an average joe off the street I'd almost say he'll race better in a modded lancer than he will in an EVO.

Later.

Steve

 

That's a very unique opinion sdhotown. I respect your opinion, but I think some of your belief is justifying owning a Lancer and not spending extra on a EVO. You may be very comfortable with your car during races, so you would lose that comfort with a different vehicle. I don't consider your post as 'bashing' the EVO, but your opinion is more based on money and comfort with your car.

Any relatively new car can be made to be faster, quicker, stiffer, etc. than an EVO. It would cost a lot of money, and any repairs would be straight out of pocket. The EVO does many things well, straight out of the box, but with a warranty too.

Just saw your post above, 220whp AWD is significantly faster than a 220whp 2WD car. Be careful comparing dynos.

 

220 whp AWD car is only faster thatn a 220whp 2WD car if there is a traction issue (which would likely happen I agree). If the overall hp being generated is the same, then the weight, and power band distribution are the deciding factors.

Straight out of the box.... hands down EVO. Overall hp/handling potentional... EVO hands down.

I was very comfortable in the EVO. Felt extremely at home, felt that the car communicated back to me what it was doing and what was going on etc. I didn't have any qualms about driving it, and I could feel where the envelope was with the car.

My gripe with the EVO was that there were points of refinement that I felt it needed. That power/spool spike at 3K is kind of "retarded," they should have done something to even that out to at least some extent. The gear box on the car I drove felt pretty loose, looser than my gear box in my lancer. And the car had 25 miles on it.. I was like the 4th person to drive it I guess.

My general point I guess is that people can buy a Lancer and spend money on it and get it to the point where MOST people would find no appreciable difference between them, and for less money.

Is the EVO a superior car in the long run, yep. But is the Lancer a hell of a good car and platform. Yes.

 

Isn't the trunk different too? You'd have to take off the trunk, rear fenders, front fenders, rear bumper, front bumper, rear doors, sideskirts, and hood to have them look alike. That's a whole lot of body parts (practically everything except the front doors). When I park my 2 cars next to each other you could easily be mistaken into thinking they are 2 different models.

 

I totally disagree. My '02 ES is bone stock and it's an absolute dog. It can't accelerate, understeers, and feels like it's going to roll over during hard cornering. I have taken the ES round an auto-x xourse twice and, while it was fun, it was nowhere even close to competitive. I've also driven an ES with some suspension components and it wasn't much better. The Evo you just get in and go fast, it's that simple. Don't get me wrong, you can throw money at any car and make it handle or go faster, but there is a point where you have to decide how much is too much. Upgrading your suspension and adding a turbo is going to cut into that $15K price difference and, by your own admission, you still end up with a car that doesn't handle as well or go as fast. Boe might be fast, but until I start to see some Lancers running mid 13s then my previous statement still applies. We can bench race all you like, but until someone steps up with some solid numbers then it's pointless. Also, there are Evos running mid 11s now too, and the chances of getting a regular Lancer to that level are slim, unless you're willing to throw more money at the car than it's worth. You can upgrade the engine & suspension on the Evo easily and it's just a better starting block for me.

 

A 220whp on an AWD means the engine is cranking out 271 hp while a 220whp on 2WD means the engine cranking out ~240 hp approx. AWD dyno number are always lower because of drivetrain loss. You're comparing 220whp dyno numbers, the AWD is going to have better traction AND have a more powerful engine. You're going to need closer to 280-300whp on a 2WD car to match a stock EVO.

Also, I think using a FWD car for road racing is more difficult than RWD or AWD.

The trunk is the only part which you can swap with an EVO. I think the restyled '04's have a different trunk though.

 

Based on a previous article for EVO VII (which should be the same case for the VIII), the only body panels shared between the EVO and regular Lancer are the front doors, trunk lid and the roof. Everything else is different exterior-wise...

 

sorry man your logic is SERIOUSLY messed up. The force measured at the wheels is the force measured at the wheels. 220hp at the wheels is 220hp at the wheels. 220 hp is a fixed numerical value that indicates exactly how much work can be done how fast. That is how much mass is moved how far in how much time. And since they are both equal they both can move the SAME mass the SAME distance in the SAME amount of time.

Yes.. FWD racing is much more difficult than RWD or AWD... i said that MOST people wouldn't notice the difference... how many people are regularily taking their lancer or Evo out to a race track and doing 100+ mph against a clock/other cars.

As far as styling... yes they could be mistaken for different models etc.... I agree.. my point is the overall lines are the same... the fascias are what are different. I'm not saying they look the SAME, just SIMILAR as far as shaping... so I may have previously overstated that point.