Ok, heres the deal. I got a 03' Red OZ Lancer stock. Got about $1600 in cash right now and I'm tryin to decide the direction of my car. I'm torn between rim size for the Lance, 17's or 18's is the verdict but I do plan on lowering my car some in the future. I've done plenty of research and 18s would fit so its not the biggest of my concerns. The thing is I'm worried about the massive amounts of torque that would be lost from the larger radii of the wheels. My goals for the future are to to an 4G64 engine swap anyways. Any input from anyone w/ 18s already? Anyways I've narrowed the rims down to Tenzo DC-5's w/ red lip or Speedy Lite 5's in Bronze. I've got my heart set on 18's. If I pick the bronze I do plan on changing the car to white. If I pick the DC's I might paint to graphite grey. Same color as this evo... Any any instance this car isn't gonna be a rice machine. Got big ideas for this beast. Plus I'll be getting about 10,000 by next year to play around with. And don't say just trade in the lancer and buy an evo. Its hard enough finding an unabused evo for a dec price. Discuss

 

sell and buy an evo,

 

boosting a ra isnt worth it,

 

Its easy to say go and buy an evo, but some of us aren't making the biggest chunks of change. Some of us don't need 300 hp at the moment. All I want is a daily driver and I dont even drive that much right now. I'll get my evo one day, hell I'll prob get a Evo XI since its the year I graduate. How can you say boosting a RA isnt worth it? Sure the stock lancers engine, the 4g69 isnt the greatest, hell its aluminum, but swapping to a 4g64 from a galant or an eclipse is entirely possible, and has been done and its IRON. Starting out stock from 170hp and still that isn't taking into account the lighter chassis of the lancer.

 

He doesn't have a Ralliart, he has an OZ. If you have 10000$ coming, why not lightly mod the lancer and buy a second car that you can go nuts with? As for the rims, I always 18s were way too big and 17s were pushing it, I would go for 16s as a max.

 

You do not drive a Ralliart, you do not have a 4G69, you have a 4G94. Swapping engines is an option but whether it's worth it is debatable.

 

yea thats definately true, my bad, threw in the wrong digit. Heres the issue. I'm a cadet at the United States Military Academy @ West Point. I graduate in 2011. I've had my OZ since 2006 when I graduated. I havent done jack to it because I've been basically living on the other side of the country while my car is chillin in Texas. In a little over a year, I get a very low interest loan from the army for $30,000 to do whatever the hell I want with, to which I don't have to pay back for like 25 years. I really don't plan on touching it because I wanted to invest it, let accumulate interest and just pay back the gov with the interest. I was willing to compromise w/ myself and dip into a little but I don't plan on much. However, I can almost guarantee that once I graduate I'll be sent of to Iraq or Afghanistan, which is money because I wont be spending any money while over there and its all untaxable. So its not like I'm going to buy an evo right when I graduate and let it collect dust in the states. I'd love to buy a second car but again, Ill just be moving to another base once I graduate; dont feel like paying for shipping another car. I just want to mod the OZ a lil, have some fun, and take her out on the weekends.

 

I had 18's...they were too big IMO...17's would be the biggest I'd go for especially if you're worried bout torgue, hp, etc...if you plan on swappin to a G64, I'd just take that $1600 you got and go that route first. The way I see it is do your most timely and costly mod first, that way you won't have to worry much about cosmetic damages from sittin or the actual labor. Swap the engine out and just creep in sleep mode, then get your pretties, but again it depends on what route you take, show or go.

 

18s are WAY too big
sometimes i dont like my 17s because they rub
i would recommend 16s or 17s

 

I would honestly recommend not touching the lancer at all. If you're not going to drive it that often, there's no point in dumping money in to it. Every dollar you spend on the lancer is a dollar you could have spent on a different car like an Evo.

 

Forget that! Spend it on the Lancer! Yeah, we could argue "It's just a Lancer" but its what you have to work with at the moment! So lets make due. Its not like $$$ will stop coming in, There is always money to be made so enjoy yourself while you can.

You have $1600 you say right?
You can find a turbo kit on here for around that price. If you plan on keeping your car for around 2 more years I say go for it! Hell you could piece one together for a little less. That would put the biggest smile on your face! But that is blown all in one shot.

Want a new look?
Wheels and tires. IMO 18's are a little too big. 17's are pletnty fine and look just right on a Lancer. I have 17's and quite happy with them. Wrap them up with some good rubber and enjoy the new look. While your at it might as well blow the rest on suspension mods (Sway bar, Maybe springs, yada, yada)

Wanna break it up?
I wouldn't suggest this because over all your not getting as much bang for your buck but an overall look would change (obviously) Header, SRI, Suspension mods, maybe some Cedia headlights, new grill, among other things. This would be best over time and I wouldnt use the money this way.

New paint job? No. I wouldn't do this unless you are a show person. A paint job will get old forgetable over time. Bolt ons are things that do make a noticable difference (How much is arguable)

 

Yes but if you already have plans to replace it, why dump money into it? No matter what, you will lose money if you mod the car. The resale value drops and you won't get as much for the mods as you paid for them. If you know you're not going to keep the car for long (2 years isn't long if you rarely drive the thing), it'd be a better financial decision to invest the money and then buy an Evo or whatever outright. Bolt-ons are easily the worst mod you can do, they do jack all but make the car louder. People keep on saying "oh they make a difference", well sure they do, they make your wallet lighter.

 

From the sounds of it he is going to have the car quite a while...He should mod the hell out of it. It doesn't sound like money is gonna be a big issue with him. Lose money? So what? As long as your alive you will lose money. Isn't it cheaper to go to the grocery store buy food and pack a lunch instead of buying BK? Yup! Why? Because its not that important and people want to enjoy the moment and live. From the sounds of it this guy want a peppy/ier little ride now not a beat around for the next 3-4 years. Its not like its a modded Lancer now or a nice car later. Majority of us here can have our cake now and eat it too (even though that may be later) Why starve yourself from life now when either way your cake is coming later? Take that $1600 and make that ride a better one. The only way you'll take a "loss" on the Lancer is if you wreck it. If youre worried about "a better financial decision" with a car go buy a Honda or Camery sedan since every car you drive off the lot will lose you money. Just buy a car that will lose less money when you drive it, and don't mod a single thing on it since all mods will lose you money some form or another.

 

Yea, its easy for ppl to say "save your money and buy an evo" but in reality insurance on an evo is a car payment itself. It all really depends on knowin what you can or can't afford. You gotta crawl before you walk

 

He's already mentioned that he wants to buy an evo, why waste money on a car you're just going to get rid of? No matter what he does, it won't match an evo and if he's anything like me, he'll be a bit miffed that he wasted money on a lancer when he could have used it to reduce the payments on an evo, buy the car outright or mod it. It also appears that he doesn't drive the car very often so again, why mod it? A lancer isn't an easy car to make fast, even if you spend 1600$ on a turbo kit, where does that take you? If you're just modding a car to hold you over, you're wasting your money. I can tell you that from experience. Looking back on my lancer, there are maybe half a dozen mods I don't regret. Those are the Evo Recaros, the short shifter and bushings, the sway bar, the rims and tires (mine was an ES), the Evo 7 taillights and maybe just maybe, the exhaust.