^My lightly modded Evo IX on E85 smoked my GF's dads GT500 around the track (straights and corners) by at least 4 seconds per lap (and the GT500 was lightly modded also and he is not a rookie driver)...the GT500 or any Mustang will never handle like an Evo (stock or modded)...the Evo is a better all around car both for a daily driver and a road course track car...end of story!

How much money do you have into your IX?

dont remind me! jk...probably around $3-4k

Damn really? I feel like I'm north of 20k in my car now.

yea i mean ive done all the mods and tuning myself and its only lightly modded still stock turbo and cams....i might be close to $5k but im too afraid to figure it out so im just guesstimating

yeah that's how I feel too when I think about mods, but cool just seemed like you had a lot of stuff in your sig to be that low. Seems like a fun car to drive though.

Remember. The new Mustang GT hangs with the new M3 around a track. The M3 is no slouch in the corners. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure that the Evo X could take the M3 on most tracks. I'm not knocking the Evo X, as a matter of fact I suggested you get it because of the baby on the way and the fact that it has 4 doors. And don't forget, once you mod the warranty is gone, especially with Mitsubishi. The last thing you need is a new baby to pay for and a blown motor that you have to replace yourself.

I saw this guy two weeks ago in a GT on the highway, he was driving aggressive and changing lanes like the highway was all his, 3-4pm.

what caught my eye was when he was swerving thru traffic, you know when you change lanes in an EVO it happens instantly, the GT didn't have that instant lane change like the EVO, it looked slow when he was changing lanes even though he was driving significantly over the speed limit.

do you guys agree?

Could you tell what year the GT was?

No, but it did have the new style tail lights if that helps, exhaust sounded very nice

These cars are too heavy to be considered nimble. The Evo had the most responsive steering out of all the cars I have driven. Will that always equate to better lap times?....No, since you have to have the whole package (power, handling, steering, brakes) to get the best times. I really can't say that one would be better than the other. It just depends on what you want it for. But I can most certainly say that the steering on the Evo was excellent.

There's very good info here. It's taken me 5k to get my X where I want it, and that's just Robispec clubsports, sways, full exhaust, tune, and 6 puck sprung clutch. It's a weekend warrior with minimal daily driving during summer only, so I can justify the purchase as a purpose built car. I've got a bronco for DD and a new sequoia as the wife's DD / trip car. Had I needed a reliable yet sporty DD, I would have opted for the M3 or S4.

I could not have purchased a new S4 or M3 for what I paid for my Evo plus the power mods I did to it. Though, if I could afford one I would have bought one instead of the Evo. For the money, I have yet to find a car that is as responsive as an Evo in this price point. However, there are faster cars for the money (like the Mustang) and cars that are cheaper that are almost as fast (WRX or MZ3). The Evo wins since it has the handling, good power and four doors (have kids).

After reading this thread I have to put in my .2 cents....

I don't understand why people keep saying the Evo should come with more horsepower out of the box...the fact of the matter is it's a GOD damn 2.0 4 cylinder engine guys. It's pushing as much hp as it can while still meeting California emissions.

If you want more power gotta go bigger, dont expect 2.0 4 bangers to push more power than the Evo and still meet California emissions. The Evo is probably at it's limits in terms of smog unless it gets direct injection.

I'm happy with my 2.0 4 banger pushing almost as much power as V8.

so get a mustang, but dont try racing an evo