It was like 300ish whp and had kw coilovers, re71rs. I think it was a 9 and now I can't get it out of my head. Learn me. Particularly in regards to reliability when pounded daily. And rust.
Tell me they're horrible so I don't have to spend money!
It was like 300ish whp and had kw coilovers, re71rs. I think it was a 9 and now I can't get it out of my head. Learn me. Particularly in regards to reliability when pounded daily. And rust.
Tell me they're horrible so I don't have to spend money!
I autocrossed a similar car. The only thing that saved me was how hard it is to find one that hasn't been beaten. Good god was it awesome. For what it's worth, my Evo friends have broken cars even more than my Subaru friends. Most of them try and turn it up to 11 though.
Long term, from what I have seen and read, the Evos are much more fragile than the Subi, but more fun.
They're amazing. For me, the 9's are the best of the breed. Mitsubishi had basically just been refining the 4G63T for the prior 20 years and finally had a robust, reliable motor. Lots of folks in the 400-500whp range on stock internals, though that typically means pushing the powerband higher up.
The MR got a six speed that isn't quite as reliable at high boost levels. For my money, I'd be looking for an Evo IX RS, (possibly an SE if you absolutely have to have factory HIDs). Obviously the closer to stock, the better, though that's going to be a tall order at this point.
When I drove my buddy's stock evo8 I thought I had accidentally climbed into the starship enterprise right as Mr. Worf "made it so". That car was nuts. Stock. I don't know why anyone would need to up that boost. If anything, I would spend money and time on making the engine more reliable for daily pounding.
If there's one car I'd try to outrun a cop in, it's an EVO. (I'd still get busted...)
markwemple wrote: Long term, from what I have seen and read, the Evos are much more fragile than the Subi, but more fun.
That's interesting, granted no personal experience, it seems everything I've read is the exact opposite.
I just wish the had more suspension travel.
The evo is reliable. The boosthead owners who turn them up give them a bad rep.
The 6spd in the mr isn't as strong as the 5spd transmission.
How's the rust situation? I got out of subarus because they rotted if you got em salty, and if they dont survive foul weather then why not have rwd?
I drove my friend's Evo IX MR SE with a turbo back exhaust, tune, and swift springs on the stock Bilsteins. That's the best car I've ever driven.
I rode in an Evo RS years ago when they first come out. 
is all I have to say.
calteg wrote: They're amazing. For me, the 9's are the best of the breed. Mitsubishi had basically just been refining the 4G63T for the prior 20 years and finally had a robust, reliable motor. Lots of folks in the 400-500whp range on stock internals,
That's what sucks about trying to buy an Evo. It is very hard to find a stock one, and when you do it is either rusted out or $25k. Or rusted out and $25k.
sesto elemento wrote: How's the rust situation? I got out of subarus because they rotted if you got em salty, and if they dont survive foul weather then why not have rwd?
From what I have seen, they rust much harder than Subarus. A lot of Evos get tucked inside over winter so they don't get it as bad, but a four seasons Evo is a sad sight to behold.
The '08-up WRXs seem to be far more rust resistant than earlier models. Subaru got rid of a lot of the hidey-holes that collect abrasive debris with the chassis redesign. The sedans, however, redefine ugly, if you are someone who doesn't like wagons. And the STi was only available as a wagon.
(I like wagons, so this is kind of awesome in my book)
I think the VIII/IX cars are now all garage queens, track builds, or totally beat up. A gray IX MR is the car I most wish I had been able to buy new. And a 1M I suppose, more to be able to drive it for a while then sell for profit.
That's too bad to hear about the rust, if I got one I'd want to treat with Fluid Film or similar, toss some snows on and drive it in the cold half of the year. The X is a little porky for my taste and appeals less, although I've thought about it. In this age of fake diffs that overheat the brakes in everything, the mechanical nature of the Evo is just so appealing.
Friend of mine had one that was fairly stock, a 9 I believe. It was broke more often than not. Another friend of mine from PA talked about how everyone he knew had either Evos or WRXs. He said every week when they hung out, the WRXs were almost always all present, the Evos were usually blown apart in a garage somewhere. But when they were running the Evos were the faster ones.
I had a 10, loved it. I know it is a different car but I went to a couple evo related events and never heard anything but good stuff about the reliability of stock or properly mildly tuned examples.
I only got rid of the 10 because I wanted something a little more family (budget) friendly. That thing ate tires like skittles.
Thanks everybody, this thread saved me $20k.
That sucks. Evo's aren't unreliable. Previous owners are.
They are wonderful track cars, and probably one of the best street/ track cars out there. I've had multiple friends track them regularly and they were very reliable. You don't need crazy power. Mild mods on the stock turbo will make plenty, spend the money on sorting the suspension and you will have a car that is fast, easy to drive, and reliable. You can try to track a 600HP car, but it would take a lot of work to make it as reliable. The only factory flaw that I can think of is that the 6 speed is not as strong as the five speed, and prone to failure with repeated track use. I can't comment on rust. Maybe when they hit 40 years old, one might rust here in CA.
I just thought of one more weakness. I tracked a friends EVO on Hoosiers once. It was stupid fast. But they also have a stupidly small fuel tank, and that car starved for fuel in the corners when the tank was around 1/3 full. Probably the first thing I would address if I were to track one.
In reply to z31maniac:
markwemple wrote: Long term, from what I have seen and read, the Evos are much more fragile than the Subi, but more fun. That's interesting, granted no personal experience, it seems everything I've read is the exact opposite.
My personal experience has been the opposite. My Subie was fragile and needed the most extensive repairs (engine rebuild) despite being a stock, non-raced commute car. I've never been able to hurt a 4G63 with hundreds of thousands of miles, all modded with lots of track time. They more need attention more frequently, but it was always a hose, seal, or a brittle wiring issue. The Subaru problems were all catastrophic.
People who see these evo's in pieces or always breaking are because the folks with 600hp dd dreams. Add that to the folks with bad mods and bad tunes, no car will seem reliable with such owners.
Rust ruins it for me. Stupid salt.
Like others mentioned the poorly built and tuned cars give EVOs a bad name. Lots of newbies playing tuner with Open Source software, and its so easy to make more power, not a surprise that a lot get blown up. Keep a conservative or well tuned stock long block, and it will hold 400whp no problem. Throw a ton of knock at it and it will break, just like anything else. It won't disintegrate like Subaru motors with mild knock.
A lot of mitsu tuners also only tune for peak power and drag strip duty cycle, not road racing or higher longevity in mind.
Easy fix with a surge tank!
Boost_Crazy wrote: They are wonderful track cars, and probably one of the best street/ track cars out there. I've had multiple friends track them regularly and they were very reliable. You don't need crazy power. Mild mods on the stock turbo will make plenty, spend the money on sorting the suspension and you will have a car that is fast, easy to drive, and reliable. You can try to track a 600HP car, but it would take a lot of work to make it as reliable. The only factory flaw that I can think of is that the 6 speed is not as strong as the five speed, and prone to failure with repeated track use. I can't comment on rust. Maybe when they hit 40 years old, one might rust here in CA. I just thought of one more weakness. I tracked a friends EVO on Hoosiers once. It was stupid fast. But they also have a stupidly small fuel tank, and that car starved for fuel in the corners when the tank was around 1/3 full. Probably the first thing I would address if I were to track one.
engiekev wrote: A lot of mitsu tuners also only tune for peak power and drag strip duty cycle, not road racing or higher longevity in mind.
An interesting bit of math a friend did pointed out that a single weekend of trackdays is more horsepower/time than ten SEASONS of drag racing, and at a track day you're going to be running at a much higher thermal stress.
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