alloy

365

Thing is John it isn't really standard, it's an MR (the IX is based on the GSR) that had 280hp when CCC imported it and they've then done what you would have done with a Subaru and added an exhaust and remap etc.. to give it 340HP but they then put a whopping £34000 price tag on it. You can argue that it retains its warranty but from my experience the CCC warranty wasn't worth the paper it was wrote on. My car was on it second clutch after 18k miles (not covered under warranty) and the dealer said that they'd done clutches on cars with only 3500 miles, the service history on my car showed that it was being serviced at between 3500 and 4000 mile intervals and when the n/s caliper started sticking, they wouldn't cover that because ... "it could be down to poor maintenance" ... I know it sounds unbelievable but that's what Browns Mitsubishi at Preston told me, it was the final straw for me.

You're right that the Lancer is a more tunable car and it was a more refined car. Like you say, it really comes down to personal preferences. For me 350hp is as much as I want so it came down to the chassis and the Impreza for me had the better balance.

john banks

I actually wanted a JDM GSR, but found a 6 month old 4000 mile 340 at a slightly higher price with some extras £900 of which I've already sold - some of which I wanted and some I didn't, but being a UK car it was easier to insure.. The leather and Smart Nav don't bother me and the power results after remap and exhaust would be identical.

micared

Love to know how someone can get through 2 clutches in 18k. Still on my first, 18k, 330 brake approx, drive hard, drag raced it at Thorney Island last year. Better the clutch than the box at 40k like my Scoob though.
Sounds like the dealer at Preston was more of a problem than the car.
In my experience you'll need all the luck you can get with the Subaru dealer!

365

Yeah, I saw the car on MLR, it was a crackin buy. Secondhand the 340 is a great buy considering that you don't need to spend on it. I just paid 18k for a MY05 STi (pick it up at the weekend) and by the time you add on a set of springs, alignment, 18" wheels and 333 kit, you're up around £22500 which if I'm honest doesn't seem very wise considering what the market is like for both cars at the moment.

scooby-tc

iTrader: (2)

Ive got a vid of me beating an Evo FQ340 in my STi type R up the strip at santa pod but drag runs are one thing open road driving is a different kettle of fish i wouldnt mind having a go in a evo just to see how good they really are

john banks

MY05 STI looks great though, and the handling is sweet. That is why I say there is nothing in it between the Subaru and Mitsi. I was just firing up to get a MY06 STI (Euro import) and was intending to put exhaust, fuel pump, 20G and remap on it to about 400/400. Despite my experience tuning 2.5s before and having the blow ups, I was put off by the doomsayers that say the Scooby engine will probably pop a piston even at 400/400 if driven hard for some time. But there was nothing in it otherwise.

365

They're awesome and deceptively - VERY - fast because they're less frenetic and noisy when compared to the Impreza. Thing is the AYC is so good you lose all sense of what REAL driving is about becuase the thing is making you think you're a superstar. It was getting to the point where I was getting silly because the thing makes you feel bulletproof and after stupidly taking the bait offered by a RS4 one night (with my young daughter in the car) I decided enough was enough that I was eventually going to find the cars limit and when I did they were going to scrape me up and maybe the kids as well. Like I say, the Impreza is more agricultural and that keeps you on your toes a bit more, it gives you more feedback and relies more on the drivers abilities rather than the cars trick electrics.

If I wanted a car for the weekend and track days, it wouldn't be a contect, the Evo would win hands down but for a car for the roads the Impreza wins (for me).

john banks

Felt like an Impreza tonight in a little downpour around a roundabout - understeer on trailing throttle, give it a bit of a booting and out comes the ar$e and just lightly drifts round. Like the Impreza it flatters you, only more so, as long as you are on the throttle. Feels more satisfying than RWD with DSC certainly, and I didn't often turn DSC off in the wet as it would be too easy to spin.

evonorth

Nice to see you still love the car, the evo 9's are so much easier to gain good bhp and torque, people never new it at the start, i cannot fault the evo's, My brother has had 3 scooby's, i loved all of those as well,

LG John

Seriously john shut up! I'm happy with the S2000 and this is not healthy!

LG John

....and stop saying 400bhp is easy! I want to know its very hard and prohibitively expensive!

ex-webby

I have driven both and anyone that can drive both cars equally well suggest a Spec C would be left behind on the twisties..... must be smoking some weird stuff!

Of course, a standard spec C would be expected to get beaten in a straight line against a EVO 340..... based on the BHP figures alone it would be acceptable.

Personally I think both cars are great bits of kit. Subaru has been left behind the EVO for some years now, until the later newage Subaru models came to the market.

Without a doubt, the later EVO's certainly respond better to mods than Scoobs do.

It's swings and roundabouts though, but as John has said both cars are now very similar..... but as they say, the choice is yours!!!

Regards,
Shaun.

ex-webby

John,

I would seriously be interested in finding out whether your modded MR would infact be any quicker (or maybe slower) around a track than my modded Spec C (as power sounds about equal). Not that it makes any difference, but it would be interested to know how much things have come on since the Spec C was tested against the EVO RS in Japan in 2002 and the Spec C was marginally faster.

I doubt there would be much in it in real terms to be honest, which in reality makes no difference to likes of Joe Public.

john banks

400 BHP might be even easier Kenny. I've now got a standard ECU to play with, so can test standard ECU, 3" exhaust and boost controller. Will it do it? All I need to do is have it hold the same boost that the standard car peaks to to the red line. If it doesn't fuel cut, doesn't det and fuels correctly I think it might be do-able without even remapping the ECU

john banks

Shaun, I agree there would probably be very little in it with equal drivers. Some argue though that the GT would be the better competitor to the Spec C, although I think the GT crowd talk the car up - it is 20kg lighter, loses 6th gear and has an LSD rather than AYC in the back. The fancy magnesium compressor wheel explodes, and all the solutions put the turbo back to equivalent to the GSR or UK model.

ex-webby

I do remember Powerstation saying that the power is so much more easy to extract from the later EVO's, with a remap, decat, hard pipe kit and change to the exhaust housing on the standard turbo releasing an easy 385+bhp without going crazy boost..... and thats on PS's rollers.

Believe me.... I have had several moments contemplating getting a new EVO. It's one of the cars I have never owned, but surely will when the time is right.

john banks

Cam and exhaust housing change on the pre VIII MR were releasing more power, but the nice thing with the VIII MR or IX is that these are not needed, and as a bonus even the fuel pump on the IX appears to be uprated. I'm still investigating whether the airbox is a restriction or not. Just exhaust and boost controller might do it nicely.

Dark Blue Mark

I may have the Evo 8 option later this year and seriously tempted. Not for long (do 17k a year!) but just to say ive tried it. For me, every classic scoob I see is totally gayed up and there are a lot of ***** driving then, and im not keen on the STi8, and cant afford the new one. So... Im either looking at an EVO6 or an 8

The 6 has the small fuel tank which is a major down point, so narrows it down to the 8! Shame as I love the look of the 6. I am told from a friend that owns one that the "limit" is a scary place, where the scoob can be played with a lot easier - already said on here. Whether that detracts from the fun or not??

MB

The Fixer

Mark, drive a later Evo ie 7, 8 or 9, the driving experience compared to the earlier 6's is night & day

If your comparing apples with apples then it should be Spec C with 9GT, both the lightweight versions.

John, the 9GT turbo is considerably bigger than the 8MR one. The mag wheel can be replaced with a Ti one of the same design to alleviate the problem. Remapped 9GT's with an exhaust and nothing else will do 330 ATW no problems on sensible boost.

The key point is reliabillity, the 4G63 engine is predominantly stronger than the Subaru engine. Dont think I'm biased as I have owned several Subarus and still do have one but you just know that at some point in its life its going to drop a big end or a valve or a MAF or a gearbox part whether tuned or not.

Evo all the way now..... once I get my insurance and get rid of this Subaru

Dark Blue Mark

You prefer the later ones im assuming?? I've not tried either!

MB

The Fixer

Yes m8, lucky enough with the garage to drive both models on a regular basis and the later ones are much better, especially the 8MR and new lX's that are fitted with the Bilsteins. For me the earlier 5 & 6's are a bit raw, I guess Im getting a bit old for these models although I do like the look of them but there a bit "in Ya face" so to speak lol. The SAYC on the later cars is also better than the old AYC. If you want an older one (5&6) try a Makinen or an RSll or RSX, lightweight but with factory fitted toys like AC etc but no (g)AYC and the GSR ratios, the pure RS models are very low geared for road driving.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

I know where your coming from but I think you phrased it incorrectly....
I would suggest its the 4G63 engine is more tunable rather than stronger, for one, i know of no JDM twin scroll engine thats let go, that covers the evo 8 and 9, and no doubt if i trawl though MLR ill find something on an MR or FQ thats gone pop
Ive been in an evo 9, a 320, and a nice car it was too, but it took all the fun away from the driver too many electronics, atleast with the scoob you can turn them off and a 320 wasnt a match for my standard (except the STi panel filter) JDM MY03 Spec C in a straight line or the corners
Nice cars from Mitsubishi, just leave your brain on the side before getting in as you wont need it

Tony

micared

Think Conrad phrased it entirely correctly, it's eminently stronger, and knowing of one JDM that's let go hardly constitutes a cause for horror.
Spend a fair bit of time on the MLR, haven't seen the other instances you refer to, and I have a vested interest in knowing.
When you drove the 9, did you try it on its different diff settings?
You're right about the brain thing though....you won't have to use it, at least not when it comes to trying to guess about whether the Evo's going to be as troublesome as your previous Scoob.

Mr Leigh

I was in Milton Keynes last week. Had a play with a very nice all black Evo with tints and flaps! Was it you? Had fun banging down the dual carriage way together. I think our female passangers bought play to an end lol

Gold 350Z

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

There is a difference betwee tunability and strength hence looking at the likes of the 700+bhp RCM scoob v the 700+ bhp norton evo as an example?
As for the settings on the evo, yes, tarmac, gravel and snow all tried, gravel makes it quite tail happy if you want to fling it about, though the 320 had yoko tyres on and they were no where near as good as gripping as the RE070's

Tony

subarustel

my 2 cents.

i am goin 4 an evo 8 mr or 9 from an sti 8. ive had a few scoobys now and i love em 2 bits. all modded btw. but id like a change.

my scoobys have never given me any problems apart from the old rear shock knocking, and thats it.

my bro has had 4 evo's and my best mate has had 2 evo's also.

2 of the reasons im goin 4 the evo is the tunability. and the shear power of them.

my m8 done a clutch in an evo in 2200 miles from new.lol, but this is down 2 his silly driving (not mine yeah).

on a test track me driving my sti 8 with 341 bhp and 344 lb and no spare wheel no added weight of subs and other crap, the sti jus about hit over 160 mph.

me driving the evo 8 mr with nothing but an exhaust and filter hit over 180 mph.

the sti isnt as aero dynamic at them speeds, and the suspension doesnt feel up to the job in my opinion.

i will say the torque band is better on the sti, though whilst racing around u r always in the last 2 to 3 k revs of the rev limit and thus the evo wins. did i forget 2 mention the evo 9 now have a new and better turbo than all the other evo's, and this also gives a better power band than a sti.

it's all swings and roundabouts, evo's don't have the unequal length manifold for the burble sound, but then again neither does the sti spec c.

and sti dont come with zenon where evo 8/9 does. and evo 8 has fog lights in the head lights which look the ti ts when i was in my sti lookin in my rear view at my mates 8 mr behind me.

i had a sti with 400 hp with no warranty (u no what the dealers r like) and it cost alot of money 2 get it there, where evo 9 just tbe and map gives OVER 380 bhp mayb 400 if your lucky.

oh yeah mitsi service centres dont care about mods too much, though they would probably give u shi t about changing a shock on warranrty and subaru wouldnt, but then if your engine goes on an sti and you got a decat on they will show u the door, where mitsubishi would happily get u a new engine.

like i said apples and oranges

like i said swings and roundabouts

here is a couple of pics side view of my mates evo 8 mr taken from my bro's e46 m3 and my sti:



sorry i messed up the size heres another

Dark Blue Mark

Why did your mate have his foglights on?



MB

The Fixer

Tony, I can name at least two Subaru engine builders one in the North and one in the South that have rebuilt 600+ Subaru engines each in the last few years due to big end failure, can you name any Mistubishi tuners/ rebuilders that have rebuilt over 600 4G63 engines due to failure?

The new twin Scroll Subaru engine is no different in the crank area and given time "will probably" fail, when you are in the business and dealing with these things day in day out you find out alot more information than is normally available.

Still...... keeps us busy rebuilding them Keep 'em coming boys

Dark Blue Mark

Significantly less EVO's around though to be fair Conrad

MB