Finally test drove an FR-S today... Evo IX owner

[Jaylyons1]

Originally Posted by pacent

Any reason why your Evo remains stock? I grew tired of my Evo a few years back, but threw in some bolt ons, and the smiles came rushing back. Its hard to beat the 4g63 in terms of HP gained/dollars spent in mods.

I keep coming back here hoping that a factory turbo FRS/BRZ would come out.

What? No 4 banger belongs in the hard to beat category when it comes to HP gained vs dollars spent in mods.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by pacent

Any reason why your Evo remains stock? I grew tired of my Evo a few years back, but threw in some bolt ons, and the smiles came rushing back. Its hard to beat the 4g63 in terms of HP gained/dollars spent in mods.

I drive like a regular person the vast majority of the time, like I said in my first post. So I never spoiled myself with the Evo's stock power, and when I do step on it, it's plenty fast to me. (Don't get me wrong, I've been in much faster cars... i.e. Ferrari F430 16M Scuderia, C63 AMG.) Also, when I first got my current Evo, I ended up quitting my job a month later, so the money I had in my savings was going toward paying bills, and all of my plans to mod were put on hold. By the time my income was steady again, I had been stock for several months and didn't really care to mod anymore. Plus at this point, it helps with resale value anyway, since bone stock Evos are so rare and will fetch better money in the event that I decide to sell it or just need the money.

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

What? No 4 banger belongs in the hard to beat category when it comes to HP gained vs dollars spent in mods.

The 4G63 and 4B11 are up there. Just a tune alone on a bone stock car will get you 30-40 hp, and that will cost $250-500 depending on which tuner you use. A turboback exhaust and a tune will be 90-100 hp and altogether will be just a bit over $1,000, depending on which exhaust you use. The engines run EXTREMELY rich and are VERY responsive to mods. There are plenty of threads on EvolutionM, SoCalEvo, etc. with results to support that.

[pacent]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

What? No 4 banger belongs in the hard to beat category when it comes to HP gained vs dollars spent in mods.

If you want to get technical, it really should be % HP gained vs dollars spent in mods.

A stock Evo 9 will dyno at 230-235whp. My car with an aggressive tune pushed 389whp with just bolt ons and pump gas. Plenty have broken 400whp with less than 2-3k in mods and e85.

Originally Posted by DeeezNuuuts83

Plus at this point, it helps with resale value anyway, since bone stock Evos are so rare and will fetch better money in the event that I decide to sell it or just need the money.

Thats my only modding regret. Ridiculous that low mileage WW Evo 9s are selling for 25k.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by pacent

Thats my only modding regret. Ridiculous that low mileage WW Evo 9s are selling for 25k.

Yeah. I'm sure I could get a similarly nice amount for mine (bone stock GG Evo IX SE with 63k miles and all services documented).

[Jose_Timberlake]

Originally Posted by DeeezNuuuts83

But luckily you don't need to go WOT to get moving in a hurry. Giving it even 1/2 throttle will utilize the cams more (so you'll still pick up speed) without hitting full boost (thus avoiding getting into trouble a little bit better). So you'll hear the cams go to work but you won't really hear the turbo whistling.


I think 2.0 is a good size, though anything over 2.2 would be a little too big, plus they'd likely have lost some top end and also the 7500 rpm redline without doing too many crazy things to the motor that would increase its price.

Well said!

[Jaylyons1]

Originally Posted by pacent

If you want to get technical, it really should be % HP gained vs dollars spent in mods.

A stock Evo 9 will dyno at 230-235whp. My car with an aggressive tune pushed 389whp with just bolt ons and pump gas. Plenty have broken 400whp with less than 2-3k in mods and e85.



Thats my only modding regret. Ridiculous that low mileage WW Evo 9s are selling for 25k.

Reliability goes right out the window with a tune that aggressive though with a stock setup (even with the 4g63). I knew people kept doing that in AK and kept blowing motors. Gotta have those supporting mods! I imagine the 4g63 can withstand a lot more boost than the 4b11 though. I haven't researched the new block at all since it came out though.

I haven't looked into E85 with the either the STi or the Evo either. I heard that alone can get you 30-40hp but it's all just rumors to me at the moment.

[gixxer]

Currently owning an Evolution IX MR and a Boxster Spyder choosing between a Evo X or FRS would be a difficult choice.

After driving the FRS it actually feels like a 981 Cayman with the performance dial turned down. That tells you how good it is. I would personally probably go with a series 10 since I love the lights. If you could afford it you can get the new Cayman. Basically you get a FRS with the engine in the middle, better brakes and more power but you get 85% of the car for 50% less on with the scion. Almost too good of a deal to pass up.

I'm also considering the CLA45 amg after Chris Harris's review on the hatch version.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

Reliability goes right out the window with a tune that aggressive though with a stock setup (even with the 4g63). I knew people kept doing that in AK and kept blowing motors. Gotta have those supporting mods! I imagine the 4g63 can withstand a lot more boost than the 4b11 though. I haven't researched the new block at all since it came out though.

Not exactly. Plenty of people are running pretty potent setups without any problems. Look up a poster named 4RETECH on EvolutionM, he has an Evo VIII with 400+ hp and has well over 300k miles. But seeing how you mentioned AK, don't they only get 90 octane at the pumps? Maybe that might play a role, unless everyone there mixes in some 100 octane to bring it up.

About the 4B11, even though it has an aluminum block, it's seeming to withstand a good amount. I think its upper limits might not be as solid as the 4G63's, but I don't see too many threads about blown Evo X motors.

[mush]

Originally Posted by gixxer

Currently owning an Evolution IX MR and a Boxster Spyder choosing between a Evo X or FRS would be a difficult choice.

After driving the FRS it actually feels like a 981 Cayman with the performance dial turned down. That tells you how good it is. I would personally probably go with a series 10 since I love the lights. If you could afford it you can get the new Cayman. Basically you get a FRS with the engine in the middle, better brakes and more power but you get 85% of the car for 50% less on with the scion. Almost too good of a deal to pass up.

I'm also considering the CLA45 amg after Chris Harris's review on the hatch version.

that CLA45 is VERY tempting, i gotta save my money tho

[sprintertrueno86]

Originally Posted by gixxer

I'm also considering the CLA45 amg after Chris Harris's review on the hatch version.

My friend ordered one. He's trading in his C63. So jello.

[evox2frs]

Nice read, I know the feeling. Owned a 330whp Evo VIII, and a 350whp Evo X both for 3 years. All my friends thought I was crazy going to a FR-S, but I'm not regretting it yet with 8k miles on the odo. Bone stock still.

I'm lucky to have lots of nice twist country roads around. Once I get up to speed, and stay above 5k rpms, I have no desire for more power right now. The FR-S requires more driver skill (for me) than my Evo's, which is what I was looking for.

In the end, I'd love to have my VIII back, but I'm very content with the FR-S, and will go FI with it one day. Tough call man!

[pacent]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

Reliability goes right out the window with a tune that aggressive though with a stock setup (even with the 4g63).

Reliabiity going out the window? I'm on a stock block/stock internals and the only issues I've had mechanically with my car has been my ACD pump going out (common problem with Evos due to corrosion of seals, not related to mods) and my driver side tweeter no longer working.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by mush

that CLA45 is VERY tempting, i gotta save my money tho

I just can't seem to dig it. The engine is pretty cool and I like the fact that it's offered with AWD, but the CLA isn't as handsome as the concept car was, plus it just looks like a mini-CLS, but executed in a flawed way. Its proportions don't look right, almost as if they took a regular CLS but squished it from the front and rear together. Plus it's likely to be quite pricey (I don't expect it to start at less than $55k, if it makes its way to the US, though count on that ballooning past $60k if you want any of the cool features that should be standard), and the reported gas mileage that a lot of people were creaming over was in imperial gallons, but a lot of people failed to realize that. Don't get me wrong, even when converted into US gallons, it's still pretty solid for a whip with 360 hp and AWD (something around 32 mpg highway, from what I remember calculating), but it's not quite the 40 that everyone was celebrating about. But we'll see what the real-world mpg is like, since a lot of it is assisted by a crazy tall top gear... I was just reading an article about MB's upcoming 9G-Tronic nine-speed automatic.

Originally Posted by evox2frs

In the end, I'd love to have my VIII back, but I'm very content with the FR-S, and will go FI with it one day. Tough call man!

So from what you have experienced, would you get another bone stock Evo VIII over an FR-S then? Or how about an Evo IX? Just curious, since you have ownership experience with a CT9A Evo (and will probably be familiar with the upgrades that the IX offered) and an FR-S.

[SS4goku]

Originally Posted by Jawnathin

I love being able to zip around town, WOT through 1st and 2nd, and not really draw that much attention to myself. I could NEVER do that in my Z06. The 86 is perfect for around town scooting. The modest HP levels are only obvious on the top end or highway rolls

The Z06 is the complete opposite, for going quickly, it needs a nice length of highway to stretch its legs a little. Once you get it going, it just pulls and pulls and never wants to stop. Around town, its still pretty fun, the exhaust is awesome, but you can't exploit its potential. I guess you can say its cramped for city driving.

While I wouldn't call the 86 fast, it isn't slow by any means. Its a reasonably quick car. It feels just as quick as my RX8 does when revved out, but the 86 has much more grunt on the low end. Again, its not fast, but decently quick.

That's a really good way to put things in perspective. I love the 86 haha.