The car seems pretty easy to get a decent amount of HP out of, with all the proper hot/cold pipes upgraded, upgrade IC, and high flow exhaust with a proper tune.
But what are the weak points? What kind of power will the stock trans hold?

Not looking to make like 600hp, but would be nice to get it up to 400 and be happy.

I would be picking up a 09 RA in orange with the Recaro seat package. Just at $23610. seems like a good deal.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

TC-SST transmission will hold about 300lbs torque (torque is the real limiting factor, not really HP) at most safely it seems, but it is still so new that nobody can say anything definitive.

Downsides are fairly typical for a car in this price range (interior quality, paint quality, etc). The big unknown is the transmission, and only time will tell about that one!

So if you've driven one and compared it to other cars and still like the RA, go for it. =)

-Taranis

 

Body Roll...

 

I'm coming from a Focus and my fiance drives a Yaris. We know all about bodyroll.

Nothing that Eibach Pro dampers and Ground Control coilovers didnt fix on my car, and D2 coilovers didnt fix on her yaris though. :-)

 

you should check out the complaints thread..

 

Ratttlleeeeee i think my "complaint" is i couldnt go wider tires.. but i guess i can live with 235 later ..

maybe "need some time" to pick up speed when u step it off the line ...

 

Mitsubishi reliability is 5 out of 10 (maybe a 6 at best).

Don't expect this car to last forever.

Don't expect this car to never give you a single headache.

This is the flat-out honest truth. I love driving the car, but there are alot of issues with it.

 

what kind of issues are you talking about because i have not had any problems with my ralliart

 

$2,200 AWC pump
Cold start relay replaced twice
Rattles + squeaks
Crappy paint
Transmission WILL cause issues in the future and replacement cost is the price of a new Hyundai Acccent.

PS - I'm not the only one who has had issues.

 

IMO, these are the weakest points of the car:

Tires/rims - Too heavy and too narrow. Affects both style and performance. Braking is the biggest problem as a result. 10-15 feet of distance in a panic stop is a big deal.

Suspension - I actually haven't experienced the same kind of body roll problems that others have. No worse (and actually better) than my earlier model WRX, so take that for what it's worth. That being said, Mitsu gave the car the same springs/suspension as the GTS, which is a much lighter car. Not good.

TC-SST - This won't be a very popular comment, but it's the harsh truth. The weakest link in the RA is the tranny. It is expensive to replace, difficult to work on, heavier than a manual transmission, and can't hold the same power. There are work arounds, but if you are looking for big power, this is the wrong car.

That being said, I think the RA is still an amazing value. People can complain all they want about minor issues, but this is a sub $30k car. You'll find the same issues in most cars under $50k. In addition, there are a lot of kinks that had to be worked out because this car is the first of its kind. The 2010 RA will have very few recalls in comparison to the 2009 RA, so most of the complaints are pretty much non issues at this point.

 

For me the order is
1. TC-SST(300 torque limit)
2. Handling(stock)
3. Rattles(Worst out of toyota, mazda, honda, hyundai IMO)
4. Reliability

 

if your get the RA i suggest getting tranny parts for it first as your first mods from SSP ( you will see how expensive parts for this tranny are) lol

 

Yep, if you go in thinking that you are getting a lower spec evo, you will be wrong. You are getting a higher spec GTS with some cool things added (Tranny is good if you go racing around a track, but if you are getting a turbo to race from still starts, then forget it.) With a tune it gives good power, but things like interior quality lacks, paint (my god, its crap) and other extras - No Recaro's, HID's (australian owner - we don't get these) and a price of around $43k on the road here puts it behind other cars in its category.
Overall, the car will do until I choose my next car in a few years (or a few months)