Hi guys,

I wanted to get some outside opinions on buying an Evo 8 or 9. I plan to mainly use the car on weekends when its nice and taking it to Auto-X along with Mid America Motorplex from time to time. I dont plan on Drag racing. I am currently looking seriously at a fully built Evo with a large turbo and a fully built transmission making an estimated 650+ WHP. This car is also quite a bit of money. What are your opinions on buying a fully built car vs buying one with bolt ons making around 400 whp.

Some of the things Im worried about are

1. Getting too large of a turbo and not having the low end for pulling out of corners.

2. Buying a car that doesnt have a built engine and running the smaller turbo with around 400 to 500 whp and worrying about the blowing point for the stock block and internals.

I dont mind working on these cars but if I can help it I would prefer not to blow the motor.

 

You already got my response here: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/11085653-post94.html

Most people here will be afraid to buy it built and would rather spend a fortune themselves to build it. If I was buying a built car, I'd just make sure it was built right. And if you decide to buy whatever car you mentioned and that turbo ends up being too big for your goals, then sell the turbo and buy another with the cash from the sale.

 

I can certainly understand that. If I can I would rather learn from others mistakes. I'm hoping to get some input on people that have bought fully built high hp evos vs people who have bought ones with bolt-ons and what regrets they have if any.

My previous cars I have had an Talon TSI AWD with an FP red and that was fun, but I also liked my 2004 STI running stage 2 on the stock turbo as it had a lot of low end grunt.

Do you 400-500whp guys ever get bored with the power you put down? ( I realize this is personal opinion, but Im wanting some different views and hearing different arguments)

Also vice versa do you high hp guys ever get tired of now having the low end and having to wait for the higher RPMs for full spool?

 

400hp guy here.yes I want more power cause I used to it already.but my budget is tight and i can't afford to build the engine so I have no other choice like stick with safe 350 tq.I don't autox I drag race.

 

Built block or not motors usually blow due to oiling issues. You cure that even a stock block will withstand a beating. First thing I would do regardless you buy a built one or not is add the following: baffled oil pan, accusump or dry sump oil system, bigger engine oil cooler, and run a oil with high content of ZDDP. If people would just put there money into these things the amount of blown blocks I would venture to say would probably decrease by at least 50%.

 

I bought my evo 9 three years ago. When I bought it, it had a number of bolt ons, but the main changes were an htagreen turbo, gsc s2 cams, exhaust, valve springs, intercooler, piping. It made about 430whp on e85 when I bought it. I didnt worry about it being modded when I bought it, I looked the car over and everything looked very well installed and maintained. The owner was a real nice guy and we made the deal.

Sorry, but a judge of the character of the owner of the car really helps me decide on a purchase lol.

With the 430whp, I got bored literally within a month or two honestly. Although, now when I look back, sometimes I wish I would have just left it alone. You lose some of the comforts(what comforts evo have haha) when you start throwing in a built motor, a noisy, jerky triple disc clutch, small vibrations start to appear, etc.

 

I'm sitting in the 350whp range on a stock turbo. Gets boring because you get used to it, but my main goal is only 450.

 

This helps a ton guys. I really appreciate everyone's input. I really like the suggestion for the oil system mods. I had not thought of this.

 

Thanks again everyone for the input. Went ahead and bought this E85 Evo 9 locally today and did a quick photoshoot after getting it washed.

 

Is that a factory blue?

 

It's electric blue. It was way too cold out and I didn't really set my camera settings for the amount of light properly. It's a bit lighter in person.

 

Clean car man enjoy I bought my Evo as a stock turbo mild bolt on car making like 320, I built it into a 800+hp car and had it at that power level for about 1 1/2-2 yrs and now I'm going with a bit smaller turbo and milder setup to make something In the 550-600hp range just because the maintenance schedule and amount of things I was always fixing was no fun anymore and I just want to drive and enjoy the car rather than work on it constantly. Having a car with that much power was insanely fun and I don't really want to go backwards in power, but you have to pay to play. Evos when done right can be a lot of fun and still a decent streetable car in the 600hp range.

 

I will chime in here, as I have built several 'track' evos, and in fact just finished my current build. With what you want, I would be FAR less worried about horsepower, and worry more on the suspension you want to put on it. This setup I just did only makes ~370whp, but as it is an RS, and is in track trim, it's much lighter. I also upgraded to Shep Tranny and T-Case, to handle the track abuse. What I wanted was NOT a trailer queen, but something I could drive to the track, drive to the airport, or bump around town, or, change to slicks, and destroy 'most' on a road course. If you have a well prepped Evo with 350+whp, you will have a very fast car on-track, and will likely not get bored, and want more power. I have no desire to go past 400whp, because I do not want to compromise reliability, both on-track, and off.

Here is a link to the thread I just opened about my son's first track day with pics of my evo. Most of the work is on the suspension, but it does have minor mods, like cams, IC piping, intercooler, intake, and other things to improve breathing. and I went with a modded Evo9 turbo, great spool, with little compromise on lag time.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...o-content.html

 

Congrats on the purchase. Best color too!

 

pics not working....

nevermind..Nice pick up