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ATTENTION: Evo Owners....

cheekychimp

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Oh hell yeah! I think this side of the equation is cool as hell AND makes the Galant superior in so many respects.

With so many DSM enthusiasts left we already have a huge resource pool of parts both aftermarket and junkyard to keep these cars going and even if that side of things does one day inevitably start to die off, the EVOs are without doubt going to take their place. If we keep going like this I'm sure those of us that are interested are going to be able to keep these cars running another 20 years at least.
 

broxma

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Nov 16, 2009
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911
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San Antonio Tx
It's a false dilemma. I had hundreds of other components I could have chosen. I did eliminate the Evo Turbo from the list, but we are putting that on Steve's car. I think it actually would have been easier to put the Evo turbo on than what I went through with the T3 turbo.

The more Evo like the car gets is not proportional to how much I like the car. I would like it in stock condition just as much, even if I were to base my opinion on the same statistics of performance. Now I'll totally throw this into a tail spin. I have a pretty nice GVR4 interior, but once I sell the Evo, part of the money is going to the full pay for the full Evo interior, so call me a hypocrite I guess.

You make an interesting point. I think there may be some truth to it from the perspective that I find it funny that so many parts from a car 14 years it's junior essentially bolt right in. Other than that though, it boiled down to performance versus price, and lets ignore the Evo piston debacle I went through.

So the question is, how much does one thing have to be like the other before it loses its original definition? Do we define the GVR4 by it's exterior? I do for the most part. A cars exterior is its first impression. Anything internal to that is a surprise. My next post in my build log, I'll try and list all the Evo parts I put into it, to see how Evo it has become.

/brox
 

evo8ya

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Jul 7, 2006
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351
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PA/MD
Quoting charmcity:
Thanks evo8 I will take you up on that offer.... I never expected the two to compare but I figure that GVR4 was atleast better then most which it sounds like it is. The name is Aharon by the way



Cool man, I'm trying to get my truck modded up for the beach but I'll let ya know when I bring 807 down. It's goin to be getting a cyclone intake manifold to help with power down low.


Quoting broxma:
I am selling my Evo. It no longer moves me.

/brox



Exactly what I said a few weeks ago. And I don't regret it one bit. I still love evo's and I'm not knocking them what so ever... it just lost it's excitement for me.
 
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blacksheep

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Urbandale, Iowa 50323
Great Grandpa and grandson...

Mitsubishi-Evolution-and-Respect-VR48831-e1268019958110.jpg
 

Mark LaVallee

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Feb 11, 2004
Messages
433
Location
Shelton Mitsubishi 1983-2006 RIP
Quoting broxma:

Which car do I want to drive. The Galant. Why? This is where I cannot be objective because I will be unable to make you understand or experience the same thing. When I get in my GVR4, I am happy. It has no AC. I'm elated. The seat is still ripped, Wonderful. It reeks like gas inside. Breath it in buddy. I would wager if there was a happiness test, and the test involved me driving my noisy, smelly, seat ripped up, no AC having GVR4 and random citizen with a new Vette, I win every single time. The satisfaction and enjoyment I get from knowing how long and hard it was to get my car in the shape it is in, the time, the money, the research, there has thus far been no greater experience in my automotive career which is now well into it's second decade. I love my Evo, I am sure that Vette owners love their Vette's, but dropping 50K to buy happiness and creating happiness out of what should have been at the junkyard do not compare.

Not to prove or provide premise for this point, but my wife has a car. A Beetle Turbo S. It's fine, she likes it. We don't need 4 cars.
I have the choice of driving the Evo, or the GVR4.
11 second, AC having, tail getting, hey nice car man Evo, or the rust spot having, no AC, smells like gas, dented hood, clear coat peeling 4 door grocery getting, hey is that a Camry, GVR4? She's driving the Evo. I drive my GVR4. The GVR4 is mine. The Beetle is just a car.

You cannot answer your question without some form of subjectivity.

/brox



You sir, get it. That is the BEST description of why I drive one of these ever.
 

cheekychimp

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Quoting broxma:


Which car do I want to drive. The Galant. Why? This is where I cannot be objective because I will be unable to make you understand or experience the same thing. When I get in my GVR4, I am happy. It has no AC. I'm elated. The seat is still ripped, Wonderful. It reeks like gas inside. Breath it in buddy. I would wager if there was a happiness test, and the test involved me driving my noisy, smelly, seat ripped up, no AC having GVR4 and random citizen with a new Vette, I win every single time. The satisfaction and enjoyment I get from knowing how long and hard it was to get my car in the shape it is in, the time, the money, the research, there has thus far been no greater experience in my automotive career which is now well into it's second decade. I love my Evo, I am sure that Vette owners love their Vette's, but dropping 50K to buy happiness and creating happiness out of what should have been at the junkyard do not compare.

/brox



Brox,

The first few times I read this, I couldn't really agree with you. If the seat was ripped, I'd have to fix it. If it stank of gas I'd have to sort that out. No A/C (in a tropical climate like here /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif), no way man! But after a while it finally dawned on me what you were getting at. New cars are nice. They look good. They smell good. Everything works, there are no rattles and squeaks anywhere. But you EXPECT that! It just doesn't mean the same as a car that runs like that because 'you' rebuilt the throttle body or fixed those boost leaks or changed the CV joints.

I also like the fact that the VR4 is for driving and enjoying and not for looking at. I want to enjoy nights overlooking the pier with my 3 year old sat in the back seat eating McDonalds and not care if he drips ketchup on the seat. I want to park in that tight space left by the fat lethargic short sighted TWAT who couldn't fit his Lambo between the white lines because I know he'll be more worried about dinging his own door than I will be about him dinging mine.

But it is more than that even. When I first came to Hong Kong years ago, I used to hang out at the Jazz Club. It was a dark, dingy place hidden away in the back alley staircases of Lan Kwai Fong. It was old and musty, the clientele looked like something out of the "Cantina" bar in Star Wars and it smelled. Despite a valiant battle against change and Government Bureaucracy, it eventually died a death. The new Health and Safety Regulations, the Smoking Bans in public places, all took their toll and finally the New Jazz venue was opened. And it was spectacular. A huge sweeping staircase, marble floors, a real stage. But it wasn't the same. There was no atmosphere. No cigar smoke turning the air a hazy blue. No cigarette burns in the sofa from true jazz connoisseurs that had frequented the place for decades. No beer stains on the floor. No faded black and white prints of Count Basie, Nat King Cole or Louis Armstrong on the walls.

What am I saying?

The EVO is the weekend fling or one night stand. She draws you in, rekindles your passion, makes you feel alive. You begin to relish your new found manhood, you cannot get enough of her, you jump into her every opportunity you get and every time you discover something new and exciting ... until there is nothing new and exciting to discover anymore, because you find out, that 'that' is all that she has to offer.

But the VR4 is a that long term lover, whose familiar touch and comforting embrace draws you back over and over and over again. You never get bored of her. She's interesting and captivating. She's no beauty queen but god she still looks good, and when she smiles at you from that parking lot, you know there is no other you'd rather be taking home. It is a life filled with ups and downs but every day is an adventure and no day is ever the same. She has personality. She has charisma. She has that je ne sais pas! ...
 
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Ok well I've read about half this thread and I have to say it seems a little bias. I've never driven a GVR-4 but I did own a 1994 Talon tsi and my Evo is hands down better then the Talon, don't get me wrong I would love a GVR-4 but as a secondary car.

A laundry list of flaws is fine and dandy but if you have a job that you need to get to it seems like your running a risk or not getting there. Character is great but its not gonna get you to work on time.

I have to agree with the statement that if you can afford either why get a 12 year old car if you need a daily driver. I'm gonna get one but it's gonna be a part time driver and a project car, there is no doubt that they are special cars. I mean how often does Mitsu release a Limited Edition or Anniversary Edition? Not often at least not here in the States.

If your buy a car for heritage and nostalgia the GVR-4 is the car to buy, but if your buying reliable transportation I don't understand the point of the question its just silly.
 

Boostdtalon

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Buckley, Wa.
Lan Kwai Fong oh how I miss that district. So many great drinking stories were made their. I think of Hong Kong everytime I hear Def Lepperd....

Ok I'm back now. Cheeky, that's probably explains how I feel more than anything. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif
 

TurboTrader

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Jan 30, 2009
Messages
161
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Pemberton, NJ
Quoting EvoEight05:
Ok well I've read about half this thread and I have to say it seems a little bias. I've never driven a GVR-4 but I did own a 1994 Talon tsi and my Evo is hands down better then the Talon, don't get me wrong I would love a GVR-4 but as a secondary car.

A laundry list of flaws is fine and dandy but if you have a job that you need to get to it seems like your running a risk or not getting there. Character is great but its not gonna get you to work on time.

I have to agree with the statement that if you can afford either why get a 12 year old car if you need a daily driver. I'm gonna get one but it's gonna be a part time driver and a project car, there is no doubt that they are special cars. I mean how often does Mitsu release a Limited Edition or Anniversary Edition? Not often at least not here in the States.

If your buy a car for heritage and nostalgia the GVR-4 is the car to buy, but if your buying reliable transportation I don't understand the point of the question its just silly.




I resent a good part of that. To say a GVR-4 can't be a reliable daily driver is naive. If you stick firmly to maintenance before mods, they can be every bit as reliable as an Evo. You start modding an Evo or a GVR-4 and you will always push the limits of reliability. The same can be said of any vehicle for that matter, you make modifications that it was never designed for in the first place and limits are pushed, push it to far, and you can end up with a vehicle that is unreliable. If modded right, and not pushing the HP levels past what the drivetrain can handle, a GVR-4 can be as reliable as an Evo.

Not that I wouldn't own an Evo, I would in a heartbeat. But take for example the price you would pay for even a used Evo, and you could easily have two 500HP GVR-4's that are every bit as reliable. I also own and daily drive a 1g AWD DSM, and it gets me to my destination. Heck, my GVR-4 has been all the way across Florida 6 times and daily driven for over 1-year straight with nothing but oil changes on an original bottom end. The bottom end didn't fail until I started modding. Prior to that, it has even been to the race track a handful of times as well.
 

You misunderstand, I'm by no means saying that a GVR-4 can't be reliable. What I'm saying is your buying a used car, a 12 or 13 year old used car at that. There are gonna be things inherently wrong with a vehicle of age. Parts that are worn, plus if someone didn't treat it right its more likely to show then an Evo of similar neglect.

And Im sure there are some GVR-4s out there it not an issue but having been looking for the past couple of days they all have their fault so if you want to buy a car and drive it your gonna have different needs then someone that is buying the car and has the time and money to put into it right away.

Besides people were basing their choice on the fact that the car had problems and that's what makes it special. While that might be fine and dandy for someone that's owned the car for awhile someone buying a car with expectations of reliable transportation might not find those same problems as enchanting.

It all boils down to what you want outta the purchase. Bother are great cars, if you want a cheaper car that needs some TLC then pick up the GVR-4. If your looking for a car fast outta the box that you wont have any problems with (Minus maybe a clutch if the asshat before you didn't drive properly) and you have the money I say pick up the Evo. But I am a little bias, I wanted an Evo since before they were in the States. Hell its the reason I joined the Army.
 

cheekychimp

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Apr 19, 2004
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East Sussex, U.K.
I hear ya! But I owned an EC5A 1998 8G M/T VR4 which I bought brand new and THAT car left me stranded on far more occasions when the E39A ever did. Maybe I had bad luck /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif The new EVOs are great cars, no-one denies that but will they last as well as the E39As? The same things that make the EVOs handle so well now, are the same things that with time will give you all sorts of grief. AYC, ACD, ABS, TCL etc etc etc.

If the VR4 has been ill maintained for a while when you find it then yes, there will be all sorts of gremlins awaiting you, but I assure you that 5 years (it's now 2010) is plenty enough time to FUBAR an EVO if the previous owner didn't know what he was doing. And let's not forget the price difference involved here.

I could sell off my Civic Type R, the wife's Corolla, and get an EVO if I wanted. I've thought about it. But I know that a bone stock VR4 with $10,000 of well thought out 'refurbishments', will leave me with a 100% 'mechanical' vehicle that isn't just as reliable as an EVO now, but another 10 years down the road will be far easier to maintain.

I'm not knocking the EVO in anyway either, I just think that previous owners doing hack jobs on these cars is far more of an issue than their age per se. And the simpler you keep it the more reliable it gets, although keeping it simple is often not the cheapest option (think mechanical fuel pumps and dry sump kits). But think about it, no more rewiring fuel pumps or messing around with those rusty fuel tank sending units.
 

Quote:
But I know that a bone stock VR4 with $10,000 of well thought out 'refurbishments'



Thats my point if you want to walk in buy are car and drive away with less concern the Evo is the smarter choice.

I plan on owning both but my Evo is babied and will be done with all the mods I think I will want to to do it so A GVR-4 will be a nice car, rare, simple and yet still very familiar. But if I had to do it all over again I would do it the same. I wouldn't by a GVR-4 then an Evo it doesn't make much sense in my eyes as I like having a reliable mode os transport that I dont have to work.

Like I said before characters and quirks are one thing but lets not talk crazy because we are fond of a car. My wife doesn't understand why I want a GVR-4 and I couldn't explain it to her even if I wanted to because there is something all of us share in this 4g63 niche that we are in and that's a fondness for anything AWD and 4g63 powered but lets call a spade a spade.
 

cheekychimp

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Well they do say the best mod for a GVR4 is a daily driver /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif and in that respect I do not think you are wrong. That is exactly the reason I went with the Civic Type R. That car has zero mods aside from a DSG gearshift knob and a Mugen Exhaust. Even the suspension is stock. It allows me the privilege of doing stuff on the GVR4 properly. I also think one area the EVO does excel is that stock it was designed for 280 ps or higher (most EVO engines have been purposely restricted to meet Japanese max power output regs). Most of the 'work' required on a GVR4 is supporting mods designed to deal with the additional horsepower the car was not originally designed to have.

But I stand by my opinion that more often than not it is the previous owners 'hack jobs' and lack of understanding about how to go about things that causes the most issues. The problem with the age of these cars isn't so much the age itself but the fact that they have been around so long it's hard to find a stock one anywhere. I know you still need to get the ECU caps done, do a timing belt job, freshen up the tranny, think about a 4-bolt rear end, and maybe delete the 4WS, but in all honesty that isn't a huge amount of work. And probably wouldn't need much longer in the shop than your car has spent at Buschur.
 

Yeah but my car being at Buschur is irrelivant since my ass is in Iraq and I cant drive anyways lol. Plus my Wife has her own car, so the down time isnt an issue. If I wasnt in Iraq I qould honestly do the work myself but that would require downtime with no way to get to and from work and so on. So if I were to do work I would need a beater to get me around.

My original point my car has down time but that is to get it completly built to the gills, not to do the up dates needed to maintain good reliability as one might need to when purchasing a GVR-4.

Now I dont know the OP but when I think to answer this question I think about it asked in the most simple of circumstances. A kid lookin to buy a car to get to and from school and work. I know whe nI bought my Talon I had a lot of downtime with it because I was always fixing sh*t that the previous owner pretty much broke, which caused me to have to sell it and buy an 03 OZ Rally so I had reliable transportation.

Do I regret sellign the Talon, yes but practicality won over desire at that point in my life and thats how i answer the question. But even so the Evo is 12 year newer version of the GVR-4 so other then the honor of owning one the Evo has the Galant beat in just about every aspect. Safty, Stock block stoutness, Handling, looks and Im till gonan say reliabilty.

If your not a kid and dont need to worry about how reliable the car is then chances are you can afford both so do it.
 

cheekychimp

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East Sussex, U.K.

Quote:
Yeah but my car being at Buschur is irrelevant since my ass is in Iraq and I cant drive anyways lol.



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif then buy a VR4 before your next deployment and pick it up after you get back LOL

You also make a very valid point here

Quote:

If your not a kid and don't need to worry about how reliable the car is then chances are you can afford both so do it.



The problem is that most kids still at school can't afford an EVO that's why they get a DSM or a VR4 instead, and as you found out, regularly have problems because at that stage in life they don't have the money to throw at them.

Quote:
My original point my car has down time but that is to get it completely built to the gills, not to do the up dates needed to maintain good reliability as one might need to when purchasing a GVR-4.



That is pretty much what I did with my VR4 but I took a $2000 car and spent $38,000 on it. I'm betting your EVO all said and done has a similar amount in it. Just a different perspective I guess.
 
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Yeah I'm about 7k more in then you lol, Bought it for 25k put 20k into it. I would have spent a bit less if I did the work myself but I wanted it done for when I come home on R&R and then block leave when I'm done with my tour. SO I could just come back and enjoy it instead of trying to get it working with my time off.

But with a almost 5 year old the Evo is a better DD then a GVR-4 in the event of a crash and less likely to be walking somewhere with a kid cause it broke down. GVR-4 will be a great toy but given the choice between picking one I have to say the Evos got my vote.
 

broxma

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Nov 16, 2009
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San Antonio Tx
You are in a position of luxury however, excluding that hole fighting a non-war over in Iraq at the moment. It is easy to be pleased with a car being built for you during a period of time it is of no use to you. This is the to the point I was making earlier. Buying happiness. Humor me for a minute and combine the two few posts. Also look at the ops original idea from the perspective he presented it, which was, "Blast to drive/enjoyable" (Paraphrasing)

Let's look 8 months in the future or 8 months after you return from the sand lot. You have your built Evo. It's fast but it's not a real race car. It's still a street car from the description of what you're getting done to it, all be it a fast one. You have literally not had to turn a nut to get it to that condition. However, for the last 6 months you have been personally putting your free time into the GVR4, knowing it needs maintenance, and new parts, and upgrades, and paint, etc. You bust your hump however to get it into the exact idea you had imagined it to be in. You have been driving the Evo during this time, it reliably gets you too and fro, goes to the track once in a moon and is otherwise a great car. Then the day comes and the GVR4 is pretty much done, maybe not complete, needs some finishing touches, maybe paint, or interior, but motor is good, tranny back to shifting, suspension all settled, drivable by any standard and even unfinished better than most cars on the road in many ways.

What do you jump in the next morning?

I built my Evo myself, but it's still just a car. There is no connection.

Most of the GVR4's these days need work. A dying breed. Any monkey can buy a used Evo and get it to run 11's for a grand on top or so. The GVR4 is like a custom tailored suit, the Evo is off the rack. The GVR4's become personal, part of the person. We associate each other by our numbers. We group ourselves by colors, by years. We are not in competition with one another, but are in service of one another. We aren't looking to screw the next guy over to make ourselves look better. This very philosophy is diametrically opposed to almost any other auto oriented club I know of, certainly EvoM and Nasioc. We don't get to choose sides based on some brand loyalty, we have to make it up on our own. We have no brands. We are the forgotten few. And yet we all have a connection, to our cars and each other. this is getting sappy and sad. Let's end it here before one of the emotional types starts bawling or something.

/brox
 
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cheekychimp

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Apr 19, 2004
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East Sussex, U.K.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bawling.gif
 

lol

Anyways I see and understand the love affair. The things you said are what make the car more special to me someone that doesn't even own one yet. And I have no doubt the GVR-4 would be a blast to drive and I would have more of myself into it if I built it personally but I still think the Evo would be the more capable machine. But it also comes down to what ones idea of fun is. I like AutoX, that's what the Evo is being built to run SCCA solo events. I know I haven't mentioned suspension upgrades that's because I'm broke on the car front for a few months lol and I haven't decided exactly what coilovers and stuff I'm going with. Anyways I just don't see a prepped GVR-4 holding its own against an equally prepped Evo.

I think for the GVR-4 I want to make an all out drag machine. So really I guess to each his own, if you can afford the Evo it seems like the smarter thing to do to me and pick up a GVR-4 that needs work down the road and bring that car back to the glory it deserves.

That's my plan anyways.
 
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