Considering the dark side - which one

[duffnote]

I'm coming up to first MOT, warranty expiry and now I'm considering moving to the dark side. I'm looking for something with more power and better road holding than the WR1, that is well made and can be bought with warranty, second hand from a dealer up to

[WR 1mposter]

None

Been in the evo9... no doubt great car !
but Scoobs for life, and will wait and see what
the new model turns out like !

If the Prodrive worked STI does'nt push the buttons,
I'm sure Lichfield's Spec C or Type 25 will

[POESY]

You'll probably get an ex-demo FQ360 for that sort of cash. The IXs really are depreciating hard at the moment.

Ware recently sold an upgraded 320 for

[danr55]

the evo 3 of us went for (me, spike and torrekens) was the FQ320 with upgrades from Ware Garage, an official Ralliart dealer. for I think it was

[Sumo]

Rightly or wrongly I've gone for a IX GT in white, should be here in a couple of weeks, just needs some bits and bobs to make it into a decent track day and occasional runabout.
A lot cheaper than those mentioned above but absolutely no warranty!!!
cant wait ,
Cheers,
Sumo.

[SPIKE LIKE MIKE]

As sumo says Im suryou can get a 9 Gt for 20k new!! after that 1500 for remap/brakes,1000 for seats and 1000 for wheels!!!

22.5k!!! 400bhp monster!!! NEW!!!

[Scooby Lee]

However, personnally, i'd go for the official 360 over a ware upgraded car, they have a few more carbon styling bits and bobs which look and, I might upset a few people now (sorry guys), it felt a bit faster to me.

Perception is an odd thing...

I drove my dealers (standard) FQ-320 on a track day and it initially 'felt' far faster than my 340. After driving the same car, weeks later, for 2 days whilst mine was having the Alarm / SmartNav fault fixed, I realised it wasn't faster at all...it had a significantly inferior Turbo Spool-up characteristic which made the car less smooth, but resulted in a more pronounced 'kick' during initial acceleration (only).

As for which (Standard) EVO IX (not MR) to choose:

FQ-360: Best Engine, but the wheels are awful and the boost gauge only has a Full Scale Deflection of 1.5 Bar...even though the boost actually peaks at over 1.6 Bar!

FQ-340: Best interior as standard, with REAL leather seats and door trim inserts. The Engine is the smoothest (IMHO) and has much more torque than advertised. This is the only version to have SmartNav fitted as standard...but it's rubbish and, in my case, keeps setting-off the alarm!

FQ-320: Best value...by far! The seat leather may be fake and the engine not as smooth; but it's the one to buy if you want a good all-round Evo which can be modified later, if required.

FQ-300: Cheapest. It's roled-off the ferry, has a few SVA required mods added and is given a UK fuel map...they don't even fit the HKS exhaust! You'd need to mod it to enjoy it...so, don't bother!

I hope that helps!

[duffnote]

Thanks Guys, I think I'll test drive a 360. Cheers!

[danr55]

Rightly or wrongly I've gone for a IX GT in white, should be here in a couple of weeks, just needs some bits and bobs to make it into a decent track day and occasional runabout.
A lot cheaper than those mentioned above but absolutely no warranty!!!
cant wait ,
Cheers,
Sumo.

number of evo drivers on here must be catching up to number of wr1 owners?!

[presa900]

The Scooby everytime!

There are far too many dark side supporters on this website!!

[POESY]

Thanks Guys, I think I'll test drive a 360. Cheers!

Would be my choice tbh. As mitsi intended it. No mods, limited edition, plenty of warranty and be worth a few quid when you decide to get rid. Perfect.

Check the brand new IX 360 MR - looks fabulous. Only

[WR 1mposter]

Thread should be moved to other marques !


Dan come on do your modding

[chris]

Moved.

[danr55]

forget it. it's no use, it's limited to 157

[WR 1mposter]

157 ?

[SPIKE LIKE MIKE]

Thanks Guys, I think I'll test drive a 360. Cheers!

Would be my choice tbh. As mitsi intended it. No mods, limited edition, plenty of warranty and be worth a few quid when you decide to get rid. Perfect.

Check the brand new IX 360 MR - looks fabulous. Only

[duffnote]

I test drove one on Saturday, they let me out unaccompanied and held my licence and the WR1. The FQ 360 IX is an absolute monster. Clarkson reviewed in the Sunday Times yesterday and he's spot on. Its the fastest point to point car I've driven, a country mile more than the WR1. Endless long legs in all gears, precise handling, fantastic brakes. But, feels like its will fall apart pretty soon, noise is irritating on a modest run, and rattles and resonates from all parts of the inside. Getting back in the WR1 felt woolly but much better srewed together. I'll keep the WR1 until the new shape Scoobs and EVOs, or maybe a Litchfield.

[Houdini]

Interesting write-up, duffnote. Thanks for the comments.

[The Swede]

I'm always puzzled by these treads.

I still can't see how the Evo feels worse built than the scoob. I must have had a sh1te scoob because the Evo feels much better put together than the STi we had

I'd love to try the 360 once. The 340 was very nice. Very brutal. The 320 was even more brutal but didn't pull that well low in revs.

On the modification, from talking to Spike, I'd be careful of what is done to it.
I explained clearly the car needed to be set up for VERY cold temperatures. So MAF had to go and car needed a more careful map than a simple standard map download.

Spike said his only had the boost up, but the car was still running as rich. Mine turns out to be much more fuel efficient than when it was in FQ320 guise (consumption went from 10mpg to 17mpg).
Also pretty sure it has its 380bhp. It's clearly faster than the FQ340 and the Spec C Type 20 (360bhp) I drove.
Belgian Mitsi & Scoob dealer who fixed Martin's car tried it also and guessed it had just under 400bhp.

Overall very pleased with it as power delivery is very smooth and car goes pretty high in revs easily (7500rpm without probs). (scoob actually also did).
The chassis is its main asset though.

Agree with depreciation. Bought my FQ320 as prereg, was just taken out of the showroom and being prepared to be run as demonstrator when I found it (had 50 miles on the clock). They asked 26900 for it and threw in the radio-CD, carpets and sill protectors... Not bad as discount I thought. For the 3K I saved, I got the power upgrade, the gauges and the brakes plus kept some pocket money

[Scooby Lee]

On the modification, from talking to Spike, I'd be careful of what is done to it.
I explained clearly the car needed to be set up for VERY cold temperatures. So MAF had to go and car needed a more careful map than a simple standard map download.

Spike said his only had the boost up, but the car was still running as rich. Mine turns out to be much more fuel efficient than when it was in FQ320 guise (consumption went from 10mpg to 17mpg).
Also pretty sure it has its 380bhp. It's clearly faster than the FQ340 and the Spec C Type 20 (360bhp) I drove.
Belgian Mitsi & Scoob dealer who fixed Martin's car tried it also and guessed it had just under 400bhp.

After finding Spikes original remap was a little less comprehensive than I (...and he!) had expected, it would be useful to compare it to yours!

I think someone needs to 'plug-in' and extract you ROM file.

...I'm sure it won't be as painful as it sounds!