shorty911

all the vs. gthreads on these cars weer filled with constant remarks of the lancer evo's performance is hands down better then the rx8's well i think everyone on this forum should know their rx8 cant handle a evo, but in the lines of what would you rather have compare/contrast when it comes down to it whats more fun?
An incredibly fast car with few drawbacks in the perfromance area or a car that is silky smooth and yet still fast? What are any weeknesses of either cars, the only thing ive ever heard bad about the rx8 is that it doesnt feel like it has much torque? Im sure most everyone will say they prefer the 8 hense we are on rx8 owners forum but i am still interested in some feed back.

VikingDJ

Whichever car the owner or potential buyer thinks is better, IS the better car, plain and simple. This is purely subjective. If you are a pure performance nut who loves autocrossing, and the feel of a car built for the purpose of pleasing the diehard racing enthusiast, then the EVO is hands down the better car. If you are more daily driver minded, looking for a decent performing, hot looking, refined sports coupe rx8 is your choice. For an all around daily car clearly the rx8 is better. However the people buying the EVO don't give a rats *** about that, otherwise they'd own an rx8 not an EVO. RX8 owners are same way. They were looking for more then just performance. This is what makes life so great. They build different cars, for different types of people. The bottom line is, whichever car you like more, is the better car. What anyone else thinks is meaningless. ENJOY!!

Ike

Wrong, the Evo is nothing but an ugly turboed econbox piece of crap!

VikingDJ

AND SO IS THE STI. DAMN POS SUBARUS AND MISTUBISHIS. EVERYONE KNOWS MAZDA IS THE GREATEST AND EVERY OTHER CAR IS **** COMPARED TO RX8. :D
Seriously though, read my above post. That is THE TRUTH, plain and simple.

futureownr4sure

If I could own both, I would! Unfortunately, there's no EVO in Canada. The EVO looks great and performs well too. The rx-8 is more different and stylish. Different cars, but they're the top 2 cars to my parameters.

RX8-TX

Yeah that. You forgot to mention 4 door PoC :D

shelleys_man_06

Meh. If I wanted two sports cars, I'd have my RX-8 and the new C6. :D

VikingDJ

Yep. That is what you prefer, so who are we to argue it. I can't imagine EVO owners would be any different if people started praising the RX8, for what it has that the EVO lacks. My dream of an unbaised forum, where people can talk about cars in an iobjective fashion, is just that, A DREAM.

cas2themoe

Hands down the EVO is fast as hell but I'll give its looks and style 2 thumbs down! I happen to be looking at one for a while when I was at a party last week. It is horrible from the side view. Just pure ugly!

AbusiveWombat

<--- EVO owner. Here's my 1.5 yr (23k miles) review:

Practicality: You can't beat the practicality of this car with four real doors, large trunk, and enough room in the back seat for a 6'5" 230lbs father-in-law.

Power: The power in this car is great. It's got enough power on hand to put you to the front of the line in almost any situation. From a roll it's acceleration is similar to a 350z and S2000. Certainly not stelar but definitely good. If you're unhappy with stock power there are staged upgrades that can put you in Z06 territory for as little as $2000.

Handling: This car is soooo easy to drive so fast. In slower corners it pushes but in more high speed sweepers its very neutral. The car is very predictable and the steering comunicates enough information to let you know when you're hitting the limits. On smooth roads it feels like you're piloting an F16. On ruff roads you'll wish you had a different car....while not unbareable you may want to thing twice if you regualarly travel over roads with lots of pot holes.

Interior: The interior is very simple. Certainly not as nice as an RX8. No bells and whistles. This is one those "grass is always greener" things that makes me want a RX8. While the interior does lack the navigation, auto climate, cruise control it does have all the necessities. Visibility is great without any major blind spots. Headroom is also very good with plenty of room for a helmet. The car is also very easy to get in an out of since it sits like a normal sedan. this is great for my pregnant wife. The downfall to this is that you don't get that "sitting on the road" feeling that you get in other sports cars like the old 300Z.

Stereo: The stereo is Ok. It's not great and it's not terrible. The nice thing is that it's a standard DIN size so it's easily replaceable with something that is much better.

Exterior: While not as sexy as an RX8 it does have it's appeal. It's still very rare around these parts which leads to a lot of people asking me about the car. The car is just plain mean looking...especially in black. The wing is a bit tall and at first was a little ridiculous but it's grown on me. The demensions are great. The car is very small and fits almost anywhere. It's also very narrow which makes it less likely to get a door ding.

The paint is my biggest complaint. The paint is very thin and no where near the level of our Mazda6 (which is also black).

So here are my complaints or things to think about:
- paint quality is terrible
- gauges are difficult to read
- tires are expensive (the Yoko's lasted 18000 miles and are $200+ per)
- brake pads are expensive ($200)
- mouse fur is showing some wear (this is the fabric they use on the arm rests)

The tires and break pads will wear faster if you track your car obviously. Mine have lasted 20k without any autocrosses or track events. I didn't track the car mainly because I didn't want to go through any warrenty hassles if something broke. To date, I have had 0 problems.

Here are my thoughts on AWD. While RWD is great for power on oversteer and burnouts I've really grown to love AWD. Nothing beats knowing that if need be, you can get infront of the person next to you and there's nothing he can do about it. We've all been in those situations where you've got 60 feet to merge and the guy next to you is going to be a d**k and not let you in. Rev it up and pow...instant 2-3 car lengths in 60 feet.

The traction in rain is still amazing to me. Even with a 5000-6000 rpm launch the tires barely break loose. The real downfall to AWD is the stress on your clutch. We've all heard the horor stories of the EVO's clutch. Well I'm at 23k and it's still going strong. The clutch issues can be prevented through proper driving. I'm, obviously, not at the drags every weekend or racing at every street light. I have however launched the car plenty of times....and let me tell you there's nothing, short of an aircraft carrier launch, like it.

The real question is would I buy this car again. The answer is I don't know. It's still a tough decision between the '05 STi and MR. While the RX8 is nice the suicide doors and lack of power would surely knock it off my list.

Ike

Funny you say that, probably the main reason I haven't traded the WRX in on an Evo or STi yet is I can't freaking decide which one I want. I go back and forth every week on keeping the WRX and modding the hell out of it, trading it for an Evo, or trading it for an STi. I think I'm going to wait til next year and see if the Spec C makes an appearance, then my decision will be easy :D I'm also curious to see what Mazda can do with a Mazdaspeed 3 or 6, though something tells me they will be a little underpowered for my taste and if they keep FWD on the MS3 (if they do one), no thanks.

AbusiveWombat

There's always something better around the corner. If you wait another year for the SpecC (if it comes out)...how about the year after that when we might see audi enter the game with an S3 (rumored with 350 hp). Or a new VW R32 with 300+hp. But I know what you mean. The STi is a love hate thing for me: I love that H4 sounds but I know I would hate modifying it (2x cams, twice as hard to get to...etc). What can you do...no car is perfect.

sti_eric

I have yet to hear of anyone changing the cams on the STi. I think they just don't need it. I know this is one of the first things to do when modifying an Evo, but not for an STi.

AbusiveWombat

I think this is more of a function of availability. Soon or later you'll see them changing...but it definitely won't be an easy job.

Overport

peice of crap huh? you wouldn't feel that way after driving one. stupid comment.

Ike

Yeah... I'm the stupid one...

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

The r32 is already out, I've seen several running around town, funny how they're not mentioned a whole lot as their potential for being modded can produce higher numbers than both the sti and evo, too bad they are kinda tiny though. I'm so sick of the lack of power comments, even driving the auto I feel like this car has plenty of power, the rotary powerband and the way the car accelerates is a bit of a learning curve, but I always find myself going 10-15 over the speed limit and not even realizing it which I would not assocaite with an underpowered car. The other thing that all the evo/sti/whatever crowd seems to forget is that this a true first year model, the evo/sti have been out for a lonnnng time so obviously they have more power as the folks who engineered them have had a wealth of time to engineer and refine their respective powerplants through the years with all the different versions, even the corvette had very humble beginnings (the early ones didn't have v8s, can you imagine a vette nowadays without av6?), just wait and see what Mazda does in the next few years, I'm sure it will surprise us all and I can't wait to see what the future brings.

VikingDJ

Come on DOUGIEE BOY. That went way over your head.

AbusiveWombat

Sorry but your statement is incorrect. The EVO's 4g63 is far easier and cheaper engine to make power on than the 3.2V6 in the R32. The R32 may have potential because of the displacement advantage but currently they're sill behind the EVO's. There's a tuner shoot out that is coming out in Car and Driver where the leaders in R32 tuning (HRE?) bring their twin turbo R32. The R32 runs a 12.02....the vishnu EVO runs in the 11's. The HRE R32 price tag is ~$70k (including the R32)... the Vishnu Stage2 $40k (including the EVO).

Just because you can drive over the speed limit doesn't mean you have a fast car. The auto RX8 runs high 15 / low 16's in the quater mile. That is not a good time....that's on par with a full size pickup truck. There is a whole host of regular cars that have that same or better acceleration. Trust me, if you were to drive the EVO you would be blown away by it's acceleration....and in the realm of sports cars, it's not even that fast. There's still another level beyond (C6, Viper,...etc).

VikingDJ

[QUOTE=AbusiveWombat]Sorry but your statement is incorrect. The EVO's 4g63 is far easier and cheaper engine to make power on than the 3.2V6 in the R32. The R32 may have potential because of the displacement advantage but currently they're sill behind the EVO's. There's a tuner shoot out that is coming out in Car and Driver where the leaders in R32 tuning (HRE?) bring their twin turbo R32. The R32 runs a 12.02....the vishnu EVO runs in the 11's. The HRE R32 price tag is ~$70k (including the R32)... the Vishnu Stage2 $40k (including the EVO).QUOTE]

All in due time. The potential of the r32 is going so blossom in to a monster eventually. Of course it's easier and cheaper to make an EVO faster. It's turbocharged and ready to mod. The r32 is like the RX8 in that way, because it's just naturally aspirated, and involves a lot to put it into that next level. Form my experience, Vw engines have been exreemelt solid, and if I had to trust an engine for longevity it would be Vw way before Mitsubishi. I can't wait to see an EVO with 300k miles on it, and no mechanical problems whatsoever down the road. It definitely isn't happening.

RX8-TX

Somehow, after a lease and a purchase (Jetta with 170K miles & Jetta with 75K miles) I have lost all faith in VW for long term reliability. At least those 2 Mexico assembled Jetta's were horrible -I don't know if the Golf based GTi & R32 are assembled in Germany or somewhere else.

VikingDJ

Yeah. Unfortunately all that I read shyed me away form a VW. I traded in my 95 Golf for a Subaru, and I let all those stories get to me. However, I have owned three Vw cars, my first being an 86 Golf diesel, then a 91, then a 95. I went 150k minimum on all of them without one single problem. My 95 went 220k and I reluctantly traded it in, and I still miss it. That's 220k, with nothing but basic maintanence and oil changes, and nothing else. The engine didn't lose a drop of oil, and at 220k it ran like new. I probably will never get that lucky to have a car last me that long, and I miss that old car a lot. I don't know how the new Vws are, but I think engine wise, they are still rock solid. I hope the rx8 can even go 100k with nothign but basic maintanence like my Vws have, but I won't hold my breath.

RX8-TX

On the 8, we just have to sit and watch -or in my case, drive and see what happens. I knock on wood, other than having a nail on a front tire...everything has been pink and clean. Although I am barely @ 17K miles in a little more than a year.

BTW, the Jettas were '99 & '02 respectively.

inline4g63

The STi is just a less friendly platform to modify and get power from. They have trouble getting over 300 awhp...

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...ght=evo+owners

AbusiveWombat

Your 95 golf may have went 220k but it didn't have AWD and 240hp. The more power you have, the more likely something will break. A modified R32 with twin turbos will be lucky to see 100k without a major overhaul. I'm not saying that it can't but the TT R32 is putting out 350+whp. That's a lot more than it was originally designed so I question how long the drivetrain can take that power.

Also, what's the point of taking a $30k R32 and adding $10-15k worth of modifications when the easier route to power is picking up a C6. The C6 will have a warrenty, similar acceleration, better handling, and better braking. It will also have better potential.

Or better yet, pick up a used 2002+ Z06 and a beater car. Maybe I'm the only one who sees that at a certain point, it becomes rediculous. The HPA R32 is $70k+....for that amount of money I would totally take a Viper or a C5/Z06 + Acura TL. The beautiful thing with the EVO is that for MSRP + $2k, you can be in Z06 territory.