ClubCJ - The CJ Lancer Club

Hi guys,

I'm just throwing up a little thought after talking to one of my friends who wants to buy an Evo (X or XI etc.) whatever comes in the future... and it gave me the idea.

I'm actually wondering, should I follow him... or should I stick with my champagne Lancer ES and do it up? Bear in mind this is not NOW, this will be in about 3 years time...

If yes, buy and Evo (if Evo X, transfer all parts that I can from my current Lancer), then I'll start saving now i guess, if no.... then unique champagne Lancer it is

I use my car currently for everyday driving and enjoyment... however I have aspirations to go tracking with my car (hence the idea of Evo done up for tracking and everyday car)

What do you guys think? This is just hypothetical.... this may not eventuate if a BETTER option comes about.

Thanks all.

-EXALTD-

Really depends on your driving/racing goals. I'd buy the X if I had money or if I get a higher paying job. If you ask me, it's great to beat those Falcodore bogans at the lights (not to condone speeding though). It's also nice at the track, as the Evo is termed as impossible to unstick. The SST gearbox is great on paper, but I have yet to find out if it's a true manual alternative. The stick shift only has five gears and it would be nice to see a sixth in a future upgrade.

Drawbacks though are higher maintenance due to turbos and more frequent oil changes, plus greater fuel use. But of course, if you can afford the car, you should be able to keep it running well.

You can do up the ES without going berserk and have some fun with it
If however you really want an EVO X or EVO 11 then there's no reason why you cant do that if you want it bad enough later on.
Also the manual GSR is a fair bit cheaper and still a beast
Ryan from JUSTJDM (Club Sponsor) owns one and is quite happy with it.
At the end of the day live within your means mate
I bought a VRX because an EVO X was out of reach
Doesnt mean I wont buy one a bit later second hand maybe........

Question is would you want a DD that you can track or a purpose built track car? In 3 yrs you'll be able to pick up a good X and dedicate it to the track. Running your car on the track increases the likelyhood of breakages and if its your only car makes it hard to get around will repairing damage.

In my opinion, i think save for the evo if you have big plans... i remember you saying you wanted to turbo the ES... i think its a waste of time ... after all it is a front wheel drive.. if you really want that sort of power.. definitely go for the evo!

Save for the evo
at the end of the day if you do up your ES it's still an ES and not an Evo


I'd also love an evo but I can't afford a 10

Get an insurance quote for where you live on the EVO and for your age in 3 yrs time and see if you still want to get one (y)...

It's a hard question to answer with so many variables.

Bear in mind, the average time people stay in the one house is 7 years and decreasing - cars are even less, so who knows what the future holds.

You might get a gf, get engaged married have a kid or anything in 3 yrs - it's a long time away.

The_Bandit wrote:You might get a gf, get engaged married have a kid or anything in 3 yrs - it's a long time away.

*salutes* haha

Thanks everybody who contributed

Good points made, seriously, keep them coming - it's really giving me perspective.

I'm very hesitant about going turbo because even though it is an Evo and 4wd etc. and is heaps better than a stock ES, i've never really been able to work out how things work on turbo cars. This ES was bought in part because I wanted to do it up (and still do) but also because it was simple to understand, learn and maintain. I hope to learn how a turbo works and how to maintain them, otherwise sounds like my ES will still be a better option .

Also, in terms of keeping the car, this car (whichever i choose) shall be with me until I have no use for it, i intend to really run it until it's not economically viable to run it any more

Cheers all!

-EXALTD-

exaltd wrote:I'm very hesitant about going turbo ... I hope to learn how a turbo works and how to maintain them

I have a Turbocharged car and there's very little between a non-turbo in terms of maintenance. Modifications will require a different train of thought (eg: wide open cams in a non-turbo will give power, but wide open cams in a turbo that isn't producing much more power than stock will cause your air/fuel to be blown all the way through your cylinders and into your headers!) but, like the non-turbo cars, there's always "set rules" and guidelines as to what will and won't work (like my example).

In short, maintenance is almost no different, it'll drink more fuel (a boost controller will let you turn down boost when you don't need it so less air = less fuel = less power = cheaper to run for daily driving), but I think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Let's face it, the Evo's are niiice cars

My personal opinion though is that the X is a little harder to modify as there's a lot more electronic components (the throttle for example!) and the ECU controls a lot more. After doing some research when I had my CJ, this caused me a whole heap of headaches. I'm happy now because I can jump on pretty much any parts website and visit more or less any car store and they will have things that I can buy off the shelf that will work! It's a good feeling! lol.

If you're chasing pure performance:
If it were up to me, I'd get an Evo 9 or earlier (9's are sweeeet!) because it will be mechanically easier to modify. Also, the X's got a bit heavy (and let's face it, no one wants to gut an X. They're just tooo nice!). Or wait and see what the 11 has to offer.

If you want a sweet daily that will stick to the road like glue, go for the X (remember though that it's a "new" car and there are probably faults and bugs that haven't been found yet, unlike an older car). Also be aware that if you get an X, it'll probably still have a warranty for you to consider. This will limit the amount of mods that you can do without voiding the warranty. This shouldn't be a problem, however, because I personally wouldn't modify the X too much. As I said before, it's a sweet daily driver. It has a nice interior, and with a sound system like Big Dave's it'd be fooly syk bro!

And there's one more thing. If you choose to save, in a few years there may be another car that you really want (maybe the FT86, or the new Silvia if they get around to releasing it) and you'll have the money ready to buy it!

Oh, and I totally agree with Graham.

Graham wrote:Save for the evo
at the end of the day if you do up your ES it's still an ES and not an Evo

Hope this gave you some (more) food for thought!

Oh, and if you need to know anything about turbo'd cars, drop me a line (email prefered)

Evo X is a nice car. I'm sure most will agree. But if reality is factored in, it's a nice 2nd car, tracking car, weekend car, going for supper or coffee etc. If you need it as a daily drive or future work in the city, i personally don't believe it's a feasible vehicle for that, at least for Boxhill and surrounding suburbs where you are staying and the route to Melb CBD.

Like mentioned, in 3-5 years time, you might be in relationship and have settling down commitments and should you even have that sort of money to get an expensive car like an Evo, the money might be better spent getting a luxury car instead. A girl during dating would enjoy the Evo, but after settling down, it might not be the case anymore. Let's face it, most women have alot of say in the relationship.

At the end of the day, it is always good to dream of owning a performance vehicle like an Evo. But strive to own it as a 2nd/Weekend car, it makes more sense and far more enjoyable owning it.