Discussion
Been thinking for a while of owning an Evo but age and lots of miles on my commute have stopped this. But now I'm older and I live only 15mins from work on twisty B roads it's now an option. But are they as ruinously expensive to run as people say? Ideally I'd be looking for an FQ-340/360 and mostly standard. Standard Evo's are like hens teeth it seems. Is there anything to watch out for?
MartynVRS said:
Been thinking for a while of owning an Evo but age and lots of miles on my commute have stopped this. But now I'm older and I live only 15mins from work on twisty B roads it's now an option. But are they as ruinously expensive to run as people say? Ideally I'd be looking for an FQ-340/360 and mostly standard. Standard Evo's are like hens teeth it seems. Is there anything to watch out for?
Do it! For the levels of performance they offer, the running costs are perfectly reasonable in my opinion. As a rough guideline, budget £600/£700 per year for servicing unless you can do a lot of the work by yourself as basic oil and filter changes every 6 months will save you a fair chunk of cash and aren't hard to do.
Obviously only feed it SUL, preferably vpower and expect to get low 20s mpg or teens if you're thrashing it everywhere. If you consciously drive off boost on motorway runs some people have seen over 30mpg but it's extremely boring!
Things to look out for, on the dash there is three lights for the ACD settings, snow, gravel and tarmac. If all three lights are on at the same time, the AYC pump needs looking at and could need reconditioning. There are indies out there that can do this for around £400 these days though. Check the shell for any rust or rot as some weren't very well undersealed when they came over here from Japan. Other than that, make sure it's got good history with it and you should be fine.
Regards to finding a standard car, my advice would be not to bother! Most Evo's have been modified to stage 1 which is exhaust, filter, remap and fuel pump and they are then running around 400bhp and feel like a completely different car. You may as well buy a stage 1 car as you'll save yourself some money cos if you buy standard, within 6 months you'll be paying for all of the above to be done yourself. Evo ownership is a slippery slope into the world of modification and the quest for more and more power and grip.
Pop over to the Mitsubishi Lancer Register for more info and google Indigo GT as they are in Wales and would be able to look after you well.
Yep, agree with all of the above, but I'm biased, I've had an '03 plate 8 for 11 years, modified to E9 spec with Mivec, 80 series turbo and E9 ecu a few years back. It's a wonderful thing, I'm old enough to know better, but I doubt I'll ever sell it, I'm completely sold on it as a driving experience!
Mine's at maybe 400 brake now, and has been extraordinarily reliable up until last year, when it burst the heater matrix, and required a new oil seal at the rear propshaft joint, hardly a deal breaker for the way it gets driven.
It hasn't needed AYC pump attention ( yet ), but it's usually only a matter of time. Standard front discs can warp or judder ( but my APs have done that too! ), top mounts very occasionally wear out. Water can get behind the n/s wheel arch trim, and get to the fusebox in the passenger side footwell, causing things like the wipers not to turn off, but it's a very well documented fault, and not too traumatic a fix.
Buy one with stage 1 mods, you won't regret it.
Mine's at maybe 400 brake now, and has been extraordinarily reliable up until last year, when it burst the heater matrix, and required a new oil seal at the rear propshaft joint, hardly a deal breaker for the way it gets driven.
It hasn't needed AYC pump attention ( yet ), but it's usually only a matter of time. Standard front discs can warp or judder ( but my APs have done that too! ), top mounts very occasionally wear out. Water can get behind the n/s wheel arch trim, and get to the fusebox in the passenger side footwell, causing things like the wipers not to turn off, but it's a very well documented fault, and not too traumatic a fix.
Buy one with stage 1 mods, you won't regret it.
I use a 9 FQ-340 as my daily driver, and was very lucky to find a standard one which had been immaculately maintained (it was a mobility car for a disabled gentleman!). I also do a daily commute of 10-12 miles on b-roads and don't find it to be massively uneconomical if I'm not thrashing it, you can still get a bit of a thrill taking the corners at a steady speed without hammering the MPG.
Of course, it is not going to be as economical as many cars. But my man-maths logic says that it is more economical driven sensibly, than a slower car is to be thrashed all the time. In fact, I find that the economy is relatively reasonable on the twisty roads where you're not constantly on the throttle, it seems to be going at a steady speed on the motorway which eats up the fuel. But this isn't scientific, just my perception.
Of course, it is not going to be as economical as many cars. But my man-maths logic says that it is more economical driven sensibly, than a slower car is to be thrashed all the time. In fact, I find that the economy is relatively reasonable on the twisty roads where you're not constantly on the throttle, it seems to be going at a steady speed on the motorway which eats up the fuel. But this isn't scientific, just my perception.
Gypsum Fantastic said:
I use a 9 FQ-340 as my daily driver, and was very lucky to find a standard one which had been immaculately maintained (it was a mobility car for a disabled gentleman!). I also do a daily commute of 10-12 miles on b-roads and don't find it to be massively uneconomical if I'm not thrashing it, you can still get a bit of a thrill taking the corners at a steady speed without hammering the MPG.
Of course, it is not going to be as economical as many cars. But my man-maths logic says that it is more economical driven sensibly, than a slower car is to be thrashed all the time. In fact, I find that the economy is relatively reasonable on the twisty roads where you're not constantly on the throttle, it seems to be going at a steady speed on the motorway which eats up the fuel. But this isn't scientific, just my perception.
Was it from the Malton area of North Yorkshire? Disabled fella has a few, and attends car shows quite often. Of course, it is not going to be as economical as many cars. But my man-maths logic says that it is more economical driven sensibly, than a slower car is to be thrashed all the time. In fact, I find that the economy is relatively reasonable on the twisty roads where you're not constantly on the throttle, it seems to be going at a steady speed on the motorway which eats up the fuel. But this isn't scientific, just my perception.
nottyash said:
Gypsum Fantastic said:
I use a 9 FQ-340 as my daily driver, and was very lucky to find a standard one which had been immaculately maintained (it was a mobility car for a disabled gentleman!). I also do a daily commute of 10-12 miles on b-roads and don't find it to be massively uneconomical if I'm not thrashing it, you can still get a bit of a thrill taking the corners at a steady speed without hammering the MPG.
Of course, it is not going to be as economical as many cars. But my man-maths logic says that it is more economical driven sensibly, than a slower car is to be thrashed all the time. In fact, I find that the economy is relatively reasonable on the twisty roads where you're not constantly on the throttle, it seems to be going at a steady speed on the motorway which eats up the fuel. But this isn't scientific, just my perception.
Was it from the Malton area of North Yorkshire? Disabled fella has a few, and attends car shows quite often. Of course, it is not going to be as economical as many cars. But my man-maths logic says that it is more economical driven sensibly, than a slower car is to be thrashed all the time. In fact, I find that the economy is relatively reasonable on the twisty roads where you're not constantly on the throttle, it seems to be going at a steady speed on the motorway which eats up the fuel. But this isn't scientific, just my perception.
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