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Ok went down to Evolution imports today and test drove an EVO VII, gotta say I was fairly impressed, especially as it was bog stock as well. What I want to know is if anyone on here has or does own one and what I can expect from the car. It's not goin to be a daily as I work FIFO and mods are going to be minimal (zorst, pod, boost). Are there any issue's I should look out for as well??

I know it's not an Evo forum and all but most on here seem to be motorsport enthusiasts above all.

Cheers, Vaughan.

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I think most people here will struggle to run their Skyline, let along a Skyline and an Evo!!

Go on Perth-WRX and ask about Evos as some of them have 'turned to the dark side'. (www.perth-wrx.com)

Evo 7 being not that old shouldn't have any issues as such. It's when you start messing with 90's cars that you've got to worry about rebuilds etc. If you're also only going to do zorst, pod and boost well those simple mods will do very little harm to the car..if any.

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I HATE EVO's!!!! they beat me on the track :P

But seriously, check some of the evo forums. From what ive heard they do have problems with clutch's once you start getting a few more hp in them and pushing them hard.....but thats all i know of them.

p.s. VII is my favourite model btw :)

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with evos beware of rust

evo imports should have some clean stock though , but beware of cheapies or be careful if your importing your own from japan

my thoughts , very nice car , quick and pokey , great to throw around . could do with a bit more torque of say a 26 or 2jz

build quality is not as good as nissan or toyota but still not bad

also consider 6 instead of 7 , quicker lighter especially a TME . they do look very lancer with a bodykit though

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The forum to ask the questions is Evolutionoz.net but do a lot of research on this forum before you buy, again like any forum their is always someone who has good or bad experiences with every dealer especially selling EVO's.

I owned a JDM EVO 8 a couple of years ago when they were first approved and did 10,000 klm is 6 months so I had plenty of time in the seat to gauge what they are like and unlike most EVO owners I am not bias towards them.

  • They have high running costs compared to most imports,
    The drive is harsh but it is like driving a go cart when set up right,
    Clutches are the only real weak point and it isn't hard to stuff a clutch up,
    The transfer case is about $4,000 if they go and a diff is $2,000,
    Every P plate driver in a shitty Magna with a cannon muffler wants to run you,
    Prices have fallen through the arse and a IX can be picked up for a bargain,
    Experts out their when it comes to servicing but they still don't know what oil to use,
    EVO VI's are getting old and a tidy VII can cost more then an VIII,
    And the list goes on..........

I have driven about 30 EVO VI, VII, VIII's and a couple of IX's but my favourite was a low klm VII RS with GSR upgrades.

Download the "The Definitive Guide to Buying, Owning and Enjoying Your Evo" and give it a good read.

evoessentialscover.jpg

It is a car you can love to drive or hate but again like any car do your research.

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The forum to ask the questions is Evolutionoz.net but do a lot of research on this forum before you buy, again like any forum their is always someone who has good or bad experiences with every dealer especially selling EVO's.

I owned a JDM EVO 8 a couple of years ago when they were first approved and did 10,000 klm is 6 months so I had plenty of time in the seat to gauge what they are like and unlike most EVO owners I am not bias towards them.

  • They have high running costs compared to most imports,
    The drive is harsh but it is like driving a go cart when set up right,
    Clutches are the only real weak point and it isn't hard to stuff a clutch up,
    The transfer case is about $4,000 if they go and a diff is $2,000,
    Every P plate driver in a shitty Magna with a cannon muffler wants to run you,
    Prices have fallen through the arse and a IX can be picked up for a bargain,
    Experts out their when it comes to servicing but they still don't know what oil to use,
    EVO VI's are getting old and a tidy VII can cost more then an VIII,
    And the list goes on..........

I have driven about 30 EVO VI, VII, VIII's and a couple of IX's but my favourite was a low klm VII RS with GSR upgrades.

Download the "The Definitive Guide to Buying, Owning and Enjoying Your Evo" and give it a good read.

evoessentialscover.jpg

It is a car you can love to drive or hate but again like any car do your research.

Some extremely good info there!

I assume you already did most of that research before buying your own.

Can i ask why you sold yours 8 after 6 months?

My wife wants and Evo 8...but she aint having one :D

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Thanx for the help people, very insightful, especially DRIFTT. If I do decide to go down the Evo Lancer route I' ll be selling the DR as I can't have both sadly (the Missus would kill me dead), so it will depend on if I get what I want for the Nissan as to if I buy the Evo, and yeh I prefer the shape of the VII over the VI but you get the lighter better performing car with the VI......decision decisions

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my bro has an evo 7 and i drive a 32 gtr.. if u get a gtr, make sure its a good condition one, as u dont wanna go spending money fixing it all the time (32 owners know what im on about)... if you want a good street/track car then go the evo, its great to drive on the street compared to the gtr (others may argue).. but the gtr will kick the evo in the pants if you plan to modify it.. both are great cars, so i know why ur struggling to choose! >.<

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Some extremely good info there!

I assume you already did most of that research before buying your own.

Can i ask why you sold yours 8 after 6 months?

My wife wants and Evo 8...but she aint having one :(

I am no expert but I personally believe how can you be associated with JDM imports and not actually own one to really know them, driving one home for the weekend off the lot does not teach you the finer points of any car.

Selling the EVO was mainly due to the harsh drive as it was set up like a Go Cart and I usually go through a different car every 6 to 12 months especially when something new is approved to import.

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My mate just bought a red TME, very awesome, but the stickers are a bit much IMHO. And then my friends brother has a standard VI, also very awesome. Puts out 300hp @ all the wheels, and pulls like there's no tomorrow. I'm tempted by them, but I think my next car will have to be a GTR.

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Evos are def awesome cars, I was thinking about goin that way myself, but personally I just dont think they look that great anymore... Must of just got bored of the way they look over time (I thought they looked extremely sex like a couple of years ago), and if I was to own one the look of a car would play a big factor.

Ever considered a supra? :) haha

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Yeh nah not that keen on Supra's, great engine but not that keen on the styling. GTR's I dunno if thats what I want, 4 doors is great in the Lancer, outstanding brakes from the factory and from what I have read/heard they respond very well to minor mods (zorst, pod, bit of boost) I'm not really looking for outright insane grunt, I have that with the DR and it's like a car with ADD which is very hard to actually use on a regular basis. The only GTR I would get is a 32, that's just a personal preference, but finding an unmolested one with low k's and that hasn't been hammered with a decent price tag on top is getting rather difficult, whereas I can pick up an EVO VII with 7000 k's for around the 35 grand mark. Bang for buck is what I'm after, and I think with an EVO I'll get it. Just gotta convince the better half yet :P

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My mate just bought a red TME, very awesome, but the stickers are a bit much IMHO. And then my friends brother has a standard VI, also very awesome. Puts out 300hp @ all the wheels, and pulls like there's no tomorrow. I'm tempted by them, but I think my next car will have to be a GTR.

i think your mate bought my brother's TME...

sold it way too cheap and thought the whole boost actuator was gone and ended up to only be a hose...

anyway, have driven the car... clutch is not the easiest to get used to but after a while the car is awesome, handles way too good and pulls too hard...

after AutoSalon (i'll be advertising the car at the Salon) i'll probably let go of the R34 for an EVO of some sort...

like no tomorrow, EVO > Skyline ANYDAY

EVO > GTR... hhrrmm... something to think about

when i can afford an R34 GTR i'll buy one, until then... the EVO VI TME/VII or VIII is the next car on my list...

and as for the comments about the stickers, i think the red one was the only one FACTORY to have all those stickers, some white, silver and black ones have the stickers but they aren't factory, something unique i guess...

my2c

cheers, Andrew

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My mate just bought a red TME, very awesome, but the stickers are a bit much IMHO.

But its the stickers that seperate them and make them stand out as "something special". :P

Taking the stickers away would be like putting GTR badges on a GTS. Its makes your car look dumb instantly, and ppl assume the same of the driver/owner LOL

Not trying to spark a debate or anything, just my opinion :D

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