A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Anyone owned or driven an Evo (7 or later)?
Starting to get rather interested in the insane performance on the FQ340 and the new 360.
Brochure on the way and no doubt a test drive soon...
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Why stop at that? Why not an FQ400?
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I drove these on a track. Evo wasn't a patch on the STI tbh, although an FQ might be a different story....
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FQ400 sounds almost undriveble - All power delivered at 5000rpm and in one big bang.
The two I like seem more useable.
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I've only driven a tweaked Evo 5, lovely cars, fast as you like but you spend all your time on the brake peddle on "normal roads".
Just not great every day cars imo.
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FQ400's are generally regarded as more trouble than they're worth, cost far more to buy, cost far more to run (quiet frankly insane servicing costs). Less drivable.
Everyone I know who's driven / owned any sort of late Evo raved about it, but I know a lot of people who sell them after a year or so because of the high running costs.
I'm not blathering, I work in the industry.
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Evo 8 FQ330 - very quick and a lot of fun, but not a patch on a mk2.
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Didn't Clarkson test a 400 on Top Gear? If he let the revs drop down he had to wait twenty minutes for the turbo to kick in again
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Only tried older ones (3/4/5) and thought they where crap to be honest. Nearly sold G-LET for one... then test drove them.
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Didn't Clarkson test a 400 on Top Gear? If he let the revs drop down he had to wait twenty minutes for the turbo to kick in again
yeah, he raced a 1.6 stilo estate in 5th from 30mph. he basically never caught the stilo up as he ran out of runway
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Didn't Clarkson test a 400 on Top Gear? If he let the revs drop down he had to wait twenty minutes for the turbo to kick in again
yeah, he raced a 1.6 stilo estate in 5th from 30mph. he basically never caught the stilo up as he ran out of runway
Thats the one
Can't find that clip but found
A:
my mate has an evo 7 its tuned to 381 hp (de-cat,full exhaust and a custom re-map) its a pretty quick car, and for a daily drive it amazing. its not as quick as his old 400hp scooby and the brakes on the evo are pants compared to the scooby too, the scooby had just discs and pads but the evo has 4 or 6 pots (cant remember) discs that ae over 340mm and some crazy pads and there still pants. once they get hot they just make noise no matter what discs and pads hes running.
also roubd the twisty bits the scooby was way quicker but the scooby was far from standard in the suspension department the evo isnt standard either.
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my mate has an evo 7 its tuned to 381 hp (de-cat,full exhaust and a custom re-map) its a pretty quick car, and for a daily drive it amazing. its not as quick as his old 400hp scooby and the brakes on the evo are pants compared to the scooby too, the scooby had just discs and pads but the evo has 4 or 6 pots (cant remember) discs that ae over 340mm and some crazy pads and there still pants. once they get hot they just make noise no matter what discs and pads hes running.
also roubd the twisty bits the scooby was way quicker but the scooby was far from standard in the suspension department the evo isnt standard either.
scoobies are chav
evos are a proper rally driving mans car
A:
Anyone owned or driven an Evo (7 or later)?
Starting to get rather interested in the insane performance on the FQ340 and the new 360.
Brochure on the way and no doubt a test drive soon...
On my second Evo 8 now, (260 currently, FQ300 previously) and to be honest the only thing I'm tempted to replace it with is an Evo 9 !
I use mine every day, clocking up 27k miles a year in the process. Sure, you'll find it slightly more uncomfortable, noisy and generally unrefined compared to your previous R32, but in its place you'll discover lightning fast acceleration and razor sharp handling. The brakes are the same Brembo calipers found on the Impreza, but feel slightly more wooden as standard, although a change to Ferodo pads sorts that out. Some people prefer the Scoob for everyday use, being a bit more relaxed, but after a 24 hour test drive in an Impreza, I only needed 20 minutes in the Evo to know which felt the better drivers car.
Servicing on the Evo is every 4.5k or 6 months, which is half the intervals of most other stuff, and averages around the £200 mark (or a bit more if you live at the expensive end of the country!) However you do get an unlimited mileage warranty for that, rather than 60k as with Subaru. Fuel consumption on everyday use (motorways and A roads getting to work, back roads to escape from it ) was about 24mpg from the FQ, slightly less with the 260 (the 8 and 9 FQ's have a six speed box allowing for more relaxed cruising)
If you're buying new, the 340 or 360 are the ones to go for, with the extra power as standard. If you go second hand and fancy tinkering, a reliable 380-400bhp (with better driveability than Mitsi's own FQ400) can be had from the lower spec. models for around the £2k mark with an exhaust, filter, fuel pump and ECU remap. Just the remap for less than £600 will get 330-340bhp. As with evolution of anything, later versions are the ones to go for, with the 8 MR and 9 versions being considered the best with more forgiving Bilstein suspension, lighter weight and even more responsive engines. Saying that, I don't think you'll be dissapointed with a test drive of any of them.
Loads of information on the MLR as well ().
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Way too many scoobies on the road imo.
Still wouldnt say no to one no matter how chav it is
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Scaffolder - You're a star!
Interesting reading. Starting to need something quick again and it may as well be properly quick...
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yep i agree scoobies are chav, but then theres the serious ones that people start to play with.
Im only going off what a mate was saying, hes owned both, he said that if the evo's brakes was as good as the scoobys then he'd be well happy. The scooby was far from standard,gems management, bigger turbo,RA gearbox with diff control, P1 wheels + brakes loads of other bits and it was also still 4/5 grand cheeper than the evo. But the evo is a lot newer.
Also Scaffolder , you say unlimited mileage warrenty, be careful i know someone with an evo 7 that shot number 4 rod and it took the transfer box with it, they didnt cover that.
Hes selling it now tho as his Mr2 turbo is nearly ready.......... all 650hp of it
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regardless of whether scoobies are chav or not, anyone who`s driven one in anger will tell you how insanely stupid they are when it comes to the twisties...
and then if you have a mate who really does drive it like he`s stolen it you`re in for a treat...
theres a few bends round my way that i know well, but in my mates scooby i was going round them at least ten mph quicker than in my scirocco, plus theres the feeling of confidence when driving them. they are rediculously competent on the road, and easily the best bumpy road vehicle when it comes to really attacking your own private test track, ahem..
but i still love my VAG, and the ur quattro rules!
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yep i agree scoobies are chav, but then theres the serious ones that people start to play with.
Im only going off what a mate was saying, hes owned both, he said that if the evo's brakes was as good as the scoobys then he'd be well happy. The scooby was far from standard,gems management, bigger turbo,RA gearbox with diff control, P1 wheels + brakes loads of other bits and it was also still 4/5 grand cheeper than the evo. But the evo is a lot newer.
Also Scaffolder , you say unlimited mileage warrenty, be careful i know someone with an evo 7 that shot number 4 rod and it took the transfer box with it, they didnt cover that.
Hes selling it now tho as his Mr2 turbo is nearly ready.......... all 650hp of it
650bhp in an MR2 !?! Obviously enjoys life on the wild side - the handling was treacherous enough in non turbo form!
Not sure what the problem with the warranty claim was, as it sounds like a mechanical failure and should have been covered, unless it was an import or the car had been modified in any way which, like every other manufacturer, voids the warranty. Just to clarify, the Evo's UK warranty is 3 years unlimited mileage (3 years 60k miles on the Impreza), and on the occassions I needed it with the FQ, it was accepted and sorted no problem without question, even though the repairs wouldn't have been cheap.
Apart from a change of pad material needed to bring the brakes up to scratch (Ferodo pads also being a damn sight cheaper than o/e Mitsi / Brembo stuff), the main weak points of the Evo are brake discs warping from hard use, and the clutch tends to go West quite early if drag race style starts are your thing.
The choice between Impreza and Evo will come down to minor perceived preferences like styling, comfort, etc. I was all set to buy an Impreza WRX with PPP originally, but the little differences of the Evo suited my driving style and usage better (although the planned new 260 turned into a used FQ300, before I traded it in after a year for the current 260). The Evo costs slightly more up front, and to service, but I felt it was worth it.
For any drivers of recent VW's, the interiors of the Jap cars will be the biggest shock - I found the Impreza decidely low rent, and it seems to become shabby very quickly judging by the used cars I've looked at. Having said that, the Evo isn't vastly better - despite the design being 10 years younger, it's about the equivalent of the mk. 3 Golf in terms of design and quality. The hard ride and noise intrusion will also seriously bug some people.
Stuck at 70 on a motorway, I sometimes wonder why I don't get myself a Golf GTI or similar and save myself some money, and get more quality and refinement into the bargain. However, it only takes a diversion onto quieter, twistier roads to understand why I chose the Evo
A:
Didn't Clarkson test a 400 on Top Gear? If he let the revs drop down he had to wait twenty minutes for the turbo to kick in again
yeah, he raced a 1.6 stilo estate in 5th from 30mph. he basically never caught the stilo up as he ran out of runway
To be fair, that was a rubbish test, you would just change down a few gears.
My brother gets an Evo 7 into his garage quite regulary, never to fix anything, always to fit some more performance parts. However, there are a few spots of rust developing around the rear arches and sills. I'm not sure if this is because it's an import (it was waxoyled when it came over) or just an isolated case.
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yeah, he raced a 1.6 stilo estate in 5th from 30mph. he basically never caught the stilo up as he ran out of runway
To be fair, that was a rubbish test, you would just change down a few gears.
I think Clarkson knew that, he was just showing how much turbo lag there is
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Scaffolder > yea, mr2 + handling dont go hand in hand hes building it for sprinting minley but its going to be a full time road car, carbon doors, boot, bonnet, T bar. Hes sort of lost the plot abit with it but hes a massive fan of mr2's.
TBH i dont know what pads hes running but hes tryed a few different ones that people lancer forum have said to use but no good really. hes warped a set of discs and as you also said about clutches hes had some fun launching it but it stinks for days afterwards.
The other evo7 was slightly tuned by rallyart and was bought new through them.
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i work for mitsi if your goin to get an evo dont get a 400 (very badly built engine wise) what a lot of people do is get the 260 and tune it themselves which meens a good 400 bhp maybee more and if done right less turbo lag and more tourqe, one of the easiest engines ive seen to tune
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I went to a RR day at WRC last year and they had an FQ300 that they had toyed with...the bloke there said they had taken all the crap off that mitsubishi put on and replaced it with some proper bits. They put it on the rollers and it produced just under 400bhp.
Then they put an Impreza on which had nearly 100bhp more than that
A:
that clarkson lag test was such crap, i'm sure the evo has way longer gearing etc than the shopping hatch he raced, and who drives like that. People who moan about lag don't drive turbo cars often enough