Iloveheat

LIterally: I can not take it any more. I never paid attention at these little noisy japanese cars with the exhaust tip as big as a water melon! But the whole world of riding cars doesn't stop at "drag racing", 0-60 or quarter mile! I remember once I was at Roock (Roswell, GA) and the English guy in that store was making fun of our questions about how faster his cars could be after the mods. Who knows of a challenge between a stock 996 tt and a prep Evo on a race track? Who can tell me how that would be? Someone says that the Evo is way better to drive, easier to control in the turns: I think that it can be so, but isn't true that the 996 can put 1 lateral G force in the turns? I still think the 996 handle better than the Evo, and I am saying a non modified 996tt VS a Evo with after market spring and shocks. Who can tell me about his experience?
Thank you guys

mlambert890

The Evolution (US model) is a solid track car that will deliver good lap times even un-modded. It's not as good as the Japanese EVO, of course, but I think they're correcting that with a special Evolution edition for around $32k that will be essentially the same as the Japanese EVO. Well prepared, Im sure the Evolution can be made to rival even a 996TT on the track for substantially less money, but honestly, who cares.

Notice that your friend was forced to drop down to the Evolution. His enthusiasm is understandable given his unfortunate circumstance. I dont think there are many people who can afford the 996TT that would decide to instead buy the Evolution though, and that says alot. Unless you're talking about people with 10 cars who buy one for the heck of it, you don't see a lot of people with $120k budget for a car choosing to buy an Evolution for $28k, spend $15k on mods, and pocket the rest. There's just no reason to do that.

At the end of the day, its a hyped up Lancer with a lot of tech, a lot of school yard appeal, a big 16 year old following, some genuine race heritage in rally, some real performance abilities and a very low price point (and some DAMN ugly looks). All in all, a nice package, but with a $100k budget, I stop reading at "Lancer".

If you want to see an EVO run against Porsches, look into the Best Motoring video series. They are a Japanese publication similar to Top Gear in the UK and have a stable of excellent professional drivers who thrash the hell out of cars on a race track. They frequently run the big Japanese names (NSX, EVO, STi, Skyline) against Euro and sometimes US challengers. Results are always predictably close. If you can get the vids translated and listen to the driver comments, however, you will hear what you'd expect. They have drivers who simply prefer a car like the Porsche (NSX too) for *subjective* reasons. Sometimes the experience of the car is just better than all the numbers would imply.

RSRRacer

Evos, WRXs, Supras, RX-7s - when it comes to on track performance, most of them are called one thing - chicanes.

Agro1

Who cares about 0-60 or 1/4 mile - a Porsche isn't built for either...Plus, the ricers may be fast, but they're still made in Japan. Yeah they are fun and a great value, but the quality, fit and finish does not compare to a Porsche. Plus, I seriously doubt that ANY Japanese sports car that is driven hard will last much more than 50k miles before needing serious/costly work.

MBailey

I had a short drag race with a WRX STI. He pretty much stayed with me through first gear. When the turbos came up in second it looked like someone had tied an anchor to his axle. I shot out several car lengths ahead. I had to shut it down after second gear due to the conditions but he had already given up.

mlambert890

Well, I wouldnt go that far. I would dare say that the Supra and NSX, in particular, are far more reliable and far less tempermental than certainly the 996! (ahem... RMS... ahem)

Take a look at any Supra or NSX owners group and you will see many, many cars with nearly 200k miles. The NSX community is very small, but many owners do track their cars and run them hard and the cars hold up very, very well.

Arguments about "soul" and "feel" and "heritage" work... Arguments about reliability and build quality against Japan arent going to cut it...

1AS

The Evo is alot of fun to drive. Because of its sharp turn-in and easy driftability, it's nearly as enjoyable as my Elise 190R. In terms of power, it felt like my previous 1990C4, but without the understeer. I seriously considered one as a winter car, but can't get past the looks. If you could drive without seeing the exterior, you could beliee it's a Porsche (Iknow the interior looks cheap - I guess you'd need a blindfold for that too)

sl951

Plus, I seriously doubt that ANY Japanese sports car that is driven hard will last much more than 50k miles before needing serious/costly work.

Yes I agree with mlambert.. I think it's more the other way around. Porsche maintance is much more costly and tempermental. I'm refering to general stuff fuilds, adjustment etc... no major mech. failures. With one exection, the EVO 8. I've read too many mechical failures... Read the Open Track Racing...


In terms of power.. nothing compares to cubic inches.

The EVO is 2.0 liters turbo.
The Sti is 2.5 liter turbo (like the 944 turbo).
996 - umm 3.6 liters turbo.
.

MBailey

Except when you stick it to a certain 7 liter v-10 with your 3.6L TT!

Iloveheat

I have had my 996 tt for 2.5 years and so far (knoking on wood) I did not need any special attention in the service shop. And the car is still running incredibly well. I think without a doubt that the 996 tt is THE real supercar that can be driven EVERY DAY in style, confort, relative not much noise, without going to the shop every month for something, the service is relatively cheap (not like the $10k I heard about for a Ferrari that you can drive only 5,000 mile per year otherwise it loses value - I was told in a Ferrari dealer). And I drive it hard every day, I have 21000 miles and I hope to turn as close as possible to the 36000 at the end of the leasing. On the other hand, when I ride on the Evo: my God! People turn their head not for the look, but for the noise from the pipe, from shifting, form the horse style noise coming out of the valve of the turbo and God knows what else....
Paul

Iloveheat

There is nothing to do about it: I am sorry for the crowd of Japs (the cars) lovers, but it has been proven: the 996 tt is WAY superior than a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 with (claimed) 400 HP at the wheel(!). In a short with many turns track the 996tt, whose driver was driving in a track for the first time, walked all over the other car that was (by his owner and driver) expected to be simply faster and handle better(!). 996TT has WAY better breaks, WAY greater accelleration, WAY superior handeling: it was what it is, a great high performance car that doesn't have smoking breaks after few laps, but eats the track like an animal!! I think I must sound silly just by waisting your and my time in writing this, but I think that that lesson was deserved: Porsche owners have class, know to win with class and to lose with dignity, something unknown to other people. Forgive me.
P.S. I can upload video clips on request.

David in LA

While I am not Japanese, I nevertheless find the term "Japs" to be racially offensive

C2 Turbo

So you think a non-porsche owner has no class

Iloveheat

I said something unknown to other people: some don't know what class is. Please understand: I am in a particular situation that made me react in a wrong way: I apologize. As usual there are good apple and bad apple.

AeroGT3RedWing

Are we talking about superiority on the track? Because i here a lot of nagging about japanese cars being unattractive and not having classy interiors and status symbol factor. Do these things decrease lap times? Does an aesthetically pleasing porsche make it faster? I think not. And as far as reliability. I don't see any major failures like i see very frequently with porsches. The NSX? cheaper to maintain and reliable beyond all belief. What about porsche? RMS . . . PCCB . . . maintenance costs. I have driven the EVO and a TT, on the track.
"996TT has WAY better breaks"
-iloveheat
Clearly you haven't driven the EVO. The brake feel and stopping power are superior to any road car i have EVER driven. The numbers as far as breaking goes are clearly in favor of the EVO in every category against porsche steel brakes. Let's not even get started on PCCB.
And the handling. The turbo is not as easy to drive. Its more edgy and you really are driving on a knife edge when you compare it to the EVO. The EVO is much more balanced and doesn't have the pickyness of a 911. Its almost like an M3. The brake feel and steering are superb. Yes the car is hideous in comparison to a turbo, and yes the inside is about 1/10th as eloquent as that of the 911, but these are irrelevant in the debate about TRACK PERFORMANCE. the turbo is a GT, the EVO is a focused sports car. The turbo is made for an entirely different market, whereas the EVO is targeted towards enthusiasts. For the money, the EVO is an outstanding value and much, MUCH moreso than the turbo. With a driver who equally understands the handling and driving manners of each car, the EVO can put out similar performance for a fraction of the cost. Just becuase its not an overpriced german car doesn't make it a bad performer.