Big Will_

That is a lovely car indeed - Almost tempting to break the Focus project and just go buy that

Jim Green

Well............ Never thought I'd do it, but now I'm with the "Dark Side".

Picked up my Evo 7 RSII XT330 (Re-Mapped and Lightly Modified to 380bhp) on a 53 Plate, with 28,000 miles from new in Cool Silver. All the right mods in the engine department, and with Tien Coil Over Adjustables. Not quite as fast in a straight line as the TVR & Cosworth, but on the twisty bits............Ohhhhhhhhhhh it's hard to think of anything that could corner like these do. Admittedly it's my first 4 x 4 car so I don't have anything to compare it with, but god they do handle.

dreamer

Where's the pics?HaHa-Although any of your cars I've seen are show standard so I'd imagine you'll wait till its sparkling

Evo's do stick to the road hope it serves you well

leecavturbo

welcome to the fold Jim
which cosworth was quicker jim? i'd wager the evo is quicker to the qtr

Jim Green

Cosworth : My old Cossie Sapphire - 430bhp (Proven many times).



New Evo...............

CalibreDan

Nicely done, exactly the same pisition I'm in at the moment. Going to be looking to get something in a few months but can't decide between the two

pani_k

iTrader: (1)

Wow an RS version too! These the ones with minimal comforts but go like fuck and with a trick diff and transmission?

Jim Green

Yep............ The RS certainly is the one for the track addict/motorsport enthusiast.

Started off looking at EVO 8's, but always had a soft spot for the 7, and when this one came up for sale with very low mileage and modifed from new by Extreme (Originally "Ralliart"), to 380bhp with a complete spec sheet and certificate. I took the plunge. This one is actually the RS II, so it actually has A/C and leccy windows. But still very rare.

Mike1

Looks very clean Jim ( like all your cars! )

Sounds like you're enjoying it already too!

MikeR

Very nice Jim, enjoy

Mike

maxest

iTrader: (1)

No its an RS11 so it still has the ayc etc,, jim i had exactly the same car,, 53 plate is one of the latest 7's you can get,, mine had the XT330 conversion, but then it was remapped by the dentist,,, mine had 14k on when i bought it,, should never of sold it!

Here's a pic..


And my current evo 5,, this has only done v.low miles..

bud-weis

I still cant get used to the looks of any EVO past the 6
but they are all fantastic cars!

My Tommi was brilliant fun, the interiors were shit on the 6 and before though IMO, greatly improved on the 7>

Steven_RW

Hi Jim,

I have owned both cars (well an Evo 6 and an E46) and have driven both on track and road.

I feel that the M3 is the better all rounder car. You can get a great deal on one and it should be reliable no probs.

When buying an M3, make sure and buy a manual and one that is built AFTER they had fixed the shell re-call issue. Mine was a 54 plate and had, had the engine built properly from the factory. Great cars and really liked it. I did of course lightly modify mine but that is up to you. Once I had added ap’s all round and wheels and tyres, it looked good and stopped well. The exhaust made it sound amazing (Supersprint lightweight racing back box with no resonator cross pipe, still on standard cats). As for suspension, I would hesitate before modifying that too much but would 100% recommend new CSL rear trailing arm bushes and a bush limiting kit. Doesn’t cost much at all and REALLY helps increase rear stability with these cars.

The evo is great but IMO the M3 is atleast as quick on the ring and a far more ‘all round ever day package’ than the evo. The evo is amazing for point to point country road bashing though, so depends what u want to do with it. IMO I wouldn’t see a really good late plate M3 as a step backwards from an E39 M5, they are just different cars.

As for the straightline acceleration that you will supposedly miss, the e46 is not ‘that’ much slower, having dragged against quite a few of them on the ring.

Cheers and good luck.

RW

Mike1

Hi RW

Is that similar to the old Sapphire rear axle tightening kits i.e. placing the bushes under compression between little metal plates to stop sideways motion?

Jim Green

MAXEST : Certainly do handle well ! ! !

And a set of rods will mean I can break the 400bhp barrier and back into my old Cossie power band.

Never ............. Thought I would say this, but I'm enjoying my first ever Jap Car. And they have a good enthusiast following just like the Cosworth, which I was missing with the M5 & TVR.

Steven_RW

Hi Mike,

Yes, it is two big washers that stop the bush from being able to move sideways under load.

I see that my reply to Jim Green was too slow and he has already picked up an evo

One thing I will see to our Rainbird, the 370bhp evo won't outlap the M3 on the ring. Don't know why but it just doesn't seem to manage!

Cheers

leecavturbo

evo's don't run 4xxbhp its either under or 500bhp+ nothing in between

turbo_3dr_tommy

Well done on your purchase Jim the RSII is a lovely car now get the engine forged lol

oh and welcome the darkside mate

Jim Green

I'm sure a little fettling and a weekends work will see a set of arrow rods in there......... Sooooooooooo much cheaper to mod than my Cossie was.

Have to see if it lives up to the Cossie though........ Not an easy task.

leecavturbo

whack a 205 on after the rods and 500bhp voila

Stu @ M Developments

iTrader: (12)

Exceptional cars.

rstoughy

iTrader: (5)

That is a lovely looking motor

Mine was a VII FQ300 RSII and i loved every minute of ownership.

Considered another after the insurance payout but found a 22B so had to own one of those for a while.

Get it on track now and have a blast

jamieRST

IMO EVOS lost my attention after the 6 when they all became strange looking.

Mr Brannen

Why?am I missing something here, the M3 he is gonna buy is newer, a million times better looking, fuck those old M5`s are ugly IMO, and he will have SMG II no doubt in the M3.

Jim Green

Well, I made the decision to go for the EVO as to me it was a modern cossie. And the enthusiast following is much the same as the RS Scene. Enthusiastic owners who love doing track days, club meets, trips into Europe etc etc etc.

Having been member of the M Power Fraternity, I found the club scene very lacking. Great Cars, poor club scene.

Ironic how much it sounds like a cosworth, same exhaust note, same engine note and so easy to tune, compared to the limited tuning (Financially speaking) of the M3.

With the EVO I can have 500bhp for about 3k. (Turbo, Rods, Injectors, Mapping Session). The M3 would cost me a bomb to get 500bhp.

Both great cars, but one is more aka cosworth than the other.

bud-weis

To be fair mate, if you look at one properly for a long time, they are actually quite similar in the style department in certain areas, its just the M5 is less lairy looking, obviously for a different kind of audience.

that said, i do prefer the looks of the M3 by quite some way...i have never driven one though unfortunately.

Mr Brannen

I just cant take them seriously as a sports car due to their enormous size,theyre like a barge.and lairy tends to be better in sports cars,hence the Escos`s popularity.
Would love another hard top E46 SMG , brilliant cars, totally spoilt my experience of having one by buying a fucking black one, hated all the dust on it so sold it for that reason alone.

bud-weis

Lol black would be my first choice i reckon, i love black cars!

Have you driven an M5? they dont feel at all like a barge when pushed, and in standard form is much better than an Escos IMO.With sport mode on and DSC off they are SO much fun to drive and so controllable.

But if you're not a fan then thats cool, each to their own

Mr Brannen

Yeah fair play Martin,each to their own i suppose,

Asturias

M5 is 1000 times better than an escos as a sports car!

Jim Green

Agreed................. I had an M5 for 18 months, and they're waaaaaaaaaaaaay under estimated. I just missed that Turbo Punch that you get from a turbo'd car.

TVR was fantastic, but potentially VERY expensive if something went wrong. I was lucky and had a years worth of reliablity from mine, but still wouldn't have felt confident taking it into Europe on a long blast. M5 I would have taken around the world with no worries at all.

EVO will be going into Europe before the end of the summer.

S1rst

Id go for the M3. Any evo past a 6 doesnt appeal to me at all. Also, your M3 will be worth a few grand more than the evo in a year or two.

cos358

nice decision u gotta move with the times, i personally would have gone 4 the e46 m3 rear wheel drive, reliable everyday abuser, loads of fun, trackday pleaser, fully loaded weapon! i know what ur sayin about the turbo feel, what i would have done with the money u spent was buy a 3door cossie for fun and a 4x4 cossie for the track! or just buy a muscle car and just look at it every day..

M K

iTrader: (9)

M3 for me ive decided to sell mine tho through lack of use