Quote:
Originally Posted by Deezler
RH77, why did the Evo change your outlook on driving? I was dead set on getting one to replace my DSM, and pined over them for a couple years, waiting for the price of a used one to get down to where I could afford it. By the time I almost could, I lost some of my need for speed and chose efficiency instead. Getting 20 mpg around town just kept me away.... sigh. What could have been.
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It's really the story of how I got into EcoDriving, oddly enough.
I really enjoyed that car, but here's the deal...
I bought it new and it was one of the first NA market Evos, which had lots of problems. The transaxle was mis-aligned, which caused grinding of shifts at high RPMs, in first to second. It was in the shop a LOT. They had to have a technician from Mitsu Japan come in to attempt to repair it. It was never really fixed properly (and honestly showed how poorly their dealers treated owners). I replaced the rubber clutch line with a braided steel hose, which helped a bit, but it never shifted right.
In cold weather starts, I had to sit in the vehicle with the clutch depressed until the transmission warmed-up (at least 5 cold minutes), or it would stall from the thickness of the fluid while in Neutral. Then getting it to shift even after 5-minutes was a chore. it also had random CELs from a glitch in the A/F ratio at moderate boost. The car was a lemon from the get-go.
Ah, but what fun to drive every day! It truly was a budget supercar. In the Winter, I put on some snow treads and went everywhere a 4x4 could (with much more stability). People who knew what it was, knew not not to race
The pull in second gear at 18psi was phenomenal. Which brings me to more consequences...
Speeding tickets (a few of them). Add that to the 12-18 MPG of Premium fuel and it was expensive. Full throttle launches would burn-out the clutch early, which is another big cost. Insurance was through the roof. I finally had enough of it when the warranty ran out, so I dumped it on a used TL and started saving money.
Since my Wife was driving loads of miles every day, I we essentially switched cars: TL for Integra, and I had a revelation: it's fun to drive fast once in a while, but for the rest of the time, how can I really save on fuel -- might as well, right? Helps the environment, budget -- everybody wins. So about 3-4 years ago, I did some digging around the 'Net, joined some forums, met some of the great people here today, and the rest is history.
I still participate as a Medical volunteer in the
National Rally Championship and will be the first to admit that sometimes acceleration and twisty roads can be fun once in a while...
RH77