Sport Compact Car magazine

follow up the car did better then i thought it would they pulled off 5th place next contestant was 100pt ahead im sure if the adjustable cam gear didn't slip and if he would have brought some r-comp tires he could have closed the gap and been in 3rd or 4th place. either way it did beter then i thought it would. the winner was an evo x 10pts ahead of the next contender the 350 z that i thought would have pulled off the win.

The mazda was within tenths of a second of an evo VIII in the road corse. another mean feat. the cam ended up only affecting two of the test 1/4 mile and 20-100 and the tires would have helped out on the skidpad and the braking and road corse.

Just imagine if the Evo X and Z had r-compound too.
 
Find me an MS3 making that kind of power. It all becomes the same at that level. As if it would make any difference what the badge said. FF still fails.

I don't think anyone rational and not a raving fanboy would disagree with you. I just found the statement amusing since there wasn't even an MS3 in the competition. It would be like a showdown between a cabbage and orange with the cabbage emerging the winner, then someone shouting, "see, told ya the cantelope sucked!" because they both happen to be fruit. lawl.
 
Whats this? $24k car vs $32k car? (braindead

Edit: AND IMO the MS3's interior is WAAAYY better...
 
Whats this? $24k car vs $32k car? (braindead

Edit: AND IMO the MS3's interior is WAAAYY better...

Power to weight is about the same as well (approx, 12lbs per hp vs. 12lbs per hp ). EVO will obviously launch better due to AWD if you like stop light racing and don't mind reeking havoc on your drive train but in real world passing maneuvers the speed3 is just as quick if not faster than an EVO X. However, if you spend most of your life at the race track or in a snowy climate the EVO X would be fantastic but most of us don’t and can’t justify spending the extra 10k, higher maintenance cost, insurance, etc for an EVO. The only EVO I've driven is the 9 and it's a lot quicker than the 10, my car with just a cobb sri is dead even with the 9 from a rolling start in second and beyond.
 
Last edited:
Just imagine if the Evo X and Z had r-compound too.

all the other cars were on r-comp tires the ms3 showed up in street tires for some reason. but i cant say much i cant just go out and buy some r-comps on a whim esspecialy if they are going to be abused in just one weekend.
 
Power to weight is about the same as well (approx, 12lbs per hp vs. 12lbs per hp ). EVO will obviously launch better due to AWD if you like stop light racing and don't mind reeking havoc on your drive train but in real world passing maneuvers the speed3 is just as quick if not faster than an EVO X. However, if you spend most of your life at the race track or in a snowy climate the EVO X would be fantastic but most of us dont and cant justify spending the extra 10k, higher maintenance cost, insurance, etc for an EVO. The only EVO I've driven is the 9 and it's a lot quicker than the 10, my car with just a cobb sri is dead even with the 9 from a rolling start in second and beyond.

Who compares cars stock to stock? Evo X's are making 400whp with bolt-ons. Agency and AMS are both now in the 500's. Stock motor. The 4G63 can't even compare to the 4B11T. There is absolutely no comparison between the MS3 and Evo X. How could you compare the MS3 to a car where a simple EcuTek tune puts you into near flat 12's? One is a dominate force on the track, the other is a fun street/sports car.
 
I don't think anyone rational and not a raving fanboy would disagree with you. I just found the statement amusing since there wasn't even an MS3 in the competition. It would be like a showdown between a cabbage and orange with the cabbage emerging the winner, then someone shouting, "see, told ya the cantelope sucked!" because they both happen to be fruit. lawl.

While humorous, that's not even close to an appropriate analogy. It's a Mazda 3. Sorry, that Mazda 3 that was in the USCC is more engineered than any MS3 you are likely to ever come across, ever. Motec on a Can Bus system? Come on now. They are the same platform, and sans a motor/trans, the same car. You make it seem like a MS3 could roll in on bolt-ons with a set of tires and level the playing field. Sure we can get into semantics about suspension and sway-bars, but the MS3 can't even out-handle the new Cobalt SS.
 
Last edited:
all the other cars were on r-comp tires the ms3 showed up in street tires for some reason. but i cant say much i cant just go out and buy some r-comps on a whim esspecialy if they are going to be abused in just one weekend.

You're correct. For whatever reason I had been thinking of slicks. They all run on r-compounds. For some reason the Mazda ran on yoko advan neova's.
 
Lets not confuse the situation though, I like the MS3, at one time I considered getting one. But there is far too much "What a waste of money when I get this for half the price and its faster" nonsense.
 
While humorous, that's not even close to an appropriate analogy. It's a Mazda 3. Sorry, that Mazda 3 that was in the USCC is more engineered than any MS3 you are likely to ever come across, ever. Motec on a Can Bus system? Come on now. They are the same platform, and sans a motor/trans, the same car. You make it seem like a MS3 could roll in on bolt-ons with a set of tires and level the playing field. Sure we can get into semantics about suspension and sway-bars, but the MS3 can't even out-handle the new Cobalt SS.

Niether does the EVO and it's a whopping 10k + more!
 
While humorous, that's not even close to an appropriate analogy. It's a Mazda 3. Sorry, that Mazda 3 that was in the USCC is more engineered than any MS3 you are likely to ever come across, ever. Motec on a Can Bus system? Come on now. They are the same platform, and sans a motor/trans, the same car. You make it seem like a MS3 could roll in on bolt-ons with a set of tires and level the playing field. Sure we can get into semantics about suspension and sway-bars, but the MS3 can't even out-handle the new Cobalt SS.
I don't think anyone rational and not a raving fanboy would disagree with you.
You're wasting your posts on me because you're preaching the choir. Your efforts are better left for the OMGMS3OWNZALL nutswingers. I've held the Evo in high regard as a track machine even before most people ever heard of the Lancer Evolution in this country. Had that been a higher priority for me when I was car shopping this past summer, I would've got one (the GSR trim. I know the MR tranny shifts faster than I could ever hope to do myself, but I'm old school like that). But my main criteria was first and foremost a family and stuff hauler, which is why I first considered a Fit, regular Mazda3 and even a mini-minivan like the Mazda5. This isn't my track car (I'll have another vehicle dedicated for that), but I wanted a little more oomph and not spend a lot getting it. That's why I got the MS3.
One is a dominate force on the track, the other is a fun street/sports car.
Couldn't have summarized it better myself.
 
Niether does the EVO and it's a whopping 10k + more!
+1. The Cobalt weighs a lot less for one thing and who ever said Chevy doesn't know how to tune a suspension when they want to? The Cobalt outhandles a lot of cars.

Also, the MS3 was on OLD tires to boot.
 
Niether does the EVO and it's a whopping 10k + more!

Actually, no. We're not even going to get into why the Evo X MR is a piece of s***. If you'd like to see if you can beat a GSR lap-time up at limerock, I openly invite you to come up.
 
Actually, no. We're not even going to get into why the Evo X MR is a piece of s***. If you'd like to see if you can beat a GSR lap-time up at limerock, I openly invite you to come up.

what are you smoking man? Ask and previous evo tuner and ask them if they like the new evo. LOL

The new evo X Will never handle as much power as the previous one.
 
So much for all that MS3 is better than the Evo X bs. 4B11T > MZR everyday of the week.

True story.

The 3 held it's own in the USCC this year, but wasn't even in the same league as the Evo X. The best part? The Evo X had a bone stock motor with a bolt-on turbo upgrade and a tune.

So to all the guys who put me on blast for choosing an Evo X over a Speed 3 for my current car, this is exactly why. It just has more potential.
 

New Threads and Articles

Back