[Guest]

Had a drive in Ralliart's 7Xtreme S last week - What a car! I have previously driven the 7Xtreme and was totally impressed with the car but the S is a whole different beast altogether. It is faster (lots), it handles better (lots), the brakes are better (lots) and I don't know why but the steering felt more precise. I drove a road known well to me and the car was almost 20mph quicker between corners than my 6 which is astounding. I hear a lot of people on the forum talk about how awfull AYC, ABS and other GSR electronic aids are, and up until driving this car I did not agree. Now I do - You can drive the S into and through corners on the brakes, on the throttle or if you're old fashioned, with the steering wheel - the choice is yours. I am not saying GSR's are now ****, I am saying RS derived cars are more of a drivers car as the Electronics don't get in the way - It turns in superb, it holds the most amazing mid corner lines and when it breaks traction is it soooo forgiving. At one point my mobile phone rang as I was going sideways around a roundabout for the umteenth time, I answered it and had a very interesting discussion with one hand on the wheel without interupting my 4 (wheel drift) play (private test track of course) . It is the best car I have ever driven by a long way and I recommend you get a test drive (if you get a chance). Of course it was designed for serious and single minded track day use and is targetting a slightly different customer base than the 7Xtreme which is an every day car and this is probably why they are only going to build 10 examples. The Group A Dump Valve and Anti-Lag are a hoot too and brought a big smile to my face and every person I passed by. The only downsides in my opinion are the colour (Evo 7 best colours are black and silver, in that order), The stripped out interior and the fact that it was doing around 12 - 14mpg on the day. Still, Petrol is still (just) cheaper than milk!
I WANT ONE - And so will you if you get a chance to drive it!
My 6 felt almost primative when I got back in it which was a BIG surprise and to re-establish my 6 as the superior machine (you know, that 6 versus 7 thing) I had to try and match the 7Extreme S times set earlier in the day - No Chance.
Has anyone else driven it or got one on order yet??

 

[Guest]

Sounds good - essentially, the spec is that of the RS450. Be interesting to compare it to that, or to mine (which is a home grown).

 

[Guest]

SuperL

Got me really thinking. Don't get me wrong, I am delighted with my 7 Extreme. As the running in progresses and i use a little more rpm, the smile gets bigger. I cannot get over how much more civilised it is to live with than I expected.

So, do you think that the Extreme S is only really a track day car or could it be lived with as every day transport. Based on driving the S, what mods would you do on a 7 Extreme........other than remove the electronic aids!!! I know that i could modify my engine to be the same as the S, but how would it be for daily use.

Sorry for the loads of questions. I hope to go for a drive in the S when I go for my first service but I NEED TO KNOW NOW

 

[Guest]

12 - 14 mpg ? .Sounds to me as though you weren't pushing hard enough,most people report 6-7 mpg when thrashing their evo's round the track.Glad to hear you enjoyed it though.

 

[Guest]

Simon - Don't even think of taking out the gizmos! Better to swap the car! I think ABS and AYC is a good compromise on a road car, for safety etc.

My EVO would be a nightmare to use everyday - good fun though!

 

[Guest]

Wasn't serious about stripping out the stuff but a strange thing happens when you own an Evo. No sooner than you get the car you want to make it faster. Cannot understand it. Maybe there is somnething hypnotic built into the dash

 

[Guest]

I want one!!!!!

Steve.

 

[Guest]

Simon - tell me about it mate!

Originally, I bought the EVO as a filler - whilst I waited for my M5 (six month wait). Didn't test drive it - just ordered it from Ralliart, complete with Stage 1 (now known to be a waste of money, oh well...)! Car arrived, drove it, 3000rpm only, liked it.

When I was taking it to Dudley for its first service, I hit 1200 miles and decided to have my first 7000rpm moment. OH MY GOD! That was it - hooked. THat was last October. By November it had strut braces, bushes, quickshift and harnesses. By April, it had water injection ,bigger intercooler and so on, and so on ,and so on.

Its a habit/curse/obsession/pleasure/money burner - oh hell, I love it!

Having seen my car back on saturday, I know it has been all worth it. Tuning is good fun, but what really makes it special is when the results are awesome.

Long live the EVO and any other car like it that sticks two fingers up to the establishment.

I think the reason why the 7 is taken abit so-so my existing EVO owners is that in the main, they love the UP YOURS styling - and can't understand why Mitsu have toned it down. It is sort of letting them down.

Jezza Clarkson described the EVO 6 as looking like it had crashed into a Halfords shop window, and all the bits had just stuck on to it! Many mates say it looks like a Mk III escort with a big wing! I say it looks like what it is - a no holds barred, in your face, full fat, mega calorie car- and I love it!

Sorry - so excited about getting my car back!!!

 

[Guest]

My evo 7 RS is on order no extreme we don t have that in holland but i can change things afterwards

in my opinion an RS is the way to go if you drive trackdays and go very very sideways on the road.

SuperL could you also change the settings of the ACD to tarmac snow and gravel? how did it respond to it

Is there some kind of list were i can see all the changes done on the 7 RS extreme

regards

andre

 

[Guest]

Evolution VII Extreme Specification

Suspension:
Eibach sports springs
Roll bar bushes – front and amp; rear (group ‘N’)
Suspension strut rubber top mounts (group ‘N’)
Steering rack mounts (group ‘N’)
Revisions to suspension geometry

Brakes:
Front and amp; rear cross drilled brake discs
Aeroquipe brake hoses
Brake master cylinder anti flex kit
Racing brake fluid
Sports ABS (Extreme)
Engine
Ralliart sports ECU
Gems Re-mapable sports ECU (Extreme-S)
Sports camshafts (Extreme-S)
Switchable anti lag (Extreme-S)
Gas flowed and amp; polished cylinder head and amp; manifolds (Extreme-S)
Sports air induction kit
Sports exhaust catalyst
Engine cylinder block modifications
Omega competition forged precision engineered pistons
Arrow competition forged precision engineered conrods
Sports thermostat and amp; Ralliart pressure cap
Engine roll stop mountings (group ‘N’)

Transmission:
25% up rated clutch
Gear change mountings (group ‘N’)
Competition gear ratios (Extreme-S)
AYC (Extreme)
Rear LSD (Extreme-S)
Front helical diff (Extreme-S)
Trim
4 point competition detachable front seat harnesses
Extreme plaque
Extreme decals to boot/rear doors/bonnet
Wheels
18” Ultra light alloy wheels (reduces unsprung weight by 34%)
Tyres 235 x 40 x 18

* Specification over and above that of Ralliart UK Evolution VII which includes Titanium Turbo and Cold Climate Pack as standard equipment.
OPTIONS PRICE
Brakes:
AP 6 pot front callipers with 362mm dia ventilated cross drilled discs 2,914.31
AP 4 pot rear callipers with ventilated cross drilled discs

Exhaust:
Stainless steel free flow super sports exhaust system 789.00

Bodywork :
Platinum silver paintwork to front and amp; rear valance, sills and amp; rear spoiler (Extreme) 549.00
Ralliart red paintwork to front and amp; rear valance, sills and amp; rear spoiler (Extreme-S) 549.00
Stainless steel grill kit 468.00
Chrome front strut brace 75.00
Engine dress kit TBA
Rear strut brace 195.00
Mud flaps TBA

Interior:
Leather interior trim 1,549.00
Air conditioning (Extreme-S) TBA
Alloy pedal kit TBA
Turbo boost gauge TBA
Transmission
Ralliart multi plate competition clutch 1,250.00
Short shift gear change TBA
Engine
Sports intercooler pipe kit TBA
Suspension
Proflex none adjustable fast road dampers and amp; springs TBA
Proflex bump/rebound and amp; height/adjustable dampers and amp; springs TBA
Proflex competition full adjustable remote reservoir dampers and amp; springs TBA

* Option prices exclude VAT

 

[Guest]

Blade,
At last someone on my wavelength! Long Live the EVO 6 !!!!!!!
Thats why it's so awesome.... because it is so in ya face/outta my way/catch me if you can ! pure work of art.

 

[Guest]

Tommi didn't sound too impressed with the WRC 7 when interveiwed at the rally of NZ. Let's wait and see it in action in a couple of weeks at San Remo. Still think there's nothing as evil and intruding as my (or anyone else's 6).

 

[Guest]

simon7extreme....if you want to change something in your car go for the AP braking system. If you intend to use it as a road car don't bother with all the other bits

 

[Guest]

Hi Simon
Blade is right. The S is a hoot but for me would be hard to live with on a day to day basis. It does 80MPH at 4000 revs and feels as if it is constantly on the cams which is a good thing for track days, but not sure about long sustained motorway driving. The 7Xtreme works well as a package and the ONLY thing all Evo owners will say it needs is more power and when you have it, after 6 months, it will start to feel slow again, so you will want more power and so it goes on. The Electronic gizmos on the GSR are there to assist in keeping you on the road should things get out of hand. You can of-course drive around them as they are not idiot proof . The AYC only works whilst the car has traction - Break traction and all things are (almost) equal - it's you and the car v the elements. My point was that the AYC etc is there to help keep traction which is perhaps not ideal for certain track / sideways fun type situations. For my $.02c, If I was you Simon I would leave your car well alone until you have found it's limits and know exactly what is holding you up - This may not be more power by the way, it could be brakes or indeed suspension which can improve lap times and drive-ability significantly without compromising engine reliability or indeed your warranty! You already have one (if not) the best car on the road money (any amount) can buy and my advice would be spend a year getting to know the car and drive it in as many situations as you can before deciding where to spend you hard earned - You might even find that you decide to leave the thing completely as is and that is fine too. When I got my 6 in July 99 the car did something to impress me every single week without fail, after 6 months, the car did something every month to impress me without fail, after a year the car did something occationally to impress me so I spent some money on it and guess what - The car began to impress me every month again, what a great position to be in!
Andre, I did have a play with the settings in both T1RBO (7Xtreme) and J1WRC (7Xtreme S) and I definitely felt a difference. T1RBO felt better set on Gravel you could almost feel the front digging in and would suspect this would be closest to how a 6 feels. J1WRC felt different in that Tarmac suited me just fine (sideways hooligan) and by selecting Gravel it pushed the torque bias towards the front wheels, making it harder to break traction - Suffice to say the feature WORKS on both cars although I suspect the differences to be down to the ACD and Differential choices fitted to the 7Xtreme and the S .
The non ABS brakes were phenominal and I actually left the seat and was suspended in mid air on several occations of hard braking - I fixed this by putting the harnesses on - The first time I have needed such a thing in a road car. I locked the brakes up a couple of times but even when the brakes were locked up the car still knew what I wanted of it and delivered - Not sure about in the wet though!
One thing I have to say (with some reluctance and in fear of retribution!) is that the chassis on the 7 is better than the 6 - no question. It is more refined and stiffer to start with and thus makes for a better base line to build a truly Super Lancer - However we are talking about degrees of brilliance here...
As with so many things Evo, it's horses for courses....

 

[Guest]

superL

the evo 7 extreme with AYC could you get that car very easily sideways and how does it react on tail braking just curious
you sound like man who goes beyond grip

andre

 

[Guest]

Hi Andre
It was more difficult to make the 7Xtreme break traction and I guess its due to the lower Horespower and the AYC compared to the S but I did manage it on several occations!! It felt like my 6 GSR - Once you break through the electronics the car is progressive and predictable but only smoother. It seemed to soak up bumps and undulations in the surface where I know my car's suspension bottoms out. In this respect it was significantly better.

 

[Guest]

Great thread so far!

SuperL
You are absolutely right of course. The 7 Extreme is a great package that I need to drive for a while so as to understand where I find the limitations to be. My biggest concern is that it would be all too easy to upset the delicate ballance between performance and being able to live with the car as a day to day vehicle.

An example of this is the suspension. Yes, it is stiff but you quickerly get used to it and in fact, the ride quality is not bad because there is no roll or excesive pitching/suspension rebound. However, I took some of the young petrolheads from the office for a quick spin and they did comment on the suspension. They also commented on the acceleration. Even though I never floored it or exceeded 5000 rpm I think the comments were oh shiiiiiiiiiiT and f...ing hell . And that was with me showing restraint. After all, I was driving staight through the City of London.

Maybe some of the mods I should leave a while. I was thinking of getting rid of the Cat at the 1st service and maybe I should go back to normal SUL. Then, in 6 months time I can de-Cat and use Optimax at the same time giving me, lets say, 12 bhp more power very cheaply!!! Then I could take the golf clubs out the boot clear the car out of domestic crap thus reducing the weight by 20 kgs. That should speed it up a bit. By then I will need new tyres so I can improve the handling by getting something extra sticky even though they won't last long. Wow, look at all these free mods. I cannot understand why Blade has spent so much money on his car

 

[Guest]

You should always use the best fuel you can get.
And get competition type suspensions set up for road use.

 

[Guest]

He Claudius,

I love your suspensions . Great stuff!

 

[Guest]

I drove the Evo 7 Extreme S last week and amp; have written it up for the next mag. If there was a starring system it would have 5 although I dont think it's really an every day car for anyone who does long journeys. Basically the car wants to Accellerate, Brake and Go around corners like there's no tomorrow - it's blindingly quick.

In answer to Blade's question about how it compares to the 450, its a similar beast but as its based on the RS, which is lighter and amp; has shorter gearing, it's even quicker and has a greater feeling of urgency.


Brian
Mag Editor

And before you ask - the mag is going to the printers this week. Apologise for lateness etc etc...