Austarion

Hey guys, It's been awhile!
(Jump too "Issue" if that's all that interests you :D )

Background (Life/Situation Update):
I sold my Starion afew months back after joining the army.It was way to much effort keeping it running and parts weren't easy to come by. It had a new problem every twice week.
I am now posted in Melbourne and I have been looking at cars. I cannot work on this next car like I did my Starion due to not having storage and garage on barrack. I am posted here for a year tho, so I'd like to find a very RACE feeling car that will be my daily and I can do small mods too.
I've looked at an MX5 NB, WRX (2.5L T), XR6 Turbo, RX7-TT FD, EVO 7 and S15-T. I am planning to test more to see what I like in a car, but sooo far I am stuck between 2 cars! Still maybe looking at an 350z tomorrow tho.

My Top Two choices were the EVO 7 and S15!

EVO 7 = http://www.carsales.com.au/private/deta ... ort=~Price

S15 = http://www.carsales.com.au/private/deta ... ort=~Price

The EVO 7 felt great too drive. It's handling and ride just felt "RACE"! which is what I love! The power band was alright, and everything is basically stock. The car wasn't washed and just had a small feel of neglect. It was cheaper then other EVO 7's for a reason. Unsure if this feeling of Neglect is me being paranoid or not even an issue. Inside was very clean, but the engine bay and paint was alittle dirty/dusty. It's clear she hasn't taken it out much recently and I know it's not currently her daily car.

The S15 felt good too drive also. It felt sporty but not as "RACE" as the EVO due to the interior being more luxury and having leather instead of bucket seats. The S15 probably was just as fast as the EVO. It felt different due to the power band tho. The S15 had afew mods installed and sounded very nice. The main thing was that this car was well looked after and it was very clean inside and out. I have wanted an S15 for years, but now I am not 100% sure if they are ME.....

I liked the S15 very much and it's a hard choice. I just think I enjoyed the feeling in the EVO just that tiny little bit more.
So, basically I am asking the following questions to help me decide which Car I will take. The EVO if the follow Issues arent a problem or the S15 if they are.

Issue:
The EVO 7 has 3 minor things I noticed that could be an issue:

1. Brake Squeak!:
The rear brakes made a large squeaking sound when she very first drove out of her garage and applied the brakes on the slope/hill driveway in-front. They are very good brakes standard and these are the stock ones. She says the brakes squeak when cold and that the the pads were changed 3-4 weeks prior. They didnt squeak during the drive, only noticed when she moved the car the first time.
(only car out of all to have a brake squeak)

Do performance brakes squeak when cold? (Is this a possibly)
Or is it more likely just alittle rusty rotors?
Is this a reason to NOT buy the EVO?

2. White Smoke!:
The car sounds fine and seem to have had most/all it's power. The only thing I picked up was that it blew a small amount of white smoke when hard in neutral (it was parked). My last 4G63 has a blown head-gasket and was a bitch to fix. I don't like the idea of this being the case. When it idles, there isn't any smoke.
(The WRX and S15 didn't have any visible smoke from what I seen when parked and revved)

Is small amounts of white smoke alright?
Anyway I can check over the car to see if it's a problem myself? (that would actually give me an idea)
What are some of the possible reasons it could be blowing white smoke?
Should I steer clear of this car because of that?

3. A Strange Feeling!:
This one is hard to explain. It's unlike anything I have felt before, but I don't think it's good. Basically, the Evo had a stop in revs for half a second when I lifted my foot of the accelerator the very first time I "Punched it". It only happen once, and only the first time out of 5-6 times I gave it abit. also the car was warm by then. It was like a single pop, if that makes sense. The car continued to drive fine after. It was like it hit the rev limiter just as I took my foot off the gas, and it stopped for a heart-beat. I recall looking down and thinking "it cannot rev out that early" because I think the taco showed redline at around 7-8 and this seemed to happen around 6. Every other time it wasn't seen/heared, but I didn't take it to that same amount of revs again.

Is this an issue?
could it be a gasket poping? (which may explain the white smoke)
Was it a weird misfire that I heard some people tune there EVO's to have? (for rally or something)

AM I JUST OVER THINKING SHIT WAY TOO MUCH!?

Too buy! or not too buy! that is the question!?
What are your thoughts :D Be honest, but try and not make me paranoid haha. This is the only EVO in the area I will consider buying. Its either this one, or no one.

Brake pads squeak....if there's any rust on rotors it will rub off once you apply the brakes, not really an issue I don't think. If you think it's an issue, change to a different type of pads.

The white smoke, are you sure it's smoke or steam? Was it when the car just started? Did it happen for 5 minutes or so while it was idling? Was it cold weather?

Good luck with it

Alspos wrote:
The white smoke, are you sure it's smoke or steam? Was it when the car just started? Did it happen for 5 minutes or so while it was idling? Was it cold weather?

Thank you Alspos for your quick response!
P.S. I just updated my original post with more info

As for the Smoke vs Steam.

Yes, It was cold weather and had been slightly raining that day. However it wasn't raining at the time, and she had the car parked in the garage all day, prior to me getting there.
Can that still affect it?

We started the car and I listened to the engine rev afew times (Which sounded fine, no chuff chuff from a blown head.) I check the exhaust for smoke within the first 5 minutes of start up while it was warming. Also NO smoke blew when the car was idling. it was only when it had quick revs to 3-4k before anything would appear. The smoke was light grey-white, couldn't smell anything at the time due to the weather tho. The smoke disappear very quickly after each rev. Could see through the smoke easily, but still had me concerned of the condition verses the other cars that blew nothing at all.

Brembos are notorious for squealing, some do and some don't from what I have read. You can get pads that are better then the others.
My Subaru Legacy turbo blows a lot of white smoke when cold. Not when it's idling though, only under acceleration. Seems to do it for ages as well, until it's well warned up. It's just white smoke, car doesn't use any oil and I've had the car a few years now and still going fine.
As for the other issue, if you had been driving around all nice just warning the car up, then all of a sudden just put your don't down, perhaps the ecu and afm had a slight stroke. I know with the Legacy it has done that once or twice.

Personally I would have the Evo over the S15 any day of the week. Also if I was spending that much money I would get a pre purchase inspection done on the car. They don't cost much and it's peace of mind.

Would recommend inspection and test by an Evo specialist to set your mind at rest BEFORE you hand over your hard earned $$$$.
If the seller is reluctant then give it a miss.
Could you live with the canary colored S15 ???
Any accident history???
Just my 2 cents worth

Personally I'd own a S15 over an Evo every time. Just a nice simple car with little in the way of expensive repairs needed compared to Evo's. Although the 6 Spd if not noisey will be at some point.

But are you sure thats a Spec R Silvia from Japan? It looks like an Aussie one with those ugly refectors in the rear bumper and wrong steering wheel. An Aussie one if I recall correctly is 147kw (less than S14) and Japanese one is 182kw but I thought Aussie (assembled??) ones were 5speed. Just something to look out for.