Review (kind of - more like feedback).
EVO IX Emporer updated tune:
I'm in a 530pp sports soft road car racing series competing at Deep Forest tonight, I threw together a tune for the EVO IX, then saw on here it'd been updated, so I built one to updated RKM specs to give it a go.
Test:
Deep Forest - 9 laps - online race
Spa - 6 laps - online race
All aids turned off
Grip reduction - low
Steering sensitivty - default (0)
Driving style - very aggressive throttle i.e. 100% all the time.
Deep Forest
As expected, the car felt great turning in, whether it was a slow 2nd gear corner or higher speed 5th gear (once tyres had warmed up). Once the car had reached the apex, it carried on turning well, making for very smooth cornering and lapping consistently pretty easy.
Being a 4wd I expected it to be stable, and it was, generally, apart from the corner before the first tunnel, it felt a little skittish, but then again, alot of cars come unstuck there so it didn't really worry or bother me.
It felt best through the mid and higher speed corners, giving you alot of confidence to "throw" the car in, knowing it'll not only stick, but grip, turn and fly out the other side.
I was impressed with the front tyre wear, for a 4WD, being driven aggressively, it only munched about 20-30% of it's front tyres, leaving enough grip to still be able to lap consistently at the end of the race.
Lap times (for an EVO) were very, very good - and the tune was good enough to be pushing hard for 9 laps and keep all the laps within 2 secs of each other.
Spa
Don't know why, but it didn't feel as home here as it did at Deep Forest. It still felt good on most corners, but it didn't feel 'right', maybe it was because it felt so good at Deep Forest expectations were raised, or at a high level.
It seemed to struggle more on cold tyres than at Deep Forest and Eu Rouge was particularly nasty. I've raced quite a few 530pp sports soft road cars at Spa over the past week, and this Evo seemed to be a real bitch to get through Eu Rouge. It turned so quick (in the 'flick' from left to right at the very bottom of the corner) instead of insipring confidence in abundence (like at Deep Forest), each time I approached Eu Rouge I was wary instead, and had to back off a bit, rather than the glorious "chucking" of the car at Deep Forest.
But, being a padracer, I think this may have had something to do with it, possibly (??).
It was still "OK", in fact, it was pretty darn good for an EVO, but I didn't get the same satisfaction or feeling as I did at Deep Forest or with other 4WD's at Spa.
This brings me on the the biggest problem I had with the updated IX settings - the gear ratio's.
I checked and double checked, even "defaulted" them and reset them 2nd time, but I came out with a crazy high top speed, which the car felt like it'd never be able to achieve unless it had a very long straight and slipstream to help it.
Also, at the start of the race, 1st gear went in a flash, with a fair bit of tyre smoking from the rears.
Both at Spa and Deep Forest I was driving a 5 speed, with a very short 1st gear - I'm presuming I've misread the ratio's or something?? But everythjing is set as per the spec and was tuned in the order said - (top speed first).
I felt the brakes were too strong at the front, if or when I misjudged the braking point as I was running wide and past the apex, the front tyres lit up, increasing the "wash out" further.
Eventually, I changed the front brakes to 5 (instead of 6) and defaulted the gear ratio's and put my usual in (1st & 2nd maxed, 6th fully shortenend - the rest even spaced) - this really helped at Spa, now, through some of the corners the "chuckability" from Deep Forest came back.
From previous RKM tunes, I know my driving style and settings (for pad) doesn't always suit the tune, but a quick tune of the LSD can normally sort this out. So I don't hold this against the "tune" as it not the tune or tuners fault, it's just a difference in equiptment and driving style.
Summary:
For an EVO - yeh, it rocks, very good, especially in the twisty circuits it's a great car to have fun in and to also race online - as the tyre wear, grip and stability is so good.
Is it a Scooby killer - hmm, don't believe the hype, this RKM IX is one of the best, if not the best (road) EVO's I've driven yet, but comparing it with my IX times, and subsequently what my Scoobys can do against my IX, well, I think it's a case of - "you've got 2 hopes, and Bob's no longer with us".
But, this shouldn't be seen as a negative for this tune, since release, everyone I know has commented on how good the Scoobys are in GT5 and how much of a 'mare' the EVO's are.
Well, if you drive this RKM EVO IX - that'll definately explode that myth, 'cos this RKM IX is pretty darn good. Correction - it rocks, big time.
9.5/10 (excluding gearbox and brake issue I had)
7/10 (including those issues - if they're the same for everyone, but I'm thinking it's just me).
Good work Roj 👍
(planes excluding) Besides which the Airtrek is rather a ball of nothing to me, the Evo, 3000GT and Galant are all already 4WD.
Bye anyway. 
