STi for everyday use???

[WRXtreme]

The same thing everyone else is referring to. Civics with huge wings for
maximum downforce over the rear wheels and stickers everywhere.

There are of course some of them around too, but not as many as you might
think

Apparently you live in some bizarro world where the only people who modify
their cars have taste and common sense. For the rest of us, there are 10
stupid stickered "V-TECH" Hondas (no joke, it actually says V-TECH, like the
phone company) for every fast DSM.

North Dakota is kinda bizarre, I'll give you that.

Who was driving it? And what the hell were you expecting from a 30k
production car? Afterburners?

I was driving it. On a road course. I prefer my WRX's, the one w/ only $6k
(US) in mods will eat the STi alive in nearly every venue (1/4 mile, Auto-x,
rally-x, Roadracing, etc..), but the downside is that I lose the warranty
from all those mods.

Don't get me wrong, the STi is a sweet sweet car. And is probably one of
the best bang-for-buck production cars ever produced, but I honestly think
it is worth it to get a "plain" wrx and mod it (ECU, Turbo, Injectors,
Suspension, exhaust, FMIC) to outperform the STi. But thats just me.

 

[WRXtreme]

I used to own a DSM/Talon for years and I can tell you the "guy" and I

mean guy singular that is running 530 HP is not driving the car on the
street. I know what it takes to get that kind of performance out of a
DSM. Lots and lots of money, race gas and lots an lots of boost! You
can make a brick go fast if you put enough money and time into it!
The problem you run into is once you have a car at that level it is
generally neither streetable or dependable.

I respectfully disagree. He drives his car to and from work everyday. He
has the 530WHP dyno slip to prove what he has done (admittedly w/ n2o...but
530 none the less). What has he done...lets see...60 trim turbo (I think),
FMIC, C16 race gas for 530 WHP, clutch. He had some head work done, and a
catless exhaust. Of course he has fuel management as well. His coworker
(actually co-owner since they own tuner shop in town) did a 500+ WHP dyno
run w/ a similar setup. They both race their cars on the weekend and then
drive them during the week. Does stuff break sometimes? sure. But DSM
stuff is cheap to fix.

Since I've been down this road I can tell you what it takes to make a
DSM even comparable to the STi. And you will end up replacing
practically every component on the car. You will need: new calipers,
rotors, wheels and tires, completely new suspension, bigger turbo,
bigger injectors, bigger exhaust, boost gauge, boost controller, FMIC,
clutch, pressure plate and I could go on and on. And this doesn't
even include a 6-speed close ratio transmission.

I have to agree that the EVO does handle slightly better than the STi.
But, slightly. But, the EVO pays for this advantage in a big way when
you are rolling down the interstate. The EVO is just jittery and the
suspension would give me kidney damage. It is just plain harsh. The
STi seemed to strike the balance between performance and streetablity.
I could have bought the WRX, EVO, or the STi and the STi was the best
fit for me. Actually, the WRX would have been fine too. I just liked
the STi 's performance better.

By outperform I meant out accelarate, I know I used bad wording, my bad,
flame away.

See, now I actually like the way the Evo rides, feels more aggresive to me,
but that is just a preference I guess.

The STi will let you down if all you are looking for is a 1/4 mile
car. It's fast for a bone stock car. But, that is not what the STi
is all about. It's the balance between power, handling,
streetability and dependability. There is a good reason that almost
every car and driver rated the STi as the Sports car of the year.

BlueSTi
"Scary-Fast"

Oh yeah, no doubt, it deserved that title. *I* however felt let down when I
drove it, maybe I felt it was overhyped, I dunno. Or maybe I expected it to
decimate my WRXs only to find out it didn't.

 

[WRXtreme]

I also own an STi and it never lets me down. It is a rally-inspired car (in
fact, almost rally-ready) which means it isn't a 1/4 mile car; even though
very few stock cars can smoke it on a 1/4 mile.

I agree w/ that point. Though there are getting to be more and more that
can.

However, on the twisties,
few cars will even come close to comparing with it. On dirt, or in snow,
with a decent set of tires, nothing even comes close (no, not even the EVO;
it does not perform as well in snow).

Especially w/ stock tires, I agree 110% there, but give it some good winter
tires and it does fine.

Like all rally cars, the STi is a
balance between handling, power, braking, and agility on less-than-ideal
roads. Moreover, its like that right off the showroom floor. No
disappointment for me at all

See my other responses for why I stated what I did.

 

[WRXtreme]

Stock, you are right, the STi wins most times. For the difference in price
however, it is a lot closer than you might think.

 

[Patrick Fisher]

I was driving it. On a road course. I prefer my WRX's, the one w/ only $6k
(US) in mods will eat the STi alive in nearly every venue (1/4 mile, Auto-x,
rally-x, Roadracing, etc..), but the downside is that I lose the warranty
from all those mods.

6K in mods - what did you have, something like a TurboXS Stage 4? VF22 +
injectors, UTEC, exhaust, FMIC, etc?

A friend of mine just traded his WRX (txs stg 4+) for an STi because the WRX
just couldn't get out of its own way below 4k RPM. The STi with an exhaust
would mop the floor with his WRX in "street" driving and would get around a
road course far faster. In the 1/4, the STi's turbo runs out of steam at
high RPM, so his WRX was a bit faster through the traps than a stock STi,
though.

Don't get me wrong, the STi is a sweet sweet car. And is probably one of
the best bang-for-buck production cars ever produced, but I honestly think
it is worth it to get a "plain" wrx and mod it (ECU, Turbo, Injectors,
Suspension, exhaust, FMIC) to outperform the STi. But thats just me.

You can always get a better deal on raw performance by going aftermarket.
Hell you can get a cheap old starion turbo and through a total of 8 grand at
it and probably run 11s. But there's something to be said for starting with
a better base. I think the STi's tranny and 3 (good) limited slips are
worth the $6k price difference from the WRX. The EJ257 is a bit of a copout
though. Would have been nice to have thicker cylinder walls from the
Japan-spec STi's EJ207.

 

[WRXtreme]

6K in mods - what did you have, something like a TurboXS Stage 4? VF22 +
injectors, UTEC, exhaust, FMIC, etc?

APS FMIC (1400), Element Tuning ECU (1300), APS CAI (225), Tein Suspension
(1200), FP 18G Turbo (900), Injector Mod (Free), Fuel Pump (~90), Hotchkis
Sway Bars (225), Perrin/Wilwood Brakes (1400). Up/Down Pipe w/ 3" Exhaust
(~750). Oh...and this one is an automatic so Higher Stall Torque Convertor
(450)...LOL. Definately a more reliable tranny than the 5spd, but not than
the 6. I will give you that. And for most racing applications (except 1/4
mile) I would say the 6spd in the STi is worth the price of the car by
itself...for some dumb reason I wasn't even thinking of that when I posted.
My bad.

A friend of mine just traded his WRX (txs stg 4+) for an STi because the WRX
just couldn't get out of its own way below 4k RPM. The STi with an exhaust
would mop the floor with his WRX in "street" driving and would get around a
road course far faster. In the 1/4, the STi's turbo runs out of steam at
high RPM, so his WRX was a bit faster through the traps than a stock STi,
though.


You can always get a better deal on raw performance by going aftermarket.
Hell you can get a cheap old starion turbo and through a total of 8 grand at
it and probably run 11s. But there's something to be said for starting with
a better base. I think the STi's tranny and 3 (good) limited slips are
worth the $6k price difference from the WRX. The EJ257 is a bit of a copout
though. Would have been nice to have thicker cylinder walls from the
Japan-spec STi's EJ207.

Yeah, my thoughts too. Even though I am contemplating switching to a
sleeved/stroked EJ257 as I primarily drag race and as the old saying goes,
there is no replacement for displacement.

 

[Patrick Fisher]

Definately a more reliable tranny than the 5spd, but not than
the 6. I will give you that. And for most racing applications (except 1/4
mile) I would say the 6spd in the STi is worth the price of the car by
itself...for some dumb reason I wasn't even thinking of that when I posted.
My bad.

Yeah, the 6 speed gets on my nerves at the track. It sucks having to shift
into 5th stock, and 6th after a turbo.

But it proved its worth on the autocross course today - it was perfect for
2nd gear, but the WRXs had to keep shifting between 1st and second. (or
rather, instead of shifting, they suffered intolerable turbo lag and were
never in boost).

Sounds like you have a pretty nice setup - I'm getting a green soon. The
stock turbo is puny...

 

[WRXtreme]

Yeah, the 6 speed gets on my nerves at the track. It sucks having to shift
into 5th stock, and 6th after a turbo.

But it proved its worth on the autocross course today - it was perfect for
2nd gear, but the WRXs had to keep shifting between 1st and second. (or
rather, instead of shifting, they suffered intolerable turbo lag and were
never in boost).

Sounds like you have a pretty nice setup - I'm getting a green soon. The
stock turbo is puny...

Thats putting it mildly that it is puny. And the TMIC is just about
worthless IMHO. 2nd gear works pretty good for me at the autox as well,
even 1st is good at times if the course is small and tight. I have some
dyno time coming up this weekend, I'll have to post my slip to a website and
drop a link here when I get it all said and done.