hey all

well, i thought i'd post up my first thoughts on the sti now that i have had it for 2 days......

first off, this is one stupid fast car. the torque is unreal, and honestly, more than i thought it would have. it honestly feels like a N/A car. the power is smooth and conssitant from low boost to redline. reminds me of my first drive in a 89 mustang GT. this car is faster (duh) but that linear pull is just intoxicating....

on to handling....

wow. i am really surprised at the magazine reviews. i have driven a few EVO's now, and this car for a few days. the suspension is almost as stiff as any coilover'ed wrx or 2.5 rs i have owned, if not as still. certainly better balanced. the chassis is stupid stiff, very similar to the EVO. but i find the STi WAY more dynamic and engaged than the EVO. i have written before how easy the EVO is to handle well. the sterring is super quick. but so is the STi. i know the 05's are even quicker, but i have no need for that. at least not yet. the STi reminds me more of a 911. a true drivers car. i drove from kensington(where i work) to Orinda this morning in the rain. i took grizzly peak, than over thru tilden. simply pure joy. i kept waiting for |"tons of understeer", but never found it. simply hit the gas at the right time, and the rear end came around nicely. this is on a stock car. i cant wait to put on a larger rear sway bar.

the steering is awesome. not far off from the EVO IMHO. the steering rack bushings will be nice when i get a set.

all in all, i love the car. the EVO in the end seemed very cheap to me. i test drove a few before i made the final decision, and i was right. the STi is more refined, and better built. i know there are many who will argue this. cest la via.

as for mods, i dont think i am going to go TOO crazy, but here is my first thoughts on what is to come....

vishnu stage 1
samco hoses
snorkus delete
defi guage pak + guage pod (matching red of course)
blizztak lm-22 on stock bbs for wnter (already have tires)
a032r-h or s03's 245/40/17 on either....

advan rcII's 17x8.5
ssr comps 17x8.5
volk le28 limited edition gold 17x8.5

perrin or cusco 22mm rear sway bar
kartboy ss + bushings
sterring rack bushings
spec c a-arms (entire front suspension proly)
maybe sti pink springs for summer
wrx struts and springs for winter

that is all i can think of for now.

anyway, i will have more reviews when i have had more seat time....

josh

 

Congrats , maybe i'll be next!

 

any chance you can do this by itself and really make good notes on before and after feel?

i recently got this done (along with the KB bushings only) and i swear i didnt feel all the stuff i've read.

the KB bushing though was like nite and day...

 

<--- 02 wrx owner. with just minor suspension mods.

a friend from school last year got an 04 and let me take it out for some spirited driving. the car is amazing. definatley very quick. just a lil laggyif u hit it from the very bottom of the rpm range.

the power is of course faster. but where a review should be made is definatley about the handaling characteristics.

with the active diff set at auto, the car doesn't drive THAT well. its designed to give power to different wheels as you accelerate through a turn. if you are throwing it into the turns, then the weight balance is off and when you go to hit the gas the car will understeer a bit more than if set on full rear bias.

i took the car out on 84 goign towards highway 1 from skyline intersection. we did the run back and forth a couple times. the steering is definately a lot quicker. a bit light but if you know what your doing it does not matter the least bit. there are some high speed type hairpins on 84 and literally i was unable to push the car without scaring myself first. the brakes are amazing, i was able to hold my speed until the last second before i had to turn in. i did not experience any fade even after a few 100-50 hard stops. the car did get a lil twitchy when i threw it in hot, but the second i went for the gas, the car just HOOKED. so i wasn't really even going in hot, just hot enough to overload the front tires without power applied. the power and the tires that come stock with teh car are definately a good match. you can feel a very progressive loss in traction but the car will easily remain stable when power of awd is used. i have yet to drive a coilover equipped wrx but cant imagine that it woudl be anywhere near as balanced. i feel that the front diff definately makes a BIG difference. also, the way the sti suspension is designed is excellent. THe alluminum control arms are also a great improvement, i really noticed the car tucking in when off the gas in between switch back type turns.

the sti seats are a big weak, i did have trouble holding myself in place on the sharp turns. the only other complaint i have is that the gears are a bit short. the 3rd gear if i recall correctly only goes up to 80 mph or so. on this particular road i was able to easily max out 3rd in betwee the turns. however, shifting to 4th for only a few seconds then shifting back to 2nd takes too much time and is not safe. im assuming that if i had mroe time with the car i would be comfortbale taking the turns at higher speeds in 3rd, but coming from a wrx i did not want to test it out, especially in a friend's car.

the car was ridiculously easy to drive. and is set up so that it will feel unstable with a beginner driver way before the it really begins to lose it. however, with someoen who knows how to drive awd the car is a monster!

there is a lot of security in knowing that when you throw the car in a turn and nail the gas immediately after that it will not oversteer. the confidence allows drivers to push the car much easier than a rwd with comparable performance.

the car is amazing and definately good in stock form. anything extra is really not needed for the street and should be considered for asthetic purposes only.

i would not consider buying the car for track purposes. on a track u want something that will get you in a lil more trouble. also, the car is very expensive for track use and i personally dont think its smart. overall the car is great but i would still take a nsx or something comparable for the price. but boy was it fun!

 

not trying to stir up anything, but why would you ever put wrx suspension on an STi, even if its for winter?

 

hey Josh, I just put pink springs on my 05 STi, smartest thing I could have ever done.

If you're ever in mt. view or san mateo area, I'd be happy to give you a ride so you can see how they feel.

 

stimul8n

the wrx suspension nets me ~1" extra hight, as well as a much more compliant suspension. on snow and ice, the more compliance you have the better handling on the bumpy, pot hole ridden roads. basically the cars suspension will give "more" before the tires loose traction. the ride on the nasty roads will also be MUCH more comfortable to drive on. this would only be for the winter of course.

atc5

i would love to take a spin. i dont see any need for coilovers, and i would realy like to see how the pinks work. how much height did you loose?

secretaznboy

the seats do suck. so unfortunate. i plan on getting jdm seats, or some sti seats from a lft hand drive euro nation, possibly germany.

ldivinag

i will give a review for sure...

josh

 

....for starters. LOL

 

hey razor

yeah, i am well aware they are the same. it was more a comparison between the EVO/STi. i maybe should have qualified it by using STi/WRX chassis vs EVO.

josh

 

the drop in the rear is more pronounced it seems... maybe .75" while upfront maybe .5" or so w/ the pinks...

Here's a pic:

 

+1 no doubt. Was following a silver STi this morning on 101 and watching it flap up and down. Gack.

-Jacob

 

yea, thanks...i got rid of the wing 5 days after I got the car. No reason or use for such a thing on my car.

Final pic and hijack of this thread.....