I just bought a 04 WRX wagon i love it, but already I wish that I would have bought the STI. I am thinking of switching but I know very little about the STI. Is the difference in power really that big? any other major differences? Any help/suggestions would be awesome

 

There are A LOT of difference. STi doesn't come in a wagon - so you know.

STi has 6speep trans., each has the themed interior of blue/grey, different seats, different shifter, different gauge cluster, huge wing, 2.5L motor (instead of 2.0 in the WRX), different differential, no fog lights, HID lights, no passthrough to the trunk in the back seats, different suspension and on and on .....

 

What Matt said^^^ and a lot more. Wheels brakes etc etc.

If you're questioning yourself you might have made the wrong choice. Don't drive it, do some homework tonight with the search feature and sleep on it. if you want the STi take it back tomorrow and try to workout a deal before you put on too many miles. You may have to cut a small loss in the end but if you can afford your error then it's worth piece of mind having made the right choice in cars.

 

This is what I have on my wagon (purchased for $21,600 in 2002).

JDM v7 6mt - used $3,300 (no dccd, retained stock WRX rear end & brakes)
EJ257 shortblock - $1375 (all else like heads & cams, oil pump, manifold...stock WRX, for now)
Stoptech front BBK - $1,500
Tein Flex - used $1,350
As for the turbo, I had the VF30 (used $550) on before I bought the block. Now I have the FP Green turbo ($1450 or so).
Stock/modded 740 injectors - free
Walbro - $110
To account for the more agressive ECU map the STI has, I bought the UTEC in 2002 ($999)

I'm not EVEN trying to compare my wagon to an STI because there are many things the STI has that mine doesn't and I know very well what those are. But, if you want to make your wagon closer to the STI, you can see I did it for around $31,685. You can justify, like I do that the money you're paying above MSRP pays for the ability to say how rare your STI wagon is.

...FWIW, I've put a lot more money than that into my car, though, than what I've mentioned.

 

You must have gotten a wagon for a reason... Do you still want the cargo room? Get a Forester XT! Cargo room and you get the 2.5 liter turbo engine from the STi. The FX-T isn't making 300 hp because it doesn't have as big a turbo as the STi or as big an intercooler. There are other differences but I think its a good compromise between the WRX wagon and the STi.

 

If i had a wagon, I would keep it and convert it to a JDM STI wagon. I have the sedan and it was a very hard choice to choose between the two. But the wagons are cool.

 

The XT does not have the same engine as the STi. Trust me, there are more differences than just a smaller turbo and IC. The internals are COMPLETELY different.

 

 

thanks for all the input. I made right choice with the wagon for now. I still am going to get an STI, but I am happy with what I have now.

Although- What type of Mod's can I do that won't void the warranty? I know its not worth too much but I would like to keep it for a little while!!!

 

That all depends on your dealer, there have been dealers that try to void the whole warranty for unrelated mods, and some just void the part of the warranty that you modded on, and some will work with you to try and get it repaired under warranty if its reasonable. Blowing an engine because you installed a MBC and overboosted without any other safeguards is ofcourse one of those things that will not ger repaired under warranty no matter how nice the dealer is.

On your original question, my family has both an 02' wrx wagon and an STi, and i would have to say that despite all the appearence mods (rice bits), as illustrated in this picture (mine is the middle wagon, it also has a subaru banner on it) that i get less attention in that than in the STi.



The wagon drives totally different than the STi, there's no noticable turbo lag (i rarely do standing hard acceleration) and the grip is unbelieveable.

However if you don't drive your car hard all the time, the wrx's better gas mileage and versatility being a wagon, along with the non-cop magnet looks are definately pluses. One thing that sets the STi apart from the wrx in stock form is the tires, as you may have read around here, the RE92's aren't exactly the best tires in the world. The wagon in the picture has P1's and S0-3's in 225/45/17, and i would have to say that after that upgrade it was worlds better than stock, even though those wheels weigh 22lbs a piece and should have made it more sliggish, it handles a lot better even on stock suspension.

There are a lot of times (going to tahoe, getting groceries, going to high cop concentration areas) that i still take the wagon over the STi, the wagon is just so versatile in addition to being a quick machine.

 

thanks man, great car. Yeah tires, window tint are going to be some of my first additions. I can sure appriciate to "no cop" factor. It getting more and more happy with the car each time i drive it.

 

be careful how you tint. cops REALLY dont like it if they cant see whos in the car they are walking up to. plus (at least in MA) it is a $250 fine for illegal tint....worth nearly $50 more than the tint would cost in the first place!

 

Moderators, please shrink that picture!!

If you are looking to be a stealth car and attract less attention, trust me, get S I L V E R. Do not get WRB or black -- these colors are cop magnets. I've got a platinum silver '02 and a co-worker of mine has a WRB 03, and we drive the exact same highway to and from work every day, though at different times. We both go 75-80 in a 65 (the WRX just seems to like 75 as an ideal cruising speed, due to the gear ratios) and he has been pulled over three times; I've never even caught a police officer's eye.

In fact, I seem downright invisible. Just the other day a motorcycle cop came tearing past me and cut me off in front, only to pop his lights and pull over a beat-up old station wagon for no discernible reason. Both of us were going exactly the speed limit!

I know one person's testimonial is worthless statistically, but here's more food for thought:

http://www.ananova.com/business/stor...189.html?menu=

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994504