I went with a friend who was picking this car up yesterday. It was a 100% bone stock STi with less than 60k miles. It even had a factory style paper air filter. It took him months to find one in this condition. He let me drive it.

I think the biggest thing that stuck with me was how harsh the ride was for a stock car. It's as stiff as many cars I've been in with coilovers. The engine felt strong and you could tell it had been maintained. It builds boost pretty easily, as you'd expect on a stock turbo, with plenty of part throttle acceleration on the highway even in 6th. The STi 6 speed gearing is very short as I'm sure some of you have heard, so that took some getting used to. I didn't realize that STi's have an Rx-8 style upshift warning chime. I was also surprised at how loud the stock turbo is with the factory intake. With the radio off you can hear the turbo whine. Most newer turbo cars you can't hear at all. I also liked the power steering--it's pretty precise with a lot of feedback. It reminds me of the steering on my Rx-7.

[Edited on May 23, 2010 at 12:04 PM. Reason : .]

5/23/2010 12:01:54 PM

haha, "most newer turbo cars" aren't even slightly comparable to this type of vehicle. I don't think it rides badly at all, for what it is, though.

Still, I'd never buy an STi unless I found one at a price that I absolutely could not refuse, and then I'd probably buy it and immediately put it up for sale, and just enjoy driving it until I could sell it and buy an Evo.

Yeah, it's slightly nicer than an Evo, and in my opinion, looks a little better, but it's not like either of them are very nice or look that great, and even then, the differences are pretty minimal. I'd prefer the handling of the Evo. If it wasn't for the Mitsubishi competition, I'd be an STi fan.

5/23/2010 12:12:33 PM

when are the mods coming.

5/23/2010 12:16:50 PM

^^ He had a deal on a stock Evo IX fall through. They are very very hard to find. He didn't want to buy an Evo or STi unless they were 100% stock and adult owned.

5/23/2010 12:53:36 PM

and Evo VIII's are 4 door DSM's these days, not even worth considering

as for the mods, well he said he wants to aggressively pay down the loan first and do only very minor stuff until it is paid off

5/23/2010 12:56:11 PM

i've got a bud with an 06 sti, i need to go over and give it a drive sometime.

how much was this one?

5/23/2010 12:59:45 PM

^^ except that DSMs are cheap. VIIIs are still awfully expensive, in my opinion.

and a IX in good shape with normal mileage will probably cost you almost as much now as I paid for mine in early '07 with 7k miles.

5/23/2010 1:33:48 PM

This car was $21k and the dealer would not go down on it. My friend had looked at ones in the $16k-$18k range but he was uncomfortable with those cars' condition, especially the supposedly "stock" ones which looked a little sketchy under the hood. He decided to spend more for the peace of mind.

As for Evo VIII's, well they are worth whatever people are willing to pay of course. And people seem to pay an awful lot for 6-7 year old cars with faded paint and questionable modifications. The engine and turbo are significantly inferior to the IX's. I was helping my friend do research on the IX's and I found many improvements in addition to MIVEC that make the IX so desireable:







[Edited on May 23, 2010 at 1:54 PM. Reason : .]

5/23/2010 1:52:22 PM

If you're going to keep it stock, an VIII is a sensible choice in terms of bang for the buck compared to the IX.

If you want to mod it, get a IX. They're getting into the 11s with nothing but intake, TBE, boost controller, and ECU flash.


and I've never seen a IX for 16k! Not unless it was wrecked or had a blown motor or something. I think maybe I've seen a few for $18k, but they were questionable. I haven't looked for them much lately, though.

5/23/2010 2:02:47 PM

The $16k-$18k was referring to the 04-05 STi.

5/23/2010 2:23:35 PM

i've always been of the opinion that sti's ride somewhat soft for what they are.

5/23/2010 3:35:17 PM

drove it. the transmission felt really short for a boosted car. i do like the torque! quick spool.

5/23/2010 6:41:59 PM

it feels completely different from the 6 speed in a Vr-4 for example

5/23/2010 8:29:36 PM

Nice, I love those older body styles of the STI. And I agree with duke, for the price, I'd probably go with an EVO, but the STI is a nice DD, specially if your friend keeps it stock for a while.

In either scenario , I'd be happy with any one of them.

5/23/2010 8:52:12 PM

I miss my 2005 STi



but love my Evo IX MR!

5/23/2010 9:13:04 PM

from what I've heard, the 06 is markedly better than the 05, although I'd take either one if I were in the market

nice ride

5/24/2010 12:04:41 AM

I prefer the styling of the '04 - '05 and I think a lot of people feel the same way.

5/24/2010 8:57:11 AM

$21K?

You could have paid a few thousand more and got a 2010 WRX. Newer car, better interior (creature comforts), and much more potential in a car.

5/24/2010 12:11:41 PM

^ but you dont get the boy-racer wing

5/24/2010 12:14:47 PM

Quote :

"You could have paid a few thousand more and got a 2010 WRX. Newer car, better interior (creature comforts), and much more potential in a car."

While a new WRX has more comfort, they're not the exact same motors, and they're not the same suspension, they're not the same styling. On the surface what you're saying makes sense, but when you dig into the details not so much.

2010 WRX has an EJ255 with a VF52 turbo. The VF52 uses Legacy GT style compressor cover and a Legacy GT style top mount intercooler. The LGT intercoolers bolt directly to the compressor cover, which isn't necessarily a bad thing except for the plastic intercooler end tanks which are known to fail. Furthermore, the LGT style intercooler is generally considered inferior to the STi in terms of cooling capability. Less parts are available for the LGT/EJ255 fitment without swapping a bunch of crap.

The 2004-2005 EJ257 uses a VF39 with a more conventional fitment. The VF39 flows a little more than the VF52. It has AVCS (Subaru variable cam timing, works the same way as just about every other system out there) on the intake side only, just like the 09+ EJ255. The factory up pipe does not have a cat in it or a cat lightoff exhaust temperature probe. The EJ257 does not have an EGR valve like the latest EJ255 engines. The throttlebody is in a different (more convenient) location than the EJ255. The EJ257 has a factory water intercooler sprayer, which while not terribly useful, is kind of neat at least.

As far as suspension goes, well if you're into modding you'll toss the suspension on both cars eventually. But from the factory the STi is a lot more aggressive, so there really is less need to do so. There are also adjustable differential settings, but I'll admit I haven't messed with them nor has my friend yet. I'm not sure how much of a difference they make.

5/24/2010 1:13:20 PM

STi top mount intercooler:



Note the all-aluminum construction. The outlet connects directly to the throttlebody with a short coupler. Now here is the LGT/09+ WRX style intercooler:



The end tanks are plastic and can separate from the aluminum core. From a convenience perspective, the outlet connects to a longer hose that routes around to a throttlebody somewhat buried in there.

5/24/2010 1:28:14 PM

04-05 Stis are the hottest looking IMO. white on gold wheels is hot secks.

its incredibly hard to find a clean, unmolested sti/evo these days.

5/24/2010 5:05:33 PM

yeah, a white/gold wheels of that year is one of the best looking of any Evo/STi, in my opinion...but the Evo kills.

5/24/2010 5:08:02 PM

I like the white/gunmetal wheels combo on the Evo VIII/IX, and the white STi's but not sure about the gold on anything other than blue.

STi:Blue/Gold
Evo:Red/gunmetal is by far the best


I think STi's should only be made in blue and white. And evo's in red and white.

[Edited on May 24, 2010 at 5:17 PM. Reason : .]

5/24/2010 5:16:26 PM

a black IX is a sinister looking thing, too...especially hunkered down an extra inch or two on 18" wheels...

but I'd be scared to molest an Evo's suspension, personally...it's too awesome of a drive right out of the box to take a chance on screwing it up.

5/24/2010 5:30:20 PM

^I mean as a bone stock rolling off the factory floor car.

I agree, I'd never mess with a IX MR suspension. Its already great.

5/24/2010 5:59:13 PM

EVOs are cool from the factory, suspension wise. I don't like the throttle response I must say, but in the grand scheme of things it's a small complaint, as is the shifter which feels like it's got heim joints hooked to a rubber damper or something. It's precise and vague at the same time. I like the cars overall, though I'm a Subaru fan, and maintain that it'd be a better daily driver, the EVO's a lot more fun to drive all things considered. Neither of them have great brakes, but I guess it's all relative...

5/24/2010 6:41:52 PM

Also, for me white w/gold wheels is the ultimate combo on the STi, and white or slate (?) gray are the hawtness on the Evolution.

5/24/2010 7:01:28 PM

Quote :

"Neither of them have great brakes, but I guess it's all relative..."

What??? Evo/STi brakes are phenomenal. I just don't know what to think coming from someone who only drives BMW M3's, do they even come with brakes from the factory?

5/24/2010 7:08:55 PM

Das Porsche or go home...

5/24/2010 7:26:00 PM

red cars don't do anything for me. a black, titanium grey, or white ix though...

5/24/2010 8:03:59 PM

Evo looks alright in Red IMO -I'd still only do white or a silverish color personally though, and yes they have "good" brakes, I'm not denying that... Just not as outstanding as say the car's handling is, compared to the average car.

e36 brakes blow dead bears, nobody's arguing that either. PS: I've done more track events in my last 911 than you have in your life.

I'll tell you what I'm impressed by the brakes on, that'd be the S60 aR...

5/24/2010 9:22:57 PM

5/24/2010 9:29:01 PM

OK, I want an EVO, there I said it...
I want something more frantic, I'm getting bored. I.. I kinda want an Integra R, will you guys still be my friends?

5/25/2010 3:19:09 AM

only if you drive around with a papa john's delivery sign on it.

5/25/2010 8:05:58 AM

I'll sell u my hype r. $15K.

5/25/2010 8:39:57 AM

Quote :

"You could have paid a few thousand more and got a 2010 WRX. Newer car, better interior (creature comforts), and much more potential in a car."

I a lot of people don't like the current generation Impreza, myself included. The older models are way way better IMO.

5/25/2010 9:30:15 AM

More structural rigidity in the new ones, but I think they removed the LSD or something.

5/25/2010 11:37:10 AM

Don't forget heavier and slower and less potential

5/25/2010 11:50:01 AM

There's a stock blue & gold one combo on Craigslist for $22k with only 14,000 miles.
Do want.

[Edited on May 25, 2010 at 4:59 PM. Reason : s]

5/25/2010 4:59:01 PM