I agree with the point mad earlier that if you can't have fun in a lightly nodded wrx, you can't drive.
Decent tyres, fresh bushes and brakes make a huge difference too.

 

I think the crack posse has a new member.

 

I'll forgive the typo and figure you mean modded, which I obviously agree with since my daily is a modded WRX, but my first comment was about a STANDARD 225bhp WRX which ARE pretty crap if you can drive a bit and push it even slightly, don't get me wrong because I love my Wagon but out the box they are useless a being thrown down a country road.

 

????

 

[QUOTE=S3LDM;11570622
To answer th original question and put it into contex if you bought lets say a "BMW 1.6i would there be much differance to a 330i its still a BMW" well the answer is YES they will be worlds apart...[/QUOTE]

Not really a great comparison as both Wrx and sti share the same engine?

 

When I was originally searching for my WRX I dismissed a Classic almost instantly because of the insurance premiums - that's why I ended up with a newage.

I'll definitely take on board all suggestions and will try to arrange to drive all of them, as I don't want to believe that an Impreza can be as lack luster as my WRX is to me.

The original question I posted was to see if the general consensus was that if an STI is a completely different car to a WRX...And it seems that most of you think that it is, so i'll definitely have a look at both a classic and a newage STI. (I'll have to do a bit of reading on the classic as I don't know much about them )

Thanks for all your replies,

Webby

 

Webby, what your car needs is a re map to push it up to 280bhp and a rear anti roll bar to kill under steer. That would make a mush more enjoyable car to drive and make it a match for a standard sti other than the brakes. (5speed work very well at that power)

Lots of these people have never driven a Wrx and are trying to defend their ego "they are big dogs with a few sti sticker to prove it"

When I bought my Wrx my insurance was similar so the sti was out of the question. If your insurance can take it a few small changes and they make great cars. I them decided to keep her and throw the kitchen sick at upgrades. The Wrx suspension was the last change as it handled 500bhp with some good springs with no issue!

 

no they dont totally different

wrx has no avcs and has weaker components along with different turbo,injectors,intercooler,brakes,gearbox,interio r.

 

I understand what you are saying, however if a stock WRX was given JUST a map, I doubt I'd see more than 240bhp. To get to 280bhp like you said, I'd need a new downpipe, uppipe, filter, fuel pump and then a map. As the car would have to stay MOT friendly the downpipe would have to be replaced with a sports cat version, thus further increasing the price it would cost. Also, I'm not a fan of increasing power before touching the infamously crap WRX brakes.

I appreciate your input but if I was going to start modding the car, I'd rather save my money and buy an STI.

Thanks,

Webby

 

spot on mate, the sti is streets ahead despite what the wrx boys will tell you, my mrs had a wrx for years and i drove it back to back with my sti and it was noticeably different performance wise and no i a good way

 

Oh please. I ran standard wheels, brakes and suspension on my last wrx right up to 450+

The time you feel most alive is when your closest to death comes to mind!

Personally I'm not a fan of the classics although they are meant to give a better drive but are most aged now and most have rust issues etc.

A newage STI just with a map tweak should satisfy you, until you want more the next year anyway.

 

I know it's possible to run stupid numbers out of a WRX, but I quite like my bones and organs in one piece thanks!

You're probably right, a stock newage STI would be more than enough for me right now. But it's not just about how fast I go in a straight line, that's why I've been looking at a 2 seater.

Webby

 

That's where the fun is. My old mr2 turbo scared the crap out of me on many occassions. Wheel spin in 3rd gear in slightly damp conditions. Roundabouts were......erm.....interesting!

 

Which is also where I was coming from in my earlier posts before things got a little silly.

In stock form neither are that great TBH when it comes to the twisty bits, STI has stiffer suspension and slightly thicker roll bars but it's still an understeering pig when you push a little harder, which you will once you get to know the car by the sounds of it, that and the fact your dad has an MX5 tells me there is a bit of a driver in both of you.

Despite what the Fanboys of both versions will tell you, you'll notice a common theme, the ones that can drive a bit and have upped the power will have also done some form of handling and braking mods, basically because we all know they don't go round corners anything like they are capable of going in a straight line.

There are simple cost effective solutions to your dilemma in both the power and handling stakes that don't cost a fortune and are in fact a lot cheaper than junking the WRX and buying an STI, especially if you like your teeth and kidneys and just want a decent handling daily that can be fun on country roads.

Power wise it's the PPP (Prodrive Performance Pack) which for the WRX consists of a second cat delete,(mot friendly) silicone Intercooler Y pipe, up-rated panel filter, prodrive back box (optional really) and a simple free re-flash of the ECU, My Blob WRX Prodrive PPP map is in the mapping section and you'd just need to ask nicely one of the guys in that section to flash it for you once you bought the relevant parts, takes 5 mins.

It does have it's detractors which is actually more about the cost from the dealer new historically than the map it'self. For the WRX it gives a healthy mid range punch and a decent power increase up to circa 265bhp dependant on the overall condition of the car, some make that figure some don't. This can easily be done for way less than £200 and is not a lot of work, very simple DIY and the parts are readily available on here, just keep an eye on the for sale section, or post a wanted thread.

The handling can be addressed by as mentioned above, 22/24mm rear roll bar, I would go 24mm, an ALK or castor correction kit (same thing) Solid front and rear roll bar drop links, I also added some steering rack poly bushes along with front and rear roll bar poly bushes (very cheap new or second hand) Circa £50 all in. Then it's up to you if you want to put the finishing touch of a set of up-rated springs, I have just bought some new Wagon specific Prodrive springs which give a slight drop 35mm front and 25mm rear I believe. Then to bring it all together you'll need a fast road laser Alignment geometry set up done by a Subaru Specialist.

Now to be fair you won't see any change from £500 for the full handling package but it will handle a **** sight better than standard and be quite a lot of fun in the twisty bits.

Also bear in mind BOTH the STI and WRX suffer from the same problems so BOTH will require most of what's listed above if you want a sorted B road blaster.

Also the STI has suspension Issues with knocking and TBH the standard suspension isn't that great as it has a firm crashy ride, which pretty much everyone ends up replacing with cheap coilovers which IMO are even worse and not at all suited to our crap British roads.

HTH.

 

I have just fitted solid anti roll bar drop links front and rear and my Newage wrx is now far more 'pointy' than either of my old classic sti's.

 

You need to get yourself some super pro steering rack poly bushes.

 

Easy to fit?

 

Yeah a bit fiddly but not difficult.

 

Easiet thing ever if your steering racks off

 

My 2003 WRX made 280bhp with just backbox, panel filter and centre cat removed and at just 1bar.

Bustamoves made 300bhp without too many supporting mods.

Get an STI if you want to track hard or go beyond 450bhp.

 

I don't ever push the car around corners, but I've had to uprate most of the suspension due to the fact even in a straight line the back end was always very twitchy.

A few tuners have told me the Impreza has a natural tendency to want to rotate anti-clockwise under power. My car's rear still slightly slides right whilst launching even with the arb, drop links, coilovers and geometry.

 

Bollocks. Big hairy ones.

 

My mechanic is fitting my front arb bushes, lower ball joint and drive shaft gaitor next week. How much extra time do you think it will take him?

 

Meh.
<<<<<<

 

15 mins if it's on a lift in the garage, get them ordered off Alyn @ AS performance.

 

Bloody hell, I never noticed the 1bar bit!

And Gear Head thought my 280bhp @1bar was incredulous!

 

Without a remap, you didn't have 280. If the rolling road said you did, it wasn't working.

Or keep spouting bollocks as you usually do.

 

But he was talking about not being able to get to 280bhp after a map unless he had lots of supporting mods.

I was only letting him know he can.

Stop trying to jump on the STI Sheep abattoir boundwagon

 

Keep cracking on trying to catch my 1/4 mile time, more power, more torque, more boost, and still slower.

 

I'm a bit worried now, 12.3 won't be hard for me but 1.25 Bar should see you in the 11's.