pistonbroke

im just about to trade in an 04 for an 05. Took a test drive in the 05 and was blown away with the increased level of ride comfort..........couldnt believe I was still in an STi!!!

IMHO the 04 is very choppy for every day use (the better half refuses to travel in it anymore).

I didnt notice a huge difference in handling ability though, but I'm prob's not as experienced as the guys who do the track day stuff.

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

this is what i've heard, good to hear from someone who's run both and can give some feedback.

if i'm being honest, i don't think i'd find any of the years difficult to live with, being that any of them will be a big difference to the classic i'm used to and would be a massive improvement.

at the risk of it kicking off again i can understand your comment about the cornering speed diferences between the 04 and 05 bluepolarbear (or lack of!!!), i wouldn't be anywhere near the limit of the car due to my feeble driving skills, so probably wouldn't actually go round any quicker,i just didn't know if the diff change and setup diffrence on the 05 would help me squeeze out a bit more speed around the corners? (basically make it a bit more idiot proof)

or is the set up actually the other way? to make it a more 'drivers' car?

has anyone tried timed laps between the models to see if there is any improvement?

kbsub

[QUOTE IMHO the 04 is very choppy for every day use [/QUOTE]




Yup ... choppy is a very good word to describe the ride , what i cant understand is somedays its bearable almost civilised , and somedays i just feel like getting rid of it ... just cant weight it up

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

Yup ... choppy is a very good word to describe the ride , what i cant understand is somedays its bearable almost civilised , and somedays i just feel like getting rid of it ... just cant weight it up



is it that bad? what's the problem, is it harsh or a bit crashy?

kbsub

Its both

But been out this morning , did about 5 or 6 miles and never noticed it , felt like i was in the Golf again , but sometimes, commuting to work it really gets on my **** , I just can't weight it up


ps I have the Prodrive springs as well

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

did the springs make it better or worse?

i run 18's on 35 profile and eibach springs on my classic so that can be a bit rough, what rims and tyres are you running?

the semi slick things on the 05 are supposed to be a bit harsh ride wise and TBH i found the 05 quite a nice ride, bangs over potholes but doesn't feel every lump of grit on the road.

is that what yours is like? if you ran over a caterpillar you could tell how many legs it's got?

kbsub

18" wheels
Pirelli P zero tyres 40 profile ( I think )
got the car with the springs on so can't compare , bit I heard its worse with the standard springs

When I got the geomtry done it sorted the tramlining out , its just a really hard harsh ride , its when you just want to go from A to B you seem to notice it more ..... some days I love it , some i just want to get shut off it , just paying £997 for insurance hasn't helped the relationship

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

yeah, insurance is a right **** ain't it?

would be a shame if the ride forced you into getting shot of a great car, are the roads crap where you live or is it the same wherever you go?

don't suppose you want to swap for a softer classic do you?

kbsub

Sometimes I would swap it for a bloody Fiesta I have started to go to work in the wife's R plate Polo and that feels great i must admit , but swapping for a classic woudn't get rid of the high insurance or poor fuel economy , new Golf GTI i would be very tempted

there is a strectch of the M1 round here between Lofthouse( m62) and Garforth heading north which is really bad , concrete surface , and i sit there grimacing every day

Dazza's-STi

my 03 Sti doesn't understeer at all now the set-up's done and its so much quicker around a corner now its scary! huge amount of grip... in fact last night around a large roundabout, at full lick into the corner with the windows down (for the noise you understand) only the inside front tyre was complaining... never did that before!
i can't didn't see that it was worth changing... to an 05
dazza

bluepolarbear

Yes - read the post in context. On the road there is a safe speed to go round any given corner. Exceeding that speed means comprising safety - eg what happens if there is a fallen tree blocking the road just around the corner. In the real world any difference a car makes in terms of handling / brakes is noise.

There is then a second speed which the the max speed any given car will go around the corner before it comes off. This speed has nothing to do with safe speed and everything to do with physics.

Depending on car this speed may be more or less than the safe speed. In an STI whether it be 03, 04 or an 05 this speed is in 99.9% of cases greater than the safe speed.

I can't make it an simpler.

bluepolarbear

Take any given corner. The STI 04 will go around that corner at a max speed X before it leaves the road. The STI 05 will go around at Y. Progress is normally forward and therefore I have no doubt that Y will be greater than X. However, it won't be by that much, I bet no more than a few MPH.

Now a public road is a public road it is not a race track. A 1001 things are different between the two, not least the unpredicability of a public road, ie it is a lot more dangerous.

For you to drive the 05 on a public road in a manner such that you say "glad i don't have the 04 model I would be going y minus x miles an hour more slowly" you will IMHO be driving like a w**ker.

The reality is on the road, driving like most people actually drive and not how they think they drive on this BBS you will never exploit the increased speed/handling the 05 will give you over an 04 the difference is just not that great.

I am not saying don't by the 05, there is lots of reasons to be it, latest model, more gadgets, greater pub talk capability, better resale possible. They will "feel" different - that alone my make decide an 05 over an 04. Just don't get it thinking you will get you to work any faster.

The orginal question was - was the improved handling worth £8K more and I stick by my orginal answer - no - qualified by if you are using the car 100% on the road.

BOBBY G

I think you are all missing the point here.

The 05 has DCCD, surely this is a gift from the donut king himself!

Get down Sainsbury's car park and have some tyre shredding fun.....

yeeeeeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaaaaaaa !