RotarySoldier

I have question. I have been thinking about getting an STI or an EVO . I would primarily be using it as a daily driver, but most of my friends drive FDs so I am sure I will drive the car hard a “few” times a month. If this was the case do you think that any minute difference between the two cars (STI Understeer ect) will even be an issue? Or is does that make even more of a, which car do you like better thing?

I have driven both and the only differences i could find were the Evo felt a little easier to drive and the seats were the most comfortable seats i have ever sat in.
But the STIs interior aside from the fact that it was blue was a lot more appealing. The Evo interior was cheap. The big problem was i wasnt aloud to really "DRIVE" either of the cars.

I have also heard that the reason the Evo has a better warrenty is due to the fact that it has more problems and that the cost of up keep is hier? anyone know if this true?

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

how about you hit the EVO and Subaru forums?

not sure how you are a rotary soldier if you have no interest in rotaries.

Damien019

Personally I have driven the old and new STI's. I don't like them, you can def. feel the turbo lag and the interior IMO is cheap. Also the completely fugly exterior of the new and old STI. Not to mention STI's are everywhere.

If the EVO does have a better warrenty it wouldn't be because they are more prone to breakdown that doesn't make any buisness sense. Most stock cars have their ups and downs but are resonably well constructed. A LOT of the problems people have is because they are cheap and/or dumb and do cheap/stupid mods.

Intrigue 8

STI = more expensive in upgreades

Evo = poor stock clutch , but not as expensive in upgrades.

and Magatu is right hit up the forums, u might also wanna ask IKE

RotarySoldier

[QUOTE=Mugatu]how about you hit the EVO and Subaru forums?

not sure how you are a rotary soldier if you have no interest in rotaries.[/QUOT


To answer that i own a RX8 but i snow board alot so i was thinking of changing to a AWD. Also i am in the Army so that is where the Soldier comes from.


I have a post in the STI EVO Forum but havnt had any replies so i thought i would bring it up here.

globi

You could also consider getting a nice set of winter tires instead.

PoorCollegeKid

Are you in the US? The STi with the 2.5L engine has very little turbo lag, much less than the Evo or old 2.0L WRX do. The STi in the US also seems to have a much more robust drivetrain stock for stock, though I'm not sure how the drivetrains of the Evo and STi of other markets compare.

Stock for stock, the STi is a little quicker while the Evo handles a little better in most of the head to head tests that I've seen. The STi's suspension is supposedly quite improved if you swap out the stock springs for the STi pinks that the car gets in other parts of the world, however, and the Evo is more engine mod-friendly at this point. With similarly sized tires (the STi comes with 225s stock while the Evo gets 235s) and a few basic power mods, the numbers both put down would be all but identical. There's not enough of a difference between the two cars performance wise to say that one is clearly a better choice than the other, IMO. However, the two cars do feel very different, so taking a few test drives in both cars before making your choice is probably a good idea. It all comes down to personal preference.

Sephiroth

Don't be fooled by the warranty, it appears to me that mitsu has denied many warranty claims. This is probably because of the Evo demographic but be aware of that possibility. The evo's turbo lag can be reduced with some aftermarket.

These cars are so close you should just go with instinct.

snizzle

Don't ask Ike anything..... oh wait, we're talking about Subbies... yeah, then ask him

Seriously though, you'd learn much more about these cars by visiting the forums. Just don't ask them if they think you should buy one over another.

I'd say go with which one you think is more aesthetically pleasing since they are so close performance wise.

Ike

The Evo and STI are so close that you really need to base it on which you like best for whatever reason. IMO the STI is the better daily driver since the ride is a little less stiff, it has virually no turbo lag, the steering is less erratic, and it seems to be more reliable. The STI really only has understeer compared to the Evo and it's minimal, you would never think the STI has understeer on the street, even when pushing it hard. Even if you do end up feeling the STI understeers it's very easy to tune out with some cheap mods. Lastly, I would rather deal with Subaru than I would Mitsubishi.

So since you're looking for a daily driver, unless you want the car that is easiest to get the most HP out of I'd say go with the STI. In the end, like every review says, it's a coin flip and neither car is a bad choice.

Ike

Forgot to mention, the Evo seats are incredible and better than any stock seat I've ever been in. That includes cars that are multiple times more expensive than the Evo.

th1rd3y3

I'm VERY happy with my STi. The handling (understeer) issue is beaten to death and is beyond old. Outside of a professional course, you won't be able to tell a difference between the two. If for some reason you can, sways will fix the problem.

Both are great cars, although I'd give the nod to the STi for daily driving.

yiksing

I would go for the evo since i think the AYC is impressive

Ike

No AYC in the USDM model, but the STI gets DCCD.

RotaryRider36

Its good you are posting here in the rx8 forums. You are likely to get an unbiased opinion such as the one I am going to give you. There is no question that both cars are very similar as far as performance goes. Than again, the two cars couldnt possibly be any more different.lol. Since I have driven both cars, I will give you my personal opinion. Right off the bat, I noticed that although both cars had a very stiff suspension, the STI felt slightly more liveable. If you are used to riding around in your friends' FD's, either ride will probably feel super comfortable in comparison. Also, the STI feels slightly more torquey(probably spelled it wrong), and thought I noticed slightly less turbo lag, probably due to the larger displacement. I however, if forced to choose between the two would go with the Evo. Due to the fact that the 4g63 has been around for so long, it responds to mods much better than the Sti. Sure, the sti guys will argue that they can get 500+ HP outta there sti but I promise you, you will get more Horsepower for a cheaper price from the evo. The motor is also highly reliable, even when modded somewhat heavily. The 2.5 liter motor in the sti is just still too new, and ive heard of one too many sti motors being blown from improper tuning. None of this has been hearsay, as ive personally known two individuals with blown motors in the car. My next question to you is...are you considering an evo 8 or an evo 9? while both cars boast extraordinary performance, the big talk on the evo forums is that a couple of guys have posted quarter mile times of 12.9 seconds in their bone stock evo 9. I haven't personally driven the evo 9, but the general concencus on th evo board is that the evo 9 has roughly 30 more hp to the wheels than the 03 evo 8. This statement is further backed up by the tuners vishnu performance (highly regarded evo and wrx tuners). That puts to rest any question as to whether or not the evo is faster than the sti. As far as looks go, its a personal decision. I always liked the look of the evo to the sti. The evo 9 still looks good, while the sti has gone from a nice looking car, to very ugly in 06. Thats just me though. Either way you go, I doubt you will be dissapointed as far as performance goes, but from my own personal driving experience, I feel the evo has more to offer. Cheers and best of luck with your purchase.

Ike

The STI engines that I've heard of blowing were all because of mods. The STI injectors are working at around a 90% duty cycle so something as simple as a boost controller, TBE (without tuning) can cause problems. Toss on top of that the fact that the car ran poorly with anything below 93 octane and you've got a recipe for some problems. It wasn't wide spread but certainly was an issue. Since then Subaru has made some adjustments so the problems have prettymuch been resolved (unless of course you're modding improperly).

Anyhow, good comparo and not far off from how I feel. Probably the main thing keeping me from trading in my WRX is I can't decide which car I want more (The Evo, STI, or save some money and keep mine of get an '06 WRX).

Steiner

Check out the STi boards when you have a chance. They have a great community over there. I usually go to my local forum, NorCalEvo.Net, for the best advice and information about my Evo. The national Evo forum, EvolutionM, is mostly overrun by morons, a-holes and newbs so don't even waste your time over there. Fewer and fewer people over there seem capable of saying nice and/or objective things about the STi. Unfortunately the fanbois have taken over.

In Northern California we have some of the nations best Evo/STi tuners (Vishnu, Gruppe-S, WORKS, Force Fed, ProStreet Motorsports, etc), so before I decided between the STi and Evo I tried to find out what they were saying. Back in late '04/early '05 the STi aftermarket was still growing for the new EJ25 motor. WRX tuners like Vishnu and Gruppe-S were optomistic but the Evo's 4G63 was the better bang for the buck when it came to extracting mountains of reliable HP/TQ. It still is. It's coming up on its 16th birthday. Before the first STi's hit the USDM there were already dozens of 11 second Evos doing it on the stock 16G turbo. For the STi to even catch up the factory VF39 turbo would have to be ditched. I don't know what kind of power you're looking to put down, but it will be a lot easier and lot cheaper to get near the "magical" 400whp with an Evo. With the right mods and engine managment, it can be done on the factory snail too.

Now if you're just looking for stoplight-to-stoplight brawler, the STi might be the funner and easier car to drive off the showroom floor. The way it produces power down low and darts effortlessly around town almost make it feel like there's a small block V8 under the hood. It builds its power sooner. It also rides softer, has a nicer interior, cruise control, and side airbags. Stock for stock, the STi generates relatively the same power as the Evo. However, where the Evo does it with only 2 liters and a big turbo, the STi does it with 2.5 liters and a smaller turbo. The trade-off is a quicker spooling engine with lots of low end grunt. The other trade-off is a somewhat lackluster top-end pull. That's why you uncork that boxer with a nice 3" TBE. Nothing sounds quite as unique as a nice free flowing exhaust on an STi.

The Evo will do everything the STi does in a straightline, but the engine will need to be revved a little higher in order to get off the line with the same pounce. Driving around town in the Evo is fun, but you don't have the lowend power of the STi. However boost comes on in full force at about 3.5k RPM's and the feeling is amazing! It's awesome.

As far as handling...I've never driven an STi hard through the canyon like I drive my Evo so I can't give you a first hand account of how they stack up. However I can tell you that the Evo has better driver feedback than any car I've ever driven. The steering rack is quick, the seats are awesome, and the car tells you exactly what it can and can't do. The confidence you get in this car will make you want to outrun the police when they catch you casually and effortlessly darting in and out of traffic. As far as tracking either car, I've talked to a few guys about it but have never been myself. The consensus seems to be that the Evo is the more composed and more agile car. One STi owner who gets his car tuned at Gruppe-S told me "the Evo feels like a race car built from the ground up, but my STi feels like a powerfull car with stuff added to it after the fact..."Take from that what you will.

What kind of goals do you have for the new car?

Ike

This video should help a bit, I think Clarkson summed things up pretty well, though keep in mind there are some differences between the UK and USDM models. Also, the steering on the '06 STI is quicker than the '05 and the handling overall a touch better. The video does cut out a little early and Clarkson said he found himself getting in the STI more often when they weren't shooting, can't remember his exact reasons though.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...&q=top+gear+STI


Nice writeup by the way Steiner.

-=Rowdy=-

Kelly Clarkson reviews imports?

RotarySoldier

I dont plan on Modding the car alot but if i do it sounds like the Evo would be the easier one to Mod.

strokercharged95gt

get the EVO, cheaper to mod and the 4g63 is a better motor IMO, and has had nearly 2 decades of R&D and refining. knowing that a subaru has to have a half of liter advantage to produce the same number should tell you something.

sti_eric

The only reason for the 2.5L is emissions. Everywhere else in the world, the STi uses a 2.0L and produces the same hp as the 4g63. In the US, the 2.5L engine produces more power and has less lag than the 4g63.

Steiner

Less lag than the Evo VIII, but less power and the same spool an an Evo IX. A dyno is a baseline...nothing more...so don't flip out when I post these numbers. Gruppe-S has an extremely conservative Mustang AWD dyno.

stock 2003/2004 Evo: 205whp
stock 2005 Evo: 215whp
stock STi (all years): 215whp
stock 2006 Evo: 225 whp
stock 2006 WRX: 185whp

They do dozens of dyno pulls per week and have been very impressed with the Evo IX and, more importantly, how well it takes to mods. With just a flash and 3" TBE, the '06 Evo IX (with its bigger turbo and variable valve timing) is putting down roughly the same power as a flashed and cammed '03/'04 Evo VIII with a 3" TBE. It also puts down the power sooner and holds the power curve longer.

I can't wait for the Evo X.

RotarySoldier

I think that I have come to the realization that trying to decide between theses to cars isn’t worth the headache. I think that I am going to keep the 8 and fork out 5k and get an old Jeep. Thanks for the help guys.

RX Renesis

not Kelly Clarkson... its Jermy Clarkson... some UK dude that reviews cars for a show called TOP GEAR aired on BBC every sunday night i believe...