I traded the STI for a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.
I now have all these parts to sell but need to spend some time trying to appropriately price them. I still have the winter wheels (OEM) and tires (new Blizzaks), a CNT catted downpipe that’s never been installed, a Cobb AP (unmarried), a Nameless cold air intake (was installed a few years but is near perfect), and a few other things (turbo blanket, EBCS, Walbro fuel pump).
The funds I receive for those parts will go to Jeep parts!
I was considering another STI but didn’t want to buy one and see Subaru release an engine revision soon after. I also considered a Golf R, but quickly gravitated to the Wrangler instead. I briefly looked at Focus RSs but for some reason, I’m not attracted to them, regardless of 350HP.
Oh, I got $17,500 for my 2011 STI. That’s a healthy down payment. That’s the highest offer I’ve received from a dealer (I’ve seen $14K and $16K). The car had 44K miles and had wear and tear associated with a 7 year old car. It had 3 door dings and some chipped paint on the hood. KBB quoted me $18.5K and $19.5K a week later. I think I did well enough. This is the value power of STIs. If I’d had a different brand, especially domestic, they would’ve given me maybe half that. This is the main reason I decided to go Wrangler…they’ve more value power than even STIs.
The car was stock when I turned it in (that was mandatory for me to do…I was not going to shaft the next owner). Before I returned it to stock, it only had the Cobb OTS stage 1 with AEM intake tune and the Nameless cold air intake. Was easy enough to put it back to stock…would’ve been a bit more difficult if I’d added those other parts like I’d planned.
Anyways, I’ll keep this site up for now and I may occasionally post about WRXs or other sports cars.
I was curious about this, then I clicked the link, which took me to a R&T page that had a YouTube video. I was floored.
The video in question:
It took a sec for me to understand that the sound wasn’t coming from the WRX but from a Porsche Boxster. And it sounded VERY nice. Very Subaru’ish but still very nice.
So, I checked FB today and saw this at Road and Track’s page:
I honestly haven’t even read the article yet (will do so soon) but immediately went to the comments section, because I knew there would be guys insisting they know how to build a better sports car than Toyota or Subaru. Well then, if that’s the case, you’d think there would be many more cars better than this (while also being at an equivalent price point) on the market already.
I’ll update the post once I’ve read the actual article.
UPDATE:
So, the article is saying that if people want more HP from the 86, they should just wait for the upcoming Supra.
I post the above for those that insist that Subaru is no longer relevant in motorsports. Subaru certainly isn’t the only manufacturer in the SP3T class. Thanks to Car24News.com for the above article.
Note that the SP3T class requires 2.0L or less in engine displacement, as well. They’re using the EJ207 as a base in their NBR race cars, which doesn’t represent USDM but is nonetheless one of their core engines. This also means that this car will not be competing with the Focus RS, as the RS is using a larger displacement engine (2.3L, I believe). I mention this because several people insist that the RS can do better…it so, it’ll have to step down in displacement to prove that…that’s certainly not going to happen, because they’d have to either homogenize a 2.0L version of the car and then step down. Or, Subaru would have to use the 2.5L variant of the EJ, which would put them in the same class as the Focus RS would race within (that’s not going to happen, either).
Higgins’s flying lap record attempt in a Subaru WRX STI is a recently-established tradition. Historically, the TT is a bikes-only event. But Subaru is a major sponsor of the annual two-week racing festival, and Higgins, born and raised on the Isle of Man, is deeply respected in the Manx motorsports world.
This is a significant quote of the article if you’ve been hearing that these attempts are nothing because Isle of Man people only care about motorcycling. I’m pretty sure they care about Higgins just as well as the event itself and history of the event. People that think that the time was slow need to understand that if the time was related to a motorcycle, it would’ve been a qualifying time (ie, it’s running as fast as many of the motorcycles that attend the events). Trivializing the feats is just ridiculous. IMO, the only people that can legitimately criticize the runs are people that have driven their cars at an equal or faster pace at the Isle of Man while also using a 4-wheeled vehicle. And just because other car makers haven’t run their cars in the event, doesn’t make the feats any less significant. Nothing is stopping other car manufacturers from attempting the same, right?
As well, I’ve heard such comments as, “A Z06 or Ferrari 458 Italia can equal the feat”. I highly doubt that, as neither of those will have the AWD advantage to go balls-out like Higgins has been doing. There is no run-off, the streets are bumpy and not designed with speed in mind, yet the Higgins has no problem running the Subaru quickly and without mishap on those streets. Another AWD car (probably of similar genre) would be the better choice. I’ve actually love to see other manufacturers run the Isle of Man!
Most people that have turbocharged Subarus and either have a Cobb Accessport or want one always ask how does one monitor for knock. I’ve elaborated on this in the past (here) but the information in the link comes straight from the source!
Excerpt:
Detonation events are inevitable and will occur from time to time on any modern vehicle running on pump gas. Your car is built to recognize these events and take the appropriate action to defend against them causing any damage. The Subaru knock detection system tends to err on the side of caution. This makes it common to see “false knock.” False knock occurs when the ECU corrects for a knock event but the noise registered is due to other noises that aren’t necessarily detonation or harmful to the engine. This often happens accelerating from a stop while letting the clutch out, during gear shifts (more so if grunting while shifting), accelerating at low RPM in a high gear, under cruise on the freeway, and during abrupt throttle changes.
This is a good read, and I’ve elaborated on some of the article’s listed items in the past (here, here, and here), but I’m not a mechanic nor do I claim to fully understand a combustion engine’s inner workings. This article comes directly from Viking Speed Shop.
An excerpt:
While largely limited to the late model WRX and STI with the EJ255 and EJ257 motors, there’s been some concern raised about the sheer numbers of ringland failures being reported on the forums. Our goal with this article is to address why this is likely occurring and how you can guard yourself from it happening to your Subaru. Some of these may seem like common sense to most, but for many younger or first time turbo car owners it may be new.
“Should I have splurged on an STI?” It’s a question all Subaru WRX owners ask themselves at some point. We’re no exception. We’ve enjoyed our Four Seasons 2015 Subaru WRX Premium, but from the very beginning have wondered whether we should have sought those three extra letters. It came to a head when a 2016 Subaru WRX STI arrived at our office for two weeks, wearing the same shade of blue pearl paint as our car.”
Many people insist that the current (2015-2016) WRX is equal or even better than the current STI. This is mainly due to the ultra-tunability of the WRX’s FA20DIT engine, the fact that it has a broader spread of torque through it’s rev range than an STI, and the fact that it’s cheaper.
I’ve been instisting that the STI is the better car because it’s more track-tuned. No, not everyone is interested in track driving, but we’re talking about cars with rally heritage here (both the WRX and the STI shares that heritage). It’s funny that the WRX supporters appear to conveniently forget this to support their argument but it is almost always mentioned when someone compares the WRX to a FWD or RWD car.
What I love about this article is that they highlight the WRX’s street strengths (it’s torque availability across the rev range) while also showing that the STI is the better car when it comes to spirited driving (it’s edgier and those edges become a negative aspect in daily driving, but become positive once the pace increases).
On the track, that immediacy gives the STI a clear advantage. More aggressive torque vectoring helps it claw through corners more quickly, and more communicative steering lets you approach the limits of adhesion with greater confidence. “It’s a WRX with all the slop and bushings and hesitation removed,” says Holmes. Even here, however, we’re talking about the difference between good and great. We’ve taken our Four Seasons WRX to the track; it’s no slouch.
I’ve said the following many times, too:
Making a decision between them boils down to how you’ll be using your Subaru. If you plan to spend lots of time at the racetrack, figure out how to scratch together the extra $8,100 for an STI. Its superior suspension and sensitive controls simply make it a more rewarding car to drive at ten-tenths.
Both cars are great. One is less focused but great for the street, while one is track-focused and great for the track. Run either one out of their element and their weaknesses will show.
I usually frown upon articles that compare the two cars. They’re not made to compete against each other. Back in the day when there was the Ford Mustang LX 5.0 and the Ford Mustang GT, you rarely saw articles comparing the two. You didn’t see comparisons of Suzuki’s B-King and their Hayabusa, either. You don’t normally see comparisons of Dodge’s Hemi-powered Charger SRT and their non-SRT Charger. You typically don’t see the Porsche Cayman base model compared to the Cayman GTS, yet so many people get wrapped around the axle in trying to compare the STI and WRX. I don’t really get it. They’re two different cars that focus on two different markets. Buy what you want and be happy about it (without trying to justify which is better because of your subjective view).
Lastly, no, you can’t buy a WRX and tack on the parts that it lacks ($8000+) to make it equal an STI. You’ll run out of that extra $8000 in savings well before you end up with an STI equivalent…and you’ll still just have an WRX. The STI’s 6-speed alone justifies it’s higher price, but the STI is the sum of it’s parts…they’re all tuned to make the STI what it is. I DO NOT hate the WRX, but it is the base product of the product line.
UPDATE:
Here’s a video I just found that has an opinion (I don’t really agree with ALL of it but it does mention some things I didn’t comment on) —
Car & Driver pits the 2015 and 2004 Subaru WRX STIs against each other, finding that although there’s more than 10 years of development between them, they’re still awfully similar in performance.
This was a great read. As well, the article comments can give reader insight (or laughs).
