so a friend of mine who drag races 7 second turbocharged motorcycles asked me which of these two cars was the better platform to start out with, which one has more potential than the other. and i'm talking about the last gen evo and sti, not the current ones coming out.

i wasn't really sure, but i like subarus because they have some features that the evo's don't, like a 2.5 liter versus a 2.0 liter, that is also horizontally opposed, and mounted lower and further back than the evo, so it has some considerably better innate engineering that you really couldn't change about the evo. also, there is no replacement for displacement, so that half a liter difference should give the sti more potential for upgrading the turbocharger, and boost and such. also, all sti's have 6 speed manuals, while only the evo MR had a 6 speed manual i believe, the rest had 5 speeds right.

but the evo does have the advantages like coming with a front mount intercooler, instead of a top mount intercooler, so it is easier and cheaper to fit a larger intercooler than it is with the sti and its top mount intercooler that would require new plumbing and such to fit a larger front mount intercooler. also, i think the evo's have more aftermarket support because i have seen alot more heavily modified evo's at autocross events than i have sti's. also,the evo has one cool feature that the sti doesn't, which is the vortex generators have give it alot of useful downforce for better handling. and you can also get different trims, like the RS that is all stripped down for racing and such.

so what do you guys think? this was just some facts i pulled off the top of my head while sitting at the bar at my restaurant, didn't have any specs or comparisons to review before i told him what i thought. anyway, i thought it might be a nice discussion on here to compare and contrast the potential of these platforms, and next time i see him, i'll be able to tell him what other people have said about these cars, and what he should get.

he is probably going to modify the hell out of it, so he isn't looking for the best factory performance, more along the lines of the highest potential platform. so opinions preferably backed by some facts are welcome.

 

STI

 

Well technically get a 2.5RS and do the STI Swap on it, its lighter than an STI is by a few hundred pounds.

 

i think it really depends on what you're doing.

i just watched something on speed (channel) last night and
there was a company that used the evo for shooting film
because it can outperform any car as far as handling goes.

but...if you're doing races where there will be more areas that
are straight, the STi would be better IMO.

In my OPINION go with the STi for speed, but go with the
evo if there are a LOT of turns. The STi would be able to keep
up for most of it, but I think the evo would lose the STi given
the right track.

 

Ive seen more higher WHP numbers for EVOs than STIs. I'm pretty sure their drivetrain is stronger as well. I do like the Sti better though. I ve seen more EVOS do better on the 1/4 mile altogether.

 

Evo>Sti imo

ive always seen evos outperform sti's....i like them both, i heard the evo has better/harsher handling...

 

The Shop by my house has an Evo IX that has 900whp my vote goes to the Evo

 

considering the STI's AWD drivetrain is symetirical i would say the STI because you have even weight dispursment throughout the whole drivetrain. with the evo you dont, you have an inline 4 opposed to an H4, and you have a FWD car with AWD added on so you dont have a symetrical drivetrain. which helps put the power to the ground more equally and give it better handling. plus my best guess would be wiht the top mount that the STI has you would lose less boost then with a front mount because of less piping. but i think the difference is negligable. yes i think the evo has the looks of the two but i think the STI has the performance. also the STI has a top mount wing which gives it just as much downforce as the Evos Vortex Generators.

 

the loss of boost psi from intercooler piping is something that only superchargers suffer from because they can only create boost directly related to rpms. but with turbocharger, the boost is regulated by the wastegate spring, so it will keep letting boost go up until the spring in the wastegate is triggered to release excess boost.

 

sigh...in retrospect, i should have make this post with a poll...

 

there, it is now a poll, everybody can vote to make it easier for me to keep track of their decisions.

 

STI. only because I know mitsubishi's are notorious for tranny breakdown or breakdown thru the driveaxles.

 

evo, im a little biased

evo 9's are very mod friendly. good power gains can be had with very little amount of money.
throughout the years there have been some minor changes on the evo. obviously i'm not going to list all of them. you can search for them if you want see all the differences.

2003-2004 evo 8's had HID, intercooler sprayer standard. only in 5spd
2004 they added the evo RS
2005 evo 8's added ACD, no intercooler sprayer, in place where the intercooler sprayer reserve was is now the ACD reserve tank, HID's are now optional in a package known as the SSL (sun, sound, leather and hid).
2005 added the evo MR. 6spd is only offered in the MR
2006 evo 9's added MIVEC(variable valve timing for intake cam only), different headlights, taillights, front fascia, different wheels, interior seats are now alcantara.

here is my personal opinion on the evo 9.
i get solid 20mpg with a combined highway/city. i get 24mpg on the highway alone.
handles very well from the get go. factory suspension is stiff, steering is very precise. steering is never vague. the factory advan's grip very good. the harder i push in a corner, the harder it grips. bump steering is a pita sometimes. higher insurance costs(compared to the tc). needs a lot of maintenance. factory tires only lasted about 14K miles. the brake pads lasted about 22k miles.

i just recently did a 30K service which included: motor oil, transmission, transfercase, rear-diff fluid change, radiator fluid change, new serpentine belt, and new spark plugs.

here are a few pics of what my car looks like now. 33K on the clock

 

can i have it?

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YxOJ1XlXyGQ

 

well, i don't think he is looking for another drag racing vehicle. he already has his 7 second hayabusa, i think this will be more for road racing, so it would have to be a more balanced car than just a drag racer. if he wanted a drag race car, he would probably get an old school muscle car.

 

i would get an EVO any day.

 

get an evo, its a much better platform. when both cars swap turbos, usually they use the same ones. evos can make upto 400 whp on a 18g while sti is just breaking 300 with the same turbo. evos consistanly rape stis from a dig mod for mod. also the 5spd in the gsr is faster than the 6spd so dont worry.

 

EVO!! Even thought the STI has about ?25? more HP i have never seen a stock STI beat a stock EVO. Plus IMO the Evo is sexy as hell and the STI is ugly as hell, but that's just an opinion.

 

STIs COME STOCK WITH 300