Okay.. I have searched, and haven't found a thread that answers my questions. Sorry if I suck at searching.
With that out of the way,
Hi! A little about me: I'm in the Army, currently in Iraq. I only have 2 more months to go before I ship back home, and I think I've got the WRX bug. Basically, I'm looking at buying a used WRX. Preferably between '04-'07 STi/'06-'07 WRX. And one thing I have learned by reading the forums so far is to only buy it if it is stock.
I'd like to get a STi, and know that I have basically the fastest factory Subaru that I could, however I'm not made of money. I could afford to get one, but not easily, and the insurance would be around $100 more. Another option that I am thinking of (after reading Kobiyashi's WRX Modification Guide) is buying a regular WRX and tinkering with it as I have the time and money to do so. This would actually be more fun for me. I don't have much experience working on cars, but they can't be that much different from helicopters.
My question is this: Is there anything that comes standard on the STi that I cannot reasonably later add onto a WRX? I expect for some engine components to be different, but if they are two different blocks it would be a dealbreaker. My end goal here is to make a fast, clean looking WRX. Am I going to kick myself in the ass and grind my teeth at night a few years down the road because my WRX doesn't have X or Y on it?
Thanks in advance for (hopefully) helping a complete newbie.
1) what are you going to use the car for? DD track time?
DD. Probably no track time. I have no interest in street racing, either. Very short drive to work every day, however it will be used on a ~3000 mile drive once or twice per year. I won't be able to resist flooring it every once in a while, though.
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Originally Posted by wrx9wagon
2) the transmitions the wrx has a 5 speed that is going to be the weakest link the sti has a much biefier 6 speed.
I can deal with that. Guessing that is the $7k-ish transmission I've read about. Not sure if I'll need that any time soon.
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Originally Posted by wrx9wagon
3) what were you looking to do to the car mod wise?
Short answer--Make it faster . Like I posted, I really have no experience working on cars. This would be my daily driver, and I plan on following the WRX modification guide written by Kobiyashi pretty much to a T. I would probably ask questions on here more than once during the process. Definitely pick up a Hayne's manual. I don't know how heavily I will modify it yet. That depends on how much free time and money I have in the future.
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Originally Posted by wrx9wagon
4) what's the budget.
As I said earlier, I can afford a WRX / STi in that year range. Already checked prices etc. However, it will definitely be much easier for me to afford a standard WRX. That's what I would like to do, assuming they aren't too different.
Well if you can afford the STI I would go with it. It is a better stepping stone for future mods if there will be many. The WRX is a good choice also. Thats what i chose because of the price. As long as your easy with the tranny they are great.
to be honest bro, the wrx 5 speed is weak, but honestly everybody is way to afraid of it, if taken care off and you dont do stupid crap like reving to redline and dumping the clutch it will be fine...i have a fully build 2.0 engine running on the stock tranny and im doing fine and i know quite a bit of people around my side with over 300 whp on stock tranny...the wrx is cheaper to start with and as time goes by you can tinker with it a stage 2 wrx on 18-19 psi is very fun; however the 6 speed and suspension mods the sti comes with stock are a big plus and not to mention those sexy brembos lol...
i really REALLY think that since this is your first car, go with the wrx so you can use that extra money for you mods. that extra cash will go a long way with your modding. the tranny is a bit weak, but if you are not interested in racing then you SERIOUSLY dont even need to worry about it. the 08-09 transmissions are a little stronger also btw. the best thing about buying a wrx instead of an sti is that you will be able to get a newer vehicle so it will insure that there is no hidden damage or abuse, that would be a huge selling point for me. trust me man, when you start modding you will be paranoid about every little noise or anything about your car that seems odd. the comfort of knowing that its unlikely that someone before you abused the car is great.
p.s. with the extra money you'll save you can make your wrx waaayyy faster than an sti
Eh, the WRX is hard. The Stage 2 really just gets you warmed up. You start looking at more expensive and tranny stressing mods like a decent sized turbo. The STi at stage 2 however is a much more rounded car already packing the larger turbo along with a much more robust and shift happy 6-speed. I was not satisfied with the stage2 wrx but my stage2 (ish) STi feels about right.
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16G powered lagless fun
I was in the same boat as you around a year and a half ago. I went with the wrx and i wish i would have went with the STi. My wrx has a 16g turbo with all the supporting mods, front mount, tbe etc. right now in a straight line it would be about equivilent to a stage 2 STi. I have more money in the wrx than i ever planned on putting into it and it still is not that fast, quick but not fast. If i would have went with the STi and put this much money into it, i would be much happier with the faster, more well-rounded car. Plus I would love to be able to go out to the track occasionally and launch the car and not have to worry too much about it because the 6 speed is pretty beefy. But my tranny isn't that strong so I dont get to experience that. IMO go with the sti. I love my wrx but I do regret my decision.
Having previously owned an 05WRB wrx, and currently owning an 07CGM wrx, i can say that i think about this question all the time. I would say get the wrx, because you will appreciate it more than the sti. I have learned so much from modifying my suspension especially, that i would have not learned if i bought the sti.
More importantly i think is whether or not the wrx is 06-07 vs 02-05. Both of my wrxs were stage 2 and the 07 wrx would walk all over the 05 wrx it was not even funny. SO from personal experience i would say 1. 06-07 WRX 2. STI 3. 02-05 WRX in order of preference. I also have ended up modding more than i thought i would, which make me appreciate the wrx even more. My tranny is doing fine, i drive my car hard, but not recklessly.
**EDIT** For what it is worth, the 06 wrx has some aluminum suspension parts (at least the control arms), wheras the 07 has stamped steel. Just FYI
I have learned so much from modifying my suspension especially, that i would have not learned if i bought the sti.
Well, I would say the complete opposite. I had an 04 WRX and learned a lot but there was a whole range of possibilities open to me I would not have considered once I upgraded to the 04 STi. Also, the price difference wasn't as much as you would think. Especially if you're comparing an 04-05 STi to a late model EJ255 WRX.
Look, neither are bad choices. I'm not going to frown on anybody else's decisions. There is no right answer to this question, just personal experience.
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16G powered lagless fun
I've seen you guys talking about stage 1 and 2 wrx's. Is that a factory stage 1 or 2 or is that a set of upgrades you've done? If they do make a factory stage 2 or whatever, how can you tell if you're wrx is 1 or 2?
Thanks for all of the responses! I can see that there are definitely benefits to both options. Right now I'm leaning towards an '06 WRX as my ideal next car. Basically, I'm just not interested enough in racing it to need the extra performance that an STi would start me off with. And as ajtoce said, with the money I'll save on the initial purchase I can probably make a WRX at least as fast as, if not faster than, an STi.
Surprisingly, today I got some news that will delay my purchase for at least a year. I just got orders to Korea with a report date that is only about 4 months after I get back from Iraq (something that I requested, but really did not expect at all) and I don't want to be paying for a car that I can't drive. Korea is one of the few overseas duty stations that doesn't allow everybody to drive(Sergeant First Class and above only, unless it has changed since my last Korea tour). This is probably better in the long run, because now I have time to look around until I find the best possible deal I can get. In the mean time, I have a fully paid for '94 GMC Sierra that will get me from point A to point B.
I really appreciate the advice. All of you make great points, and if I didn't hear every side of the argument I wouldn't have had the information needed to make the correct decision for my situation.
This seems like a pretty good forum, I think I'll stick around
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. Like I posted, I really have no experience working on cars. This would be my daily driver, and I plan on following the WRX modification guide written by Kobiyashi pretty much to a T. I would probably ask questions on here more than once during the process. Definitely pick up a Hayne's manual. I don't know how heavily I will modify it yet. That depends on how much free time and money I have in the future.
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