STIs performance bang for the buck vs other cars

[Juice33]

They are talking about 03/04 SVT Cobras, not the new Shelby GT500. I had an 03 Cobra and bought it in 04 with 115 miles on it for 26500 (they were $33k-$34k new), so I think I got a great deal. Then I spent 1500 on intake, catback, smaller s/c pulley and a tune and made 466 rwhp & 472 rwhp. If you want a car that you won't have to worry about the engine untill you reach large amounts of power, the cobra is the car. It also handle pretty well for a car that heavy, it has an IRS and not a solid rear end so the handling is there, you just have to learn how to launch off the line differently than with a solid axle.

However, I had to get rid of the car because my knee is bad and the clutch was too much for my knee at the time. I got a Lightning for a short time, and now I just picked up an 2006 Evo IX. The IX really is a sweet car. I like it a lot, and i like it even more than my 2004 STi. The handling is intense and the power is pretty good once the turbo starts spooling.

[2004NeonSRT4]

This argument is kind of ridiculous my friend. Buy like an 87 5.0 Fox Body for 1500 dollars and spend 3k in mods and do all of that as well for much, much less money.

As for the STi being a good bang for the buck, the simple answer is, Yes.

Handling limits driving at 10/10 and having *fun* while driving at 7/10 is something that the STi however, destroys even a highly modded SRT-4 does. FWD is the antithesis of fun for handling IMHO.

took me a few times to read that but i get it. your totally right. i wouldnt say its not fun to drive but your feel like you can go way faster easier in a awd.

[TurnWRX]

One thing I'm a little disappointed in though is the fact that you can't even add a sunroof to it. I'm pretty sure those things can be installed aftermarked but I'm curious as to how much a structural hit would the car take by having a huge hole cut in its roof.

2007 sti limited edition

[WRX-ERROR]

Sorry guys but if you want best bang for your buck I'm going to have to say an ls1 powered car. All this talk about hp and 1/4 mile times and no one brings up an f-body. Shame on you.

400+hp from a Cobra is nice, 330awhp from an EVO is sweet, 370fwhp in an SRT4 is banging. But all those cars need FI to do it. An i/e/h/c ls1 would do all that with alot of room to grow. Solid axel rear and moster tq makes it without a doubt one of the best cars built for straight line running. You can pick up a 2002 WS6 with sub 30,000 miles for under 15k. Drop another 5k into and neither the EVO, SRT4, STi of GT will come close to it in a 1/4 miles run. And while the Cobra is a badass car, dollar for dollar up to 600hp the ls1 is cheaper.

If I were you I would check out www.ls1tech.com

[Gloveperson]

I was into the F-body crowd of modding for a long time and it takes a lot more than you may think.

For one, the rear axle is a POS. That is 2k right there for a car that has anymore than bolt-ons and no sticky tires for a manual. A clutch is needed and especially a new master cylinder.

So far, we have a new clutch, rear-end, gear sets and master cylinder (as well as the other little things such as a flywheel, pressure plate, throwout bearing and slave cylinder) with us spending about 3000.

A set of good long tube headers and a cutout will set you back another 1200 dollars. A lid luckily is only about 100. An LSX 90mm TB and intake manifold is another 1000. You could go with the stock LS6 and ported TB for only 100 if so desired, but on a good head/cam or big cam set-up, you should have them since they are worth about 20 WHP.

A camshaft and all of the accompanying things will be about 800 and labor is about 800.

Tuning is a variable, depends on if you get it pro tuned or by a friend so cost is anywhere from 100-500 I suppose.

This will get you about 380-420 WHP depending on the cam for an M6, but as you can see, the cost was not cheap and we didn't even get suspension or tires in.

[Pwnjabi]

I guess that's why you've got the STi now?
How do you compare the STi and the Z28 overall? Is the STi easier to drive? Does it feel better? My dad had a 82 firebird around 20 years ago and while strong, I remember it being big and clunky. But I barely had my license and was just learning to drive.

I brought up the ls1 in my initial post because I was surprised by its stock 1/4 mile times. Not sure why, but it was only sparingly mentioned after that. Thanks for some in depth info on the LS1 wrx-error & glovesperson.

[dehnem]

1st and even much of 2nd gear are basically useless on modded SRT4's.

I don't want to be seen as an SRT4 basher but if your looking at a max price range in STI territory then why would you even consider an SRT4.... I'm sorry there is just something about a FWD car that is a "performance car" that just makes no sense. Plus when you start to modify a FWD car you have no traction because of the fact the car squats over the rear tires lifting the front ones that get power....ooooo so thats why sports cars are RWD.... sorry if any neons were offended i mean i know they are faster then my WRX but for how the car feels to drive and how the car handels and how the interior look there is no way I would be caught dead in a NEON.... (for me that is key i just had to many x-girlfriends that drove neons that were ugly)

I'm sure i'll hear it for this one o well

[Death To Ricers]

I don't want to be seen as an SRT4 basher but if your looking at a max price range in STI territory then why would you even consider an SRT4.... I'm sorry there is just something about a FWD car that is a "performance car" that just makes no sense. Plus when you start to modify a FWD car you have no traction because of the fact the car squats over the rear tires lifting the front ones that get power....ooooo so thats why sports cars are RWD.... sorry if any neons were offended i mean i know they are faster then my WRX but for how the car feels to drive and how the car handels and how the interior look there is no way I would be caught dead in a NEON.... (for me that is key i just had to many x-girlfriends that drove neons that were ugly)

I'm sure i'll hear it for this one o well

Oh yes, what else did you expect? Us SRT-4 guys are everywhere.

#1. Can we please stop having SRT-4 bashing threads? It is a great sports car however you look at it. YES the WRX is a better car, YES I miss my WRX. YES I want another WRX, but no matter how you look at it, the SRT-4 is a great car.

#2. SRT-4 interior and Neon interior are completly different. SRT-4's have Viper seats.

#3. Whoever said the f-body had the best idea.

[dehnem]

Oh yes, what else did you expect? Us SRT-4 guys are everywhere.

#1. Can we please stop having SRT-4 bashing threads? It is a great sports car however you look at it. YES the WRX is a better car, YES I miss my WRX. YES I want another WRX, but no matter how you look at it, the SRT-4 is a great car.

#2. SRT-4 interior and Neon interior are completly different. SRT-4's have Viper seats.

#3. Whoever said the f-body had the best idea.

If you read how i start off i'm saying that the car isnt worth it if your looking at other cars in the 30,000 dollar price range that is all....


I never once said it wasnt fast and i know they are faster then my WRX

in fact my main point is that the FWD takes it out of the competition and that is my only dispute on the car

[2004NeonSRT4]

i got rid of my wrx cause it was to easy to drive and never gave me a challenge behind the wheel. just point it and go, lift alil throttle at understeer then more gas. a monkey could drive a awd car fast. a fwd actually takes time, effort and the willingness to want to know how to make a car go fast. you guys choose ur cars and we choose ours. all for differnt reasons. will never aggree and thats great. but gaining knowledge not bashing is what a forum is suppose to be about. some parties on both sides have there nug hugger fan boys that never want or care to know about any other car then there own. and sadly that 80% of the sport compact market. instead of making stabs like FWD=suxxors. why not ask a srt guy if hes autocrossed the car and how its doing for him. ull be pleasenly surpised and you might even learn something.

[Me&05WRX]

i got rid of my wrx cause it was to easy to drive and never gave me a challenge behind the wheel. just point it and go, lift alil throttle at understeer then more gas. a monkey could drive a awd car fast. a fwd actually takes time, effort and the willingness to want to know how to make a car go fast. you guys choose ur cars and we choose ours. all for differnt reasons. will never aggree and thats great. but gaining knowledge not bashing is what a forum is suppose to be about. some parties on both sides have there nug hugger fan boys that never want or care to know about any other car then there own. and sadly that 80% of the sport compact market. instead of making stabs like FWD=suxxors. why not ask a srt guy if hes autocrossed the car and how its doing for him. ull be pleasenly surpised and you might even learn something.

^^^
I'm with you on what you said! It's just plain ignorance when one bashes another.

[dehnem]

Ok I don't think what i said was all that much of a bashing.... I was simply saying for the price range he is looking at. If he said he wanted a car that was straightline performance for 20-25 thousand then i would say go for the SRT4 way before the WRX because they are a lot faster but he is looking to spend more money for his car and thats why i said it...

[powder]

I've driven (in this order) '06 WRX, '06 STi, SRT-4 b2b2b w/in like, 3 hours. I'm sorry to say that because of the FWD 'issue' as i like to call it, the SRT-4 was not even close to the WRX. That's my personal opinion, and driving as many cars as i have, the SRT-4 is what it is. It's a screamin alternative to a Civic Si or integra GSR or something to that effect, but it's drive train doesn't hold a candle to the superiority of AWD. As far as spending little money for lot's of performance, i've seen WRX's w/ 2500 into them go mid-high 12's.

[mike05STi]

.... I'm sorry there is just something about a FWD car that is a "performance car" that just makes no sense. Plus when you start to modify a FWD car you have no traction because of the fact the car squats over the rear tires lifting the front ones that get power....ooooo so thats why sports cars are RWD....
I'm sure i'll hear it for this one o well

I fully 100% agree with this entire post. However, I don't agree with it in the sense of bashing SRT-4s. I agree in the sense of 'FWD performance cars', which IMO is an oxymoron. AWD and RWD > FWD (in a performance aspect), regardless if it's a Neon, Integra, Civic, etc...

Best bang for buck performance in an all around sense = Evo. It can be a track car one day and then a 1/4mile beast the next... not to mention all weather capabilities. STi can do the same, but the Evo is slightly cheaper and can handle MUCH MORE power on the stock drivetrain components.

Kudos to you DTR for offering an unbiased, logical statement on the Evo and STi. I fully agree with this entire post. Except that as far as drivetrain components go, the STi's 6MT is just as strong as any of the Evo's trannies.
But yeah, the 4G can handle mods better and cheaper than the EJ257.
EJ22 anyone?!?
If you want all out, collective, well rounded performance on a budget, the Evo. If you still want all out well rounded performance, to an extremely slightly lesser extent, with reliability and daily drivability, and a slightly more forgiving ride, the STi.
If you want a $.25 mile/straight line/highway beast, the SVT Cobra or an LS1.

[Gloveperson]

I guess that's why you've got the STi now?
How do you compare the STi and the Z28 overall? Is the STi easier to drive? Does it feel better? My dad had a 82 firebird around 20 years ago and while strong, I remember it being big and clunky. But I barely had my license and was just learning to drive.

The STi is a lot more fun to drive than my Camaros were. I miss the low end torque the Camaros made, especially when driving at 1/4 throttle.

The STi is much easier to drive, much smaller and much easier to drive daily.