Hey Everybody! Looking for an FSR machine...

[fsr drifter]

I'm looking to find the best years/trim levels of wrx or sti for offroad drifting on forest service roads / backroads.

I live in BC and have noticed that an 08 sti seems to go for the same as an 04 sti ... not sure why.. US dollar exchange, popular body styles, etc.. but the price difference is less than I would expect at Vancouver dealers.

I'm also not sure a stiff sti setup is the best for the backroads around here, but that is what they are built for right?! Maybe even though they are stiffer an sti would hold up better because they are purpose built?

Sorry ahead of time if these questions sound ridiculous... but I will be doing thousands of backwoods km in this guy and I want to get it right the first time!


Just finished 10 hours of lurking this great forum!
Thanks, Jay

[T0rque]

Wrx or STi is t purpose built for anything besides getting it's owner from point a to point b... If they were purpose built for rallying you'd have 2 seats and a roll cage.. Along with a lot higher price tag...

[poly_poly-man]

Start with a wagon or hatchback in either wrx or sti. (my recommendation. A sedan will work, but imo it will look silly )

Put on lifting springs, and match them with good struts for that height. Take off your swaybars.

Give yourself a ton of negative camber to counteract the understeer you're going to get.

Throw on good dirt/rally tires

Add a good thick skidplate and some mudflaps

finish up with some chassis stiffening (roll cage, strut braces, etc) and some safety features (better seats maybe?), and you're good to go.

I agree that making the suspension somewhat soft will be best, but you'll not want to make it floppy. Getting that balance will be tough.

No wrx or sti will be good for offroading as it comes from the factory.

One last point: Somewhere in the later gd/gg years (depends on wrx vs. sti too), they changed to DBW. This is a matter of personal preference, but some prefer the feel of DBC, so keep this in mind when making your decision.

EDIT: Forgot one major point: you should probably get an STi, or at least an STi drivetrain for the DCCD and better front diff - not sure if they put LSD fronts in any later wrx's, but I know STI's got torsen.

[fsr drifter]

Wrx or STi is t purpose built for anything besides getting it's owner from point a to point b... If they were purpose built for rallying you'd have 2 seats and a roll cage.. Along with a lot higher price tag...

I don't want to race... I just drive backroads. If I wanted to race I'd grab a Sube off the rally boards... Some great deals out there !

[fsr drifter]

@polyman... Thanks, still lots of acronyms for me to learn, probably not reasonable to drift stock sti's on dirt roads, I don't really want to spend thousands after I buy it! I think I'm on the wrong track here. Will I ruin a stock sti on dirt?