I just wanted to share what I thought...personal experience of others, helpped me in the past. So I will share mine. I now own an '06 STi. I owned an '03 EVO VIII. Bottom line, both cars are awsome. I've tracked both cars, daily driven both, and upgraded both. 1. EVO feels like a pure race machine. It feels like a lion ready to hunt. Its raw. Is just a pure race machine. Stock Vs. Stock, the Evo feels faster because of the sudden turbo kick. The EVO also felt faster before break in period. EVO feels more tourquey between 2,500-3,500rpm, than it dies off. With TBE intake, and AFR, I ran a 13.032 sec. 1/4 mile 90 degree Commerce weather. Pretty quick. The EVO feels slower than the STi at rolling pulls. like 60mph roll, 70,80mph rolls. I guess because high RPM hp dies a good bit. On the track or mountains, the EVO feels very responsive and predictable. easy to correct. No body roll. Easy to go fast. EVO is just a great car all around. +++ if you buy one. One complain on the '03 EVO is that the clutch is too weak. 2. STI. is faster than my '03 EVO. It doesnt feel like it is, but it is. Because the power on the STi is more linear from bottom to top rpms, the "punch" that the EVO gives, is not felt, so you think the car is slower. NOT ! The Sti is just more decent to provide power. It doesnt die off at higher RPM's and the short gears makes the car faster on roll ons. You dont get the race car feel riding around town at 45mph like the EVO does, but is more comfortable to own as a daily driver. At the track, it performs as well as the EVO. The only diff. is that the EVO gives you confidence more than the STi. They both will pull you around a corner like an animal, but the EVO is easier to trust. STi is an awsome car, so is the EVO. The STi really wakes up after 1,000 miles or so and with a few simple mods, the STI becomes rotten! In my experience, which one I like better? honestly.....its a tide for me I give both cars a #1. P.S. when I ran a 13.0sec with the EVO, my buddy was also running 13.0 with an '04 STi his had less modds. Only had a catless down pipe...thats it! it was 90-92 degrees that day, so they both could have broken into the 12's. Both drivers, myself and my friend are equal in launching these AWD monsters. :gaysex:
That sounds backwards of most everything else I've read. Nice to see you picked the better machine though. The newer Evo RS's are beasts
Remember guys, before you jump your guns about the comparison...I had both cars and this is my oppinion. Thats all ! enjoy !
nice to hear from someone who has owner both cars... however, i find it surprising that you felt that the evo dies out up top whereas the STi pulls hard throughout the band... the STi with a 2.5 motor and smaller turbo should die out at higher rpms (like mine does) while the evo with the bigger turbo should hold power longer... i have never driven an evo though so i am not backing this with experience
Nope, my 05 evo pulled damn hard to redline, but didn't have nearly the torque feel of my wife's 05 STi. The evo turbo kicks ass if you like nice power to redline, but I like the extra grunt down low of the STi much better, especially for autoX. I haven't driven an 03 evo, and I know the turbo was changed for the 05 evo. -- Brian
I did many back to back comparisons of the cars on the street, autoX course and track when we had both of them, and my experience was almost opposite. IMO (and in line with the reviews posted in magazines, web, etc), the STi does clearly have much more punch down low, while with the evo, you have to wait for the turbo to spool up. But for the evo, it kept on pulling up in the higher rpm range, where the STi fell on it's face. As for my evo, it was flashed, and we dyno'd both cars back to back, 265whp/265tq for the STi (stock + catback), and 297whp/313tq for the evo at SOG. I did drive stock 05 evo on an occasion, comparing it to my evo, and the STi, and it was pretty similar to my car, but didn't pull as hard, especially on top. I felt that the STi was faster than the stock evo, but my flashed evo was faster, with the taller evo 5 speed gearing and more linear power up top. Anyway, I miss my evo a lot, but in the end, I think that the STi is a much better car. The main thing that I didn't like with the evo, is that it just didn't feel solidly engineered. The stock clutch is crap, and I have heard of many horror stories with the transmission, similar to the durability of the wrx transmission. I feel much more comfortable driving the STi hard on the autoX course, than the evo. The interior wasn't as nice in the evo either, aside from the kickass seats. Also, our STi feels just as strong as when we bought it. We did the hard break-in procedure, and have 38k miles on it now. BTW, thanks for the wheels, they will work great for extra autoX wheels. I will post pics for you after I paint them pink :keke: -- Brian
Thats a hell of an arsenal ^^^^ !! 600hp just in the back row.... Then 2 autocrossers... Whats the honda for? DD?
I sold the evo a few months ago, and went back to a EK civic hatch for a daily driver. The red crx is gone too, as it was just a parts car for rebuilding the black car. The black car is now yellow. The s2000 was stripped of it's motor, and I sold the chassis. I picked up a super seven kit car chassis to put the s2000 drivetrain. I also picked up a bmw 530i for a potential new daily driver, but I am leaning towards keeping the civic, as it gets much better gas mileage. My wife still has the sti. I also picked up a race prepared roll caged crx. Anyway, not to go off topic.. STi >> evo IMO -- Brian
Funny how two people will drive the same cars and come away with such different opinions. This is of course why you test drive cars before purchase, rather than just read endless mag reviews and forum strings. My experience during evo test drives (4 total...2 on the 8 and 2 on the 9) was more like the bulk of the posters in this particular thread. Even the Mitsu sales guy on my first test drive of the evo 8 said, "Now remember, you really have to wring the motor out to get power...." He was right. The evo 8 was all but gutless below 4k rpm. Needless to say, I bought a 350z (another story). Fast forward to 2006, when I went back to Subaru to drive an 06 STI and Mitsu for an evo 9. Though it was clear the 9 had an improved pwr band over the 8, it still did not have the sheer grunt that the STI has in the lower RPM range, but maybe an advantage up top. At the end of the day, it was a tough call...I went with the 06 STI, despite the fact that there were things I really, really liked about the evo 9. My gut told me the Subaru would be a better car overall.
Yep, I agree with you fully. On a side note, do you sell those turbonator things? I heard they were a scam: http://www.turbonator.com/ I get spam messages from them often.. can't figure out how to get off their spam list. If you sell them, can you get me off their f&#$ing list. Thanks, -- Brian
I disagree on one point only. Evo seats waaaaaay better than STi seats. Everything else interior the STi wins.
Definately! We put a set of evo seats in the STi for a while, and it kicked ass: You lose the airbags though. -- Brian
i was gonna get the sti but i looked at it at the dealer the new front end just wasnt my taste. i guess that was the main reason i got the evo. interior i think subaru has better/ more expensive look to it. (not just looks its true) the seats i would haveto go with evo's. engine.... i just went w/ evo b/c i knew more about I4 than H4 .i think its easier to work with. i'm pretty happy w/ my evo now but more and more i look at the new sti it looks good w/ a different front bumper and FMIC it looks damn good. i didnt have a problem where the power dies at high rpm... it pulls till redline. may be it has to do with the mivec ?? w/ tbe, mbc, dyno tune, intake im making 331awhp 332tq. i think sti has an advantage with its bigger motor. far as torque/spool up time goes. i might get an sti soon if not s2000 . bottom line they both are a great car.