I would argue that a 500hp V8 makes a much better daily than a 400hp 2.5 liter. If you have never driven a 500hp v8 you probably should, not only are they super easy to drive around town but that car is probably going to get the same gas mileage as your suby. My brothers vette has always gotten better gas mileage than my subarus.
No I agree, but he's not driving a 400hp four cyl right now. As I understand his car is pretty much stock. My dad drove a c6 vette (430hp) daily for a long time. I drove it for about a week when my Forester was in the shop. It was :eek3:. I loved it. Also something about a 500hp boosted mustang just makes me wary. That might be totally unfounded but its true nonetheless.
I know he has said that he is probably backing off the trade, but for others in this boat here are some of the questions I would HAVE to ask and my perspective on the deal. 1. Why is he willing to trade his Stang that has has sunk A LOT of cash into for a car with 120k miles? 2. Who did the work on the car? 3. Any references for the shop that did the work? Are they reputable? 4. Do you want to just go fast in a straight line? 5. Are you good with maintenance? 6. What would the money I would have to spend do for my Subaru? I have no issues with Mustangs. My previous hot rod was a 89 drop top with a built motor making over 450 lb ft of torque! That being said, traction in the rain was a joke. Forget about first gear starts...even 2nd gear starts would slip around. I could only imagine what 500 hp would be like in the rain. Mustangs have pretty solid engines. I had over 60k on mine and it still ran STRONG the day I sold it. The mod motor is a pretty good solid motor. I would say that a built 4.6 would last just as long as a built 2.5...look at Liquidforce and his recent piston issue. 50k miles and he has toasted another piston. Any time you start getting serious hp, you are going to trade off some amount of reliability. There is a reason race teams tear down their motors so often!! Now here is the BUT in my thoughts. The wrx is so much more of a pleasure to drive. The handling just about stock is TONS better than my old mustang that had around $4000 in the suspension. The wrx just has springs The main thing comes down to preference. I prefer the Subaru to pre-2005 mustangs. The newest 2005+ redesigned body is a much different beast and handles pretty good stock. Still not as good as the WRX, but pretty good. So I guess it just depends on what you want out of the car, but get some answers before making the decision.
The strongest car i ever drove to the limits is a 350hp evo. So i guess i dont know what 500 feels like. But im not doing the trade, ill just wait to do the 2.5 swap.