drove a 04 STi stage 2.

[DBMSTNG]

so my neighbor just bought a 2004 WRX STi with the stage 2 package. because i'm so cool, he let me take it for a drive. first thing i noticed, there's no mistaking that this is a hopped up economy car. wow this car feels small and cheap. and this comming from someone who drives a Focus as a DD. i start the car up. the exhaust sound isn't too shabby for a turbo 4. driving it i notice how short the gears are on the 6spd. again, comming from someone who drives a 6spd Focus. that surprised me since the STi has so much more power. you don't notice any turbo lag because the gears are so short. pushing the pedal to the floor, it's weird to accelerate that fast without the tires screaming. the car supposedly has 360+awhp. it doesn't feel as fast as my GT, but it may just be perception due to the awesome traction and short gearing. i didn't get to test the handling much, but it feels solid. ride quality was suprisingly good for a performance car. the brakes are great. giant brembos on the front. a few neat items are the built in shift light with adjustable rpm and the manual control of the center differential. the hood is fiberglass but shakes like crazy during normal driving. after i went back to his house, we popped the hood. damn that engine was hot! much hotter than my GT has ever been. i couldn't even hold the prop stick because it was so hot.

all in all, it's a fast car that handles great, but it doesn't "feel" like a sports car.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

A guy I work with has one, it is pretty nice but they are super expensive. I could get an 03/04 Cobra for less and that is for sure what I would do.

 

[Dope 97GT]

them things are pretty fast at the track and the kid i know usually puts down like a 1.7 60' time an runs like 12.4s

 

[Duke309]

cobra > four door economy looking car with a huge wing and gold rims

 

[03ghoststang]

those little STi are quite something a friend of mine has one nearly stock and its a quick little car

 

[Gearbanger 101]

them things are pretty fast at the track and the kid i know usually puts down like a 1.7 60' time an runs like 12.4s

It must be no where near stock then?

 

[03ghoststang]

It must be no where near stock then?

i agree with gearbanger cause nearly stock is consistent low 13's maybe high 12's

 

[Susky]

I was tempted to buy one once, but that stupid ricey looking rear wing totally turned me off.

 

[Mike97gt]

they came out with a STI limited now without the wing

 

[03ghoststang]

you could just ask a regular WRX owner to trade wings i personally dont like the shopping kart handle

 

[Kilgore Trout]

 

[Duke309]

Ok, ill start from the back, I hate a spoiler that looks like a park bench, I mean I could see some punk sitting on one of these in a parking lot.

The spoiler on top of the rear window, what is this for? so the punk sitting on the huge wing doesn't fly off when you drive away?

Taillights look dumb, nuff said.

Gold rims, who is driving this thing, 50 cent and his homies? Less "bling" on the rims please.

And lastly whats wrong on this picture (I cant critique the front since its not in the picture) is that the car has four doors. Who wants a fast car to have four doors, especially since they market this car as a rally car. Sadly enough if they removed the features I described earlier, except for the four doors, no one would even know this car is an STi or even fast. I don't really care if this car could beat me in a race, I dont see dudes cruising around in a STi picking up chicks.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Here ya go

 

[Pennywise2]

The Subaru STI's are really nice cars.They handle very we'll
in the turns and off the line.They are very expensive to buy
and mod.One of my friends was nice enough to let me drive
his 05 STI before I bought my 04 WRX and I was very impressed
with the car.Little to no turbo lag,wonderful in the turns,and
great off the line.I must say the stupid deckboard wing is ugly
but,all you have to do is delete it or order your STI without it.
Your friends car must be like a rocket!
With an STI it is more than horsepower,it is the torque numbers
you really want to pay attention to.Power packages make the
STI (especially with stage 2) a torque monster.So pay attention
to the torque it's curve and the area underneath the curve.
An STI will out launch my 96 GT no matter what.

 

[Duke309]

This is not the newer style front, it was redesigned in 05 or 06 and looks a lot worse

Ok lets start from the front this time, I count three different STi badges, yes three, and all are in pink. Why pink? I can't answer this question, maybe they market this car to homosexuals , I don't know about that though. They have to put STi in three different places just so people dont confuse this car with a run of the mill wrx with a giganto wing. Black or white would have been much better for the badges.

Thats a pretty damn big hoodscoop for a four cylinder car , I'm not positive, but I think it is functional for just allowing in cooler air, it does look sort of out of place though.

**** I hate that wing , just look how far it sticks out from the rear fender, it just looks retarded.

Overall I can say that on this pictures year of STi, I like the front more than the back, just like the new mustangs.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

very nice

The scoop lets air blow across the intercooler, it is functional for that.

 

[Stang|ess]

impreza 22b .

 

[Dope 97GT]

my friends car doesnt have that much done to it really dual stage boost controller upgraded bov and wastegate with a front mount intercooler.

but yeah its pretty darn fast...makes my friends 04 vette look dumb.

but my other friend who has the 06 roush stage 3 gets him but he has a couple mods himself

and let me tell you the roush is gorgeous

 

[Blue Blurr]

His car doesn't have 360whp, it probably as around 260whp if it has a turbo back and tune. I hate to say this, but I'de rather have my wrx then the kb saleen. It's a much better all around car plus road course > drag. I'm still never getting rid of the Saleen, such a sick car.

 

[NPIGT]

This will be my next car. I dont like the wing, but just trade it with a regular wrx trunk. And I am ready for a 4 door with better gas mileage. And the BOV = sex!!!