Ragingazn

so i'm deciding to buy a new car,
both are 2004.

sti,
positives
1)its already tuned by sti
2)insurance rates the new sti the same as the wrx
3)it comes w/ 6 gears
4)water cooled turbo-no need for turbo timer
5)availiable 50-50 or 60-30 drive all time drive
6)lots of mod parts for it

Negatives
1)its pricey
2)the 2.5L is already tuned by sti so the modding is limited w/ parts breaking
3)the intercooler sucks
4)looks like a neon on crack
5)clutches go out fast w/ the awd and hard launches
6) no moon roof???

Evo
positives
1)the engine is made for turbo
2)long history of evo
3)recaro racing seats
4)handles better than the sti
5)FMIC
6)faster than the sti in the 1/4

negatives
1)only 5 gears
2)still a lancer
3)no swtiching the drive line always 50-50
4)mitsubishi loses its resale value fast
5)still relatively new on the market
6)paint sucks

thats kinda my break down list on the evo vs sti
the evo handles better than the sti, but the engine is begging for modding
the sti has a lot of parts of aftermarket performance, but everyone has a wrx.

my other considerations are the g35 coupe, and a my04 s2K
the problem w/ the g35 and the s2k are that they are slower than my car, but the perks are that they are both rwd.

I really want a vette but practicallity wise i dont think i want to live in my car w/ insurance bills, plus it dont really fit a young asian dude driving around, lots of hatin.
personaly i love american cars and thier torque, but i'm kinda of tired of the problems....

for being young i'm 21, but I ride a zx9 so i can drive/ride. so the age thing does not come into play. this will be my first purchase of a car over 25K and that has either awd or rwd.

Can anybody help me out here? i'm stuck in deciding which car
thx
Joe Lai the azn guy

Scot

I have an Evo VIII... it has about 8k miles on it and has had zero problems....which includes me taking it to the road course 3 days, drag strip 2 days (13.4@102mph both times), and a few stupid races on the street.

I think you can buy either the Evo or the STI at about $500 over invoice. Van bortel in NY has STI's for $29k I think, and evo's are about $27.5k if you look around enough.

the only complaint I have about my evo is the 5 speed..... there is a huge gap between 4th and 5th gear.......it is only noticable if you are racing to 110mph+ or timing the car for bragging rights...... it does 0-100mph in 12.5 seconds or so but 0-130 is 28 seconds....which is about the same as the S2000....

around a small track the Evo rocks..... nice torque & good brakes overcome the 3250lbs....

Thoe99

I have an Evo8 too. I'm a year older than you, so 4 doors really come in handy often when you're out with friends. I don't know much about the STI, since I never considered it, but with the Evo, if you're ever tired of its power, put another cheap mod in there, and you'll be happy again. "still a lancer?" come on, the evo is the father of the regular lancers, not the other way around--evo came first. I don't know how beneficial it is for the power to switch front to back on the STI, but its pretty consistent that the Evo wins almost all the track competitions compared to it. Either car, you still win.

cfusionpm

there really is no real big differences between the two. they are basically the same car with little things different here and there. either car would be great, and it would more come down to some specific feature or personal prefference.

but i wanna address:

sti,
positives
2)insurance rates the new sti the same as the wrx
--(thats because both of them are still turbo and awd, it just happens that one is tuned better. the same cant be said when comparing the lancers, with the evo being turbo awd and the reg lancer being N/A fwd.)

3)it comes w/ 6 gears
--(it sure does. i addressed the evo gearbox later)

4)water cooled turbo-no need for turbo timer
--(if i remember correctly, its not a water cooled turbo, its a water cooled intercooler via watter jet sprayer. same deal as the evo, just on the top rather than the front)

5)availiable 50-50 or 60-30 drive all time drive
--(i dont see the real need for this, but i guess its good. in the non us-spec evos, they have 3 settings for their lsd which are for tarmac (asphalt), gravel, and snow.

6)lots of mod parts for it
--(just as many parts, if not more for the evolution. dont forget that)


Negatives
2)the 2.5L is already tuned by sti so the modding is limited w/ parts breaking
--(i dont know enough about this specific engine, but im sure there is still plenty you can do to it.)

3)the intercooler sucks
--(elaborate? really, why does it suck? its the exact same (basically) as the evo, just top mounted instead of front mounted. )

4)looks like a neon on crack
--(personal opinion, cant argue that)

5)clutches go out fast w/ the awd and hard launches
--(the same will happen to the evo as well. just dont abuse it, and the clutch will last a long time.)

6) no moon roof???
--(yep, most likely to save weight. you'll also note the sti has no factory radio/cd player either.)

Evo
positives
1)the engine is made for turbo
--(so is the sti engine. plus the sti is a 2.5L whereas the evo is a 2.0 doesnt make too much of a difference since both are turbocharged, it just means that the sti will make more hp at lower boost levels)

2)long history of evo
--(sure right there. 8th in the series with plenty of history behind it.)

3)recaro racing seats
--(i hate the color, but the are a dream to sit in)

5)FMIC
--(and? the sti has a TMIC (top mounted intercooler) which is also water cooled by a sprayer system similar to the evo)

negatives
1)only 5 gears
--(its more like a 6 speed gearbox, only that it goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6. i like that design because i'll get better gas milage cruising on the highway.)

2)still a lancer
--(as was said before, the lancer was built off the evolution platform, not the other way around. thats just like saying the SRT-4 is "still a neon" even though stock for stock it can keep up with or beat an s2000 in a straight line and from a roll, give the evo a good run for its money)

3)no swtiching the drive line always 50-50
--why would you need to manually controll that? thats what the lsd is for.

4, 5, 6)
--(no arguement there ;P )

dbjb

my argument (per Consumer Reports, JD Power, etc.) the overall quality and reliability of Subaru far exceeds that of Mitsubishi.

This is not related to these two cars in specific, but the manufacturers in general. I have driven both (I'm buying an STi in the spring) and the Subaru has a better "feel" to it. The Sti, IMO, is faster than the EVO. This is my personal comparison after driving both vehicles back to back. This is what I felt in driving the two, not comparing magazines.

If you ony plan on having the car for a few years, get the one you like the best, the warranty should cover any problems you may (or may not) encounter.

tsunugundam

FMIC is supposedly better than TMIC because the heat from the engine rises back into the intercooler on the WRX, whereas with the FMIC, the air is going straight into the thing, without a hood scoop, and FMIC exposes more of the intercooler itself.

Thoe99

I also don't see a point with a top mount, since the engine heat below will just cancel its effects.

cfusionpm

its a top mount because the subaru has that gigantic air scoop on the hood, you guessed it, right above the ic. plus, since its closer to the engine, that means less piping, and less boost lag. though i dont know enough about the engine to explain it any more than that. heat shields maybe used as well?

MattDell

I'm gonna take a stab at this like cfusionpm did..

sti,
positives
1)its already tuned by sti
(Sure is.. )
2)insurance rates the new sti the same as the wrx
(Same car except for the extra half liter and the 72 horses)
3)it comes w/ 6 gears
(Sure does.. )
4)water cooled turbo-no need for turbo timer
(Modern turbos don't need turbo timers to begin with.* [See Below])
5)availiable 50-50 or 60-30 drive all time drive
(Most STi owners just leave it in auto, anyway)
6)lots of mod parts for it
(I'm sure there's just as many for the EVO.)

Negatives
1)its pricey
(Pricey, no. More expensive than the EVO, yes.)
2)the 2.5L is already tuned by sti so the modding is limited w/ parts breaking
(The 2.5L is tuned by STi, yes, but the engine still has plenty of modding left in it. Guys with WRX's can get 300 reliable WHP out of their 2.0 liter, so you should be fine.)
3)the intercooler sucks
(The intercooler is better, actually. There is less piping, therefore there's less lag. Don't forget, a larger intercooler isn't necessarily a better intercooler)
4)looks like a neon on crack
(Yeah, it is ugly as sin.)
5)clutches go out fast w/ the awd and hard launches
(The same can be said for the EVO)
6) no moon roof???
(Weight. Personally, I wouldn't want another 75 pounds on the top of my car, but that goes down to personal preference, I suppose.

Evo
positives
1)the engine is made for turbo
(As is the STi)
2)long history of evo
(The USDM STi is an STi Version 8. The EVO is only two years older than the STi. The EVO was introduced in 1992, the WRX was introduced in 1992, and the STi was introduced in 1994.)
3)recaro racing seats
(Too bad they look straight out of a coach seat in a 1967 Boeing.)
4)handles better than the sti
(Stock, yes. A larger rear sway bar for the STi will dramatically help the handling of the STi. One can be had for under $150 and installed in 15 minutes.)
5)FMIC
(Not necessarily a plus.)
6)faster than the sti in the 1/4
(No it isn't.)

negatives
1)only 5 gears
(True, but some say the STi's gears are too short and too close together.)
2)still a lancer
(The STi is still an Impreza.)
3)no swtiching the drive line always 50-50
(Most STi owners leave their DCCD in auto, anyway.)
4)mitsubishi loses its resale value fast
(True)
5)still relatively new on the market
(The STi isn't?)
6)paint sucks
(Subaru paint is horrible, too.)


A BIG positive you missed on the Subaru is the boxer engine and awesome interior.

Basically, here's what you need to look at:

The STi accelerates faster, but EVO handles better and stops shorter.
The STi has a better interior, but the EVO has a stereo.
The STi looks ugly as sin from the front, and the EVO is rather attractive.
The STi can be had for $29K, the EVO can be had for $27K. (If you look around)



-Matt


* FHI

OverBooster

There is absolutely no way that the normal lancers can even be compared to the EVO. As far as I am concerned, they is only one type of Lancer...the Evolutions