Jenkins651

Let me give you a little background. My previous car was an 06 STI. I loved it btw. I sold it to help put a downpayment on house. Now that the house is taken care of I'm looking for something else. My STI had 330awhp and it was a blast to drive, but like everyone knows power is addicting and I want even more with the next car. Everyone also knows that while the 6 speed is essentially bullet proof the ej257 isn't which brings me to the "dark side" so to speak .

My goals for this car is to be a fun and original road beast that I can rip up some curvy roads, but also take on nice Sunday cruise with the family. There may also be the occasional track day thrown in every 6 months or so. I guess at this point I should state that this car will not be my DD. My budget for an Evo would be around 25K, but if I'm going to build an RS I would like to keep it under 20K since at this point it is a 15 year old car. This may prove to be tricky with everything I have in mind. On top of a full STI swap I want to get a fully built motor. I would love a closed deck from IAG or Fast Performance Tuning. Of course that will be 3-4k then I would need a turbo to match so add another 1-2k....My goal as it stands currently is to be around 400-450awhp. A clean shell seems to be going for no less than 6k as far as I can find and a wrecked STI I'm estimating to be around 8K.

Right there I'm at 20K! My friend will be doing a lot of the work as I don't have much time or the space to take on such a project. I will be paying him a fair share as well. Luckily we are good friends and it won't be even close to shop prices, but that still puts me over my proposed budget. So basically at this point it may just be a better idea to get the Evo X! I can find a clean, lightly modded Evo that is putting down 350-400awhp all day within my budget and it doesn't take a 4k engine to do it!

I really have my heart set on the Built RS, but even as I type this it is sounding less and less practical. The rarity of a RS paired with it's styling is really why I want it. There isn't another car that looks like it. Plus there just aren't many on the road anymore. There were only 14K ever sent to the U.S. and at this point I wouldn't be surprised to learn that only half of them remained on the road. I'm actually looking for a sedan model which was only produced from 2000-2001 and only a little more than 4k were sent to the U.S. I just like the idea of owning something so rare. You see an Evo every third block lol. I do have two kids as well so even though my kids will rarely ride in the car the added safety and newer technology of the Evo would be a big plus though.

I know I just threw a lot out there, but any help, advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Napalm_Enema

Man give it up on Subaru, most have that came to this platform. If you want high power and dependability and are deciding between an EVO and an STi it's very easy, EVO.

Previous 08 STi owner here, and many others here have a similar history.

DeweyD

You sure? I see about 3 Evo's a year vs. 20,000 WRX's and STi's (exaggerating for dramatic effect). The WRX's/STi's outsell the Evo at a rate of like 20:1 lol. Granted the RS may be more rare, but the casual viewer probably wouldn't know.

It sounds like in you heart of hearts you really want the RS STi so I wouldn't get anything else if that's what you are truly after. Especially for the nostalgia value! I also want a 2002 Ford Ranger and a 2008 Civic Si again someday for that very reason .

But you are in an Evo forum and we picked the Evo as it is the better car in almost every way. Suspension, chassis stiffness, grip, ability to rev and make power. As you noted you can hit 400whp on an Evo without opening the motor.

Subjectively the styling could go either way depending on personal taste, and the EJ's do have a unique sound. Subaru as a company does tend to instill a little more confidence than Mitsubishi. I just don't think this outweighs the pros that the Evo has, hence why I went with the Evo.

RallySport9

iTrader: (20)

evo and sti is Incomparable. the evo outperforms in every way. even my buddy with his 07 sti thinks the evo is way more rare and "exotic" looking when compared. the sti looks way too much like a basic wrx teenager car. only reason he went with it because it was a cheaper alternative.

Robevo RS

iTrader: (16)

fully built Subaru 90% of the time means a car with fully loaded problems.

I would go for the X, although might be a lot less fun and problem then the Subaruin the beginning.

Astro_Train

iTrader: (17)

I live in Northern VA and see maybe 1 Evo a week. WRX and STi... about 4 a day if not more. Its like all the hippies out here are buying them left and right.

Evos will continue to become rarer as many of the 8s and 9s produced here have been wrecked. The X even with 7 years of production, I still see less on the road than Subies.

From a power standpoint and engine reliability I agree with this... this topic has been beaten to a pulp.. and even throwing the biased part of this being an Evo forum, facts are facts.

Had two Subies myself... 07 STI and 05 WRX.. the second never gave me issues but then again I never went further than Cobb AP with it and basic bolt ons and was still slow as poop. The 07 was terrible.. even after a tune the hesitation issue that plagued this year I was never able to get really get rid of. I was disappointed to the point that I switched over to the Evo platform and glad I did.

I also agree with this... if you have your heart in it, regardless of how much you know you are going to spend and the Evo having a better engine platform, you answered the question for yourself. Go with what you really want. Even if it takes you longer for budget reasons you will be happier in the long run with the RS. No reason to buy a X which is a completely different animal.

The only way I will buy a Subie now is for a DD and not mod it other than maybe suspension, wheels and cosmetic stuff... just not worth the cost.

vr4gasmtt

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't take family out in either evo x or RSti, but if I had to it would be the x since its newer.

Jenkins651

Honestly I doubt the average person would even know they were looking at a subaru if they didn't see the badge. The first generations are a very rare sight and look nothing like any of the newer models imo. There is literally less than 4000 of the sedan I'm after in the U.S.

Although I was originally dead set on the RS I think the Evo is a great option and now I'm finding myself torn which lead to my original post. I know you all are right about the Evo being great out of the box and I would just need a few basic mods and a good tune to hit 400whp reliably where I'm going to have a lot of headaches up front with the RS through the swap.

No swap goes through without a few hiccups. Plus the new safety features like the side curtain airbags and the new technology of the Evo would make it more livable, but I'm trying to decide if livability really matters when you are talking about a strictly weekend car. ..

Napalm_Enema

Well the 2.5 Subaru engine is a ticking time bomb 99% of the time, so I don't know what is really to decide other than looks. One car is reliable with power, the other is not.

Unless you have unlimited pockets, it makes zero sense to consider the Subaru at all to be honest. I did EVERYTHING right with my Subaru. Only the best tune, best parts, meticulous research, as did a lot of people that are now on the EVO platform. Mine **** the bed at 120k, longer than most, but it still died and never recovered. Until they come out with an engine that doesn't do that, they can keep their car.

I think the 2016 Direct Injected 2.0 is a step in the right direction, but I want to see how those hold up long term, and I think they should have a bigger displacement one in the new STi which would be interesting to see how that goes.

But for your project, right now? Pfffft even considering the flawed 2.5 as a big power platform is the same as stacking all your hard earned cash on the floor and burning it while you dance around laughing.

Jenkins651

Remember we aren't talking about a standard motor here. Fully built closed deck blocks from IAG don't have any of the problems a factory ej does.

When it comes to the standard block I completely agree with you. Had one replaced on my 06 STI. The boxer concept is a great idea in theory and if you never mod it I'm sure it's fine, but what's the point in buying it when that's the case.

I will never buy a another STI I'm not planning on building for that reason. The old fool me once senerio applies here.

kaj

iTrader: (60)

i voted for the Evo so you can drive it. a high-performance Subaru is a lot of work to maintain. a swapped, one-off, high-performance Subaru sounds like nothing but a headache to me. and the fact that it's "fully built" means even more trouble, IMO (nothing runs as long or trouble free as OEM). believe me, though. i've always pined for the 22b.

unless you like tinkering and working on cars on a regular basis, it's not your daily, etc.

I.E. i'll own an FD one day. yeah.. i know what i'm in for, but that's fine and part of the allure for me LOL.

in the end it's up to you. both are cool cars.

boostedmiata

all the RS i see are beat to **** already and still stock. The modded ones are worse. I've only seen ONE well done RS and had a WRX swap in it and bunch of JDM body part$$$$

I wouldn't dump another 20k into one......plus if I wreck it, insurance would give me like 2k back haha