Al Friedman tuning STI's
#31
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As strange as it is, that's not the first time I heard about it. For some reason, in certain parts of the world the sti is significantly more expensive. Guess it's just marketing.
I paid exactly the same for my evo as i did for my sti and the sti was purchased 2 years later and a special edition....
I paid exactly the same for my evo as i did for my sti and the sti was purchased 2 years later and a special edition....
#33
Originally Posted by x838nwy
As strange as it is, that's not the first time I heard about it. For some reason, in certain parts of the world the sti is significantly more expensive. Guess it's just marketing.
I paid exactly the same for my evo as i did for my sti and the sti was purchased 2 years later and a special edition....
I paid exactly the same for my evo as i did for my sti and the sti was purchased 2 years later and a special edition....
#34
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^wow...
I wonder why/how they make these odd marketing decisions. I mean, yes if mitsu can push the evo $1k less than the Sti then that probably means more sales, but then you end up with sort of 'incomplete' cars and if Subie follows suit and start taking bits off the sti, then it will just go down hill from there.
At the end of the day, one wonders whether it's worth their while to go through all the logistics to make sure that evos going to certain countries will have/not have wings and then stocking wings in those countries, traing people to fit them and so on. All this compared to just putting wings on every single one.
Having said that, there are places like here (Thailand) where cars get taxed to the eyeballs (~220%) and the cheaper the invoice price, the cheaper the car so that would make more sense, but surely not everyone's as backwards as we are here!!
Selling evos without wings is like selling Lexuses without powered windows.
I wonder why/how they make these odd marketing decisions. I mean, yes if mitsu can push the evo $1k less than the Sti then that probably means more sales, but then you end up with sort of 'incomplete' cars and if Subie follows suit and start taking bits off the sti, then it will just go down hill from there.
At the end of the day, one wonders whether it's worth their while to go through all the logistics to make sure that evos going to certain countries will have/not have wings and then stocking wings in those countries, traing people to fit them and so on. All this compared to just putting wings on every single one.
Having said that, there are places like here (Thailand) where cars get taxed to the eyeballs (~220%) and the cheaper the invoice price, the cheaper the car so that would make more sense, but surely not everyone's as backwards as we are here!!
Selling evos without wings is like selling Lexuses without powered windows.
#35
Carlos, if you do get an STI, Ecutek or an Accessport really is the easiest and smoothest way to go. The Cobb Accessports are very nice b/c they have map switch capability and some say Ecutek seems to be a little easier for the tuner to deal with. Both are excellent, and it will make the ride noticeable smoother and stronger. You will probably end up paying about the same whether its an Ecutek flash and tune or an AP/tune.
Last edited by Blue04; Jul 27, 2006 at 04:01 PM.
#36
Originally Posted by x838nwy
^wow...
I wonder why/how they make these odd marketing decisions. I mean, yes if mitsu can push the evo $1k less than the Sti then that probably means more sales, but then you end up with sort of 'incomplete' cars and if Subie follows suit and start taking bits off the sti, then it will just go down hill from there.
At the end of the day, one wonders whether it's worth their while to go through all the logistics to make sure that evos going to certain countries will have/not have wings and then stocking wings in those countries, traing people to fit them and so on. All this compared to just putting wings on every single one.
Having said that, there are places like here (Thailand) where cars get taxed to the eyeballs (~220%) and the cheaper the invoice price, the cheaper the car so that would make more sense, but surely not everyone's as backwards as we are here!!
Selling evos without wings is like selling Lexuses without powered windows.
I wonder why/how they make these odd marketing decisions. I mean, yes if mitsu can push the evo $1k less than the Sti then that probably means more sales, but then you end up with sort of 'incomplete' cars and if Subie follows suit and start taking bits off the sti, then it will just go down hill from there.
At the end of the day, one wonders whether it's worth their while to go through all the logistics to make sure that evos going to certain countries will have/not have wings and then stocking wings in those countries, traing people to fit them and so on. All this compared to just putting wings on every single one.
Having said that, there are places like here (Thailand) where cars get taxed to the eyeballs (~220%) and the cheaper the invoice price, the cheaper the car so that would make more sense, but surely not everyone's as backwards as we are here!!
Selling evos without wings is like selling Lexuses without powered windows.
and yes, israel is very similar to Thailand as far as high tax go. my friend bought his STI in israel for......
$45k!!!!!!!!!!!
don't even get me going on how gas prices are over there. lets just put it this way, even if gas get's to $5 a gallon here, i will still fill up with a smile on my face...
#37
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Originally Posted by fromWRXtoEVO
Yeah Ray. I am not crazy, I am getting rid of some cars (not the Evo) and getting a STI which I always like.
Today's dyno sesion was dissapointing, you were there. I tried everything and still made much less power . I just can't comprehend what is going on, months ago my Evo 8 was a bench mark for simple mods and tons of torque. Today you sw what happened, more mods, race gas, less power.. simply unaceptable. If Socorro's Evo 9 makes more power than mine then I will be very pissed .
The budget for the Evo 8 MR is over, not a single dime for that car. At least $1600 wasted and my carsince that sucessfull dyno number at Vividracing but now is putting less power and torque. Time to move on..
Carlos
Today's dyno sesion was dissapointing, you were there. I tried everything and still made much less power . I just can't comprehend what is going on, months ago my Evo 8 was a bench mark for simple mods and tons of torque. Today you sw what happened, more mods, race gas, less power.. simply unaceptable. If Socorro's Evo 9 makes more power than mine then I will be very pissed .
The budget for the Evo 8 MR is over, not a single dime for that car. At least $1600 wasted and my carsince that sucessfull dyno number at Vividracing but now is putting less power and torque. Time to move on..
Carlos
so all you care about is HP?
#38
Originally Posted by fromWRXtoEVO
At least $1600 wasted and my carsince that sucessfull dyno number at Vividracing but now is putting less power and torque. Time to move on..
Carlos
Carlos
Which mods did you do for $1600 that produced less power then your previous mods?
#40
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Originally Posted by blonde
well, it is even worse in the US so.... when the evo got here in 03', we got different seats, no acd, and different radio. the sti on the other hand, came to the US with a different engine (sti's in israel came with the 2.0 jdm engine) different rims, different seats etc...
and yes, israel is very similar to Thailand as far as high tax go. my friend bought his STI in israel for......
$45k!!!!!!!!!!!
don't even get me going on how gas prices are over there. lets just put it this way, even if gas get's to $5 a gallon here, i will still fill up with a smile on my face...
and yes, israel is very similar to Thailand as far as high tax go. my friend bought his STI in israel for......
$45k!!!!!!!!!!!
don't even get me going on how gas prices are over there. lets just put it this way, even if gas get's to $5 a gallon here, i will still fill up with a smile on my face...
Gas prices here are something like $0.75-$0.79 a litre. What's it like in the US at the mo? Anyway we should tax gas more and car less. I've got to cars but I can only drive one at a time!!!
#41
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Originally Posted by Noize
I came out of a WRX and into my Evo. I'd prefer to never go back to an Impreza/WRX/STi, as there are too many compromises.
#42
Originally Posted by South Side Evo
Which mods did you do for $1600 that produced less power then your previous mods?
DC sport header $335
Works O2 housing $400
Hyper Sun Ignition $300
Can't blame on the mods but I can affirm and confirm I made much less power by adding all this mods.
Withouth the mods above I made 324whp and 364 tq at Vividracing back in December.
With Nisei and DC sports my WHP was 331whp but tq was down to around 330tq.
Removing the Nisei IC and DC sport and adding the O2 housing, Hyper Sun and race gas (97oct mixture) netted me 315whp.
Either way I am down, it is maybe the heat, my last dyno was done at 105 degrees. I don't want to blame on the mods yet..
Carlos
#44
Originally Posted by Noize
Oh yeah. One of my best friends has an STi. While better than the regular WRX, its still a huge step down from the Evo in most all things performance.
I would put it in kind words but the STI is not mcuh of a "step down' from the EVO at all. Despite most of the magazine placed the EVO number one in reality they are very equally matched(braking, slalom,handling,acceleration, etc).
The margin of advantage is minimal for the Evo. The one thing I strongly stnad behind is the fact that the 46G3 engine will give you more power with the same upgrade mods other than that I find the STI to be almost as fast as the Evo(stock trim).
Carlos
#45
iTrader: (24)
Originally Posted by fromWRXtoEVO
Noize,
I would put it in kind words but the STI is not mcuh of a "step down' from the EVO at all. Despite most of the magazine placed the EVO number one in reality they are very equally matched(braking, slalom,handling,acceleration, etc).
The margin of advantage is minimal for the Evo. The one thing I strongly stnad behind is the fact that the 46G3 engine will give you more power with the same upgrade mods other than that I find the STI to be almost as fast as the Evo(stock trim).
Carlos
I would put it in kind words but the STI is not mcuh of a "step down' from the EVO at all. Despite most of the magazine placed the EVO number one in reality they are very equally matched(braking, slalom,handling,acceleration, etc).
The margin of advantage is minimal for the Evo. The one thing I strongly stnad behind is the fact that the 46G3 engine will give you more power with the same upgrade mods other than that I find the STI to be almost as fast as the Evo(stock trim).
Carlos
First, although the STi tranny is plenty robust, the gear spacing itself is horrid. The bottom four gears are too short for even the stock power levels and are practically on top of each other. You have to go to fifth in the quarter mile, as fourth won't even do 100mph at the redline. To add insult to injury, fifth gear is extremely tall, and is capable of around a 135mph terminal speed at redline. You'd think six speed they could get it right, but they didn't.
Second, the chassis in the STi is a lot more twitchy and nervous than the Evo. Obviously, this can be corrected with a little suspension work, because there are people who are campaigning them with great success. I just like the chassis a lot better in the Mitsu. Our turn in is a lot more crisp, there's less understeer, and the steering rack is lightning fast.
Next, the biggest problem: The STi's engine and turbo setup. The stock ihiVF39 turbo is awful in comparison to the 16G, which we all know already. The intercooler is top mounted -which is more efficient at low power levels for a boxer engine- but limited by space, doesn't cool its core as well, and is very prone to heat soak. Going to a front mount is a huge problem, because the pipe routing required to plumb it is brutal. All the advantages of the short IC piping are wasted, with huge upper and lower pipe paths that make the Evo path look short. This is added to all the pre-turbo piping that already exists from the boxer H motor's configuration. Even with the larger 2.5, this is the recipe for something that sucks: LAG.
The jury is still out on the longevity and strength of the EJ257. Some STis spin rod bearings even before 400whp, while others make more and seem to be just fine. I never cared much for Russian Roulette, so I'm not even loading that gun.
Cliff's notes for those who don't want to read all that
STi disadvantages:
-Lame gear spacing
-Stock turbo and TMIC won't get you very far in power output
-Boxer design is less than ideal for an FMIC
-Boxer design has a lot of exhaust routing pre-turbo, increasing lag
-Nervous chassis in stock configuration
It costs thousands of dollars more to make an STi as all around potent as an Evo can be for much less.